The traditional fall-to-spring TV season comes to an end in the week of May 18, and right on its heels are a host of premieres to kick off the summer cycle. Also on tap are a high-profile streaming drama, the return of a major TV sport and the last few broadcast finales of the regular season.
Here is The Hollywood Reporter's rundown of some of the coming week's highlights. It would be next to impossible to watch everything, but let THR point the way to worthy options each week. All times are ET/PT unless noted.
The Big Show
Amazon's Homecoming will forever be known as the show that brought Julia Roberts to her first regular role on a TV series. But there was a whole lot more to it in its first season as it delved into a mystery surrounding the company behind a program ostensibly designed to help veterans.
Roberts is no longer on camera (she remains an exec producer), but season two of Homecoming deepens the mystery by introducing a new central character played by Janelle Monáe, who's introduced waking up in a boat in the middle of a lake, with no idea how she got there or who she is. Stephan James and Hong Chau reprise their roles, and Chris Cooper and Joan Cusack also star. Season two debuts Friday.
Also on streaming …
DC Comics series Stargirl premieres Monday on DC Universe (and Tuesday on The CW); The Big Flower Fight (Monday, Netflix) is a competition show featuring supersized floral arrangements; a series based on Sherryl Woods' Sweet Magnolias novels debuts Tuesday on Netflix, as does Patton Oswalt's stand-up special I Love Everything; Friday brings new seasons of Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series and Selling Sunset to Netflix and the premiere of game show The Big Fib to Disney+.
On broadcast …
New: Fox kicks off its summer season with a pair of unscripted shows — competition Ultimate Tag at 9 p.m. Wednesday and pregnancy dating show Labor of Love at 9 p.m. Thursday. A trailer for Ultimate Tag is below.
Returning: The final season of The 100 kicks off at 8 p.m. Wednesday on The CW; ABC's Holey Moley and To Tell the Truth start new seasons at 9 and 10 p.m. Thursday; Burden of Truth begins its third season on The CW at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Specials: After The Dance (8 p.m. Tuesday, ABC) breaks down ESPN's docuseries The Last Dance; The Story of Soaps (9 p.m. Tuesday, ABC) details the influence of soap operas on TV and pop culture; NBC's annual Red Nose Day fundraiser kicks off with Celebrity Escape Room at 8 p.m. Thursday; PBS airs the annual National Memorial Day Concert at 8 p.m. May 24.
Finales: The season ends for The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart (8 p.m. Monday, ABC), The Voice (9 p.m. Tuesday, NBC) and The Masked Singer (8 p.m. Wednesday, Fox).
On cable …
New: FX's first feature documentary, AKA Jane Roe (9 p.m. Friday), examines the life of the woman at the center of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.
Finale: HBO's comic thriller Run closes out its seven-episode season at 10:30 p.m. May 24.
Returning: New seasons of At Home With Amy Sedaris (10 p.m. Wednesday, TruTV) and Jay Leno's Garage (10 p.m. Wednesday, CNBC), plus a remotely shot Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party special (10 p.m. Thursday, TruTV).
In case you missed it …
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ended its series run more than a year ago, but it returned last week with an interactive special, Kimmy vs. the Reverend. The special lets viewers determine where the story goes at several points, leading to a number of different endings a whole lot of alternate jokes. It's streaming on Netflix.
