Weekend Preview: ‘Lucifer’ Returns, ‘Hoops’ Debuts, And ‘Ted Lasso’ Is Still Very Much Worth Your Eyeballs

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

Lucifer (Netflix series) — The urban fantasy/police procedural throws out a love letter to fans who’ve kept the show going, years past its original conclusion on Fox. There’s double-duty from Tom Ellis and his satanic mojo this season as both Lucifer and Lucifer 2.0, and this season gets experimental with a noir episode and a “show inside a show” called called ¡Diablo! It’s a good time for all, long past the days when this Lucifer Morningstar originated in The Sandman comics.

Hoops (Netflix series) — Jake Johnson voices a foul-mouthed basketball coach in the latest adult-themed animation offering from Netflix. He’s here to turn his miserable life around by cursing at kids, and Guy Fieri guest stars alongside a lineup that includes Rob Riggle, Natasha Leggero, Ron Funches, Cleo King, A.D. Miles, and New Girl alumni Max Greenfield and Hannah Simone.

In case you missed these offerings:

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+ series) — Jason Sudeikis is reviving his small-time college football coach character (who hails back to a 2013 advertising campaign) for this show. Lasso is somehow coaching professional English soccer, and good luck to him. What’s even more important, though, is that our own Brian Grubb calls the series “almost unreasonably good,” despite the seeming odds against it.

An American Pickle (HBO Max) — Seth Rogen‘s dual roles have arrived, and the end product is both touching and hilarious to witness. Rogen plays a 1920s Jewish immigrant who falls into a vat of pickle juice and is perfectly “brined” for 100 years, so suspend your disbelief and enjoy the surprising amount of nuance here. It’s both an interesting match-up and a truly inspired Jewish version of Encino Man.

A few more streaming options for this weekend:

Love in the Time of Corona (Freeform limited series also on Hulu, Sat & Sun) — This Covid-themed event might be a case of “too soon,” but regardless, this four-episode series (which will broadcast over two evenings) explores couples who are looking for love while social distancing. The shoots all took place post-lockdown, and the series appears to achieve higher production values than we’re seeing on Zoom platforms, if one can buckle down for the theme.

The Sleepover (Netflix film) — Malin Akerman stars as a seemingly typical stay-at-home mom who’s actually in the witness protection program after a lucrative run as a high-end thief. Mom’s ex-flame (Joe Manganiello) arrives to shake up her family’s little world and give them an action-packed night that sounds like chaos.

Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:

Room 104 (Friday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — The fourth season of the Duplass Brothers’ bizarre playground continues with a 1990s family who gets stuck in the room until someone tries to change the script on reality.

Lovecraft Country (Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — This 1950s-set dark fantasy series blew away expectations with last week’s premiere. This week, Atticus, Leti, and George attempt to make sense of their previously terrifying night of monsters to sort out exactly what’s going on with their Ardham Lodge hosts, who have cryptic plans.

The Chi (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Ronnie attempts to find absolution while Jada is doling out advice and life’s having maturing effects on Kevin, Jake, and Papa.

NOS4A2 (Sunday, AMC & BBC America 10:00 p.m.) — The last stand against Charlie Manx is afoot with Vic and Maggie facing off against the not-so-immortal-after-all psychic vampire.

The Vow (Sunday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — The NXIVM organization (known as the “sex cult” partially led by Allison Mack) gets a deep dive that promises to dig under the audience’s skin.

We Hunt Together (Sunday, Showtime 10:00 p.m.) — A deadly duo — a former child soldier named Baba and Freddie — finds themselves drawn together (to commit murder). Two detectives are hot on the trail, as the murderers have claimed victim number three.

Desus & Mero (Sunday, Showtime 10:30 p.m.) — The illustrious guest is Saweetie.

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