6 things you have to watch on TV this weekend
Catch Natasha Lyonne on SNL, an Apple TV Plus thriller, a Tesla doc, and more
Welcome to the weekend edition of What’s On. Here are the big things happening on TV from Friday, May 20 to Sunday, May 22. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekly What’s On will publish on Sundays.]
1. Rosie Perez leads bilingual thriller Now & Then
Friday, Apple TV+, 12:01 a.m.: Set in Miami, Now & Then follows a group of college best friends who reunite 20 years later when a threat about their past puts their seemingly perfect worlds at risk. The cast of the English-and-Spanish thriller includes Rosie Perez, Marina de Tavira, Željko Ivanek, Maribel Verdú, and Manolo Cardona. In his review, Manuel Betancourt writes:
“The show may well also remind you of I Know What You Did Last Summer, especially when, 20 years later, the five survivors get a text threatening to out their lurid secret: two people died in a crash, but from the looks of it, neither did so from the collision. It’s a mystery that decades later still frustrates detective Flora Neruda (Rosie Perez, always a welcome presence on our screens).”
2. Judd Apatow co-directs a George Carlin doc
Friday, HBO, 8 p.m.: The two-part documentary, directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, tracks legendary comedian George Carlin’s rise to fame and his personal life, including his childhood in New York City, a long struggle with drugs, and his brushes with the law. Keep an eye out for The A.V. Club’s review on the site today.
3. Natasha Lyonne closes out this season of SNL
NBC, Saturday, 11:29 p.m.: Natasha Lyonne goes from time loops and time travel in Russian Doll to (finally) hosting SNL. She’ll take over studio 8H for the season 47 finale with musical guest Japanese Breakfast. Here’s hoping she teams up with Chloe Fineman, who we already know excels at her Lyonne impression.
4. J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek lead Night Sky
Prime Video, Friday, 12:01 a.m.: Created by Holden Miller and Daniel C. Connolly, this sci-fi drama follows a married couple, Franklin (J.K. Simmons) and Irene York (Sissy Spacek), who discover a portal in their backyard that leads to a deserted planet. They’re still processing the death of their son, and the arrival of a stranger further upends their life. Lauren Chval writes in her review:
When you separate out the more fantastical elements, Night Sky is a quiet, poignant exploration of family and legacy. It asks big questions: What do we inherit from our parents? Are we doomed to repeat their mistakes? When two people in a marriage need different things, whose needs win out? What defines us as people, and how far will we go to prove that we’re special? It’s these queries—rather than the more obvious ones about Jude and where he came from—that elevate Night Sky to something more interesting.
5. Brace yourself for Elon Musk’s Crash Course
FX, Friday, 10 p.m.: The New York Times Presents’ film series returns with a new episode on tech billionaire Elon Musk. Directed by Emma Schwartz, it will dive into the autopilot capabilities in Tesla vehicles, as well as the “quixotic nature” of Musk’s pursuit of self-driving technology. Elon Musk’s Crash Course will also include interviews with several former Tesla employees, who speak out against him for promoting a program that they believe is perilous.
6. A new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars begins
Paramount+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.: Season seven of this reality series will consist of 12 new episodes, debuting on May 20 with a two-part premiere. Expect past winners from the competition, as well as celebrity judges including Cameron Diaz, Ben Platt, Hannah Einbinder, Ronan Farrow, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Janicza Bravo. The A.V. Club will recap the show weekly.