Mark Ruffalo will play twins in a new HBO limited series Sunday called “I Know This Much Is True” based on the Wally Lamb bestselling book.
As The New York Times notes, "Ruffalo alternately fights, comforts and runs after himself, a tricky double act [director Derek] Cianfrance captured via shrewd camera placement, occasional CGI and a six-week production shutdown. That was when Ruffalo, who had shot for 17 weeks as Dominick, went away to gain 30 pounds and walk back his skin care routine in order to return as Thomas, who has schizophrenia."
HBO is also releasing a documentary Tuesday about Natalie Wood, a popular actress who drowned in 1981 under mysterious circumstances. While the coroner called it accidental, many believe it was murder.
Netflix’s biggest offerings this week are the return of its hit series “Dead to Me” starring Christina Applegate for a second season Friday and a stand-up special hosted by Jerry Seinfeld Tuesday.
Among the COVID-19-related projects this week, Fox is debuting “Celebrity Watch Party” Thursday featuring celebrities at home commenting about TV shows and events of the week. And on Sunday night at 7 p.m., ABC is creating a second “Disney Singalong” special while NBC is airing an event to help the Feeding America charity starring a raft of comedians.
Among shows wrapping up their seasons: CBS’s “The Neighborhood,” “All Rise” and Bull” Monday; ABC’s “The Conners,” “mixed-ish” and “black-ish” Tuesday; CBS’s “Tommy” Thursday; CBS’s “MacGyver” and “Magnum P.I.” Friday; and Starz’ “Outlander” Sunday.
NBC’s “Blindspot” returns for a fifth season Thursday, pushed back a week because of the last-second “Parks & Recreation” reunion charity special.
This covers Monday, May 4 through Sunday, May 10, 2020
MONDAY
"9-1-1" 8 p.m. Fox – The 118 races to rescue a little girl in a runaway hot air balloon and help with a city power outage caused by a hijacked tree-trimmer truck.
"The Neighborhood" 8 p.m. CBS (second season finale) – A near-accident awakens Dave's sense of civic duty, prompting him to team up with Calvin to try to improve the safety of their community.
"The Voice" 8 p.m. NBC – The top 17 perform in the show's first "remote" edition, though Carson Daly will be in the empty "Voice" studio with a stripped down crew.
"All Rise" 8 p.m. CBS (first season finale) – Los Angeles is under a mandatory shelter-in-place order and trials are piling up.
"Baker and the Beauty" 10 p.m. ABC – While meeting the Garcias for the first time, Noa accidentally reveals a big secret, causing chaos among the family; meanwhile, Vanessa shows up unannounced and finds herself face-to-face with her rival for the first time.
"Bull" 10 p.m. CBS (fourth season finale) – Bull and the TAC team help Taylor bring a civil suit against the woman who killed Taylor's friend in a hit-and-run when the driver evades criminal charges by claiming diplomatic immunity.
"My Brilliant Friend" 10 p.m. HBO (first season finale) – A seemingly casual encounter on a holiday sends Lila and Elena off into two different worlds.
"Songland" 10:01 p.m. NBC – Five-time CMA-winning country superstar, Martina McBride, comes to "Songland" to hear unknown songwriters pitch their original material.
TUESDAY
"Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill" 3:01 a.m. Netflix – Seinfeld tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.
"The Conners" 8 p.m. ABC (second season finale) – Darlene and Ben go apartment hunting as they take on the next step in building their life together.
"The Voice" 8 p.m. NBC — Live results for the top nine.
"Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind" 9 p.m. HBO— A portrait of Natalie Wood (1938-81) charts her prolific acting career, which began when she was 4 years old, and features interviews conducted by her daughter Natasha Gregson Wagner.
"Mixed-ish" 9 p.m. ABC (first season finale) - Paul and Alicia are offered jobs to work on the presidential campaign of Jesse Jackson, but Alicia's law firm gives her an enticing offer so she can stay.
"Black-ish" 9:30 p.m. ABC (sixth season finale) - Dre discovers something surprising about Ruby and Pops. Junior tries to rekindle a past romance upon feeling the pressure to find love.
"For Life" 10 p.m. ABC – Aaron finally gets a chance to argue his retrial in court, but it's thwarted by the return of prison warden, Cyrus Hunt.
"FBI: Most Wanted" 10 p.m. CBS (first season finale) – When a bank-robbing, father-and-son duo escape from a prison transport van on their way to trial and pick up where they left off, the team must hunt them down before they steal enough money to escape the country.
WEDNESDAY
"Mrs. America" 3:01 a.m. Hulu - Elizabeth Banks plays Jill Ruckelshaus, a pro-choice, socially progressive Republican trying to keep her party in a more moderate space.
"The Goldbergs" 8 p.m. ABC – Adam and Brea's relationship is going well until Beverly's over-involvement causes them to fake a breakup.
"The Masked Singer" 8 p.m. Fox –The final five singers compete in the quarterfinals.
"Survivor" 8 p.m. CBS (two-hour episode) – Tony's playing this game so well, it's clear others will target him the moment he doesn't win an immunity idol.
"American Housewife" 9 p.m. ABC – After Anna-Kat's big win with The Wildflower Girls, the Ottos head to California for an all-expenses paid family vacation.
"The Oval" 9 p.m. BET – Chickens come home to roost for the President as past sins come back to haunt Hunter and Victoria.
"Seal Team" 10 p.m. CBS – Jason and Mandy visit a family of an informant who was killed in duty; Ray and the Bravo head out for a time-sensitive mission
"Brockmire" 10 p.m. IFC (series finale) – Artificial intelligence takes steps in pursuit to rule the world and attempts to take over baseball.
"Shark Tank" 10 p.m. ABC (special night and time) – Sustainable teeth-cleaning products; a solution for packing light and traveling easier with baby gear.
THURSDAY
"Tyler Perry's Bruh" 3:01 a.m. BET+ (new series) – Four buddies navigate their 30s, maintaining a tight support system that has kept them going since college.
"Celebrity Watch Party" 8 p.m. Fox (new series) – A series created by the pandemic, famous people in their homes discuss the biggest shows and news events on TV in the past week. Among the participants: Rob Lowe, Meghan Trainor, Joe Buck, Raven-Symoné, Master P and Romeo, JoJo Siwa, Steve Wozniak, Curtis Stone, and Robert and Kym Herjavec.
"Council of Dads" 8 p.m. NBC – Larry presents an offer to Robin that will impact the future of the Crab Shack, catching Anthony and everyone else by surprise.
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" 8 p.m. ABC – Hannibal Buress continues his run on "Millionaire" playing for Melvina Masterminds, while Catherine O'Hara steps up to play in support of Upward Bound House.
"Station 19" 9 p.m. ABC – Ben, Jackson and Emmett are put in a precarious and dangerous position with a potential victim.
"Blindspot" 9 p.m. NBC (fifth season debut) – Jane tries to pick up the pieces after the explosive events in Iceland.
"Tommy" 10 p.m. CBS (first season finale) – Tommy and her inner circle fight back against an LAPD and city government conspiracy to have her removed as police chief.
"How to Get Away With Murder" 10:01 p.m. ABC – Tegan's past affects her role as counsel for Annalise's murder trial; A news about Xavier comes out while Nate is seeing Jorge Castillo.
FRIDAY
"Dead to Me" 3:01 a.m. Netflix (second season debut) — Jen and Judy try to cover up the fact that Jen killed Judy's former beau.
"The Eddy" 3:01 a.m. Netflix (new series) — A jazz club owner deals with the everyday struggles of running a live music venue in Paris.
"The Blacklist" 8 p.m. NBC — As the Task Force investigates a kidnapping executed by seemingly impossible abductors, Dembe lands in a perilous situation.
"MacGyver" 8 p.m. CBS (fourth season finale) — With Mac and Riley undercover with Codex, hoping to stop the organization from within, their mission is interrupted when Russ, Desi and the Phoenix team move to prevent Codex from detonating a weapon of mass destruction.
"Shark Tank" 8 p.m. ABC — Entrepreneurs from Arizona hope to sell millennials on a modern version of a fading fashion trend for men.
"Dynasty" 9 p.m. the CW (third season finale) — It's time for Fallon's surprise bachelorette party, and things go exactly as one would expect in the world of Carrington.
"Magnum P.I." 9 p.m. CBS (second season finale) — Magnum and Higgins are each hired by a different divorcing spouse to dig up dirt on the other.
WEEKEND
"American Idol" 8 p.m. Sunday ABC — A Mother's Day themed episode.
"The Disney Family Singalong Volume II" 7 p.m. Sunday ABC — The first one went so well, ABC is doing a sequel.
"Feeding America Comedy Festival" 7 p.m. Sunday NBC — Participants include Eddie Murphy, Tiffany Haddish and Adam Sandler.
"Outlander" 8 p.m. Sunday Starz (fifth season finale) — Starz didn't release a plot descriptive at the time I wrote this. The only thing I have is the title "Never My Love."
"Billions" 9 p.m. Sunday Showtime —Axe chases a play at Mike Prince's conference.
"I Know This Much Is True" 9 p.m. Sunday HBO (new limited series) — Paranoid schizophrenic Thomas Birdsey has a violent public breakdown, and Dominick Birdsey finds himself stepping up to defend his identical twin brother in unexpected ways. Mark Ruffalo plays both twins.
"The Good Witch" 9 p.m. Sunday Hallmark — Cassie helps Joy mark her mother's birthday by planting a tree and discovers a time capsule that Grace buried years ago.
"The Rookie" 10 p.m. Sunday ABC (second season finale) — In part two of the season finale, Nolan's discovery goes much deeper than he expected and could put his life and career in jeopardy.
"Insecure" 10:15 p.m. Sunday HBO — With the block party finally here, Issa is determined to deliver a memorable event, despite some surprises.
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