Dive into dating.
“The Bachelor” franchise has had a couple of explosive seasons in recent years, but for better or worse, Grant Ellis’s journey to find love has been pretty uneventful. With two women left vying for his attention, the three-hour finale will reveal who receives the final rose, if he gives one at all. Afterward, ABC often debuts its next female lead of “The Bachelorette,” but earlier this year the network announced that it would be skipping this season. Instead, we’ll have the more fun, raunchy and relatable “Bachelor in Paradise” coming back sometime this spring or summer. Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
After writing a book of essays entitled “Survival of the Thickest,” Michelle Buteau created a Netflix series in which she stars as Mavis Beaumont, and it is returning for a second season. The first installment saw Mavis catch her partner in bed with another woman and deal with that fallout while receiving support from her crew of besties. Season 2 will continue to follow Mavis’s dating journey as a plus-size woman of color. In an interview, Buteau also noted that the show is her love letter to New York City, where it’s set. Streaming on Thursday on Netflix.
Some international favorites.
The third season of the British comedy “Big Boys” is coming stateside this week. The series, loosely inspired by the creator Jack Rooke’s university days, follows Jack (Dylan Llewellyn), a gay student who’s closeted and mourning the death of his father. He forms an unexpected bond with his roommate Danny (Jon Pointing), who is most often found chatting up girls but is also hiding his mental health struggles. The third season got rave reviews when it premiered in Britain in February — The Independent called it “one of the finest British comedies of the past decade.” Streaming on Tuesday on Hulu.
The French show “Bref” started out as a YouTube series in 2011, with its one- to two-minute episodes amassing 131 million views. Now they have lengthened to 30 minutes, which allows the protagonist, played by Kyan Khojandi, to explore different facets of all his relationships. Streaming on Wednesday on Hulu.
In “Caught,” a new Argentine series based on a book of the same name by Harlan Coben, Soledad Villamil plays an investigative journalist with a knack for exposing criminals who are often able to avoid justice. She’s faced with a dilemma when the prime suspect involved in the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl is someone she knows. Streaming on Netflix on Wednesday.
Goofing off with your pals and co-workers.
If you’ve ever seen “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express” or “This Is the End,” you know that producing-and-writing duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg specialize in cringe-y humor. And though the movie business, which is the setting of their new show “The Studio,” has less absurdist potential than, say, surviving an apocalypse, that comedic element is still there. Rogen stars as the newly appointed chief of Continental Studios with Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn and Catherine O’Hara rounding out the cast. Streaming on Wednesday on AppleTV+.
There is something to be said about the joy of a hangout show like “Seinfeld,” “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother”— the stakes are low and the vibes are good. Now from the creators of “Will & Grace,” the new series “Mid Century Modern” follows Jerry (Matt Bomer), Bunny (Nathan Lane) and Arthur (Nathan Lee Graham), three gay men “of a certain age” who decide to live together in Palm Springs. Linda Lavin stars as Bunny’s mother in her last role before her death, at 87, in December. Streaming on Friday on Hulu.
X marks the spot.
In 2010, the millionaire Forrest Fenn hid a treasure chest filled with gold coins, gems and jewelry somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. The only clue for its location came from a 24-line poem. Tons of people left their jobs and homes to search for the treasure, with five people dying while on the trek. In 2020 Fenn announced that the fortune had been found by an undisclosed man from the East Coast. The new three-part documentary series “Gold & Greed” profiles those who tried and failed to get their hands on it. Streaming on Thursday on Netflix.
The new thriller series “MobLand” could get you hooked right out of the gate with its all-star cast: Pierce Brosnan plays the head of the Harrigans, a crime family from London, Helen Mirren stars as his wife and Tom Hardy takes on the role of his loyal fixer. Blood is spilled, threats are made and chaos ensues when the Harrigans go up against the Stevensons, another mob family. Streaming on Sunday on Paramount+.
