What to Watch This Week: Relax With Our Top 9 TV and Movie Picks (November 18–24)

New on TV this week

This week’s What To Watch picks include series premieres (Interior Chinatown, A Man on the Inside), returning series (Based on a True Story, The Sex Lives of College Girls), Ken Burns’ da Vinci doc, Obama on Our Oceans, a now-slim fat-joke king (Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny), an avenging angel (Rita), and a remade body-horror cult classic (Street Trash). Get to the couch!

Leonardo da Vinci | PBS | Documentary

Limited series, Monday & Tuesday, November 18–19, 8pm: Amazingly, esteemed documentarian Ken Burns, daughter Sarah Burns, and son-in-law David McMahon—who previously collaborated on The Central Park Five (2012), Jackie Robinson (2016), and Muhammad Ali (2021)—somehow cover Leonardo da Vinci’s manifold genius in only two episodes totaling four hours. Da Vinci’s legacy of art, concepts, and inventions (I could go on) seems like it could be as long as some of Burn’s famously lengthy 11–18 hour projects. That said, who am I to question the da Vinci of documentaries? The series premieres Monday and concludes the following night.

New on Hulu this week

Interior Chinatown | Hulu | Drama

Series premiere, Tuesday, November 19: This Hulu Original drama series based on Charles Yu’s best-selling novel is also adapted for television by Yu, who previously wrote for Westworld). Comedian Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley) plays Willis Wu, a background character on a police procedural who dreams of bigger things. After witnessing a real crime, Wu is drawn into Chinatown’s seedy side, where he learns interesting things about his family’s history. All ten episodes stream today on Hulu.

New on Netflix this week

Our Oceans | Netflix | Documentary, nature

Limited series premiere, Wednesday, November 20: Is former President Barack Obama the new David Attenborough? Maybe. The velvet-voiced former commander in chief narrates this series about oceans and marine life. Do we need another one? From an environmental standpoint, yeah—awareness fuels preservation efforts. But we have it on good authority that stoned couch creatures always appreciate another dose of 4K eye candy (and care about the environment). All five episodes stream today.

New on Peacock this week

Based on a True Story | Peacock | Comedy

Season 2 premiere, Thursday, November 21: True-crime-obsessed Ava Bartlett (Kaley Cuoco) and her husband Nathan (Chris Messina) return after solving a murder mystery in this dark comedy/thriller’s first season. After giving birth, Ava aims to stifle her amateur gumshoe ways, but (you know what’s comin’, don’t ya?) gets seduced by yet more mysterious murders. All eight episodes stream today on Peacock. Tom Bateman (Da Vinci’s Demons) also stars as Nathan’s killer friend.

New on Netflix this week

A Man on the Inside | Netflix | Comedy

Limited series premiere, Thursday, November 21: Speakin’ of true stories: Ted Danson again teams with Mike Schur (creator of The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine) on this limited series based on the Oscar-nominated Chilean documentary The Mole Agent. Danson portrays a bored, widowed retiree who answers a private detective’s ad and becomes a spy in a San Francisco retirement home. Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) also star.

New on Max this week

The Sex Lives of College Girls | Max | Comedy

Season 3 premiere, Thursday, November 22: This popular Max Original comedy—Created by Emmy®-nominated writer and producer Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble—returns for its third season this week. The series follows four students (Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Reneé Rapp, and Alyah Chanelle Scott) at New England’s prestigious Essex College as they lead sex-positive lifestyles and contend with various collegiate predicaments and adult dilemmas. Following this week’s premiere, new installments of the 10-episode series will stream weekly on Max.

New on Shudder this week

Rita | Shudder | Horror, fantasy

Movie premiere, Friday, November 22: Jayro Bustamante (La Llorona) directs this fantasy-horror film based on a true story. Rita, our titular 13-year-old protagonist, flees a neglectful household and winds up institutionalized in Guatemala City. There, the evil staff abuse Rita and the other troubled girls, but the girls come to believe Rita is their prophesied angel savior—and they become motivated to escape. Did we mention Rita won the Best Cinematography Award at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival?

New on Hulu this week

Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny | Hulu | Stand-up comedy

Special, Friday, November 22: Newly svelte—thanks to hard work and not cancer, thank you very much—comedian Jim Gaffigan suits up for his 13th comedy special. In addition to his new non-corpulent physique, Gaffigan tackles alcohol ads, family life, and marriage: “My wife was, like, ‘Don’t gaslight me.’ I’ve never heard that term before. She was, like, ‘You’ve never heard of gaslighting?’ And I was, like, ‘I don’t think anyone on this planet has heard of gaslighting. You might be going crazy.’” Jokes like that are how you get to do 13 specials.

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