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What to Watch This Week: April 26 to May 2

From a TLC reality show about a polyamorous family to a new culinary competition featuring Martha Stewart and Chef José Andrés, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

1. My Happy Place – Sunday, April 27, CNN | Series Premiere

My Happy Place on CNN. Pictured (clockwise from top): Alan Cumming, Taraji P. Henson, Billy Porter, Questlove, Octavia Spencer, Simu Liu.
CNN

This new CNN travel series follows six different hosts as they embark on deeply personal journeys, revealing why specific destinations have become their sanctuaries. The season kicks off with actor Alan Cumming returning to his beloved Scottish Highlands — a place where he went to escape as a child, and now, as an adult, provides him with a new sense of belonging, connection and joy. 

Other celebrities featured in the series are Taraji P. Henson (who takes viewers on a visit to Bali), Questlove (Austin, Texas), Billy Porter (the Greek island of Mykonos), Octavia Spencer (New Orleans, Louisiana) and Canadian Simu Liu (Bangkok, Thailand).

 “My Happy Place is a perfect extension of CNN Originals’ legacy of premium, host-led travel programming featuring dynamic and beloved personalities,” said CNN’s Amy Entelis in a statement. “These talented storytellers let viewers into their home away from home, and the result is as poignant as it is illuminating.”

2. Sullivan’s Crossing – Sunday, April 27, CTV | Season Premiere

Sullivan’s Crossing on CTV. Pictured: Morgan Kohan as Maggie Sullivan.
CTV

Just a few weeks ago, she returned to our airwaves heading up the long-delayed second season of Super Channel’s When Hope Calls. Now, star Morgan Kohan’s other wholesome small-town romance — based on the novels by Virgin River author Robyn Carr — is back for season three.

It’s a time of change for Maggie Sullivan as, after much back and forth and indecision, she at last gives up her career as a Boston surgeon and really commits to helping her dad run the family store in Nova Scotia. The slow-paced small-town existence will be an adjustment, no doubt — but luckily Maggie has plenty of personal drama to keep her stimulated. The end of season two saw Mags and Cal finally profess their affections for one another. But try as they might, taking their relationship to the next level proves challenging . . . which could be further complicated by the arrival of Cal’s mum and dad, played by Transplant’s Torri Higginson and Virgin River’s John Ralston

Also shaking things up? Battlestar Galactica fave Kate Vernon, who breezes into town as a big-time author looking for a place to finish her next bestseller. Click here to watch trailer.

3. Bravo’s Love Hotel – Sunday, April 27, Bravo | Series Premiere

Bravo’s Love Hotel on Bravo. Pictured: Luann de Lesseps, Ashley Darby, Shannon Storms Beador, Gizelle Bryant.
Bravo Media

Four single ladies from across the sprawling Real Housewives franchise search for a new beau while luxuriating together at the Grand Velas Boutique Hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Across eight episodes, The Real Housewives of New York City’s Luann de Lesseps, Orange County’s Shannon Storms Beador, and Gizelle Bryant and Ashley Darby of Potomac fame will date their way through a cavalcade of sexy, successful men who check into the Grand Velas alongside them.

Each of these gals is at a crossroads in life, and now it’s time for a fresh (and flirty) start. De Lesseps is coming off back-to-back divorces, but hasn’t let that dampen her belief in a happily ever after; Darby is nearly divorced and looking to get a headstart on dating, while hopefully leaving her “daddy issues” behind; Beador is on the rebound after a very public and very messy breakup; and Bryant has just sent her kids off to college, and needs a little company in that empty nest.

To be clear, this one’s not a dating “competition.” At the end of the trip, it’s completely on the ladies to decide if they feel like going home solo or “coupled up.”

Teasing the show in an interview with Us Weekly, Shannon coyly divulged: “I’m really excited to see it. It was a lot of fun getting to know the girls. A lot of friendships were formed, so I can’t wait . . . I will say there was drama — but I will not say who. I will tell you I was involved with that drama . . . You’ll have to tune in.”

Helping guide Luann, Gizelle, Ashley and Shannon through this romantic minefield is comedian Joel Kim Booster (Loot), who serves as the hotel’s “Love Concierge” — a combination of host, quippy commentator and, more than once, a shoulder for our Housewives to cry on.

Also, keep an eye out for a special guest appearance by Cynthia Bailey from The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

4. Yes, Chef – Monday, April 28, NBC | Series Premiere  

Yes, Chef! on NBC. Pictured: Martha Stewart, José Andés.
NBC

Aforementioned kitchen legend José Andrés is having himself quite the week. The very same Monday on which his culinary artistry is celebrated by Chef’s Table, the Spanish phenom teams up with another icon, Martha Stewart, to host a new competition for NBC.

The hook for this particular cook-off is that all of the contestants are as problematic as they are talented. “These chefs are divas!” Stewart exclaims in the trailer; more specifically, they’re a group of 12 folks who contain all the potential in the world, but just aren’t reaching it on account of their “egos, intensity, stubbornness or short fuses.”

Luckily, they’ve got two mentors who know what it takes to succeed at the highest level in this field, as well as how to sand down their rough edges.

“With humour and tough love, José and Martha will guide the chefs each week through a series of intense culinary challenges designed to test and overcome their personal issues,” reads the network’s press release. “In this competition, the chefs will have to prove they have the culinary chops and the right attitude to make it to the end.”

Each episode starts out with a team-based challenge that compels true leaders to rise to the occasion, after which a “Most Valuable Chef” is crowned, and a solo cook-off decides who stays and who goes. Click here to watch trailer.

5. Polyfamily – Tuesday, April 29, TLC | Series Premiere

Polyfamily on TLC. Pictured: Sean, Taya, Alysia, Tyler.
TLC

TLC offers an intimate look at yet another unconventional way of life with a series about married couple Sean and Taya . . . who are actually dating another married couple, Alysia and Tyler. Known as a “closed quad,” they’re also raising four kids, redefining what it means to be a family.

6. Wildfire – Tuesday, April 29, Knowledge Network | Series Premiere

Wildfire on Knowledge Network. Pictured: Firefighters at the frontline.
Burningfilms Inc.

Featuring unprecedented footage from the province’s worst wildfire season on record, this five-part series takes viewers behind the scenes for an in-depth exploration of the extraordinary efforts of the B.C. Wildfire Service. “From initial attack crews to specialized air attack, parattack and rapattack teams — as well as the last remaining all-Indigenous unit crew in the province — Wildfire follows British Columbia’s elite first responders of wildfire as they combat the rising threat of today’s modern mega-fires,” notes the synopsis for this new show, which also highlights the resilience and determination of communities as they rally together in the face of disaster. Click here to watch trailer.

7. Carême – Wednesday, April 30, Apple TV+ | Series Premiere

Carême on Apple TV+. Pictured: Benjamin Voisin as Antonin Carême.
Apple TV+

From Gordon Ramsay to Ina Garten to Guy Fieri, modern-day pop culture is overflowing with famous foodies (many of whom you’ll see in the “Hot Reality” column ahead). 

This new French drama recounts the true story of a man described as the world’s very first celebrity chef: Antonin Carême (played here by Benjamin Voisin).

Set in early 19th-century Paris, this eight-part series follows Monsieur Carême as he uses his wits and his culinary prowess to rise from the depths of poverty to the peaks of Napoleonic high society. As the lad makes increasingly powerful friends, he’s tapped to use his access to inner circles to become a spy for king and country. 

As the tagline evocatively teases: “. . . he can have it all — women, wealth, fame — but at what cost? His love? His soul? His life?” Click here to watch trailer.

8. The Four Seasons – Thursday, May 1, Netflix | Series Premiere

The Four Seasons on Netflix. Pictured (left to right): Marco Calvani, Colman Domingo, Tina Fey, Will Forte.
© 2024 Jon Pack/Netflix

Back in 1981, Alan Alda was one of television’s most popular actors as star of mega-hit M*A*S*H. That gave him the clout to make The Four Seasons, a heartfelt comedy (in which he was star, writer and director) that follows the evolving lives of three middle-aged couples over the course of a year, with the old friends reuniting for a vacation during each season.

Among the film’s many fans is Tina Fey, who teamed up with Lang Fisher (Never Have I Ever) and Tracey Wigfield (a producer on Fey’s 30 Rock) to adapt the movie into a limited series for Netflix.

Fey and fellow SNL alum Will Forte play Kate and Jack, a married couple who join their longtime friends, two other couples — Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), and Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani) — for what’s supposed to be a relaxing weekend getaway. When one of the couples splits up, however, the dynamic of the friend group becomes totally upended. (Alda, now age 89, makes a full-circle cameo.) 

“Tracey, Lang and I have talked about the show being a love letter to long-term relationships, both platonic and romantic,” Fey tells Tudum, “because your life is ideally more than just the person you’re married to. Sometimes when you are struggling with something with just your spouse, you need a group of friends to bring humour to it. Those friendships really help marriages, I think. Having a person who just fulfils a part of you that your spouse can’t quite [fulfil] is very important.”

“It feels lived-in,” adds Carell. “And I attribute that to the writing and the casting of it, too. It feels like these people have existed in each other’s lives for a long time. There’s a code, there’s an unspoken relationship that entwines all of them, and they speak the same language to each other. There’s a shorthand, and it’s funny.” Click here to watch trailer.

9. Another Simple Favor – Thursday, May 1, Prime Video

Another Simple Favor on Prime Video. Pictured: Anna Kendrick as Stephanie Smothers, Blake Lively as Emily Nelson.
Lorenzo Sisti

This followup to 2018 sleeper hit A Simple Favor reunites stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively with director Paul Feig for another darkly comedic psychological thriller.

As you may recall, the first flick ended with scheming socialite Emily (played by Lively) in prison after her murderous exploits were exposed across the internet by her former pal/would-be victim Stephanie (Kendrick). 

It’s not the easiest jumping-off point for a sequel, and Feig, best known for helming Bridesmaids, is not a fan of sequels to begin with. But as audience demand rose, the director and his team hatched a plot that could reunite these two frenemies for a second game of cat-mouse-and-cocktails. We don’t know precisely how Em gets out of jail, only that, per Amazon’s synopsis: “Stephanie Smothers and Emily Nelson reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP . . .” 

Speaking at the SXSW festival, where Another Simple Favor debuted, Feig mused: “Audiences have gotten very suspicious about straight-up comedy. That’s why so much comedy exists in mixed genres . . . I think audiences at the moment look at straight-up comedy as being frivolous, or that we’re trying to pull something over them.” Click here to watch trailer.

10. Drag Brunch Saved My Life – Friday, May 2, Crave (Stream) | Series Premiere

Drag Brunch Saved My Life on Crave. Pictured: Priyanka
Crave

Priyanka returns to sashay and sauté in this new restaurant makeover series, with the Canada’s Drag Race winner joined by a team of culinary connoisseurs to transform restaurants from drab to fab, culminating in the ultimate drag brunch extravaganza.

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