What’s on TV this week—This Is Us ends and Ghost In The Shell returns
Plus, one of TV's best dramas has a mid-season finale, Hulu drops a true-crime doc, an Amish exposé hits Peacock, and more
TV Features Ghost In The Shell
Welcome to What’s On, our weekly picks of must-watch shows. Here’s what you need to watch from Sunday, May 22 to Thursday, May 26. All times are Eastern. [Note: The weekend edition of What’s On drops on Fridays.]
The biggies
Ghost In The Shell (Netflix, Monday, 3:01 a.m.)
A decade after the events of landmark anime Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Netflix’s SAC_2045 catches back up with Major Kusanagi (Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in the English dub) and her team of special-ops cyborgs (or at least they’re mostly cyborgs) as they deal with a terrorist group called N. Season two will also carry the thread of season one’s “posthumans,” a new breed of super-strong and super-intelligent cyborgs who want to break free from humanity. This batch is directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who recently worked on Disney+’s anime project Star Wars: Visions. The A.V. Club’s review will be up on the site next week. [Sam Barsanti]
This Is Us (NBC, Tuesday, 9 p.m., series finale)
This is it for This Is Us. After six seasons of the Pearson clan making audiences sob, weep, and heave—remember Jack’s (Milo Ventimiglia) big death reveal episode or Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall’s (Sterling K. Brown) many brotherly fights?—the show comes to an end. While the family bid Rebecca goodbye (Mandy Moore) in last week’s beautiful penultimate episode, the series finale reunites her with Jack in the afterlife and will probably catch us up on how everyone’s lives turned out. We certainly need more information on how Randall won the Senate race, right? Caroline Siede’s last recap will publish after the episode airs. In the meantime, let’s start the Emmy campaign for Moore right away.
Hidden gems
Prehistoric Planet (Apple TV+, Monday, 12:01 a.m.)
The iconic Sir David Attenborough narrates this docuseries that transports viewers 66 million years in the past to explore how the dinosaurs lived on, ahem, our planet. Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer provides an original background score, while the co-producers include Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton. The five episodes will drop one day at a time from May 23 to 27.
Keeper Of The Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders (Hulu, Tuesday, 12:01 a.m.)
Actor and singer Kristen Chenoweth will return to her Oklahoma hometown in this four-part true crime docuseries. It covers the 1977 murders of three young girl scouts who were killed at a Locust Grove summer camp. Chenoweth revealed that she was actually supposed to go on the fateful trip, but had to cancel because of an illness. The show looks at the suspects in the case and features interviews with surviving family members and law enforcement officials who continue to investigate it.
Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m.)
Philip Rosenthal’s travel documentary series returns for a five-episode fifth season. The writer and producer will visit Oaxaca, Helsinki, and Madrid, as well as Portland (both in Maine and Oregon). The Emmy-nominated show has already been renewed for season six, which will arrive this fall.
More good stuff
Ricky Gervais: Supernature (Netflix, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.)
Netflix is finally releasing Ricky Gervais’ stand-up special, an act he’s taken on tour since 2020. The comedian, actor, frequent awards-show host, and co-creator of the original The Office will take the stage in Supernature to joke about lots of things, including but not limited to spoiling cats, Hitler, and AIDS. You’ve been warned.
Sins Of The Amish (Peacock, Tuesday, 3:01 a.m.)
Directed by Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy, this two-part docuseries is an exposé on the underbelly of the Amish community. It offers first-hand accounts of victims who take a stand against the widespread crimes within their community that go unreported or unpunished.
Look At Me: XXXTentacion (Hulu, Thursday, 12:01 a.m.)
Sabaah Folayan’s documentary explores how Florida teenager Jahseh Onfroy became famous SoundCloud rapper XXXTentacion, examining his troubled life before his death at the age of 20.
Can’t miss recaps
Barry (HBO, Sunday, 10 p.m.)
Better Call Saul (AMC, Monday, 9 p.m., midseason finale)
Ending soon
The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy (Fox, Sunday, 8-10:30 p.m., season finales)
61st Street (AMC, Sunday, 10 p.m., season one finale)
All American and All American: Homecoming (The CW, Monday, 8-10 p.m., season finales)
The Neighborhood, Bob Hearts Abishola, NCIS, NCIS: Hawai’i (CBS, Monday, 8-11 p.m., season finales)
Young Rock (NBC, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., season two finale)
New Amsterdam (NBC, Tuesday, 10 p.m., season four finale)
The Circle (Netflix, Wednesday, 3:01 a.m., season four finale)
Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. (NBC, Wednesday, 8-11 p.m., season finales)
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max, Thursday, 3:01 a.m., season two finale)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, Thursday, 8 p.m., two-hour season 18 finale)
Welcome To Flatch (Fox, Thursday, 9 p.m., season one finale)
5 Comments
TUAYPCW: I come not to bury Legends Of Tomorrow but to revive it! Let’s screw things up for the better!
https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com/2022/05/17/save-legends-of-tomorrow-save-the-timeline/ https://www.savelegendsoftomorrow.com My favorite episode of Black Mirror is Made For Love. Season 2 was very fun. There’s something about the way it’s filmed that gives it a vintage Doctor Who/HGTTG vibe.
Was season 1 of the new GitS show any good? The animation looked pretty junk and it’d have to be crazy good to live up to SAC, so I didn’t bother watching it.
I am a huge fan of GITS;SAC. I like season 1, and I like season 2 even more.GITS:SAC2045 is not quite as tightly written or as well scored, but I’m still enjoying it immensely. The entire American voice cast led by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is in top form.The animation is odd- nearly photo-realistic environments and vehicles, with under-articulated character animation. You get used to it.
24 30min episodes is not a huge investment if it doesn’t quite pay off.There is a 2-hr mid-season recap movie to give you a taste if you want to start there.
Hum ok I’ll give it a try.
Having fnishe the season, I can say it’s quite a ride. I don’t regret watching it at all.
The central plot >kinda< hangs together and the ending is pretty far out, either closing it off or blowing the future wide open for the franchise.