Memorial Day is coming up, and what better way to spend your day off than catching up on CableTV.com’s Best New TV Shows of 2024 (So Far)? It’s a solid list, if I do say so myself.
This week’s What to Watch recs include the final season of Evil, new Jennifer Lopez sci-fi flick Atlas, Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Ball concert film, the return of My Adventures With Superman, and Indy 500 racing action. Stream on through Memorial Day weekend!
What’s new on TV this week
Evil | Paramount+ | Drama, horror
Season 4 premiere, Thursday, May 23: When it moved to Paramount+ from CBS after its first season, Evil got wilder, scarier, and just plain better. Now that the end is near (season 4 will be the show’s last) Evil can just go all the way to crazy town. The supernatural dramedy procedural—it’s not an easy show to sum up—sends Evil’s demon-hunting trio (Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi) further down the hell hole in its final run, which has a whopping 14 episodes to wrap it all up. Let’s get Evil!
Coverage begins Sunday, May 26, 9:30 a.m. PT/12:30 p.m. ET: Live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s the 2024 Indianapolis 500. It must be Memorial Day weekend … where has the year gone? Ride-or-die motorheads will want to invest in a Peacock subscription because the streamer will carry all of the practice runs and qualifying events leading up to the main race. NBC (and Spanish-language channel UNIVERSO) will only broadcast the Indy 500 itself on Sunday.
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What to watch on Netflix this week
Rachel Feinstein: Big Guy | Netflix | Comedy
Standup special premiere, Tuesday, May 21: Comedian Rachel Feinstein is a mom married to a firefighter, which prompted her three-year-old daughter to observe, “My daddy’s a hero and mommy’s sarcastic.” Big Guy, Feinstein’s first hourlong standup special for Netflix, is all about firefighter family life, which includes a gaggle of fellow “fire wives” who are apparently all named Gina. Also, Feinstein’s mother, a hyper-woke progressive who would have preferred her daughter marry “a genderless Kenyan.”
Atlas | Netflix | Drama, sci-fi
Movie premiere, Friday, May 24: In the dystopian future, data analysts have names like Atlas Shepard (played by Jennifer Lopez, the go-to for an “average data analyst” role). Also, there’s a renegade AI robot that’s bent on wiping out humankind to end all wars. While this isn’t a bad idea, it’s up to Atlas to stop the robot, which may also be … her brother? Atlas is a galaxy-tripping sci-fi action flick on the surface (director Brad Peyton also did San Andreas and Rampage), but the plot runs deeper than expected.
What to watch on Max this week
Concert special premiere, Saturday, May 25: Her previous HBO concert special, 2011’s Lady Gaga Presents the Monsters Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden, was a musical and visual spectacular that seemed impossible to ever top. Gaga Chromatica Ball, filmed during Lady Gaga’s 2022 tour stop at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, promises to do just that with bigger production, glitzier costumes, and a packed setlist of hits (she’s had a few more since 2011). Multi-threat Gaga also directed the special, NBD.
Mad Max Trilogy | Max | Drama, sci-fi
Movies, now streaming: Just in time for the theatrical release of Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Max (the streaming service, not Mel Gibson’s character) is streaming the O.G. Mad Max trilogy—and we may have just maxed out on Max usage here. Mad Max (the low-budget 1979 debut), Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (better known as 1981’s blockbuster The Road Warrior), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (the campy 1985 trilogy closer) aren’t essential to understanding the current Mad Max movies, but they are fun as hell.
More of what to watch on streaming this week
Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza | Paramount+ | Documentary, Music
Series premiere, Tuesday, May 21: In the summer of 1991, a raggedy traveling festival launched as the farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction, masterminded by singer Perry Ferrell. Unexpectedly, Lollapalooza exploded into a countercultural phenomenon of music, art, and activism far removed from today’s influencer fashion shows it helped spawn (looking at you, Coachella). The three-episode Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza features footage from bands and fans, as well as plenty of esoteric insights from Ferrell.
My Adventures With Superman | Adult Swim, Max | Animation, fantasy
Season 2 premiere, Sunday, May 26: When it premiered in 2023, My Adventures With Superman was hailed as a welcome throwback to the Man of Steel’s earnest comic-book roots (let’s all just admit that the dark and broody S-man of recent years was a drag). Superman/Clark Kent (voiced by The Boys’ Jack Quaid), Lois Lane (Alice Lee), and Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid) are still finding their way as 20-somethings, and season 2 brings Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and Supergirl into the mix. Two episodes premiere on May 26.
New movie releases available to rent/buy on VOD this week
- Darkness of Man (May 21)
- Dead Wrong (May 21)
- A Nashville Legacy (May 21)
- Princess Halle & The Jester (May 21)
- Rhapsody In Justice (May 21)
- Relative (May 21)
- Civil War (May 24)
- Queen of the Deuce (May 24)
