What to watch this weekend October 18, 2024: TV awards contenders

When one door closes, a new one opens, at least that’s the case on Apple TV+ these days. A mere week after saying goodbye to the most recent seasons of critically acclaimed series “Slow Horses,” “Bad Monkey,” and “Pachinko,” the streaming service is welcoming the return of its Emmy-nominated comedy “Shrinking.” 

In Season 2, the unique comedy about a recently widowed therapist (co-creator and Emmy nominee Jason Segel) who abandons traditional methods in favor of being brutally honest with his patients thoughtfully expands upon its foundation. The new season — the first two episodes of which are currently streaming on Apple TV+ — finds Segel’s Jimmy and his colleagues, Gaby (Emmy nominee Jessica Williams) and Paul (Oscar nominee Harrison Ford), digging deeper into their own issues, including the latter’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. With more laughs and a couple of new faces thrown into the mix, including Emmy winner and series co-creator Brett Goldstein, “Shrinking” is the awards contender to watch this weekend. 

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However, if you need more reasons to recline on your couch, other contenders include:

• “Rivals”: Based on the popular romance novel of the same name by Dame Jilly Cooper, this British import is a damn good time, and a reminder that soap and sex will never go out of style. Set in the 1980s in the world of independent television, and tackling topics like class and power, the eight-part series stars Alex Hassell as Rupert Cambell-Black, a notorious rake and politician who teams up with his new neighbor, hard-hitting journalist Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner), against an ambitious TV exec (David Tennant, chewing all the scenery). Of course, there is also plenty of romance to go around, too (this is a Jilly Cooper adaptation, after all). All eight episodes are now streaming on Hulu.

• “Matlock”: After offering fans a sneak peek of the pilot in late September, this new drama from “Jane the Virgin” creator Jennie Snyder Urman is back on the CBS schedule in its proper time slot. Without giving too much away for those who may have missed the series premiere, let’s just say the show, which stars Emmy- and Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates in the title role, is not all that it seems to be. And that makes it worth your time. The second episode is now streaming on Paramount+. 

• “English Teacher”: The freshman season of one of the fall’s best and brightest has sadly come to an end. In this week’s pitch-perfect finale, Malcolm (Jordan Firstman) plans a surprise 35th birthday party for Evan (Brian Jordan Alvarez), inviting several of his coworkers, including Moretti (Enrico Colantoni), his boss, to a gay bar in Austin. The episode is now streaming on Hulu.

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