What's on TV this week—The Sympathizer and Under The Bridge
Plus, Conan O'Brien returns to TV, HBO and Paramount+ drop new docs, and more
Welcome to What’s On, our weekly picks of must-watch shows. Here’s what you need to watch from Sunday, April 14 to Thursday, April 18. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekend edition of What’s On drops on Fridays.]
The biggies
The Sympathizer (HBO, Sunday, 9 p.m.)
HBO gives Viet Thanh Nguyen’s acclaimed 2015 novel the limited-series treatment. The Sympathizer’s protagonist is the Captain (Hoa Xuande), a North Vietnam spy in South Vietnam’s army forced to flee to America towards the end of the war. He lives with a community of refugees, but his double agent days are far from over. Robert Downey Jr. plays four different antagonistic characters here, and the cast also includes Sandra Oh, Vy Le, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Duy Nguyễn, and Alan Trong. The A.V. Club will recap the show weekly.
Under The Bridge (Hulu, Wednesday, 12:01 a.m.)
Under The Bridge, based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book of the same name, unravels the horrifying 1997 murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk, an Indian teen bullied and killed by her peers. Riley Keough portrays Rebecca, an author visiting her Canadian hometown when the crime occurs. Lily Gladstone tackles the local police officer, Cam, while Archie Panjabi plays Reena’s grieving mother, Suman. The cast also features Anoop Desai, Javon Walton, Izzy G, and Chloe Guidry. The A.V. Club’s review publishes on Tuesday.
Hidden gems
Conan O’Brien Must Go (Max, Thursday, 3:01 a.m.)