Rutherford Falls (Peacock series) — The newest Michael Schur sitcom is doing the streaming thing, and this show is flat-out putting its location in the title, in lockstep with the co-creator’s fixation with location. Can Rutherford Falls match up with Scranton and Pawnee, in the long run? That remains to be seen, but Ed Helms stars as Nathan Rutherford, who is (obviously, due to the last name) inextricably tied to the town’s history, and Nathan’s not taking too kindly to a movement to eject a historical statue. There’s more to that topic than one would assume, and the wrangling of Nathan seems down to his lifelong best pal, portrayed by Jana Schmieding. This looks about as refreshingly and delightfully offbeat as one would expect from The Good Place creator because everything he touches is magic.
Bigger (BET+ series) — Season 2 brings back the fan-favorite Will Packer comedy about thirty-somethings living in Atlanta, while they attempt to maneuver their way through, well, life. That would include professional, personal and other such obstacles, all while they’re searching for love and dealing with uncomfortable truths on occasion. The whole season’s dropping at once, only on BET+
Life in Colour with David Attenborough (Netflix series) — Earth Day needed this three-part series, and so does your soul. Or at least, I’m assuming that your soul will be soothed while watching Sir David Attenborough traveling from Costa Rica’s rainforests to Scottish Highlands’ snow-covered landscape to show the world how animals make extraordinary use of color. The show promises “revolutionary camera technology created specifically for this series” (according to Netflix) to reveal, uh, invisible-to-us colors? It’s fascinating, especially the details about a butterfly wing sending “seemingly magical ultraviolet signals” and the revelation of what a Bengal tiger’s stripes truly signal.
Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World (PBS, 8:00pm & 9:00 EST) — This series continues to follow Greta’s journey from Switzerland (at the World Economic Forum) to Poland, and a bonus episode takes her to Poland, where she spreads hope for how everyone can help limit climate change.
2040 (CW, 8:00pm EST) — This documentary film also tackles solutions to climate change while exploring how the future might be if humanity gets its sh*t together.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC, 9:00pm EST) — Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) and Fin (Ice-T) welcomed back Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) a few episodes ago. This week, Benson deals with a hostage situation, and Rollins has a family issue.
Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC, 10:00pm EST) — Here’s that full-on Stabler Time, baby. This week, Benson is on the scene (!) at a Stabler family event while the Wheatleys are also doing something sketchy (probably) at their own family gathering.
Secrets of the Whales (Nat Geo series on Disney+) — This four-part special event aims to celebrate Earth Day while exploring the newest technology to spotlight whales, including their friendships and traditions, and plenty of expertise shall be revealed by National Geographic Explorer and Photographer Brian Skerry.
Spy City (AMC+ original series) — Preacher‘s Dominic Cooper stars as an English spy in 1960s Berlin, right before the Berlin Wall goes up. He’s tasked with locating a traitor among the Allies or in the UK embassy, and he’s possibly surrounded by spies and double agents. He’s also dancing around the threat of nuclear war while American, British, and French troops are barely separated from their East German and Soviet counterparts. Good luck?
Stowaway (Netflix film) — For All Mankind arguably sets the bar too high for every other space travel-focused streaming offering out there, but listen up because the cast is the real treat. Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson, and Toni Collette are a dream-team when it comes to delivering the drama. As you may have guessed from the title, there’s an (inadvertent) stowaway aboard a three-person mission to Mars, and that’s going to affect the oxygen supply in a crucial way. It’s not the most original space crisis you’ll ever see, but with a cast like this, the freak-out performances (and the solving of the dilemma within mere hours) are guaranteed to be worth the click.
Rebel (ABC, 10:00pm EST) — Sons of Anarchy‘s Katey Sagal stars as an Erin Brockovich-inspired protagonist in this series that’s executive produced both by Brockovich and Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff. This week, Rebel’s fighting for clean water while Cassidy’s got a new role, and Grady’s irked with Rebel.
