Netflix’s The Circle, Conan O’Brien’s New Show, And More New TV This Week

Republished By Plato

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The (unofficial) theme of new TV this week: reality.

You’re not really getting it unmediated; even in a literal “reality” show like Netflix’s The Circle, it’s still pretty edited (as anyone who watches reality shows can tell you). But it’s not the lone show looking to “real life” for a story this week. It’s joined by Conan O’Brien’s travelogue return to TV and the long-awaited follow-up to The Jinx with a look at Robert Durst’s jail life. Even many of the fiction offerings this week adapt true stories, with Manhunt wrapping up and the Lily Gladstone-led Under the Bridge debuting.

If you need to escape the present day — or just find a different way to refract it — remember that Shōgun has its penultimate episode tomorrow ( ) and Fallout only just came out.

Here’s all the best new TV premieres and finales this week.

New shows on Netflix

The Circle season 6

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Genre: Reality show competition
Release date: April 17, with four episodes
Host: Michelle Buteau
Cast: A bunch of isolated chatters

You know the drill: A host of isolated competitors try to win a major cash prize while bonding, hating, and potentially even catfishing each other in little chatrooms.

New shows on Hulu

Under the Bridge

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Genre: Twisty murder mystery
Release date: April 17, with two episodes
Director: Geeta Pastel
Cast: Riley Keough, Lily Gladstone, and more

Based on the book of the same name by Rebecca Godfrey, Under the Bridge follows the investigation of a 14-year-old girl’s murder through the eyes of Godfrey (Riley Keough) and the local police officer (Lily Gladstone) set on uncovering the truth. With seven teenage girls and a boy accused of a savage murder, the stakes are high, and the twists — hopefully — even more consequential.

New shows on Max

Conan O’Brien Must Go

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Genre: Celebrity docuseries (travelogue version)
Release date: April 18, with all episodes
Showrunner/creator: Conan O’Brien
Cast: Conan O’Brien and some fans

Conan O’Brien is setting out to meet some of the more notable fans he’s connected with on his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan. And that’s taking him all over the globe, with four episodes charting his journeys to Ireland, Norway, Thailand, and Argentina. While he’s there, he’ll see the sights, try Muay Thai, and more.

The Jinx Part Two

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Genre: Crime docuseries
Release date: April 21, with one episode
Showrunner/creator: Andrew Jarecki
Cast: Robert Durst, more investigators

It feels like ancient, Obama-era history at this point, but: The Jinx season 1 aired in the first half of 2015 and ended fairly climactically, with Robert Durst admitting to murder on a hot mic. Part Two will chart the eight years of further investigation from the filmmakers, uncovering new hidden material, showing interviews with new witnesses, and revealing Durst’s prison calls.

New shows on Apple TV Plus

Manhunt finale

Stanton (Tobias Menzies) on the back of a horse in the woods looking inquisitively off-camera

Genre: Historical drama
Release date: April 19, with two episodes
Showrunner/creator: Monica Beletsky
Cast: Tobias Menzies, Hamish Linklater, Anthony Boyle, and more

Just in time for the anniversary of Abe Lincoln’s death, Manhunt is bringing its manhunt to an end. The tension here isn’t if they’ll get their man — we know that story. The tension is what it will do to them, and the nation, as they do.

New shows on The Roku Channel

The Spiderwick Chronicles

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Genre: Fantasy YA
Release date: April 19, with all episodes
Showrunner/creator: Aron Eli Coleite
Cast: Christian Slater, Joy Bryant, Lyon Daniels, and more

After moving back to their ancestral home in Henson, Michigan, a group of kids discover that the Spiderwick Estate holds more than just family history — it also has some boggarts, and the promise of more magical creatures to come. Oh, and now they are also left to find the pages of an old family field guide to magical creatures, since there’s a murderous ogre waiting in the wings. No place like home!