Happy Memorial Day, wherever you are. Here in the Mountain West where half of the CableTV.com team resides, it’s raining and sleeting, which puts a soggy damper on those holiday BBQ plans. At least there’s TV to watch (you saw that one coming, didn’t you?).
This week’s What to Watch recs include the returns of The Boys, The Orville, Physical, and P-Valley, WWE pro-wrestling action, a new South Park special, and a Sex Pistols punk-rock docudrama. Crank the A/C and start watching!
Jump to your preferred streaming service
What’s premiering this week
The Boys | Prime Video | Action, drama
Season 3 premiere, Friday, June 3: What’s worse than beloved superhero Homelander (Antony Starr) keeping his murderous psycho tendencies a secret? Showing his true self to the public, and they love him even more for it! That’s just one twist in Season 3 of The Boys, which also introduces new “supe” Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and bestows some Compound-V superpowers on Butcher (Karl Urban). Marvel Cinematic Universe, ya burnt!
WWE Hell in a Cell | Peacock | Sports, pro wrestling
Coverage begins Sunday, June 5, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT: Live from Chicago, it’s Hell in a Cell (a slightly cooler title than Rubes in a Cube). The body-slammin’ card includes Ezekiel vs. Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley vs. Omos & MVP (Handicap Match), Bianca Belair vs. Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (Triple Threat Match), and Cody Rhodes vs. Seth “Freakin’” Rollins (Hell in a Cell Match). No appearances by Sasha Banks or Naomi (unless their WWE “suspension” is a ruse).
What to watch on Netflix this week
Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special | Netflix | Comedy, standup
Special premiere, Monday, May 31: Before his untimely death in 2021, comedy icon Norm Macdonald taped a standup special in his living room just to get the material out there—that’s commitment. Besides his last set, Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special also includes tributes from the likes of David Letterman, Adam Sandler, and Conan O’Brien. Note the defiantly lo-fi teaser for the special at right, which is so Norm.
Interceptor | Netflix | Action, thriller
Movie premiere, Friday, June 3: Army captain J.J. Collins (Elsa Pataky, Fast & Furious) is charged with defending SBX-1, an oceanic military outpost that’s the first line of defense against Russian missiles. When a crooked ex-military officer and his mercenaries attempt to compromise the outpost, it’s up to Collins to stop them by any means necessary. If you like action movies that are short on plot but long on fighty-fight-fight scenes, Interceptor is for you.
What to watch on Hulu this week
Pistol | Hulu | Drama, music
Series premiere, Tuesday, May 31: Based on guitarist Steve Jones’ Lonely Boy memoir, Pistol docudramatizes the Sex Pistols’ chaotic 1975–1978 tear through rock history. Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) directs all six episodes with appropriate punk flash and fury, and Anson Boon is pure fire as Johnny Rotten. The real Johnny “Rotten” Lydon is none too happy about Pistol, saying the Sex Pistols are “now property of Mickey Mouse”—anarchy in Disneyland!
The Orville: New Horizons | Hulu | Comedy, sci-fi
Season 3 premiere, Thursday, June 2: Seth MacFarlane’s comic Star Trek homage has been away for three years, and this New Horizons Hulu run will be The Orville’s last (maybe). At least we get 11 new episodes, a few featuring the late Norm Macdonald as the voice of alien blob Yaphit (for being deceased, Norm’s having a busy week). Before Paramount+’s Trek renaissance, The Orville was the best Star Trek on TV—we salute you, Capt. MacFarlane.
What to watch on Paramount+ this week
South Park: The Streaming Wars | Paramount+ | Animation, comedy
Special premiere, Wednesday, June 1: The third South Park special for Paramount+ hits a little close to home for the team here at CableTV.com, at least in title. The name is pretty much all we know about South Park: The Streaming Wars, however, besides that Cartman is fighting with his mom (again) and he’s not thrilled about their new home in a hot dog trailer (hey, it looks sweet to us). As for the wars of streaming, we’ll find out with the rest of you.
2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Paramount+ | Awards
Special premiere, Sunday, June 5: Paramount Global (the media behemoth formerly known as ViacomCBS) wants to make damn sure you don’t miss this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards: MTV, MTV2, VH1, TV Land, Pop, Paramount Network, Nickelodeon, Logo, Comedy Central, CMT, BET, BET Her, The CW, and Paramount+ are all carrying the show live. The Bachelorette’s Tayshia Adams hosts (meh), and Jack Black receives the Comedic Genius award (yay!).
W2W wildcards of the week
Physical | Apple TV+ | Comedy, drama
Season 2 premiere, Friday, June 3: Rising ’80s fitness guru Sheila (Rose Byrne) has some new and well-funded competition in aerobics stud Vinnie Green (Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus). He has infomercials and a following; she’s selling her VHS tapes at supermarkets and state fairs—needless to say, competitive Sheila is jealous AF. The comedy of Physical remains as dark as ever, with Byrne turning in a performance that’s simultaneously riveting and repellant.
P-Valley | STARZ | Drama
Season 2 premiere, Sunday, June 5: Like Physical, the first season of STARZ’s P-Valley dove headlong into a unique and fascinating world full of magnetic characters that wasn’t seen by many. Set in the Mississippi Delta, P-Valley follows the complicated lives of dancers and managers at The Pynk strip club; in Season 2, dancer Autumn Night (Elarica Johnson) and Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan) battle for control of said club. Don’t sleep on one of STARZ’s best series.
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