From new Shondaland murder-mystery comedy The Residence to a gritty new crime drama starring Amanda Seyfried, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

1. Long Bright River – Saturday, March 15, USA Network | Series Premiere

This suspense thriller series tells the story of Mickey (Amanda Seyfried), a police officer who patrols a rough Philadelphia neighbourhood that’s been hard-hit by the ravages of the opioid crisis. When the neighbourhood under her watch becomes rocked by a series of murders, Mickey realizes that her own personal history might be connected to the case. Speaking with Vanity Fair, Seyfried admitted that this adaptation of Liz Moore’s bestselling novel was the most difficult project she’d ever undertaken. 

“I went to hell and back,” said Seyfried, a Pennsylvania native who grew up in nearby Allentown, and had experienced the tragedy of opioid addiction within her immediate family. “I could tell that it was written by somebody who also has experience with a loved one or loved ones who have battled it — and succeeded or failed and got through it or not,” Seyfried added. “I knew that I had to do this. I felt like I owed something to Philly.” Click here to watch trailer.

2. Dolly Parton: Here I Am – Saturday, March 15, KTLA

Thanks to her larger-than-life personality and her garish, glitzy wardrobe, it was always easy to pigeonhole Dolly Parton as simply a large-chested country singer who’d carved out a sideline in the movies with such Hollywood hits as 9 to 5 and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. It’s only been in recent years, however, that the true scope of her talents are being recognized, ranging from her skills as a songwriter to her philanthropy. In this intimate documentary, filmmaker Francis Whately uses Parton’s songs to frame her life’s story, delving into the person behind the superstar.

3. 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards – Monday, March 17, Fox

A month after the Grammys, the superstars align once more to celebrate top achievers in pop music. Leading the pack with 10 nods is — who else — Taylor Swift. She’ll be competing for artist of the year, top music video and top collaboration for her “Fortnight” joint with Post Malone. And then of course there’s her groundbreaking Eras Tour, which has netted noms for “Tour Tradition” and “Tour Style.” What’s more, one trophy Ms. Swift is guaranteed to take home tonight is the “Tour of the Century Award,” a special prize basically just invented for her.

Tying T-Swift for overall nominations is country phenom Morgan Wallen, followed by the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar and the aforementioned Post Malone with nine each. Beyond that, Jelly Roll, Teddy Swims, Doja Cat and Billie Eilish have five apiece.

Outside of just Swift, it’s a big night for several of the industry’s all-time-great divas. iHeart’s annual “Innovator Award” will go to Lady Gaga, while the great Mariah Carey has earned the “Icon Award.”

Like the Grammys before them, iHeartRadio will use this star-studded gala to drum up relief funds for citizens affected by the recent California wildfires, with the broadcast driving donations to FireAidLA.org.

“Our iHeartRadio Music Awards show is not a competition, it’s a night where we honour the incredible artists and songs that fans loved all year long,” said John Sykes, president of Entertainment Enterprises, and Tom Poleman, chief programming officer of iHeartMedia, in a joint statement. “This year’s show will shine a light on the devastating tragedy that impacted Los Angeles and enable us to deliver on our commitment to the communities we serve.”

4. Bert Kreischer: Lucky – Tuesday, March 18, Netflix  

A comedian notorious for taking to the stage sans upper-body clothing, Bert Kreischer returns for his fourth Netflix special, filmed during a stop in his native Tampa, Florida. 

Here, the burly funnyman discusses family antics, getting parenting advice from the one and only Snoop Dogg and how his life has changed since he lost 45 pounds.

Previewing Lucky in a chat with Variety, Kreischer said: “I don’t have a problem telling you who I am. I don’t want to alienate you, if you come to my show, and preach politics. I also don’t mind telling you I have two little girls and a wife, and that I stand for women’s rights . . . If you go up and start preaching politics, sometimes you lose me. It’s sexier when I don’t know your politics. I like when a comedian’s politics are assumed. So, I try to stay away [from political comedy], but I’m not afraid of it.” Click here to watch trailer.

5. Weathered: Inside the L.A. Firestorm  – Wednesday, March 19, WTVS & KCTS

The destruction from the 2025 L.A. wildfires was not inevitable, so why were they so devastating? In this special edition of Weathered — which examines extreme weather events brought about by climate change — host Maiya May speaks to fire chiefs, survivors, community responders and climate scientists to understand what led to perhaps the costliest fire in American history.

6. Good American Family – Wednesday, March 19, Disney+ | Series Premiere

Two years ago, Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo took a step back from her longtime role of Dr. Meredith Grey to pursue other opportunities. 

Now, we finally get to see what she’s been working on. Based on an almost-unbelievable true story, Good American Family casts Pompeo as Kristine Barnett, a mother-of-three who, along with her husband (Creep’s Mark Duplass), decides to adopt a seven-year-old Ukrainian orphan (Imogen Faith Reid) with a rare form of dwarfism. Yet as the Barnetts welcome this child into their home, Kristine comes to believe that her new daughter is not a child at all — that she is an adult masquerading as a lost little girl. That in mind, though Kristine is our protagonist, she is not our “hero” — which is just the sort of challenge Pompeo was after. “It was important for me as an actor to do something that I was afraid to do. It was important for me as an actor to play someone who is not necessarily the most likable person,” she told Vanity Fair. “I have not done anything new in 20 years. I have to go all in, there’s no half-a**ing it. I have a lot to prove here.” Click here to watch trailer.

7. The Residence – Thursday, March 20, Netflix | Series Premiere

When A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito), chief usher at the White House — who oversees every social event in the building — is found murdered in the midst of a state dinner, the whole place is sealed off and authorities called in.

That’s the setup for The Residence, a comedic whodunit from Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland that introduces Cordelia Cupp (Orange Is the New Black alum Uzo Aduba), a brilliant yet eccentric police detective who is dispatched to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to find the murderer.

While trying to solve the high-profile crime, Cordelia must contend with the president’s oily chief of staff (Ken Marino), an FBI agent (Randall Park) assigned to the same case, and, oddly enough, pop star Kylie Minogue, performer at a soiree honouring the Australian prime minister (Julian McMahon).

Among those she questions are the deceased’s second-in-command (Susan Kelechi Watson), the president’s ne’er-do-well, felonious brother (Jason Lee) and boozy mother-in-law (Jane Curtin), a tipsy waiter (Sheila Cannon) and an embittered Swiss pastry chef (Bronson Pinchot). Former real-life senator Al Franken plays a senator. 

Series creator Paul William Davies (a writer on Shondaland hit Scandal) likens the show’s tone to those beloved screwball comedies of the 1930s and ’40s. “The Residence is honestly a lot of things. It’s funny, it’s suspenseful, it’s clever, it’s totally farcical in places, it’s genuinely romantic in others. As a murder mystery, what I think really makes it fresh and unique is Cordelia Cupp. She’s just special,” Davies told Tudum.

“What makes Cordelia part of the catalog of Shondaland heroines is that she’s strong, she doesn’t mince words, she’s unapologetically herself,” added Aduba. “This case is unsolvable to everyone except Cordelia Cupp.” Click here to watch trailer.

8. Happy Face – Thursday, March 20, Paramount+ | Series Premiere

Based on a true crime podcast of the same name, this limited series comes at the well-worn serial killer genre from a fresh angle — centring not on the killer himself, but his daughter. Tony-winner Annaleigh Ashford plays Melissa G. Moore, whose father — Chilliwack’s own Keith Hunter Jesperson, played here by Dennis Quaid — is the Happy Face Killer, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for strangling multiple women. 

Since his incarceration, Melissa has done her best to cut ties. But then, all of a sudden, Keith finds a way to infiltrate his daughter’s life once again, as a possibly innocent man is on the verge of being executed for a murder that may have been committed by the Happy Face Killer . . . and alas, Melissa is the only one who can suss out the truth. Alas, to do so, she must stare down her past, and the wreckage of her dad’s crimes.

9. Ludwig – Thursday, March 20, BritBox | Series Premiere

He’s one half of one of the most beloved U.K. comedy duos to hit screens in the past three decades, but this time David Mitchell — of Mitchell & Webb fame — is flying solo. Well, make that “sleuthing solo.”

Here, the erstwhile co-lead of Peep Show plays John Taylor, a reclusive chap who writes puzzle books under the pen name of “Ludwig.” Then one day, he must put his keen mind to work unravelling crimes after his identical twin brother — a top Cambridge policeman — vanishes, and his brother’s wife (Anna Maxwell Martin) implores John to assume his sibling’s identity in hopes of figuring out exactly what happened.

It’s far from a smooth adjustment, but the unlikely detective soon finds his skills as a puzzle master are actually of great use in catching bad guys.

Speaking with BBC (where the show aired last year in the U.K.), Mitchell teased: “I think fundamentally it’s about the murders and the puzzle solving. I think that’s what is so escapist and satisfying about this genre — the light meringue of a pleasing plot. Another thing that I like about it is that it’s not gritty. It is cozy murder of the old school. Even though the crime at the centre would be an absolute abomination if it happened in real life, we all benefit from the murder-mystery convention — if you like, the Agatha Christie tradition — so we don’t dwell on what murder really is, on the horrific nature of the crime. We focus on the context and the mystery and the play of human emotions that leads to it. I have been slightly disappointed, I suppose, by the recent trend of a lot of programs to really embrace the horror and emphasize the realities of loss and fear that crime causes. That’s not what I’m in it for as a viewer and I don’t think I am alone in that.”

The first two episodes premiere this Thursday on BritBox, followed by one per week through April 17. Click here to watch trailer.

10. Stadium Lockup – Thursday, March 20, A&E | Series Premiere

A&E’s latest gritty workplace series follows the security team at Huntington Bank Field, the stadium that’s home to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Each and every game day, a staff of 1,000 private security agents, police officers and medics must wrangle upwards of 67,000 rowdy fans.