SHOW OF THE WEEK: I May Destroy You (June 7, 10:30 p.m., HBO)
PHOTO CREDIT: Natalie Seery/HBO
Given the world’s focus on #BlackLivesMatter, there’s an undeniable timeliness to this series; it was created by Black U.K. artist Michaela Coel (“Chewing Gum”) and its key cast members are Black. But its focus is not Black oppression, although that is touched upon, but how Coel, as Arabella, and her fellow Black millennials navigate their relationships with sex – particularly various forms of sexual violence.
When we first meet Arabella, she’s leaving her Italian boyfriend to return to London and sweating the deadline for a first draft of her new book. When she ditches the writing to go party with a friend, her drink is spiked at a bar and she is raped. She later experiences another violation in a consensual relationship.
Throughout the series, Arabella navigates the fallout of that, in ways that are both healthy and unhealthy, with the help of friends Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), a gay man dealing with sexual trauma of his own.
It can be uncomfortable viewing at times, particularly when the characters engage in self-defeating behaviour, but it is also compelling viewing. Coel, who wrote and produced the show as well as starring in it, makes us care about these people. We want to see them come out the other side of their pain.
While the subject matter is sombre, the series has moments of lightness, joy and even comedy. And Coel is extremely watchable.
The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever! (June 8, 8 p.m., ABC and Citytv)
As I’ve mentioned on my “This Is Me” page, I got my start as a TV writer covering reality TV, and I have written about “The Bachelor” and its spinoffs longer than any other show. So you better believe I’ll be watching Warner Bros’ and ABC’s latest attempt to keep us hooked on the “Bachelor” franchise.
With “The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart” gone and mainly forgotten, and shooting of “The Bachelorette” delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, producers have repackaged the, well, greatest seasons of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” into three weekly hours of highlights.
I wasn’t able to see any of the episodes in advance, but they will include commentary from host Chris Harrison, who shot his segments with his son behind the camera at his own home, and call-backs to the stars of the seasons.
It all begins with Sean Lowe, the man I feel quite confident calling the most popular Bachelor ever and the only one in 24 seasons to have married the woman he proposed to in the season finale.
I have a feeling drama-starved “Bachelor” fans will be on board with this one.
CORRECTION: I originally wrote that Harrison was shooting at the Bachelor mansion, based on information in the Starweek TV guide. If you’ve watched the show, you’ve already noticed this wasn’t the case.
Odds and Ends
I’m looking forward to the Season 2 finale of vampire comedy “What We Do in the Shadows” (June 10, 9 p.m., FX) but also sad to see it go since it could be a while before shooting starts on Season 3. This episode promises surprise guest stars and I can’t wait to see how they’ll top Mark Hamill from earlier in the season or Tilda Swinton in Season 1.
Netflix has a bunch of stuff debuting this week, including Volume 6 of “Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj” on June 7; teen drama “Curon,” medical docu-series “Lenox Hill” and Brazilian zombie thriller “Reality Z” on June 10; and two crime dramas, “The Search” from Mexico and “The Woods” from Poland on June 12.
HGTV Canada has the socially distanced series “Design at Your Door” (June 11, 10 p.m.), in which homeowners receive virtual advice on their redesigns from HGTV experts, including former “Brady Bunch” kids Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb.
CTV Life Channel presents three wedding-related shows on June 9: the third season of “Where to I Do?” (9 p.m.), Jessica Mulroney’s “I Do, Redo” (9:30 p.m.), which previously ran on the main CTV channel, and the Canadian debut of “Bridezillas” (10 p.m.).
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