What to Watch This Week: May 27 to June 1

From White House rabble-rousers to the return of the Bluths, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

From White House rabble-rousers to the return of the Bluths, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

1. The Break with Michelle Wolf – Sunday, May 27, Netflix | Series Premiere

You could plaster up a million billboards and not get the ?kind of buzz that Michelle ?Wolf recently scored for her new Netflix series simply by spending? one evening performing at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. And even if some people think she went “too far” with her remarks about? a certain member of the Trump administration, when the end result involves having your name mentioned in virtually every news outlet in North America and trending on Twitter… well, you know what they say about “bad publicity.”

It’s also safe to assume it won’t hurt Wolf’s cause any to have both David Letterman and Jerry Seinfeld discussing her efforts. “Whether ?you liked it or not, I really have great admiration for the fact that she was able to walk into that room and decimate the place,” Letterman told Seinfeld during a recent taping of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.

“I love when a critic reviews a comedian,” replied Seinfeld. “You go, ‘I’ve left town already—with the money.’ ”

Indeed, that’s exactly what Wolf has done: the former Late Night and Daily Show writer left D.C. with no regrets, and she’s now ready to start The Break.

We don’t really know much about this new show, except that it’s been described by Netflix as “a weekly half-hour variety/sketch series,” but in case you’re wondering, Wolf clarified one very important fact about The Break when she appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers for a chat with her old boss: “I would have to say that if you hated the Correspondents’ Dinner, you’re really going to hate this show.” Consider yourself warned.

2. The Bachelorette – Monday, May 28, 8 p.m., City & ABC | Season Premiere

Becca Kufrin had a downright infamous ending to her love quest on the last season of The Bachelor when Arie Luyendyk, Jr. broke up with her just weeks after proposing. But now it’s Becca’s turn to shine as the newest leading lady in this spinoff. Hopefully, she’ll treat her stable of suitors with more respect than Arie showed her.

3. Arrested Development – Tuesday, May 29, Netflix | Season Premiere

Five years ago, Netflix earned the gratitude of comedy nerds across the world by righting an infamous wrong in the annals of TV history, reviving beloved sitcom Arrested Development for a fourth season, seven years after it was cancelled by Fox.

The resulting 15 episodes were a welcome yet imperfect reunion for the comically corrupt, deeply dysfunctional Bluth family, filmed as they were in a non-linear, Rashomon-like structure that divided the show’s all-time-great ensemble into largely isolated storylines. It’s a misstep that creator Mitchell Hurwitz attempted to correct earlier in May when he released a re-edited version of season four on Netflix that hewed closer to classic Arrested Development.

You can expect a similar approach in this fifth season, as Jason Bateman, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett and the rest of the cast have at last managed to clear time in their respective schedules for another round of absurdist shenanigans.
 

4. World of Dance – Tuesday, May 29, 10 p.m., NBC | Season Premiere

Jennifer Lopez is inviting viewers back into her world… more specifically, her World of Dance. The music, movie and television superstar starts the second season ?of the NBC contest—on which? she’s both a judge and an executive producer—with Derek Hough and Ne-Yo also back on the panel. Former Step Up star Jenna Dewan returns as host and dance mentor, as hopefuls in a wide range of styles, from hip hop to ballet, vie for the $1 million grand prize. And in a rare twist for the genre, several entrants from season one will compete again.

5. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Wednesday, May 30, Netflix | Season Premiere

For a show that originally started life as an NBC midseason replacement that got? kicked to the curb before ?its premiere, it’s nothing short of marvelous that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has—thanks to the fine folks at Netflix—made it to four seasons. Even the best of things must come to an end, however, and that’s why Kimmy will be bidding viewers adieu after this go-round.

Mind you, it’ll be a lengthy goodbye: only the first half of season four—six episodes—is being released today, with the second half’s debut date yet to be confirmed.

Beyond that, there’s a recurring report that creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock will put a bow on the story? of unflappably chipper doomsday-cult survivor Kimmy Schmidt with a Netflix Original movie that serves as the series’ true grand finale.

6. The Americans – Wednesday, May 30, 7 p.m., 8 p.m. & 10 p.m., FX Canada | Series Finale

When this ’80s-set spy?drama first premiered,? it was anyone’s guess ?how audiences would react to two undercover Soviet agents pretending to be an average suburban couple while secretly carrying out Cold? War missions on U.S. soil. The role? of Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) was written like a male lead, as she was the more patriotic, cold-hearted and die-hard half of the couple, while Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys) ?took on the more traditional female role of constantly questioning the status quo and eventually, wanting out altogether. Though it never quite became a ratings sensation, critics and a small-but-fervent fanbase were on board from the outset and the show quickly cemented its legacy as one of the finest television creations of all time.

This week, all of the action, intrigue and incisive social commentary comes to an end with the season-six finale, which also serves as the series finale. In it, the Jennings will face (yet another) hard choice — one that will ultimately seal their fate.

7. Reverie – Wednesday, May 30, 10 p.m., Global & NBC | Series Premiere

If Sarah Shahi believes acting takes her into another world… well, that’s more literal than ever now.

Seen earlier this month in a guest-star return to Chicago Fire, the Person of Interest alum resumes full-time series work as the NBC fantasy drama Reverie premieres this week.

From Extant creator Mickey Fisher and studio Amblin Television, the show casts Shahi as an ex-hostage negotiator turned professor. She leaves the classroom when her old boss (Dennis Haysbert, 24) enlists her to retrieve people who have become so immersed in a virtual reality dream-fulfillment space called Reverie that they’ve lost control of their consciousness.

8. My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman – Thursday, May 31, Netflix | Season Finale

This season, David Letterman has sat down with the cream of the celebrity crop, from George Clooney to Jay-Z to Malala Yousafzai. Here, he wraps up by conversing with controversial radio icon Howard Stern.

9. Mermaids – Thursday, May 31, 11:40 a.m., ENC2

In 1963, single mom Rachel Flax (Cher) moves to a small Massachusetts town with? her daughters—15-year-old Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and nine-year-old Kate (Christina Ricci). Amidst national tragedies, broken hearts and bitter family squabbles, the Flax women find a way to pull each other through.

10. Undercover Boss: Celebrity Edition – Friday, June 1, 8 p.m., CBS

Amidst an ever-evolving television landscape, Undercover Boss has remained a constant, unchanging reality staple. Each season, a new crop? of powerful people don a (normally pretty terrible) disguise to mingle with their employees on an average work day, and in the process gain some perspective on how the other half lives.

But this season of the Emmy-winning show, which debuted earlier this month, has been tweaking the tried-and-true formula via a celebrity edition, in which stars like actress Idina Menzel (Frozen), singer Darius Rucker, celeb chef Marcus Samuelsson and Olympic hero Gabby Douglas go undercover “to find talented people and make dreams come true.”

Up this week is eight-time Pro Bowler, two-?time Super Bowl champ Deion Sanders, who goes incognito in an attempt to scout the next great football coach.