Hey TV watchers! My name is Michel Ghanem, and I’m a freelance television critic and writer based in Vancouver, Canada. Some of you may know me by my Instagram moniker, TV Scholar, where I’ve been sharing the shows I’m watching on social media and in my Substack newsletter with a television-loving online community.

I watch approximately 160 seasons of TV a year, and am grateful every day that I get to live and breathe a medium I love so much. I’m thrilled you’re here to embark on this journey with me on Trust Me, I Watch Everything. Every two weeks, I’ll be sharing the shows that I believe are worth your TV time and how to tune in.

We are entering the busiest television season of the year, so don’t let these options slip through the cracks! As always, there’s something for everyone: Consider The Comeback, Lisa Kudrow’s satirical comedy on HBO, which returns after more than 10 years off the air. If you’re a reality TV fanatic, you might want to tune into the juicy new Real Housewives of Rhode Island on Bravo. You might also be curious about The Testaments, the new spin-off from the creator of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Lastly, the 15-year anniversary of AMC’s atmospheric crime show The Killing is upon us. And there’s much more where that came from, so let’s dive in.

• TV shows to watch live

• TV shows to stream

• Hidden gems you may have missed

⏰ Tune in

My recommendation: The Comeback

Why you should watch it: If you think waiting two years for a new season of your favorite Netflix show is painful, try a dozen! The Comeback only comes back every decade, each time with something incisive to say about the television industry. The mockumentary, found-footage-style comedy sees Friends star Lisa Kudrow playing a satirical version of herself: actor Valerie Cherish, who once starred in I'm It!, a popular early '90s sitcom.

The 2005 series begins with Valerie’s return to the industry with a small role in a new sitcom, Room and Bored, as a documentary crew follows her on her journey. Throughout, she navigates misogynistic writers, trying to fit in with a younger cast and inevitably, being betrayed by the very medium she loves — the “documentary” ends up being a compilation of her most embarrassing moments, exposing the exploitative potential of reality television years before Jersey Shore.

A second series followed in 2014, and now, more than 20 years have passed since Valerie’s big comeback. This time she’s back for one “final” bow, with a twist: Valerie is set to star in the first-ever AI-written sitcom. Although she’s cautious about staying on good terms with her union, it’s the perfect opportunity to fire up the cameras again and document this strange, possible future for the industry. Obviously, it doesn’t go smoothly, but there are a ton of guest stars and some great laughs along the way. Sometimes these guests play themselves (like Jane Fonda), sometimes they’re in character (like Abbi Jacobson and John Early). Either way, there’s nowhere better to turn right now for biting satire of Hollywood.

The Comeback has been preemptively canceled again, but I would bet that in 10 years, we'll see its return. I certainly hope so.

How to watch: New episodes of The Comeback air Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET on HBO and stream on HBO Max.

Watch on HBO Max

Bonus recommendation: The Real Housewives of Rhode Island

Why you should watch it: The Real Housewives franchise isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That said, you can’t deny it's a fascinating cultural phenomenon — and if the critically acclaimed Salt Lake City version of the franchise has taught us anything, it’s that there is a lot more than meets the eye to these housewives who flaunt their wealth and yell at each other.

Bravo is ringing in the 20th anniversary of the franchise by introducing their first new American city in six years. As the first few minutes of the pilot explain, the Rhode Island cast is a tight-knit but powerful (and very Italian) community that’s extremely proud of their seaside state.

Having watched much of the Housewives franchise, it’s quite clear to me how the series is being influenced by Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: The cast is skewing younger, and the tone is poppier than the overly opulent Beverly Hills series. A chunk of the first episode’s drama even centers on one housewife feeling unsatisfied in her self-identified polygamist marriage, in which her husband has multiple partners.

There is also a certain virality that is coming with Rhode Island. When the cast of Salt Lake City signed on, they were virtually unknowns outside of their local community. In a Housewives first and a strange convergence of reality worlds, a former Bachelor contestant is joining the franchise. Ashley Iaconetti met her husband, Jared Haibon, on Bachelor in Paradise. They own a coffee shop together in Rhode Island, which is featured on RHORI.

Housewives can be easy to write off as frivolous or a product of reality television spectacle. But over time, as the group gets more intertwined and social dynamics unspool, unexpected depth and complexities emerge. Between friendships that dissolve and tense rivalries, there is catharsis in watching frank, confrontational conversations in a culture that is increasingly avoidant. That is a skill these Rhode Island housewives have in spades. Add in some entertaining editing and story structure, and you’ve got a hit on your hands.

How to watch: New episodes of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo and stream the next day on Peacock.

Watch on Peacock

📺 Stream it

My recommendation: The Testaments

Why you should watch it: Praise be, The Handmaid’s Tale universe continues to expand. The original series ran for a whopping six seasons on Hulu before bringing June’s story to a conclusion, but there’s so much more left to explore. Specifically, the events that take place in Margaret Atwood’s sequel novel, The Testaments, which serve as the source material for this spin-off.

In this adaptation, also created by Bruce Miller, we follow June’s daughter, Agnes (Chase Infiniti), previously known as Hannah before she was stolen away by the state as a child. She is part of a Gilead-raised generation of teens coming of age in a totalitarian society, which is all they’ve ever known. Color theory has always been an important aspect of the series (think the blood-red capes of the Handmaids): Here, Agnes and her colleagues wear plum, a color that signifies they haven’t yet begun menstruating. When that happens, they will be immediately married off to a Gilead commander. Disturbing indeed.

By the end of The Handmaid’s Tale, I had what you could describe as "Gilead fatigue." The violence, the cyclical storytelling of June’s attempts to free herself from Gilead’s control — it all became quite repetitive and tiring to watch. There are remnants of that here. For one, Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) returns as the head of Agnes’s school. Dowd is always a delight, but her character is a reminder that the show isn’t straying too far from its predecessor.

That said, Infiniti, a breakout in the Oscar-winning film One Battle After Another, delivers a fresh performance that is an altogether different experience from watching Elisabeth Moss stare angrily into the camera again and again. Agnes narrates as well, letting us into the mind of someone coming into her own and beginning to question the structures she has always seen as normal — like watching a man get his arm chopped off between classes. Just another day in Gilead! Agnes begins to question the violence committed against her and others around her, and is especially critical of the way she’s treated by her harsh stepmother, Paula (Amy Seimetz).

Through it all, it’s a return to form for the Handmaid’s team. The cinematography, costuming and performances continue to be some of the best on television. It remains to be seen where the series will go from here — will June return to save her daughter, or is it up to Agnes to save herself? Will the oppressive Gilead government ever collapse? We’ll have to watch and find out.

How to watch: The first three episodes of The Testaments land on Hulu on April 8, with new episodes dropping weekly every subsequent Wednesday.

Watch on Hulu

Bonus recommendation: Bait

Why you should watch it: Are you still wondering who the next James Bond might be? Bait, a six-episode British limited series starring and created by Riz Ahmed, proposes an idea: What if 007 were a person of color? It’s an idea that could, well, bait someone into watching.

He plays Shah, a struggling British-Pakistani actor seeking personal and professional validation through his career. He manages to get into a Bond audition in London and makes an impression when paparazzi catch him outside — leading to a media frenzy that sends his name higher up the list than it otherwise might be (he flails at the audition). Fortunately he gets a call-back for a second audition, upon which his existential spiral begins.

What would it mean for him to take on a role that has historically been offered to white actors? Then there’s the racist vitriol he has to face along the way — and the ways in which he has internalized that hate. The six 30-minute episodes fly by, each a somewhat self-contained misadventure as Shah tries to make sense of how this opportunity would change his self-conception and his relationship to his community. Through it all, Ahmed is outstanding and highly entertaining to watch, and there are some unexpected appearances to keep an eye out for (including Patrick Stewart in one of the more unusual cameos I’ve ever seen). Am I the only one who wouldn’t mind Ahmed as Bond?

How to watch: All six episodes of Bait are streaming on Prime Video.

Watch on Prime Video

But that’s not all…

• Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat. Jury Duty returns! Everyone in the cast is an actor except for one person, the protagonist, who thinks he’s just signed on to a documentary. The first season of this docu-reality series was way too popular to repeat the jury duty format, so this time it takes place at a company retreat for the “employees” of Rockin’ Grandma’s Hot Sauce — and their new temp, Anthony Norman, who is just trying to do his best in a wacky crew of fake coworkers. — All eight episodes are streaming on Prime Video

• For All Mankind: In this alternative-history sci-fi drama, Russia reached the moon first, kickstarting decades of a never-ending space race. This fantastic series returns for its fifth season, which is set in 2012, some 40 years after the events of the first — including the colonization of the moon and Mars. Ed (Joel Kinnaman) is looking as old as ever while Margo (Wrenn Schmidt) is serving time in prison, but a new crop of characters kicks things off with a murder mystery on Mars. This is one of Apple TV’s best. — New episodes stream on Apple TV on Fridays

💎 Hidden gems

My recommendation: The Killing

Why you should watch it: Fifteen years ago, Veena Sud adapted the Danish police drama Forbrydelsen for AMC. It was the heyday of Nordic noir, but the early 2010s were a different landscape for television in the U.S.; the Emmy-winning shows back then were more along the lines of Mad Men and Modern Family than Netflix’s Monster.

In hindsight, The Killing was something of a precursor to a show like Broadchurch. It was elevated beyond a crime procedural: Season-long arcs followed homicide detectives Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) as they investigated a murder.

As they zeroed in on red herrings and clues, they both got increasingly personally embroiled in the investigation, leading to some juicy performances for the two actors, who are currently reuniting in the new season of For All Mankind.

Part of the draw to The Killing was its atmospheric spirit. The show takes full advantage of its Vancouver shooting locations (masquerading as Seattle) by depicting the rainy deluge and misty coastline, the perfect contemplative backdrop to pensive detectives. In that way, the show has been compared to Twin Peaks — but much more grounded in realism than that found in David Lynch productions.

The Killing struggled to maintain popularity and acclaim after its first season, getting canceled and revived twice, first by AMC, then by Netflix. But it still holds up as one of the more addictive crime shows on television, and it’s perfect for a rainy day.

How to watch: All four seasons of The Killing are streaming on Hulu, AMC+ and for free with ads on Tubi.

Watch on Hulu

That’s the end of this week’s episode, but there’ll always be more TV to watch. I’ll be back on April 20 with new recommendations.

Think there’s something missing that deserves my TV time? Let me know in the comments below what else I should have on my radar!