‘The Challenge: World Championship’ takes competition global, ‘Outlast’ takes it to Alaska: what’s streaming on Paramount Plus, Netflix and more

With so many different streaming platforms and cable offerings to navigate, choosing what to watch has never been harder. To make things easier, here are our best tune-in tips for the week ahead.

MONDAY

Rain Dogs

This new HBO & BBC One co-production is a story about the love between single mother Costello Jones (played by Daisy May Cooper) and her daughter Iris (Fleur Tashjian). As Jones struggles to make ends meet as a writer, she reconnects with a former convict who ends up serving as another parental figure in Iris’s life. The dark comedy is loosely based on Cash Carraway’s memoir “Skint Estate: A Memoir of Poverty, Motherhood and Survival.”

10 p.m., Crave

Shelved

This new CTV original workplace comedy follows the staff of an underfunded library in Parkdale. Created and executive produced by Anthony Q. Farrell (“The Office”), the series premiere features the library receiving second-hand computers prompting branch head Wendy Yarmouth (Lyndie Greenwood) to kick-start a plan to get new machines.

9:30 p.m., CTV & CTV.ca

WEDNESDAY

The Challenge: World Championship

Sometimes, choosing the pick of the week is a no-brainer. If you are in need of a new “Challenge” fix after the finale of “The Challenge: Ride or Dies” a few weeks ago, that was the amuse-bouche to the main course being served up this week. The latest tournament of “stars” from MTV competition series features legends from the U.S. game who team up with participants from around the world, including contestants from “The Challenge: Australia,” “The Challenge: Argentina” and “The Challenge: UK.” Confirmed players include Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, Darrell Taylor and Sarah Lacina. Winners get $500,000. TJ Lavin splits hosting duties with Brihony Dawson (Australia), Alejandro “Marley” Wiebe (Argentina) and Mark Wright (U.K.).

Paramount Plus Canada

THURSDAY

You: Part 2

If you have been waiting for new episodes of “You” to drop, the wait is over. With that said, prepare to be disappointed. While I didn’t like the “Glass Onion” setup of the first part, the show really takes a step back with the final episodes of its fourth season. While Penn Badgley’s portrayal of serial killer Joe Goldberg has been haunting, the writing hasn’t followed suit. So why is it still on this list? Because even on its worst day, “You” is still watchable.

Netflix

School Spirits

This new young adult series tells the story of Maddie (Peyton List), a teenager stuck in the afterlife who is trying to solve her own mysterious disappearance. While adjusting to high school in her new timeline, Maddie continues her crime-solving journey amid twists, secrets and lies at every turn.

Paramount Plus Canada

FRIDAY

Outlast

Friday marks the premiere of a new competition series from Jason Bateman (yes, Jason Bateman of “Ozark”). It follows 16 “lone wolves” who must outlast each other in the Alaskan wilderness to win $1 million. This might be the closest we’ll get to seeing what might have been if Jeff Probst and “Survivor” traded in their swimsuits for snow pants. Twists include the players being split into teams and only winning the $1 million if they stay on a team, but they can change teams at any time, which should lead to selfish decisions that will be fascinating to watch. Also, you can’t be voted out on this show. The only way to leave is to quit.

Netflix

Luther: The Fallen Sun

For those wondering why Idris Elba was never interested in taking on the role of James Bond, the reason seems easy to understand: he is already John Luther. The detective chief inspector has been a fan favourite since “Luther” debuted on BBC in the U.K. Now a movie sequel kicks off where the show’s fifth season ended. With Luther in jail, the plot line is pretty obvious as he can’t help bring a serial killer to justice if he is behind bars.

Netflix

Chang Can Dunk

Chang (Bloom Li) is an unpopular Asian-American high school student who loves basketball but remains underestimated. A prominent member of the school’s marching band, Chang bets the star of the basketball team that he can dunk by homecoming. To win, Chang goes on a personal journey that forces him to re-examine everything he knows about himself and everyone in his life. The filmmaker, Jingyi Shao, says he was inspired by sports-coming-of-age films like “The Mighty Ducks” and that’s good enough for us to give this one a shot.

Disney Plus

Clarification — March 6, 2023: This article was updated to clarify that “Rain Dogs,” a new HBO & BBC One co-production, is loosely based on Cash Carraway’s memoir “Skint Estate: A Memoir of Poverty, Motherhood and Survival.”

Murtz Jaffer is a Toronto-based entertainment writer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @murtzjaffer

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