From a Seth Meyers standup comedy special to a new documentary about Martha Stewart, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week
1. Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking – Saturday, October 26, HBO Canada
From his tenure as head writer and “Weekend Update” anchor on Saturday Night Live through his current gig on Late Night, Seth Meyers has spent the better part of two decades wittily dissecting pop culture and politics.
Along the way, he’s also periodically had the chance to get more personal in his musings via podcasting and standup. As Meyers told The Wrap: “I think you could get a little soft hosting a show like [Late Night] because of how good your staff is. And if you don’t take it upon yourself to also try to perform and improve the way you deliver material . . . you kind of owe it to your staff to do that.”
His latest effort on the standup front hits HBO this Saturday. It finds the Emmy winner quipping about the agony and the indignity of raising three young children, in addition to offering his advice on communicating with your spouse and the best way to cross the street in New York. Per a release, “Dad Man Walking showcases Meyers’ effortless conversational style as he offers up hilarious reflections on family, generational legacies and why his kids provide the best material for his comedy.”
Given that Seth’s 2019 Netflix special, Lobby Baby, detailed how his wife was forced to give birth in the lobby of their Manhattan apartment building, we can’t say we disagree. In fact, he may have set the family anecdote bar a tad too high!
2. Special Ops: Lioness – Sunday, October 27, Paramount+ | Season Premiere
Zoe Saldaña returns for a second tour on Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s military drama. As fans will recall, she plays Joe, head of the CIA’s “Lioness” program, which recruits promising female soldiers to do the Agency’s messy undercover work.
Taking some time off to refocus on her marriage, Joe is called back to active duty when “the CIA’s fight against terror moves closer to home.”
While season-one asset Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) is still very much in the mix, this mission requires a new recruit. The Umbrella Academy’s Genesis Rodriguez will play helicopter pilot Josephina Carrillo, described as a devoted soldier with a “fierce personality.” Also back are Nicole Kidman as Joe’s boss, Kaitlyn Meade, and Morgan Freeman as Secretary of State Edwin Mullins, now upped from guest to series regular.
3. Somebody Somewhere – Sunday, October 27, HBO Canada | Season Premiere
Despite having nabbed a Peabody Award for its second season, Somebody Somewhere remains one of HBO’s underappreciated gems for its hilarious yet deeply human portrayal of a conservative Midwestern town and the collection of misfits who exist on its fringes, giving the sleepy little ’burgh a much-needed streak of personality. Alas, like so many buried TV treasures before it, the show will end after what many will say is far too short a run.
Season three premieres this Sunday with the first of seven farewell episodes, wrapping up the saga of Sam (Bridget Everett) — a resident of Manhattan, Kansas, who spent 40-plus years not fitting in before at last finding a community of fellow outcasts that allowed her to embrace her inner diva and, quite literally, raise her voice. The season’s synopsis cryptically teases that our beloved rogues’ gallery will experience “growth against all odds,” as Sam, her best pal Joel (Jeff Hiller) et al. grapple with both changing personal circumstances — like Joel selling his house, leaving Sam suddenly in need of new accommodations — and more profound quandaries, like that ineffable yearning for “a little bit more” out of life.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter this past May about the experience of shooting season three (before it was announced this would be the show’s final chapter), Everett reflected: “Honestly, it feels like a family. [Co-creators Paul Thureen and Hannah Bos] do a great job of keeping everybody uplifted and feeling great, and I just feel like we have a better idea of what the show is now. There were so many beautiful moments that I’m really excited about.”
4. The Marlow Murder Club on Masterpiece – Sunday, October 27, WVTS & KCTS | Series Premiere
When the English village of Marlow is rocked by a slew of inexplicable killings, the stumped coppers get some unexpected help from a local retiree (Downton Abbey’s Samantha Bond) and her friends, in this four-part take on Robert Thorogood’s novel.
5. Olivia Rodrigo: Guts World Tour – Tuesday, October 29, Netflix
Olivia Rodrigo has emerged as one of today’s hottest young pop stars, and this new Netflix concert special provides fans with a front-row seat for her worldwide, 95-date arena tour. Filmed at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Rodrigo serves up performances of songs from her latest album, Guts, and her debut album, Sour. “I am so excited to share the Guts World Tour with my fans,” the singer said. “For those of you who didn’t get a chance to rock out in person, now you can have the best seats in the house! And to the fans who cheered, screamed and danced with me, I am so glad we get to do it all over again!”
6. Martha – Wednesday, October 30, Netflix
Martha Stewart has left an indelible impression on pop culture since emerging in the 1980s as the go-to expert on the art of fine living. After publishing her first cookbook, Entertaining, in 1982, she went on to become a ubiquitous television presence for decades on the syndicated series Martha Stewart Living, and then became America’s first self-made female billionaire when she took her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, public in 1999.
Of course, it all went south in 2004 when she was jailed for insider trading — an ordeal from which she emerged stronger than ever, eventually reinventing herself as part of a wildly successful (and just as wildly unlikely) duo alongside rapper Snoop Dogg.
All these facets of the lifestyle guru are explored in Martha, a new documentary from acclaimed filmmaker R.J. Cutler, whose docs span politics (The War Room), fashion (The September Issue), music (Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry) and more.
The film itself is somewhat standard, presenting a linear chronology of Stewart’s storied life, while the woman herself spars with Cutler when she feels annoyed by his line of questioning.
Interestingly, Stewart is not a fan of Cutler’s portrayal of her. When interviewed onstage by The Daily Beast’s chief creative and content officer Joanna Coles during the 2024 Retail Influencer CEO Forum, the 83-year-old dismissed Martha as “lazy” and openly shared her complaints.
“I try not to talk publicly about the things I don’t like, [as] it’s not good business,” she said, but then added, “I can talk a little bit badly about that.”
Her chief bone of contention was that Cutler spent far more time on a certain scandalous aspect of her life than she felt it warranted. “It’s more about my stupid trial, which was so unfair,” she griped.
7. Only Murders in the Building – Tuesday, October 29, Disney+ | Season Finale
The Arconia Trio wrap season four of their murder mystery comedy, as Charles, Mabel and Oliver look to crack yet another guest-star-studded case that’s taken them from Manhattan to Hollywood and back after the killing of Charles’ longtime stunt-lady, Sazz.
8. Buy It Now – Wednesday, October 30, Prime Video | Series Premiere
Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank best be on notice: Amazon is about to change the game when it comes to business-pitching competitions.
Debuting with three episodes on Wednesday, Buy It Now gives its entrepreneurs 90 seconds to address a studio audience of 100 people — who also double as the show’s first judges. If contestants are able to make the most of their time, and sell these consumers on their product and its price, they move on to a more exclusive panel made up of Amazon executives and celebrity business magnates. Only one entrepreneur per episode will walk away with a $20,000 cash infusion, but any number of contestants who make it past the audience judging phase can, at the panel’s discretion, have their product featured front-and-centre on Amazon’s online marketplace in the “Buy It Now” section.
The show’s rotating celebrity judges include actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Anderson, both of whom have launched successful businesses (Goop and AC Barbeque, respectively), as well as social media guru Tabitha Brown, titan of fashion Christian Siriano and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Meanwhile, keeping things light amidst the high stakes is host J.B. Smoove, of Saturday Night Live and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame.
9. American Godfathers: The Five Families – Wednesday, October 30, History | Series Premiere
Sopranos alum Michael Imperioli is producer and narrator of this three-part, six-hour documentary series exploring the inception, rise and fall of New York City’s five Mafia families. During their heyday, over a 50-year period, these interconnected gangs had a hand in every facet of organized crime in America, from bootlegging and drug trafficking to extortion, gambling and more.
10. Music By John Williams – Friday, November 1, Disney+
Known for his unforgettable scores for such classic films as Jaws, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and so many more, movie music mastermind John Williams is the focus of this documentary that delves deeply into the incredible career of the legendary 92-year-old composer.