HBO travels back to the dawn of Showtime — the 1980s L.A. Lakers, not the competing premium cable outlet — with a highly anticipated new series bowing this week. The March 2-8 period also brings the returns of Outlander, Riverdale and Star Trek: Picard; the debut of a Hulu series based on the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos saga; and Renee Zellweger’s first lead TV role in an NBC limited series.
Below is The Hollywood Reporter‘s rundown of premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. It would be next to impossible to watch everything, but let THR point the way to worthy options for the coming week. All times are ET/PT unless noted.
The Big Show
The book that forms the basis for HBO’s series about the 1980s Lakers is called Showtime — but HBO opted not to name the show after a rival. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty will chronicle how the drafting of Earvin “Magic” Johnson (played by Quincy Isaiah) in 1979 helped the Lakers rise back to the top of the NBA after a few frustrating seasons earlier int he decade.
The star-studded cast — which includes John C. Reilly, Jason Clarke, Sally Field, Adrien Brody and Jason Segel — and direction by Adam McKay and others makes for a show that “sports fans of a certain age are likely to become instantly obsessed with,” writes THR critic Daniel Fienberg. “The question, one I can’t immediately answer, is what crossover appeal Winning Time is going to have.” It premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO.
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Also on cable …
Close to two years after it last aired, Outlander returns to Starz for its sixth season at 9 p.m. Sunday. It’s followed at 10 p.m. by Shining Vale, a horror comedy starring Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear. After a season as a recurring segment on short-form showcase Cake, John Hodgman and David Rees’ Dicktown becomes a standalone series at 10 p.m. Thursday on FXX. The 37th Independent Spirit Awards air live at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT Sunday on IFC (and stream on AMC+).
On streaming …
New: The story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes has been told in books, documentaries and podcasts. Hulu is the first to dramatize the tale of ambition and fraud with The Dropout (Thursdsay, Hulu) —which is based on one of those padcasts, from ABC News. Amanda Seyfried plays Holmes, delivering an “excellent and enigmatic lead performance,” THR’s Fienberg writes. A stacked cast also helps “capture a sense of human scale” as it tells how Holmes’ grand vision for blood-testing startup Theranos went awry.
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Also: Peacock’s Joe vs. Carole (Thursday) is a dramatization of the Tiger King story. Season two of Star Trek: Picard debuts Thursday on Paramount+. HBO Max has two Thursday premieres in the Taika Waititi-directed pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death and thriller The Tourist, starring Jamie Dornan. Apple TV+’s The Problem With Jon Stewart begins a new run of (now weekly) episodes on Thursday as well. The Boys Presents: Diabolical (Friday, Prime Video) is an animated offshoot of the anti-superhero series. Toni Collette stars in Netflix’s Pieces of Her (Friday), based on a novel by Karin Slaughter. Apple TV+ has new seasons of animated comedy Central Park and docuseries Dear … on Friday. Amazon gets into the awards show business with the AMC Awards streaming on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT Monday.
On broadcast …
New: The real-life case that inspired The Thing About Pam has been covered in several episodes of Dateline and on a companion podcast (shades of The Dropout), and now it too gets the limited series treatment. Oscar winner Renee Zellweger plays the title role of a woman at the center of a murder case, an overturned conviction and a diabolical plan. It premieres at 10 p.m. Tuesday on NBC.
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Also: The CW’s Riverdale resumes its season on a new night, 8 p.m. Sundays, after a brief, five-episode outing in the late fall. NBC rolls out its spring Sunday lineup of Jane Austen-inspired dating show The Courtship (8 p.m.), game show Weakest Link (9 p.m.) and Canadian medical drama Transplant (10 p.m.).
Source: Hollywood
