From the return of acclaimed comedy Hacks to Jon Hamm’s intriguing new drama series, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

1. An Evening with Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Sunday, April 6, Global & CBS

An evening of melodious music awaits in this new concert special featuring rock legend Elton John and Grammy-winning singer Brandi Carlile (who are also the musical guests on this week’s edition of Saturday Night Live). Filmed at the legendary London Palladium — and hitting the air just 11 days later — the two recording artists perform a selection of their solo hits, in addition to some new songs from their upcoming joint album, Who Believes in Angels? 

“Between these electrifying solo and duo performances, Elton and Brandi will also invite the audience into an intimate sit-down conversation on stage that will pull back the curtain on their 20-year friendship, the profound journey behind their latest collaboration and share intimate footage from their process,” declares a CBS press release. “Additionally, throughout the evening, those closest to Elton and Brandi will pay emotional tributes to the artists’ illustrious careers.”

2. Kill Tony: Kill or Be Killed – Monday, April 7, Netflix

One of the world’s top comedy podcasts, Kill Tony looks to expand its reach — and ruffle more feathers — with the first of three new Netflix specials.

Hosted by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe (who courted controversy last year by performing at a Trump rally), the podcast finds its emcee and various celeb guests giving a showcase to aspiring standup comics, who perform their act and then reap the benefits/whirlwind as Hinchcliffe et al. evaluate their work. Netflix’s synopsis teases that this Kill or Be Killed special will, more or less, mimic that format: “A bucket, a mic and one minute to win over Tony Hinchcliffe and a panel of famous guests. This is standup at its most unforgiving — and unpredictable.”

Added Mr. Hinchcliffe in a release: “It’s the most spontaneous and improvised show that is out there . . .”

3. The Handmaid’s Tale – Tuesday, April 8, CTV Drama | Series Premiere

Published in 1985, adapted for television in 2017 and, alas, more timely than ever in 2025, Canadian Margaret Atwood’s patriarchy-skewering novel turned Emmy-winning TV show returns for a farewell season.

Last year, we ended on freedom fighter June and baby Nichole illicitly boarding a train out of their Canadian sanctuary — only to come face-to-face with erstwhile nemesis Serena, who was stowed away with her own baby, Noah.

As for what’s ahead, the season-six press release teases: “June’s unyielding spirit and determination pull her back into the fight to take down Gilead. Luke and Moira join the resistance. Serena tries to reform Gilead while Commander Lawrence and Aunt Lydia reckon with what they have wrought, and Nick faces challenging tests of character.”

The end game debuts with two episodes this Tuesday on CTV Drama — but the first three episodes will stream on Crave that same day. Meanwhile, there’s already a spinoff in the works — titled The Testaments and set to jump 15 years ahead of where the current story ends. Click here to watch trailer.

4. The Death Coast – Tuesday, April 8, USA Network | Series Premiere  

This swashbucklin’ new series invites us to join the crew of Captain Jeff MacKinnon, a third-generation salvager from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. 

Partnered up with an array of former police, FBI and military divers, Jeff continues his family tradition of trawling the “Death Coast” — a charming little pocket of the North Atlantic that serves as the final resting place for an estimated 25,000 shipwrecks. 

It’s the most treacherous stretch of ocean in either North or South America . . . but with great risk comes unique opportunity, as lost artifacts and untold treasures lay at the bottom of these tumultuous waters.

The first of eight episodes premieres tonight, wherein Jeff uses a 300-year-old map to home in on the remains of 18th-century French cargo ship Le Chameau, which went down with a fortune in rare coins.

5. Hacks – Thursday, April 10, HBO Canada | Season Premiere

The relationship between standup legend Deborah Vance and struggling young writer Ava Daniels has always been a tenuous one. Since they were first paired up by their shared manager back in season one, the duo have pushed each other to greatness and stabbed each other in the back, in just about equal measure. 

It’s a volatile bond that’s attracted viewers and Emmys galore (including three in a row for star Jean Smart). Now, as season four arrives this Thursday with back-to-back episodes, the proverbial stage has been set to take their frenemy-ship to new extremes — both harrowing and uproarious.

Avid viewers will recall that season three ended with Deborah finally landing her dream job as host of a late-night talk show, only to betray Ava by pretending that the network refused to hire her as head writer — when, in fact, it was Deborah who made the call to keep Ava on the staff, but not in charge. Little did she know, Ava had picked up a few tricks during their time together, and promptly blackmailed Deb into giving her the head writer gig, lest she reveal a scandalous secret from the past.

That’s where we are to start season four — Deborah and Ava both have their dream jobs, breaking new ground for women in comedy. And yet, what should be the joyous culmination of everything they’ve spent their lives working towards is overshadowed by betrayal and suspicion.

As series co-creator Jen Statsky teased to Variety: “There’s such a propulsive element to the Deborah and Ava relationship where it’s at now that it’s like that new dynamic kind of informs everything. You have that as the base for everything . . . and then, the late night show has been Deborah’s white whale for so long. There’s a lot of things we’ve been waiting to do that now we get to do.” Click here to watch trailer.

6. G20 – Thursday, April 10, Prime Video

She won an Emmy for pulpy legal drama How to Get Away With Murder. She won an Oscar for poignant historical drama Fences. No doubt, over the course of her illustrious career, Viola Davis has proven adept at just about every conceivable acting challenge . . . which is what leads us to believe she’ll have no trouble pulling off her latest foray into uncharted creative territory: action hero.

In a role destined to draw comparisons to Harrison Ford’s turn in 1997’s Air Force One, this Prime original film casts Davis as U.S. President Danielle Sutton, who jets off to South Africa with her staffers and her family to attend the annual G20 summit. Alas, at this particular meeting, clashing with her fellow world leaders over economic conundrums is the least of President Sutton’s concerns when terrorists descend on the venue and execute a fiendish plot to shift the balance of geopolitical power. What the bad guys didn’t quite count on? This president is a former soldier — and even with her Secret Service detail down and out, she’s perfectly capable of kicking butt in defence of both her family and the American Way.

Rounding out the cast are black-ish alum Anthony Anderson as Sutton’s loving husband, and The Boys’ Antony Starr as the Big Bad.

Speaking with GQ recently, Davis mused on how her character differs from classic male heroes like Ford and Olympus Has Fallen’s Gerard Butler, who landed in the same cinematic scenario: “I think because she’s a woman, there’s a beautiful sort of alchemy. There’s a beautiful connection of intelligence, empathy and brawn. She uses her strength when she absolutely has to, and she doesn’t question it. At the same time, she still takes a higher road and protects the people that need protection. She’s very heroic in that sense, and in the other sense of really using her intelligence. All three are operating at full tilt.” Click here to watch trailer.

7. Billy and Dom Eat the World – Friday, April 11, Flavour Network | Series Premiere

In 2001, audiences the world over were introduced to a pair of mischievous, furry-footed critters named Pippin and Merry via fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. They were played by Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd. It was a career-launching opportunity for both actors . . . and yet, three films, a bunch of Oscars and endless acclaim later, the most valuable takeaway for both men may just be their enduring fellowship.

Remaining the best of pals to this day, Boyd and Monaghan went on to host a podcast together called The Friendship Onion. That pod has since ended, but one of its most popular recurring segments, “Eat the World,” is now a TV show all its own — allowing the two stars to continue their adventures via a foodie travelogue. 

Hitting the U.K. back in early January, the show now makes its way to Canada, following the two erstwhile hobbits as they embark on a lower-stakes sort of quest than their fictional counterparts, making it their mission to devour exotic delicacies and cultures across the globe — charming the pants off viewers with their repartee along the way. In tonight’s premiere, the duo conjure a delectable little adventure with Gandalf himself, Sir Ian McKellen — chatting up the Oscar-nominee at his own London pub, The Grapes.

Further stops will include Scotland, California, Japan, Switzerland, Costa Rica and more. 

Speaking with Deadline about what sets their culinary odyssey apart, Boyd mused: “Because Dom and I know each other so well, it becomes an easy thing to do. We’re not always looking for the easiest travel route, and we will spend six hours on a bus to make sure we get the story we want to tell. That makes it authentic.” Click here to watch trailer.

8. Late Bloomer – Friday, April 11, Crave | Season Premiere

Canadian Jasmeet Raina unleashes season two of his semi-autobiographical sitcom about a Punjabi Sikh Millennial chasing social media fame while also “balancing Eastern roots with Western ideals” in his Toronto community.

Himself a YouTube star (under the handle Jus Reign), Raina here crafts a funny yet tender, and deeply relatable, story about a young man who “feels behind in life compared to his peers, and his shared housing situation and financial status aren’t helping. Jasmeet’s video blog — sharing his journey — leads him to connect with a growing audience, but his commitment to his career often makes it harder to maintain his bond to family, relationships and culture.”

For the star/creator, capturing the reality of immigrant families in Canada was a priority. As Raina told the Toronto Star in an interview: “We really took the time to show this world in an authentic way. I feel like any time before when you’ve seen South Asian families on TV, it hasn’t felt raw enough. They don’t feel ‘immigrant’ enough, they’re too perfect. So for me it was important that we had those details. There’s magic in clutter and the things that don’t go together. There’s stuff crammed under the stairwell: it’s the messiness of the hoarders we can be sometimes.”

The eight-part second season debuts with two new episodes on Friday. Click here to watch trailer.

9. Pets – Friday, April 11, Disney+

In her second outing as documentary director, Bryce Dallas Howard follows up 2019’s Dads with this exploration of the extraordinary relationship that exists all over the world between animals and their humans. Howard curates her own love and interest in animals to relate to any viewer, no matter what their own relationship with the pets in their lives may be like.

“Directing a documentary about the relationship between pets and their people has been a dream for years. There’s something about these wordless intuitive bonds, full of mischief and love, that feel like magic. And pet videos? They tap into such pure innocence and happiness, the kind of laughter that catches you off guard and reminds you why we love them so much,” she says. “Working with the incredible teams at Imagine Documentaries and Disney Branded Television was an absolute gift, and my hope is that audiences feel the same joy watching this film that we did while making it.”

Humourous and heartfelt, the film profiles a diverse cast of characters from everyday pet guardians to dedicated animal rescuers and beyond, highlighting the uniquely vital connections people share with their dogs, cats, pigs, goats and even birds of prey. With a mix of inspirational stories, archival footage, viral videos, and engaging interviews, Pets takes viewers on a poignant journey. Click here to watch trailer.

10. Your Friends and Neighbors – Friday, April 11, Apple TV+ | Series Premiere

Jon Hamm has been on a roll lately, portraying complex characters such as a megalomaniacal billionaire in The Morning Show, a psychotic lawman in Fargo and an ambitious oil mogul in Landman — to say nothing of reviving Mad Men’s Don Draper in Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted.

Hamm’s latest is Your Friends and Neighbors, a provocative nine-episode drama that focuses on the deepening wealth divide between the haves and the have nots.

Hamm plays Andrew Cooper, a wealthy hedge fund manager until he’s fired in disgrace. With an expensive lifestyle, including an ex-wife (Amanda Peet) and a couple of kids to support, his funds are dwindling by the day when he finds himself attending a party at a neighbour’s home. Feeling desperate and reckless, he makes a snap decision and sneaks into a bedroom, where he steals a watch worth hundreds of thousands.

When Coop brings the watch to a pawn shop and walks out with a paper bag full of cash, he rationalizes that his ultra-rich neighbours have so much stuff they won’t notice if the occasional watch or piece of jewelry goes missing. Before long, he’s a burglar by night, breaking into his neighbours’ homes and robbing them blind — while also unearthing their sordid secrets. 

“I’ve had this show in my head for years, and making it has been a dream come true,” series creator Jonathan Tropper said of the show, which was renewed for a second season months before the first even premiered. “The support from everyone at Apple has been phenomenal, and the fact that they’ve ordered a second season before we aired our first is an incredible validation and a tribute to the work of this stellar cast, crew, writers, directors and producers who worked so hard to make this show what it is. We can’t wait for everyone to see it.” Click here to watch trailer.