Also: the return of ‘Orphan Black,’ the voice of Chris Pine, and a new show produced by Jim Carrey.
Emotions will be felt throughout this week as we say goodbye to The Leftovers and start to say goodbye to Orphan Black while comedy gets very serious in the new season of Orange is the New Black, the new series I’m Dying Up Here, and the new comedian-filled documentary If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast. We’re also tuning into programs narrated by Chris Pine and Samuel L. Jackson and one of the best episodes of Fargo this season.
To help you keep track of the most important programs over the next seven days, here’s our guide to everything worth watching, whether it’s on broadcast, cable, or streaming for June 4th-10th (all times Eastern):
SUNDAY
The Leftovers (HBO, 9pm)
We say goodbye to one of the best shows on television — and maybe the one with the most perfect shots — with the eighth and final episode of the season, which is also the series finale, titled “The Book of Nora.” No matter what happens in the end, as Carrie Coon’s Nora seems prepared to die, can we agree that Mimi Leder, who is back as director, deserves to finally make another blockbuster movie 20 years after the release of her underrated, underperforming Deep Impact? Anyway, for the finale of this show, we’re not expecting anything shocking in terms of plot as much as an emotional character-focused conclusion. We’re crying either way.
I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime, 10pm)
If you need a pick me up after the Leftovers finale, you might not find it with this new show, which continues in the tradition of movies and series about comedians (Seinfeld excluded) often being downers. Jim Carrey is one of the executive producers of this series set in the stand-up scene of 1970s Los Angeles (Carrey started during that time but in Toronto), and it looks more drama than laugh fest. The ensemble cast includes Oscar winner Melissa Leo, Ari Graynor, Al Madrigal, Clark Duke, Michael Angarano, RJ Cyler, and Jake Lacy — basically a bunch who can be trusted to very funny but also deliver very serious performances. We’re hopeful for this one.
Also on Sunday:
The White Princess E8: “Old Curses” — season finale (Starz, 8pm)
American Gods S1E6: “A Murder of Gods” (Starz, 9pm)
Fear the Walking Dead S3E1 & S3E2: “Eye of the Beholder” and “New Frontier” (AMC, 9pm)
Twin Peaks: The Return: “Part 5” (Showtime, 9pm)
Silicon Valley S4E7: “The Patent Troll” (HBO, 10:15pm)
Decker: Unsealed S5E1 (Cartoon Network, 12am)
*No Veep this week*
MONDAY
If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast (HBO, 8pm)
If you saw the recent documentary Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You and wanted more of the meeting between Lear, Mel Brooks, and Carl Reiner, there appears to be more of that and other similar gatherings in this film about nonagenarians. In addition to those three, Reiner being the doc’s host, there are interviews with Betty White, Stan Lee, Dick Van Dyke, Tony Bennett, and more icons in their 90s (plus track and field star Ida Keeling, who was 100 when the doc was made). Sadly, some of the subjects (Fyvush Finkel, Irving Fields) have died since appearing. The film doesn’t promise to be much more than a bunch of talking heads but should still be inspiring.
Also on Monday:
Casual S3E5: “Look at Me” (Hulu)
Gotham S3E21 & S3E22: “Heroes Rise: Destiny Calls” and “Heroes Rise: Heavydirtysou” (Fox, 8pm)
The Bachelorette S13E3 (ABC, 9pm)
Bill Cosby: American Scandal: doc debut (ID, 9pm)
Better Call Saul S3E8: “Slip” (AMC, 10pm)
Angie Tribeca S3E9 (TBS, 10:30pm)
TUESDAY
Breakthrough (National Geographic, 10pm)
The final episode of the second season of Breakthrough doesn’t have as significant a director as Shane Carruth or Ana Lily Amirpour, but Shalini Kantayya (Catching the Sun) is still a great talent for the series, and she’s joined by Chris Pine, who everyone is loving in Wonder Woman right now, for a narrator. The focus of this episode, titled “Power to the People,” is electricity. While some of it is about breakthroughs in alternative power sources, the centerpiece is microgrids, self-contained power supplies bringing electricity to remote parts of the world that still haven’t had it. Kantayya shows us one being brought to a monastery in the Himalayas.
Also on Tuesday:
Animal Kingdom S2E2: “Karma” (TNT, 9pm)
Genius S1E7: “Chapter Seven” (National Geographic, 9pm)
iZombie S3E10: “Return of the Dead Guy” (CW, 9pm)
WEDNESDAY
Fargo (FX, 10pm)
This show always gets pretty intense on the back end of a season, and this eighth episode of Season 3 is one of its best this year. “Who Rules the Land of Denial” is very bloody and very weird and features a nice nod to The Big Lebowski. That’s about as much as I can or will say. Oh, and that the appearance from Season 1’s “Mr. Wrench” (Russell Harvard) in the last episode wasn’t just a cameo (another familiar face also returns for another cameo). There is a certain aesthetic, an almost black and white look, and tone to this episode that continues a disjointedness with the third season, but like some other episodes this year it works better as a mostly separate part.
Also on Wednesday:
The Handmaid’s Tale S1E9: “The Bridge” (Hulu)
Catfish S6E15 (MTV, 8pm)
Gomorrah S3E10 (Sundance, 10pm)
THURSDAY
I Am Not Your Negro (Amazon)
If you still haven’t seen Raoul Peck’s Oscar-nominated documentary based on an unfinished James Baldwin manuscript (“Remember This House”), there’s little excuse now if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber. The film is available through the service starting Thursday. I Am Not Your Negro features the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, who reads Baldwin’s words on his fallen friends Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers, and on the Civil Rights Movement while archival footage of them and Baldwin is compiled for a very contemporary indictment of race relations in America. The modern relevance is especially significant considering Baldwin died 30 years ago.
Also on Thursday
Queen of the South S2E1: “El Cuerpo de Cristo” — Season 2 premiere (USA, 10pm)
FRIDAY
Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
Season 4 of Orange is the New Black ended with a shocking and devastating death and then a cliffhanger involving a prison riot. What possibly could be in store for Season 5, especially as it continues to deal with the tragedy and whatever is the outcome of that off-screen gunshot? Apparently it actually takes place over the course of only three days, so that’s pretty much all direct aftermath, and it’s been described by one cast member as “intense.” It’s definitely different. With such a short timeline, it’s probably going to be more difficult than usual to watch the 13 episodes over an extended time. Three days, huh? Sounds like the same time as a weekend binge.
Shimmer Lake (Netflix)
If you’re not an Orange is the New Black watcher, then here’s another new Netflix Original offering with an interesting timeline. Oren Uziel, who wrote the next sci-fi script to be turned into a Cloverfield movie, makes his directorial debut with this mystery thriller that plays backwards, Memento-style, through one week. Benjamin Walker stars in the movie as a small town sheriff investigating a bank robbery gone wrong, and the cast also includes Rainn Wilson, Stephanie Sigman, Rob Corddry, Wyatt Russell, John Michael Higgins, and Ron Livingston.
Also on Friday:
My Only Love Song: series debut (Netflix)
Le Mans: Racing is Everything: doc debut (Amazon)
RuPaul’s Drag Race S9E12 (VH1, 8pm)
Becoming Cary Grant: doc debut (Showtime, 9pm)
SATURDAY
Orphan Black (BBC America, 10pm)
The fifth and final season of Orphan Black begins with the episode “The Few Who Dare” (this time all the titles come from the Ella Wheeler Wilcox poem “1695”) and all the clones (Tatiana Maslany x 6) scattered about, though most of them are on the mysterious island where 170-year-old Neolutioist leader P.T. Moreland (Stephen McHattie) resides. Most of the details of this concluding season are being kept a secret, of course, but many fans are assuming or wondering if one or more of the sestras will die by the end. Following this episode, there will only be nine more left, plenty of time for the women to find answers and defend their right to individual freedom.
Also on Saturday:
Idiotsittter S2E1 & S2E2 & S2E3 & S2E4: Season 2 premiere (Comedy Central, 8pm)
Doctor Who S10E9: “The Empress of Mars” (BBC America, 9pm)
Related Topics: Orange is the New Black
