Shaq and Lizzo get the doc treatment plus Chippendales: Here’s what to stream on Netflix, Crave and more this week

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

Dancing With the Stars

Monday will mark judge Len Goodman’s final episode of “Dancing With the Stars.” The 78-year-old who has been with the show since 2005 announced his emotional retirement from the series last week, adding another layer to tonight’s season finale. The final four teams remaining include Wayne Brady and Witney Carson, Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas, Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy, and Shangela and Gleb Savchenko. I’d be shocked if Charli doesn’t take home the trophy.

Disney Plus

TUESDAY

Welcome to Chippendales

Chrystia Freeland might have gotten rid of her Disney Plus account, but that doesn’t mean we have to. This true-crime saga is the story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, an Indian immigrant who became the unlikely founder of the world’s great male-stripping empire. Kumail Nanjiani (“The Big Sick”) leads a great cast that also includes Murray Bartlett (“The White Lotus”) and Juliette Lewis (“Yellowjackets”).

Netflix

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday

It’s fitting that “Wednesday” will make its debut on a Wednesday. The coming-of-age horror comedy series is based upon the famous teenager from “The Addams Family” and stars Jenna Ortega. The star-studded cast includes Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman as Morticia and Gomez Addams. Gwendoline Christie (“Game of Thrones”) plays Principal Larissa Weems, the head teacher at Nevermore Academy, where Wednesday goes to school and the setting of most of the action in this Tim Burton-directed series. Also keep an eye out for Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in “The Addams Family” movie. This time she’s the only teacher at the school without any supernatural powers.

Netflix

Shaq

The pick of the week is a four-part documentary series chronicling the life and career of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. The HBO Sports special details how Shaq captured four NBA titles while also noting his fascinating past (did you know he grew up in a military family?)

9 p.m. EST, Crave

Blood, Sex & Royalty

This docuseries promises a “modern” take on the current British royal drama with a new look at the deadliest and sexiest monarchs, chronicling the life of Anne Boleyn as she fights to become the Queen of England. Amy James-Kelly from “Coronation Street” plays the lead role with Max Parker assuming the role of Henry VIII. Still not sure how a documentary can have actors, but I guess that’s a reason to watch.

Netflix

Good Night Oppy

This doc about a rover named “Opportunity” tracks the vehicle’s 15-year journey across Mars. When NASA launched the robot, it was meant to survive for just 90 days. Using archival footage, filmmaker Ryan White focuses on the rover’s resiliency while also zeroing in on the people who kept Oppy going.

Prime Video

THURSDAY

Love, Lizzo

The journey of recording artist Lizzo is the focus of this new HBO Max documentary that shares the story of the singer’s modest beginnings to her meteoric rise.

Crave

FRIDAY

Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich

The team behind “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” returns with a followup on his long-time accomplice. The 2020 Epstein focused primarily on the abuse that happened at the hands of the convicted sex offender with very little information about Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite daughter of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, involved in his trafficking schemes. This doc cites emotional neglect following a devastating car accident that left Maxwell’s brother in a coma. The allegations of coercion and grooming are also addressed in horrifying detail.

Netflix

Criminal Minds: Evolution

This show about gruesome serial killers will seemingly never die. The original “Criminal Minds” ran from 2005 to 2020, and followed the FBI’s Behavioural Analysis Unit, the best agents who profiled the worst criminals. The show returns with an UnSub (unknown subject) who has used the pandemic to build a network of other serial killers. Returning cast members include Paget Brewster, Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook and Kirsten Vangsness. Unfortunately, Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid) will not be part of the new series (for now, anyway).

Disney Plus

SUNDAY

Written in the Stars

This steamy and strange series puts the love lives of its contestants into the hands of the world’s top astrologers. Twelve singles each represent one of the 12 signs of the zodiac and are matched with someone else in the group by astrologers Colin Bedell, Michelle Knight and Francesca Oddie, using just the couples’ birth charts.

Discovery Plus Canada

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

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