What to Watch This Week: May 3 to 8

From police pratfalls to reality drama, we round up the top 10 shows to watch this week

1. The Real Housewives of Potomac – Sunday, May 3, 7 p.m., Slice | Season Premiere

If you’re craving a prescription for soapy reality to get yourself through these hectic times, then it’s a good thing that the doctor is in. We’re talking about Dr. Wendy Osefo, of course — a.k.a. the latest lady to join the Maryland branch of the Housewives franchise for season five. The Nigerian-American is being touted as this year’s triple threat: she’s a professor, a political analyst and an entrepreneur. As for the requisite “wife” end of things, she’s been married for nine years and is a mother of three—including a newborn daughter.

She’ll enter a world that is, as per usual, awash in romantic and interpersonal theatrics. There’s love in the air when Gizelle Bryant rekindles the relationship with her ex-husband, pastor Jamal Bryant. Elsewhere, Karen Huger and her hubby Ray are finally settled into their gorgeous new home, but when Karen discovers that Ray’s feelings may have shifted she begins to see her marriage in a whole new light. One couple that seems to be back on track when we pick up is Ashley Darby and Michael, but their bubble with new baby Dean is quickly popped when news of her man’s wild night on the town reaches the new mom’s ears. And then there’s Robyn Dixon and Juan—after six years under the same roof and two sons, Robyn feels like she might be ready to finally make things official. So many questions, so much drama. We can’t wait.

2. Westworld – Sunday, May 3, 8 p.m. & 11:55 p.m., HBO Canada | Season Finale

It’s been a season of reinvention for this sci-fi mind-bender, as the androids escaped their theme park and set about reshaping the “real” world in their own image. We have precious few details on the finale, other than it’s time to “face the music.”

3. Good Girls – Sunday, May 3, 10:01 p.m., NBC | Season Finale

It’s been an eventful few months for Beth (Christina Hendricks), Annie (Mae Whitman) and Ruby (Retta). The three women have gone from typical suburban moms to grocery-store stickup artists to currency counterfeiters to… well, just about every other type of criminal. Tonight, the third chapter in their Breaking Bad-esque saga comes to an end.

When Beth and Dean offer to buy Four Star Pool and Spa from Gayle, you know things won’t go according to plan—especially since Dean is determined to go legit. Meanwhile, tensions rise between Ruby and Stan, and Phoebe inches closer to the truth when she gets her paws on Ruby’s phone.

It all culminates in the trio making a very drastic decision that will no doubt change our heroes’ status quo in the (still-yet-to-be-confirmed) fourth season.

4. American Experience – Monday, May 4 & Tuesday, May 5, 6 p.m., WTVS; 9 p.m., KCTS

The scion of a political dynasty whose father had capped off a long career in government by serving a single term as president, George W. Bush has been widely criticized for being ill-prepared to lead America through some of its greatest crises, including the 9/11 terror attacks, the devastation that Hurricane Katrina visited on New Orleans and a crippling recession.

On Monday and Tuesday, PBS’s American Experience will debut the two-part biography W, featuring interviews with historians, journalists and several members of the president’s inner circle.

Written, directed and produced by Barak Goodman and executive produced by Mark Samels, the filmmakers discussed the polarizing former president during an appearance at the Television Critics Association press tour in January 2020.

“Not since Lincoln has such an inexperienced leader been called upon in a moment of genuine existential crisis,” said Goodman. “How Bush evolved in office under these pressures—at first struggling mightily, but later finding his feet—illuminates not only his character, but also the evolving nature of power and the presidency in an increasingly dangerous world.”

5. All Rise – Monday, May 4, 9 p.m., CTV & CBS

The pandemic has changed the way we all live our lives, and the TV biz hasn’t been immune—this virus has led to the shutdown of basically all filming across the globe. That said, several shows are experimenting with unconventional means of production.

Saturday Night Live has found a way to pick back up, the show’s stars and writers producing sketches at home while self-isolating. This week, we get to see what a network drama looks like in the age of COVID-19. In a special instalment of the freshman courtroom thriller, producers used Zoom, WebEx, FaceTime and other available communication technologies to craft a virtual episode in which all of the actors shot footage in their own homes. And it’s definitely a case of art imitating social distancing life, as rookie judge Lola is authorized to preside over a virtual trial given “current world events,” marking the first time she or anyone in her courthouse has had to do so. There’s another twist: this episode also features the first time Mark prosecutes in best pal Lola’s “court,” which means things are all but guaranteed to get personal.

6. Creepshow – Monday, May 4, 6 p.m. & 7:04 p.m. (repeating 8:05 p.m., 9:09 p.m. & 12:10 a.m.), AMC | Series Premiere

The beloved horror franchise is back in a new anthology series from Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead). Twelve chilling tales will be told across six weekly episodes starring David Arquette (Scream), Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), Tobin Bell (Saw), Big Boi (a.k.a. Antwan Patton), Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator), Kid Cudi (a.k.a. Scott Mescudi), Bruce Davison (X-Men), Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul), Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) and more.

7. Reno 911! – Monday, May 4, Quibi | Season Premiere

This week brings yet another television revival, in a whole new form.

Making its debut back in 2003, Reno 911! enjoyed a respectable six-season run, following the hilarious misadventures of a crew of inept police officers servicing Reno, Nevada, a.k.a. “the biggetst little city in the world.” The series also spawned the 2007 feature film Reno 911!: Miami.

Now the show is back on the recently launched Quibi streaming service, which is designed to be watched on phones and tablets, with an array of new series that share one key characteristic: all episodes are kept under 10 minutes in length.

The Reno 911! revival reunites all of the original cast: Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough, Carlos Alazraqui, Ian Roberts, Joe Lo Truglio, Mary Birdsong and Wendi McLendon-Covey.

As always, the crew of misfit cops is led by Lt. Jim Dangle (Lennon), who still favours his signature short shorts.

8. Riverdale – Wednesday, May 6, 8 p.m., The CW | Season Finale

Don’t expect closure from the fourth-season finale, as filming on the Vancouver-shot series was halted when a crew member was feared to have contracted COVID-19. As a result, fans will have to wait until next season for all those loose ends to be tied up in the ongoing saga of Archie and the gang.

9. Meat the Future – Thursday, May 7, 8 p.m., CBC

Liz Marshall (The Ghosts in Our Machine) helms an in-depth look at “clean meat,” which involves growing real meat from animal cells—without slaughtering any actual animals. Aside from being more humane, this practice, if adopted on a large scale, could also greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

10. Dead to Me – Friday, May 8, Netflix | Season Premiere

In its first season, this darkly comedic series—and that’s with a definite emphasis on the “darkly”—followed Jen (Christina Applegate) as she dealt with her husband’s death at the hands of a hit-and-run while forging a new friendship with Judy (Linda Cardellini), a woman who… well, let’s just say she has more than a passing familiarity with Jen’s situation, but we hate to detail it any more than that, just in case the arrival of season two serves as the impetus for you to finally check out season one. That said, last season’s ending definitely left a lot of people screaming at their sets about having to wait to find out what was going to happen next, so there are going to be a lot of viewers ready to jump headlong into these new episodes.

When they do, they’ll see Jen and Judy frantically trying to figure out how to deal with what’s happened, which is particularly difficult when they’ve got Detective Perez (Diana-Maria Riva) sniffing around. Talk about a test of friendship…