From the return of Octomom to a stunning dinosaur docuseries, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week
1. I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story – Saturday, June 14, Lifetime
Natalie Suleman was already a single mother of six young children when she underwent IVF treatments in order to have a seventh. Instead, she inadvertently wound up pregnant with octuplets. Dubbed Octomom by the media, Suleman became a pop-culture oddity, parlaying her dubious notoriety into avenues ranging from celebrity boxing to hardcore porn in order to support her 14 kids. Kristen Lee Gutoskie stars in this biopic, made with the cooperation of Suleman, who appears throughout to share her perspective — even admitting at one point, “What the hell was I thinking, right?” Click here to watch trailer.
2. Super Mega Cakes – Monday, June 16, , Food | Series Premiere
Confectionary perfectionist Duff Goldman — better known as the Ace of Cakes — is back for an all-new bakeoff wherein Duff and his Charm City Cakes crew take on six teams of pastry savants from across the U.S. over a punishing four-day competition.
All involved will be pushed to create delectable and visually stunning creations that channel such themes as “architectural wonders,” “classic cartoons” and, in tonight’s premiere, “Superman.” Their work will be critiqued by Amaury Guichon and Sherry Yard, as well as a rotating panel of celeb guest judges, including SNL alum Beck Bennett, reality TV icon Jack Osbourne, Property Brothers’ Drew Scott and Emmy-winning Canadian voice actor Eric Bauza (a.ka. the current voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck). Click here to watch trailer.
3. Walking with Dinosaurs – Monday, June 16, WTVS & KCTS | Series Premiere
Back in 1999, the groundbreaking series Walking with Dinosaurs redefined our understanding of the prehistoric lizards that ruled our planet millions of years ago.
More than a quarter-century later, a new series with the same name is taking that knowledge even further, illustrating how much paleontology has evolved in the time that’s elapsed by blending the latest scientific research with state-of-the-art CGI animation.
Over the course of six episodes (with two apiece airing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday), viewers will meet six distinct dinos, based on information gleaned from ongoing excavations all over the world.
“Utilizing the latest discoveries from dinosaur digs across the globe, paired with showstopping state-of-the-art CGI, this series brings these magnificent giants back to life,” declares the synopsis. “The team of world leading experts and paleontologists help unlock the secrets of how many dinosaurs once lived. Told using stunning VFX, these are tales of struggle, love and survival – the ultimate ancient drama.”
In the first episode, set 66 million years ago in the lush world of Laramidia, viewers will meet an orphaned baby Triceratops. Alone and vulnerable, she must rely on her wits and small size to survive when she’s stalked by a fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex Today, paleontologists in Montana are uncovering her fossilized remains, providing the opportunity to imagine her life and the dangers she faced.
Subsequent episodes feature “river dragon” Spinosaurus, a band of armoured dinos pursued by predatorial Utahraptors, a teenage Albertosaurus (a faster relative of T. Rex) earning a place in a ferocious pack, the discovery of one of the most populous dinosaur herds that ever lived, and the massive 80-foot-long Lusotitan. Click here to watch trailer.
4. Surviving Ohio State – Tuesday, June 17, HBO Canada
Produced by George Clooney, this chilling documentary delves into the sexual abuse scandal surrounding athletics doctor Richard Strauss, who targeted hundreds of students during his two decades at Ohio State University. Several lawsuits filed by survivors are still pending, including accusations that the university ignored the actions of Strauss and allowed them to continue; MAGA congressman Jim Jordan, formerly an Ohio State assistant wrestling coach, has been accused by numerous students of disregarding complaints and knowingly allowing Strauss to continue his reign of terror. Oscar-winning director Eva Orner (Taxi to the Dark Side) interviews survivors to shed light on the extensive trauma inflicted and the systemic failures that allowed such misconduct to persist. Mike Schyck, one of Strauss’ 300 victims, is among those interviewed. “I have one sole purpose and that’s to help my teammates and all the other athletes seek justice,” he told The Independent of his participation. Click here to watch trailer.
5. Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem – Tuesday, June 17,Netflix
In the 2010 Toronto mayoral election, firebrand city councilor Rob Ford unexpectedly threw his hat into the ring. Widely dismissed as a joke by other politicians and the media, he defied critics with a shocking victory. Brash and popular, Ford and his administration soon became a slow-motion disaster when a video was leaked featuring the mayor smoking crack. That led to an avalanche of scandals, an international media frenzy and late-night TV mockery, with Ford attempting damage control with a highly publicized appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! This documentary looks back on the rapid rise and humiliating fall of one of Canada’s most notorious political figures.
6. Justin Willman: Magic Lover – Tuesday, June 17, Netflix
There’s a playfulness to the art of illusion that makes it a natural bedfellow for comedy. Indeed, most magicians incorporate a few jokes into their act (unless of course they’re going for that dark, brooding, sexy vibe). So then why don’t more comedians add a little magic into theirs?
Justin Willman is pretty much an even split between the two. Is he a magician who does comedy? A comic who does magic? You can be the judge in this new special, which finds the Missouri native cracking jokes (“I love being a dad. I like to think it’s the most important job I’ll ever have . . . and I can say that because I am a magician”) and inviting audience members up onstage to be dazzled by jokes, tricks and jokes masquerading as tricks (like when he offers one woman a magical cure for smartphone addiction . . . only to pull a ball-peen hammer out of a hat and smash her phone).
As Willman summed up in a chat with Vulture: “All good comedy comes from true life. Comedians get up there and talk about their life and me as a magician, that’s my life . . . It’s an odd little world I live in.”
“[For] comedy purists, magic will never necessarily quench their desire for true art,” he continued, “but I think it’s really fun when you figure out where magic and comedy can come together for a lovely little marriage, but not overpower one another.”
7. Hell Motel – Tuesday, June 17, Hollywood Suite 2010s
For five seasons, from 2016 though 2023, Canadian writer Aaron Martin delighted horror fans with a tongue-in-cheek anthology called Slasher — each season focusing on a different town terrorized by a different masked maniac. While not what you’d call a “spoof” exactly, the show did approach the genre with a macabre sense of humour. Expect a similar blend of shocks and guffaws in Martin’s latest offering.
Here, Martin and co-creator Ian Carpenter invite us to check in to the Cold River Motel, site of the infamous Satanic Mass Murder, which is still unsolved after 30 years. Newly renovated, the old haunt is ready for its grand reopening, and the owners have recruited 10 true crime enthusiasts to be their guests of honour. Naturally, they get themselves stranded . . . and soon enough the bodies start piling up all over again.
That guest list includes a former B-movie scream queen (Paula Brancati) and a crime writer (Atticus Mitchell) who once lived through a mass murder nightmare of his own — plus, Canadian Will & Grace alum Eric McCormack as a shady chef with “a wickedly sinister flair.” Click here to watch trailer.
8. Outrageous – Wednesday, June 17, BritBox | Series Premiere
Based on Mary S. Lovell’s nonfiction tome The Mitford Girls, this series follows six sisters who set U.K. high society aflutter with their gossip-worthy antics circa the 1930s. It’s teased as “a tale of betrayal, scandal, heartache and even imprison-ment.” Click here to watch trailer.
9. Somebody Feed Phil – Wednesday, June 18, Netflix | Season Premiere
He created one of the most beloved TV comedies of all time, Everybody Loves Raymond. Naturally, when that show ended its nine-season run in 2005, Phil Rosenthal had plenty of career options. But much like Seinfeld’s Larry David, Rosenthal followed his behind-the-scenes sitcom success by moving into the spotlight.
Somebody Feed Phil has spent seven seasons now spotlighting Rosenthal’s boundless enthusiasm and affable charm as he traverses the world seeking out new and exciting delicacies.
Season eight takes Phil to such far-flung locales as Amsterdam, Australia, Georgia, Guatemala and, closer to home, Boston and Las Vegas. Along the way, he’s joined by the likes of Donny Osmond, and his old Everybody Loves Raymond stars Ray Romano and Brad Garrett.
In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Rosenthal reflected on the unlikely origins of his wanderlust: “My cousins in Atlanta took me to a new place — it was new to me — called 7-Eleven, which we didn’t have in New York. We go, and OK, it looks like a store. What’s this? This kind of Space Age-looking machine that made slushy drinks. And I had one, a Coca-Cola Slurpee. I had this and it changed my life, because I thought, “I have to travel more.” [Laughs] . . . It was like, “I guess the world is worth knowing.” Click here to watch trailer.
10. Edge of Daybreak – Thursday, June 19, A&E
In the 1970s, a group of inmates in a maximum-security prison formed an R&B band called Edge of Daybreak. In a single five-hour session, they recorded eight original songs channeling their passions and visions of freedom. Sadly, the resulting album languished and was forgotten for nearly four decades. After they were released from prison, their music was subsequently rediscovered, with one of their songs making it onto the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning film Moonlight. This documentary explores the heart of the American justice system, the transformative power of creativity and the profound impact of second chances.