When the weather outside is frightful, staying in and getting swept up in a good story is so delightful. The best part? So many of the TV shows we’ve been patiently waiting for are returning this week. If you’re ready to grab your key card and check into the White Lotus, see what our favorite stranded soccer players have been up to, or want to get in the pods with the new Love is Blind cast, you’re in luck. These and more of our favorite shows are back in action.
With these excellent choices to look forward to, the week will fly on by. Just try to see how many you can make it through before the weekend hits!
Best new movies and shows to watch this week
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver season 12 (Feb. 16)
Struggling to make sense of everything happening in the news? Need a laugh so you don’t cry? John Oliver is back on HBO to give his hilarious and cutting perspective on the chaos of U.S. news. He’ll tackle everything from the Supreme Court to Medicaid to, of course, Donald Trump. Episodes air Sundays at 11 p.m. eastern.
White Lotus season 3 (Feb. 16)
Pack your bags; we’re going to Thailand! White Lotus season 3 will feature many familiar faces, including a beloved character from a previous season who’s making a comeback. We won’t give any spoilers here, so if you want to know more of what to expect from this season, we’ve broken down everything we know right here. Tune in Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern on HBO and Max.
American Murder: Gabby Petito (Feb. 17)
This new three-part docuseries streaming on Netflix retells the tragic missing persons case that gripped the nation. It uses real footage from Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie’s social media accounts and interviews from Petito’s family and friends. It also contains excerpts from Petito’s personal journals and text messages to show “the reality of a young woman enmeshed in an abusive relationship behind closed doors — even as she put on a happy, ‘Insta-perfect’ face for social media,” according to a Netflix press release.
Zero Day (Feb. 20)
This new political thriller TV series stars Jesse Plemons, Robert De Niro, Angela Bassett, and Connie Britton. In his first starring role in a TV show, De Niro plays a former U.S. president who’s tasked with leading a commission after a catastrophic cyber attack. Here’s what Netflix says about the plot: “As disinformation runs rampant and the personal ambitions of power brokers in technology, Wall Street, and government collide, Mullen’s search for the truth forces him to confront his own dark secrets while risking all he holds dear.”
A Thousand Blows (Feb. 21)
East End, London, 1880s: Two best friends from Jamaica arrive in the UK and are thrust into the criminal underworld of London’s bare-knuckle boxing scene. As they gain notoriety, they attract the attentions of scrupulous figures who want to use their talents for their own gain. This new Hulu series is based on real-life figures.
Love is Blind season 8 (Feb. 21)
After the first batch of episodes dropped, fittingly, on Valentine’s Day, we got to know the couples in the pods — and which ones made them outside the pods thanks to an engagement. From there, we’ll get to see the fiancés IRL as they take a tropical vacation, and see if their love can survive in the real world.
Yellowjackets (Feb. 21)
Time to dig up your Paramount+ with Showtime password, because Yellowjackets season 3 is airing. Last season, things took a very dark turn in the woods as the girls resorted to the extreme to survive. Plus, viewers were introduced to the eerie world of Lottie’s “commune.” This season, expect to see more stellar acting from Melanie Lynskey as we learn even more about what really happened in the wilderness all those years ago — and who exactly is targeting the Yellowjackets in present day. New episodes stream Fridays.
Best new books to read this week
Nothing Serious by Emily J. Smith (Feb. 18)
This fun read starts off as a rom-com and then takes a turn to a murder mystery. Edie Smith is 35 and floundering at work and in love — mostly because she’s hopelessly in love with her best friend Peter, who’s basically the male, successful version of her. When Peter breaks up with his long-term girlfriend, Edie hopes he’ll finally see they’re meant to be. Too bad real life isn’t a romantic comedy, because Peter quickly links up with Anaya, a powerhouse in the writing world. When Anaya is found dead right after a date with Peter, Edie knows she has to swoop in to clear his name.
Maya & Natasha by Elise Durham (Feb. 18)
Get lost in time with this sweeping historical novel about two twin sisters and ballet dancers in the Cold War Soviet Union. The titular protagonists, Maya and Natasha, are abandoned by their mother shortly after their birth so she can continue her career as the prima ballerina at the Kirov Ballet. The twins are taken in by their mother’s best friend and also raised as dancers. But in 1958 a new law from the Kremlin throws their lives into chaos — because only one of them can be accepted into the Kirov.
The Garden by Nick Newman (Feb. 18)
It’s a big week for tales of two sisters, because The Garden is about two elderly siblings who live in a walled garden — think Garden of Eden vibes. They know nothing of life beyond the garden or how they came to be there. Their idyllic, simple life is shattered when a boy is found hidden at the center of their grounds, and the two sisters are forced to reckon with their past as they work to find out who the boy is and what he’s doing there.
