News · TV

‘Krypton’, ‘Instinct,’ ‘March of the Penguins 2,’ and More TV You Must See This Week

Plus: an action movie from the ‘Workaholic’ guys, an Arthur Miller documentary, a Roxanne Shanté biopic, and the latest from the director of ‘Narcos.’
Krypton Official Trailer X
By  · Published on March 18th, 2018

This week’s TV caters to all kinds of tastes with a truly varied mix: a police procedural starring Alan Cumming, a Superman prequel series, an action-packed comedy that moonlights as a Workaholics reunion, a political high-stakes drama from the director of Narcos, a rap biopic about hip hop’s first female pioneer, a documentary about an American theater icon, and the sequel to an acclaimed nature documentary; all neatly packed within seven days.

To help you keep track of the most important programs over the next seven days, here’s our guide to everything worth watching, whether it’s on broadcast, cable, or streaming for March 18th –24th (all times Eastern):

Instinct (CBS, Sunday 8pm)

Alan Cumming is one of those actors who can steal the show even just as a supporting character (which for some reason is often the case). But after The Good Wife, CBS knows better and has placed the actor at the center of its latest police procedural, Instinct. Based on James Patterson’s novel “Murder Games,” the show follows Dr. Dylan Reinhart (Cumming), a former CIA operative turned author and university professor who is lured back into his old life when NYPD detective Elizabeth Needham (Bojana Novakovic) asks for his help to stop a serial killer who is using Reinhart’s book as a guide for murders. Naveen Andrews, Sharon Leal, Daniel Ings, and Whoopi Goldberg also star in this series from Michael Rauch (Royal Pains). Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) directs the pilot.

Arthur Miller: Writer (HBO, Monday 8pm)

Being the son or daughter of a cultural icon gives you a very peculiar perspective of your parent. Filmmaker Rebecca Miller (Maggie’s Plan) knows this and uses her advantaged point of view to paint an intimate portrait of her father, Arthur Miller, in this HBO documentary. Candid photographs, private letters and journal entries, home movies, and in-depth interviews with Miller himself piece together the story of the playwright. Covering everything from his childhood, his breakout success in the ’40s and ’50s, his stormy relationship with Marilyn Monroe, his trial in Congress by the House Un-American Activities Committee, his 40-year marriage to photographer Inge Morath, to his evolution as a writer throughout the decades, Arthur Miller: Writer offers a comprehensive look at the life of one of the most important figures of 20th century American theater.

Krypton (Syfy, Wednesday 10pm)

In a distant galaxy, far away from The CW’s Arrowverse, lays Krypton. Set decades before the destruction of Superman’s titular home planet, Syfy’s new series revolves around the Man of Steel’s grandfather Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe) and his fight to return honor to the disgraced family, as an obscure menace closes in on his beloved world. Even though Krypton won’t cross over with other DC series or movies, it still has the company’s trademark signature, as screenwriter David S. Goyer (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) figures as creator and executive producer, and characters like Adam Strange and Brainiac play pivotal roles in the story. Shaun Sipos, Blake Ritson, Ann Ogbomo, Aaron Pierre, Georgina Campbell, Wallis Day, and Ian McElhinney also join the Kryptonian cast.

Game Over, Man! (Netflix, Friday)

Workaholics creators/alumni Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson, and Anders Holm have graduated from corporate office life to hotel management (sort of). The trio reunites to play friends who work as staff at a grand L.A. hotel to pay the bills while trying to get their video game financed. When they finally find a wealthy benefactor, their would-be patron is taken hostage by gunmen at their workplace. Naturally, the guys decide to go full John McClane and take on the criminals by themselves. Directed by their Workaholics collaborator Kyle Newacheck and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Game Over, Man! makes Die Hard meet bromantic comedy.

March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step (Hulu, Friday)

Part of the internet’s modern fondness for clumsy animals can be traced back to 2005 and the Academy Award-winning documentary March of the Penguins. For many, it was the first approach to the gawky yet endearing shenanigans of the Antarctic critters. Now, a decade later, director Luc Jacquet returns to the frozen continent with 4K cameras, drones, and state-of-the-art diving gear to revisit his flightless subjects and observe them under a new light, as he follows a father and a son through triumphs and tribulations. Naturally, Morgan Freeman lends his dulcet tones once again to narrate this epic odyssey.

Roxanne Roxanne (Netflix, Friday)

Before Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, there was Roxanne Shanté. In the early ’80s, at the tender age of 14, Lolita Gooden AKA Roxanne Shanté was crashing Queens’ rap scene and making a name for herself as a fierce MC with razor-sharp wit. She would go on to become one of the first female rappers to score a hit single and the only female member of the Juice Crew. Produced by the team behind Fruitvale Station and Dope, the biopic Roxanne Roxanne follows Shanté’s rise, from her days hustling to provide for her family up to the notorious “Roxanne Wars.” Chanté Adams debuts as the trail-blazing rhyme-smith, alongside Nia Long and Mahershala Ali, in a film written and directed by Michael Larnell and scored by RZA.

The Mechanism (Netflix, Friday)

Four years ago, Brazil was thriving: the economy was steady; they were hosting the World Cup and preparing for the Olympic Games. Yet, amidst the buzz and excitement, what started as a simple investigation of money-laundering at a gas station in Brasilia, soon unraveled into a national corruption scandal that has put billionaires in jail, taken a president to court, and left the government at the brink of collapse. This real-life political drama, that ironically would put any given House of Cards episodes to shame, has found its way to Netflix. Directed by José Padilha (Elite SquadNarcos) and starring Selton Mello, Carol Abras, Enrique Diaz, Lee Taylor, and Antonio Saboia; The Mechanism turns the “Lava Jato” scandal into a slick, high-stakes drama that follows the small group of dogged investigators that discovered the biggest corruption scheme of all time. If you needed something to fill the void left by Narcos in between seasons, this is right up your alley.

Game Over Man Netflix

SUNDAY

Bob’s Burgers S8E10 “The Secret Ceramics Room of Secrets” (FOX, 7:30pm)

Counterpart S1E9 “No Man’s Land, Part One” (Starz, 8pm)

Instinct S1E1 (CBS, 8pm) – series premiere

The Simpsons S29E12 “Homer is Where the Art Isn’t” (FOX, 8pm)

Our Cartoon President S1E7 “Wealth Gap” (Showtime, 8pm)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine S5E12 “Safe House” (Fox, 8:30pm)

Ash vs. Evil Dead S3E4 “Unfinished Business” (Starz, 9pm)

Family Guy S16E12 “Send in Stewie, Please” (FOX, 9pm)

The Walking Dead S8E12 “The Key” (AMC, 9pm)

The Last Man on Earth S4E11 “Hamilton/Berg” (FOX, 9:30pm)

The Chi S1E10 “Ease on Down the Road” (Showtime, 10pm)

MONDAY

Arthur Miller: Writer (HBO, 8pm) – documentary premiere

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow S3E15 “Necromancing the Stone” (The CW, 8pm)

Epic Warrior Women S3E1 (Smithsonian, 8pm) – season premiere

Lucifer S3E18 “The Last Heartbreak” (FOX, 8pm)

The Alienist S1E9 “Requiem” (TNT, 9pm)

Living Bibically S1E4 “Thou Shalt Not Steal” (CBS, 9:30pm)

Good Girls S1E4 “Atom Bomb” (NBC, 10pm)

Scorpion S4E19 “Gator Done” (CBS, 10pm)

The Good Doctor S1E17 “Smile” (ABC, 10pm)

TUESDAY

The Standups S2 (Netflix) – season premiere

Shadowhunters S3E1 “On Infernal Ground” (Freeform, 8pm) – season premiere

Black Lightning S1E9 “The Book of Little Black Lies” (The CW, 9pm)

LA to Vegas S1E9 “Overbooked” (Fox, 9pm)

Adam Ruins Everything               S3E1 “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Truth” (truTV, 10pm) – season premiere

For the People S1E2 “Rahowa” (ABC, 10pm)

Rise S1E2 “Most of all to Dream” (NBC, 10pm)

Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. S1E4 “Take Your Best Shot” (USA, 10pm)

WEDNESDAY

Bear Grylls: Face the Wild S1E1 (Facebook) – series premiere

The Looming Tower S1E6 “Boys at War” (Hulu)

The X-Files S11E10 “My Struggle IV” (FOX, 8pm) – season finale

Riverdale S2E16 “Chapter Twenty-Nine: Primary Colors” (The CW, 8pm)

Alone Together S1E10 “Property Management” (Freeform, 8:30pm) – season finale

Speechless S2E18 “N-o-Nominee” (ABC, 8:30pm) – season finale

9-1-1 S1E10 “A Whole New You” (Fox, 9pm) – season finale

Law & Order: SVU S19E17 “Send in the Clowns” (NBC, 9pm)

Modern Family S9E16 “Wine Weekend” (ABC, 9pm)

Criminal Minds S13E17 “The Capilano’s” (CBS, 10pm)

Designated Survivor S2E14 “In the Dark” (ABC, 10pm)

Hap and Leonard S3E3 “T-Bone Mambo” (Sundance, 10pm)

Krypton S1E1 (Syfy, 10pm) – series premiere

The Assassination of Gianni Versace S2E9 “Alone” (FX, 10pm) – season finale

Back S1E3 (Sundance, 11pm)

THURSDAY

Innocent S1 (Sundance Now) – series premiere

Gotham S4E15 “The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause” (FOX, 8pm)

Grey’s Anatomy S14E16 “Caught Somewhere in Time” (ABC, 8pm)

RuPaul’s Drag Race S10E1 (VH1, 8pm) – season premiere

Superstore S3E16 “Target” (NBC, 8pm)

Station 19 S1E1&E2 “Stuck” & “Invisible to Me” (ABC, 9pm) – series premiere

Atlanta S2E4 “Helen” (FX, 10pm)

Portlandia S8E10 “Rose Route” (IFC, 10pm) – series finale

FRIDAY

Game Over, Man! (Netflix) – movie premiere

March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step (Hulu) – documentary premiere

The Mechanism S1 (Netflix) – series premiere

Requiem S1 (Netflix) – series premiere

Roxanne Roxanne (Netflix) – movie premiere

Santa Clarita Diet S2 (Netflix) – season premiere

The Defiant Ones S1 (Netflix) – series premiere

Once Upon a Time S7E14 “The Girl in the Tower” (ABC, 8pm)

Jane The Virgin S4E14 “Chapter Seventy-Eight” (The CW, 9pm)

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