Welcome to the weekend edition of What’s On. Here are the big things happening on TV from Friday, April 29 to Sunday, May 1. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekly What’s On will publish on Sundays.]
1 and 2. Netflix ends Ozark and Grace And Frankie
Friday, 3:01 a.m.: Two of Netflix’s tentpole TV shows are wrapping up on the same day. Crime drama Ozark—starring Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, and Julia Garner—will end with a seven-episode season 4B. Check the site later today for A.V. Club’s review. We’ll also find out if Ozark managed to answer several of our burning questions in its series finale.
Also closing shop with its seventh season’s second half is Netflix’s longest-running series, Grace And Frankie, the comedy led by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
3 and 4. Apple TV+ drops season finales of Pachinko and Slow Horses
Friday, 12:01 a.m.: We hope you’ve kept up with two of Apple TV+’s most exciting new shows of the year. Soo Hugh’s Pachinko, an immersive series adapted from Min Jin Lee’s novel of the same name, drops its season-one finale. British spy drama Slow Horses, led by Gary Oldman, is also airing its first-season finale today. Here’s hoping the network brings both back for another round.
5. Elisabeth Moss stars in another thriller (what else is new?)
Friday, 12:01 a.m.: Apple TV+ may be losing two shows, but it’s also gaining an Elisabeth Moss-led metaphysical thriller wherein, no surprise, she plays a woman going through severe trauma. Based on Lauren Beukes’ novel, Shining Girls follows Kirby Mazrachi (Moss) and reporter Dan Velazquez (Wagner Moura). They team up to hunt down a time-traveling serial killer who assaulted and left Kirby for dead several years ago.
Look out for The A.V. Club’s interview with Moura about the three-episode series premiere on Friday. Here’s an excerpt from David Cote’s review:
Shining Girls unfolds slowly, like Zodiac on Xanax, which could be a hypnotic vibe to some, or an enervating one to others. In order to keep us hooked, especially after the ground rules are established in the first four episodes, the show’s writers and directors parcel out details.
6. Hulu debuts a queer teen rom-com
Friday, 12:01 a.m.: If you’re already missing last week’s ridiculously sweet Heartstopper, tune into Hulu’s Crush next. Directed by Sammi Cohen, the film follows an aspiring young artist forced to join her high-school track team. She uses it as an opportunity to pursue the girl she’s crushing on, but falls for an unexpected teammate instead. The cast includes Rowan Blanchard, Auli’i Cravalho, Tyler Alvarez, Aasif Mandvi, Michelle Buteau, and Megan Mullally.
7. SNL’s Vanessa Bayer leads her own TV comedy on Showtime
Sunday, 8:30 p.m.: Vanessa Bayer is returning to TV in her first full-time role post-SNL. The actor co-creates and stars in I Love That For You, partially based on her own upbringing. She plays Joanna Gold, an aspiring host for a QVC-like shopping channel who uses her former leukemia diagnosis to keep her job. Molly Shannon and Jenifer Lewis also star. The episodes will drop early on Fridays on the Showtime app. Here’s an excerpt from Manuel Betancourt’s review:
On SNL, [Bayer’s] teenage girls were unspeakably awkward, her wives one indignity away from burning it all down. Her most recognizable characters made you cringe in all the right ways. Which is all to say that her Joanna, the lead character in Showtime’s I Love That For You, feels like an SNL bit tailor-made for Bayer—and that’s both the show’s strength and, potentially, its biggest shortcoming.