From TLC’s 1000 Lb Roomies to the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s FUBAR, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week
1. Storage Wars – Saturday, June 7, TLC | Season Premiere
A 16th season of searching for your fortune in decrepit storage lockers kicks off with an episode bizarrely titled “The Return of the Return of San Burrito,” as the Warriors head for San Bernardino. Here, Brandi “flexes her muscles on a dusty locker,” while Kenny hits it big at auction by channelling the tactics of an old friend.
2. Art Detectives – Monday, June 9, Acorn TV | Series Premiere
Regular viewers of Knowledge Network are accustomed to seeing Bendor Grosvenor and Emma Dabiri pore over U.K. art collections in search of hidden masterpieces on a delightful little docuseries known as The Art Detectives. That show has not aired a new episode since 2022 and alas, despite boasting the same title, this is not a reboot. But it does draw us into the same fascinating world of “art, antiquities and priceless artifacts” — mixing in a little murder and grand larceny for good measure.
True Blood heartthrob Stephen Moyer plays DI Mick Palmer, head of the London Metropolitan Police’s least-heralded unit, Heritage Crime. Together with his young constable Shazia Malik (The Lazarus Project’s Nina Singh), Mick tackles cases connected to the art world, while also grappling with the sudden reappearance of his father (Larry Lamb), a notorious forger of paintings.
The show debuts Monday with two episodes. In the first, Mick and Shazia look into an art historian who was murdered in his own home, possibly over a dark family secret. In the second, the theft of a Viking artifact from a burial chamber unearths a thousand-year-old cover-up. Click here to watch trailer.
3. Virgins – Monday, June 9, TLC | Series Premiere
TLC’s latest exploration of lives less ordinary tracks four people who have yet to experience the joy of sex, despite being well over 30 years old. From high standards to conservative upbringings, each has their own reasons for celibacy, but now they’re ready to make a splash in the dating pool.
4. Trainwreck – Tuesday, June 10, Netflix | Series Premiere
An anthology-style documentary series, Trainwreck revisits some of the most gripping, bizarre and sometimes horrifying events that once dominated the mainstream media, with a new episode premiering each week.
This series’ debut episode focuses on the tragedy that unfolded at the 2021 Astroworld music festival when the crowd surged forward and 10 people were crushed to death. That is followed by Mayor of Mayhem (dropping on June 17), chronicling the scandal-plagued political career of late Toronto mayor Rob Ford; Poop Cruise (June 24), about a four-day luxury cruise that turned into a nightmare when an onboard power outage prevented toilets from flushing and flooded the ship with raw sewage; and The Cult of American Apparel (July 1), exploring how the popular clothing brand imploded due to the toxicity of company founder Dov Charney.
After that comes: The Real Project X (July 8), exploring how social media transformed a Dutch girl’s 16th birthday party into a full-fledged riot; Balloon Boy (July 15), in which a homemade dirigible sparked panic when it escaped skyward while supposedly carrying a six-year-old kid; P.I. Moms, recalling how a reality show about soccer moms-turned-private detectives exposed a drug-dealing operation; and Storm Area 51, when a Facebook post urging people to storm the top-secret military base went viral worldwide. Click here to watch trailer.
5. Call Her Alex – Tuesday, June 10, Disney+ | Series Premiere
Lauded as the most influential female podcaster of her generation, Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper is the focus of this two-part documentary that traces her evolution from a 24-year-old podcaster discussing sex and dating to CEO of a media empire. “More than just a success story, it’s a portrait of a woman creating a space where women feel seen, heard and empowered.” Click here to watch trailer.
6. 1000 Lb Roomies – Tuesday, June 10, TLC | Series Premiere
It’s easy to forget that the initials behind TLC stand for The Learning Channel, a highbrow television endeavour that initially offered educational programming. Since then, the cable network has ditched that mission to focus on reality fare featuring folks on the fringes of society, from couples with enough children to populate a basketball team to polygamist families to its latest obsession: morbid obesity. Following the success of Family By the Ton, Too Large, My 600-Lb Life and 1000-Lb Sisters, TLC’s latest entry in this reality TV subgenre is 1000-Lb Roomies, focusing on Jaz and Nesha, two besties and roommates who describe themselves as “fat hotties” who collectively tip the scales at a half a ton. As the series begins, Jaz receives a wakeup call from Dr. Sarvenaz Nouri, who warns her that she won’t be around for much longer unless she loses a lot of weight in order to undergo life-saving bariatric surgery. Nesha agrees to accompany her on this weight-loss journey.
7. Deep Cover – Thursday, June 12, Prime Video
An improv comic finds an unexpected use for her quick wit in this goofy action flick, coming straight to Prime.
Bryce Dallas Howard plays Kat, a 40-something London comedian who’s starting to worry she missed her chance at stardom. Then one day, she crosses paths with an undercover cop (Sean Bean) who presents a most peculiar opportunity: use her “yes, and . . .” skills to infiltrate a gang. To do so, she’ll need backup, which comes in the form of two students from her improv class, played by Orlando Bloom and Ted Lasso breakout Nick Mohammed.
All three of them find the gig invigorating — the role of a lifetime! But if they’re not careful, the phrase “I’m dying up here” will take on an all too literal meaning.
Much as the film is a lighthearted, borderline-absurd romp, it’s not without a few truly poignant moments. As Howard explained to Red magazine: “It’s a really touching depiction of adults finding their way. And part of how they find their way is by meeting new friends. You know, it’s not a romance. It’s a movie about friendship, basically, and trusting on and relying upon unexpected heroes.”
Behind the camera, Deep Cover boasts just as much A-list talent, directed by Tom Kingsley (of cultishly adored Britcom Stath Lets Flats) and co-written by Howard’s Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow. Click here to watch trailer.
8. Revival – Thursday, June 12, CTV Sci-Fi | Series Premiere
Ottawa’s own Melanie Scrofano first rose to fame in 2016 as the title character in quirky supernatural western Wynonna Earp.
She’ll look to tap into that fanbase yet again with a new series that, while not quite so playful in tone, does reside in the horror genre and, much like Wynonna, is based on an acclaimed graphic novel.
Revival casts Scrofano as Dana Cypress, a sharp-tongued small-town police officer/single mother whose life is already a bit of a mess when the recently deceased start rising from their graves. But throw out your zombie playbook, because these particular ambulatory corpses retain their memories and don’t seem to crave human flesh. They’re just like they were before . . . sans heartbeat.
This presents new opportunities and new complications for all the residents of Wausau, Wisconsin, but it hits Dana especially hard, given that one of the “Revivers” is someone very close to her, who was just murdered — and even though the victim has gone from dearly departed to eyewitness, they can’t remember who killed them. JAG’s David James Elliott co-stars as Dana’s father, Sheriff Wayne Cypress.
More so than straight-up horror, novel creators Tim Seeley and Mike Norton see Revival as a gritty “rural noir.” Speaking with Women Who Write About Comics in 2016, Seeley said: “I think there’s something about living in rural areas that separates us from other people, in a way that cities don’t, for all the good and the bad that entails. I also think there’s a tendency among Americans to believe that our small towns really best represent American culture . . . or our ideals, anyway. And, of course, there’s a fair amount of hypocrisy there. So, I felt like a story which was all about the connections between families and the distances between them would be best served by a small town.” Norton added: “There’s a particular sense of isolation that goes along with living in a small town. Also, the fear of being trapped.”
9. Fubar – Thursday, June 12, Netflix | Series Premiere
At the age of 77, action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger shows no sign of slowing down, even if his efforts to keep Father Time at bay are doomed to fail. That was evident in the warts-and-all 2023 docuseries Arnold, when the former bodybuilding champ resignedly registered his disgust with the flabby “boodle” on the midsection that once hosted the world’s most impressive six-pack abs.
That attitude is at the core of FUBAR, which returns for a second season this week. Hitting Schwarzenegger’s sweet spot at the intersection of comedy and action, the series follows the exploits of his character, aging super-spy Luke Brunner, as he works with his spy daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro), both of whom had been keeping their covert espionage activities a secret from each other.
Boasting a superb supporting cast (highlighted by comedian Fortune Feimster and Schwarzenegger’s True Lies co-star Tom Arnold), FUBAR’s new season promises to up the ante. “Season two is bananas,” series creator Nick Santora tells Tudum, with Schwarzenegger adding, “It is bigger, it is better. There are more laughs. There is more of everything . . . including one more legend!”
He’s referring to new cast member Carrie-Anne Moss, with the Matrix alum playing German spy Greta Nelson — who also happens to be Luke’s ex.
“They are icons,” Santora says of Moss and Schwarzenegger. “They know how to do action, be funny and create full and engaging characters. So it was great to just sit back and watch them do their thing.”
The season picks up after the identities of Luke and his fellow agents were exposed, creating chaos. “They’re in deep dog doo-doo, for sure,” says Santora, adding, “to keep the gross analogy going, trying to clean up dog doo-doo can be messy. In life, when you’re in a tough situation, the only way out is through.” Click here to watch trailer.
10. The Island Between Tides – Friday, June 13, Super Channel Fuse
Based on a ghost story from Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, this thriller centres on a woman (Paloma Kwiatkowski) who follows a mysterious melody onto a remote tidal island. When she crosses back over at the next low tide, 25 years have passed.