Between streaming and cable, viewers have a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that are airing or streaming this week, May 4-10. Details and times are subject to change.
Pick your terror
If you were in high school anytime from the 1960s onward, it’s likely that a certain 1954 novel written by William Golding was a part of your English class curriculum. That book, “Lord of the Flies,” has been adapted into a TV series (though it’s already been onscreen in two film adaptations). This four-episode iteration was first released in Britain on BBC with Winston Sawyers, Lox Pratt and David McKenna taking on the roles of several English schoolboys who get stranded on an island and rely on their darkest instincts to survive. Begins streaming on Monday on Netflix.
Inspired by real-life events, the series “Legends” follows a fictionalized retelling of the British customs workers who took on fake identities, invented new lives and embraced dangerous situations in the 1990s to help intercept drug smuggling around the country. Steve Coogan plays Don, the harsh and brash head of operations; Tom Burke, Charlotte Ritchie and Hayley Squires round out the cast as civilians looking to spice up their lives. Begins streaming Thursday on Netflix.
Seeking out the 12 men who killed your family to avenge their deaths is not fun, but someone has to do it. Set in Florida, the new series “M.I.A.” follows Etta Tiger Jonze (Shannon Gisela) as she goes from dreaming of big-city life in Miami to navigating the seedy underbelly of it after a drug deal gone wrong. All nine episodes air together. Begins streaming Thursday on Peacock.
In 1830, Alexander Pushkin wrote a play that chronicled a (probably) fictional tale of a rivalry between the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. Milos Forman’s 1984 film about the men, “Amadeus,” earned eight Academy Awards. And now there is a small screen adaptation with the series “Amadeus.” Will Sharpe plays Mozart, who arrives in 18th-century Vienna looking to indulge in creative freedom and shed his child prodigy persona. There he meets Salieri (Paul Bettany), who feels threatened by Mozart’s miraculous talent. The story is told over 30 years as the two men quarrel and compete. Friday at 9 p.m. on Starz.
The story of the sister whom Mr. Darcy doesn’t love most ardently
Though Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” focuses primarily on the lives and love stories of three of the Bennet daughters — Jane, Lydia and Elizabeth — the focus on the other two sisters, Mary and Kitty, is not covered in the novel or its countless screen adaptations. In the new series, “The Other Bennet Sister,” Mary (Ella Bruccoleri) gets main-character treatment, as she leaves for London, learns more about herself and — as with any good romantic comedy — gets her happily-ever-after. Begins streaming Wednesday on BritBox.
Several series finales
Cabs are here! And it might be for the final time, as “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” begins its final season. We first got to know the cast in 2009 when they were in their early 20s, and they have continued to be a mainstay of reality television as they became parents, spouses and business owners. This season will feature JWoww’s 40th birthday celebration, a boys trip to Vegas and lots of milestones for Sammi Giancola, as well as the usual shenanigans from the group. Thursday at 8 p.m. on MTV.
“Outlander,” based on the popular book series by Diana Gabaldon, is wrapping up its eight-season run. The most recent story arc has introduced a time-travel twist that might answer if and how the romantic leads, Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe), get their feel-good ending. If you’re sad the series is over, don’t worry — the mystical universe isn’t off small screens for long. The second season of the prequel, “Outlander: Blood of My Blood” is set to air this fall. Friday at 8 p.m. on Starz.
The third season of “The Comeback,” in which Lisa Kudrow reprises her role as the sitcom star Valerie Cherish, is wrapping up. After she welcomed artificial intelligence into her show’s writers room, it became a public-relations nightmare. Kudrow and the show’s co-creator, Michael Patrick King, confirmed that this season will the final one, as the show was envisioned as a trilogy. Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on HBO.
Shivani Gonzalez is a news assistant at The Times who writes a weekly TV column and contributes to a variety of sections.
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