What to Watch This Week: May 1 to 6

From a Broadway favourite to the queen of all media, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

1. Crush, Disney+

Disney+Sometimes, even when you don’t know anything about a film, the excitement of its creators can win you over, and that’s definitely the case with Crush. When tweeting out the rom-com’s official announcement in July of last year, co-writer Casey Rackham said (and the capitalizations and exclamation points are all hers): “WE WROTE A MOVIE!!! AND IT’S REALLY, REALLY GAY!!!”  

Mind you, at that time, Crush was called Love in Color, but all things being equal, the new title definitely seems more appropriate. It revolves around a teenaged artist who, upon being forced to join her school’s track team, uses it as an opportunity to pursue the girl she’s been pining for. To our heroine’s surprise, however, she falls for a different teammate entirely and, in turn, has an epiphany about what love really means. 

2. Oprah + Viola: A Netflix Special Event, Netflix

NetflixIn this special documentary presentation, Oprah Winfrey and Oscar-winning actor Viola Davis discuss the latter’s astonishing new memoir, Finding Me. For the first time, Davis shares memories of a childhood marred by unimaginable poverty, disturbing abuse and, as she writes, “all the things that cause you pain.” During their conversation, the Fences star reveals how “giving up hope that the past could be different” has brought her peace, forgiveness and a sense of self. In addition, Davis also explains how she manifested the loves in her life and what it took to become one of the most celebrated and talented actresses of her generation.

3. Real Housewives of Atlanta – Sunday, May 1, 5 p.m. & 8:30 p.m., Slice | Season Premiere

SliceIt’s been about a year since we’ve dealt with the peachy antics of these Atlanta-based Housewives, but they’re back in full force this week to bring plenty of certified drama. Heading up the crew in the season 14 debut are returning stars Kandi Burruss, Kenya Moore and Drew Sidora. It’s Moore, however, who is expected to be the centre of attention, following her stint on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip and a run on Dancing With the Stars. “I am the moment, b****. I am the moment!” she naturally proclaims in the trailer for the new season. Sounds like Burruss will give her a run for her money though, considering her mom, Mama Joyce, and her husband, Todd Tucker, are also back. Not only that but they’re also at odds, which inevitably puts Burruss in the middle. Meanwhile, watch out for the return of Shereé Whitfield, who was last cast in season 10. She’s back to show us all what “Chateau Shereé” looks like now that it’s officially done, and to undoubtedly promote her new line of joggers hitting the market. Longtime friend of the ’wives Marlo Hampton is also back, but this time she gets to hold her very own peach. Expect her to share her personal and professional lives unlike ever before as she continues raising her nephews and growing her fashion business. And then there’s Atlanta’s newest Housewife, Sanya Richards-Ross. The four-time Olympic gold medalist and her former NFL player husband Aaron Ross are joining in with this zany cast, sharing their parenting style and culture with the rest of the ladies. Something tells us they’ll round out this cast quite nicely—after all, they did star in their own series, Glam and Gold, back in 2013.

4. Outlander – Sunday, May 1, 9 p.m., W Network | Season Finale

W NetworkWe waited nearly two years for the return of this time-travelling romance, so the fact that it wraps its sixth season already this week feels like a bit of a letdown. After all, this eight-episode season has been the shortest in the series to date. We have the pandemic to thank for all of that, what with production delayed by about eight months and then the strict (but standard) COVID protocols that further slowed things down. The good news is the powers that be are making it up to us next year. Showrunner Matthew B. Roberts has revealed season seven will be a whopping 16 episodes long, which marks the longest season of the series since it first debuted back in 2014.

5. Ziwe – Sunday, May 1, 10 p.m., Crave1 | Season Premiere

CraveComedy writer and performer Ziwe is back with a second 12-episode season of her iconoclastic, eponymous late-night series, following a six-episode test run last year.  

“This is a variety show in the truest sense of the word, because there’s music, guests, field pieces, sketches and fake commercials,” Ziwe told Deadline of her vision for the show as it continues to evolve. “I am just making important work that is hopefully funny, so the show is what you interpret; it fits into several genres. It’s stretching the definition of what comedy means.”  

In addition to more big-name guest stars (the first season included the likes of singer Phoebe Bridgers, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang), Ziwe explained that the one thing that won’t be changing in this follow-up season is her honesty and candor.  “I hope that my show introduces the idea that while talking about race and social issues is uncomfortable, ultimately you won’t die,” she added  in an interview with InStyle.

6. Lil John Wants to Do What? – Monday, May 2, 8 p.m., HGTV | Series Premiere

HGTVLil Jon may be known as a rapper, record producer and DJ, but this week he’s adding home renovation expert to his ever-expanding CV. Yup, the personality is the face of HGTV’s latest reno series and from the sounds of things he can’t wait to get going. In each episode, Lil Jon is joined by designer and expert builder Anitra Mecadon (Mega Dens), and together they offer homeowners unconventional renovation ideas that seem—at first glance—impossible to execute. Think removing a living room ceiling in order to put in huge new windows or gutting a basement to transform it into a speakeasy. The one thing all these renos have in common is they’re daring and dramatic. “I love walking into someone’s house and turning it upside down,” Lil Jon said in a press release.  

“When people hear my name, they automatically think… fun! That same energy goes for my designs as well. I don’t love following design trends—I would rather be the trendsetter.” From the world of hip hop to the world of home transformations… we definitely can’t wait to see how this plays out.

7. Spring Awakening; Those You’ve Known – Tuesday, May 3, 8 p.m. & 11:30 p.m., HBO Canada

HBO CanadaThis emotional, star-studded tribute to the first Tony-winning Broadway run of Spring Awakening reunites the original cast and creative team, 15 years later, for a spectacular, one-night-only concert to benefit The Actors Fund. Chronicling their whirlwind journey back to the stage, the film follows the players as they reconnect and rediscover the beauty and timelessness of the hit musical, sharing the show’s underdog origins, its path to Tony glory, the universal themes of teenage repression and angst, and the unconventional love story of breakout stars Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele, who would go on to future fame in Disney’s Frozen and Fox’s Glee, respectively.  

The documentary pulls back the curtain to showcase the cast and creative team at rehearsals, in their homes and backstage, featuring electrifying performances from the reunion concert in November 2021, newly filmed interviews, candid archival video and photographs, as well as performance footage from the original 2006 show that went on to sweep the Tonys, winning eight awards, including Best Musical. In addition, the doc explores how the lives of the mostly unknown teenage cast were forever changed by an unapologetic, edgy rock opera set in the 1890s, inspiring a generation of fans by tackling taboo issues.

8. Moon Knight – Wednesday, May 4, Disney+ | Season Finale

Disney+Once again the MCU proves the build-up is always longer than the project itself when this miniseries wraps after just six short episodes this week. Can our hero break free of his dissociative identity disorder and find some normalcy? Or, at this point, does he even want to? Tune in to find out.

9. The Staircase – Thursday, May 5, 8:50 p.m., 10 p.m. & 11:10 p.m., HBO Canada | Series Premiere

HBO CanadaBased on the acclaimed documentary, this limited series features an all-star cast (including Toni Collette, Colin Firth and Sophie Turner) to dramatize the true-crime saga of a writer accused of murdering his wife when she’s found dead at the bottom of a staircase.

10. The Wilds – Friday, May 6, Prime Video | Season Premiere

Prime VideoIf you’ve ever been fascinated by Lord of the Flies (or even Survivor to a certain extent), this dramatic story of survival may be in your wheelhouse. The show revolves around a group of girls whose plane crashes on a deserted island, where they’re forced to brave the elements and each other in order to survive. However as they learned at the end of the first season, that plane crash was no accident—they are all actually the subjects of a brutal social experiment. Not only that, but a similar group of boys have also been stranded on a nearby island, and things have gone even worse for them than the girls. When the second season drops this week both groups finally meet, setting the stage for scary new social interactions and dynamics. Zack Calderon, Nicholas Coombe, Aidan Laprete, Charles Alexander, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Reed Shannon, Tanner Ray Rook and Alex Fitzalan join the season-two cast.