What to Watch This Week: March 14 to 19

From reality premieres to music’s biggest night, we round up the top 10 shows to watch this week

1. The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards – Sunday, March 14, 5 p.m. & 8:30 p.m, City & CBS

People have been questioning the legitimacy of award shows for years, but 2021’s galas in particular have been controversy-magnets. It all started in February when the L.A. Times published an exposé on the Hollywood Foreign Press, the body behind the Golden Globes (needless to say, it was a less than flattering portrayal of a greedy, out-of-touch group).

This latest edition of the music biz’s top soirée has also endured its share of criticism. That’s mostly because one of the past year’s most influential artists, The Weeknd, who topped charts while earning the praise of fans and pundits alike (not to mention landing the Super Bowl’s halftime show), was somehow not nominated for one single award. The Canadian R&B sensation was quick to denounce the snub, and fellow musicians like Drake and Elton John followed suit. But hey, the show must go on…

Following a two-month delay (as a result of, what else, the pandemic), festivities kick off at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where this year’s host, The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah, can hopefully charm some of those disgruntled viewers.

Beyoncé leads all nominees with nine nods, but Dua Lipa, Roddy Ricch and Taylor Swift aren’t too far behind with six apiece. At time of press, it’s unclear how much of the show will actually be in person and how much will be virtual, after shows like the Emmys and the Oscars opted for a fine mix of both. The only thing we know for sure is that many fans out there will be watching the pop pageantry with a more critical eye than usual… unless of course they’re Weeknd fans, in which case they’re probably skipping it altogether.

2. Intervention – Monday, March 15, 6 p.m. & 10 p.m., A&E | Season Premiere

This groundbreaking and gritty reality series is back for a 22nd season, focusing on people whose struggles with addiction have led them to rock bottom—compelling their loved ones to stage interventions to get them the treatment and support they need before it’s too late.

3. Mayan M.C. – Tuesday, March 16, 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 10 p.m. & 11 p.m., FX Canada | Season Premiere

It’s been more than a year since the Mayans Motorcycle Club last rode off our screens, and there’s been quite the creative upheaval since that season-two finale. Specifically, the firing of co-showrunner Kurt Sutter, who was let go after an investigation into multiple complaints about the on-set working conditions (which Sutter, in an apologetic yet cheeky statement, chalked up to a combination of having taken a step back from showrunning duties to allow others to step up, and to he himself being an “abrasive dick”). This week, with the third season ready to roll, it’s co-showrunner Elgin James who’s in the driver’s seat.

What can we expect? The action picks up just a few short months from where we left off. EZ (JD Pardo) is a prospect no more, now a fully patched member of the M.C., and as he struggles to find his place within the Mayans hierarchy, he’s also dealing with the grief of dispatching Dita Galindo (Ada Maris) at the end of last season.

But with a new love interest on the horizon and plenty of club business to attend to, something tells us this antihero will be back in top gear soon enough.

4. Grown-ish – Thursday, March 18, 5 p.m. & 8 p.m., ABC Spark

The back half of this black-ish spinoff’s third season rolls along, as both Zoey and Aaron, and Jazz and Doug, are at turning points in their relationships, while Aaron turns graduation into the ultimate protest against his university’s investment in private prisons.

5. Keeping Up with the Kardashians – Thursday, March 18, 5 p.m. & Midnight, E! | Season Premiere

Although at its heart this is a series about sisters and their momager matriarch, there’s no denying that after the year they’ve just had Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are the two biggest draws for tuning in to this season. While it’s unclear just how much of West’s ongoing mental health problems, his bizarre “run for president” and his recently announced divorce from Kim will factor into the season, given the giant life changes those incidents invoked they’ll have to be addressed in some way, shape or form.

What we do know is that this is the official last season for the trashy reality series that forever changed the way the world perceives famous people.

At this point, the sisters make more from their various side hustles and social media pages than they do from the show, so is it any wonder they’re pulling the plug after 20 seasons? Perhaps not, but for the diehard fans heartbroken over this news, the Kardashians have confirmed that they’re working on new content under a deal with Hulu, which should eventually make its way to Canada on Disney+’s new “Star” bar.

6. Overserved with Lisa Vanderpump – Thursday, March 18, 6 p.m. & 1 a.m., E! | Series Premiere

Best known for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and her companion reality show Vanderpump Rules, Lisa Vanderpump is striking out on her own once again with this posh take on a talk show, in which she invites celebrities to join her for an elaborate al fresco dinner party in the garden of her estate, Villa Rossa, featuring food, cocktails and party games all cooked up by the hostess herself. Each dinner features a different “immersive theme,” ranging from “Diva Tea” to “Ladies Who Brunch,” in addition to faux “trips” to exotic locales. Guests for the first season include Anna Camp, Cheryl Burke, Cheryl Hines, Gabriel Iglesias, Iggy Azalea, Jaleel White, James Kennedy, Jeannie Mai, Jeff Lewis, Jim Jeffries, Joel McHale, Kym Whitley, Lala Kent, Lance Bass, Loni Love, Margaret Cho, Mario Lopez, Meagan Good, Sheryl Underwood, Steve-O, Dr. Terry Dubrow, Heather Dubrow, Tori Spelling, Trixie Mattel and Vivica A. Fox.

7. Zack Snyder’s Justice League – Thursday, March 18, Crave (Stream)

If you’ve been hankering for a superhero fix and the Wonder Woman sequel didn’t quite do it for you, it’s time to take a second look at Justice League.

When the long-anticipated director’s cut drops this week, it’s a chance for Zack Snyder to right the wrongs that many filmgoers felt went down with the original 2017 version. In case you need a refresher, Snyder was already beefing with the studio about story largesse and time constraints when a family tragedy struck and he removed himself from the project. Avengers director Joss Whedon took his place, reshot about 75 percent of the movie, and has since been accused of emotional abuse from actors like Ray Fisher (a.k.a. Cyborg). Meanwhile, the film itself got bad reviews and flopped at the box office. To this day, despite the fact that he’s still listed as the director, Snyder has never seen the movie. Now, rabid DC Comics fans who have been clamouring for the “Snyder Cut” finally get their wish. Snyder spent a heck of a lot of time re-editing and reshooting, not to mention spending a whack of cash from Warner Bros. (about US$70 million, per estimates). Needless to say, there’s a lot on the line with Friday’s premiere of the four-hour epic—including equally epic fan expectations. Is it any wonder the filmmaker originally said no to doing it? Luckily, the powers-that-be at Warner and their new streamer HBO Max wore him down, which means superhero lovers have quite the weekend in store.

“At the end of the movie, it says ‘For Autumn,’ ” Snyder recently told Vanity Fair, referring to his 20-year-old daughter, who committed suicide, prompting him to walk away before finishing the original movie. “Without her, this [new version] absolutely would not have happened.”

8. Country Comfort – Friday, March 19, Netflix | Series Premiere

When it comes to Netflix’s original comedies, there’s one very specific genre that seems to do consistently well, viewership-wise: the Southern sitcom. No, they’re not necessarily all set in the American South, but the primary characters do have a tendency to speak with a pronounced twang, and the premises revolve around folks whose careers could easily be worked into a country song. Think about it: first there was Ashton Kutcher’s The Ranch, set on… well, a ranch… and then last month we got The Crew, starring Kevin James as the chief of a NASCAR garage. Now here comes Country Comfort, starring American Idol alum Katharine McPhee as Bailey, an aspiring country singer who—to make ends meet in the meantime—takes a gig as the nanny for a cowboy named Beau (Third Watch alum Eddie Cibrian) and his five kids. See what we mean?

Clearly, country comedy is something Netflix is actively pushing… and who can blame them, given the obvious market appetite? And in this case, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them end up releasing a soundtrack, since there’s one tiny thing we neglected to mention about Beau’s five kids: it turns out they’re all musically gifted—what are the odds?—and provide Bailey with a built-in band that could finally lead her to the chart-topping success she so richly deserves.

With Cibrian’s following from his many years in primetime and McPhee’s charisma and way with a song, get comfortable: this show could be around for awhile.

9. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – Friday, March 19, Disney+

Following in the superheroic footsteps of the twisted sitcom WandaVision, Disney+ this week debuts its second small-screen addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, two relatively minor characters in the MCU step into the spotlight: Sam Wilson, a.k.a. Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). To recap, Sam is an Air Force veteran who pilots the experimental EXO-7 Falcon flight suit, giving him the ability to fly at high speeds, while Bucky—once best friend/sidekick of Steve “Captain America” Rogers—died during a Second World War battle, only to be resurrected, given the same super-soldier serum, have his memory erased and unleashed as a powerful assassin on a mission to kill Captain America until ultimately regaining his memory and joining the Avengers. Looming large over the series is Cap’s apparent death at the end of Avengers: Endgame, with his two sidekicks now in possession of his iconic shield.

As Stan explained to Entertainment Weekly, the series positions the characters in a sort of superhero version of the well-worn buddy-cop format. “There’s an odd-couple kind of back-and-forth there,” Stan said of the characters’ interpersonal dynamic. “Like, ‘I don’t really like you, but I might need you.’ ”

Another familiar face from the MCU joining the series is former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), first introduced in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

There’s also a new character, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), a.k.a. U.S. Agent. As the government-approved replacement for Captain America, he believes himself to be the rightful heir to Cap’s shield—a belief that is decidedly not shared by Sam and Bucky.

10. Servant – Friday, March 19, Apple TV+ | Season Finale

The twists just keep on comin’. But then, what else would you expect from the brainchild of Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan? See what he’s cooked up for you in the season-two finale, as Dorothy and Sean continue trying to piece their shattered family back together, at the potential cost of their sanity.