This Week in TV: ‘Snowpiercer’ (Finally), ‘The Great,’ Lots of Network Finales

A show that has traveled a very, very long road (or track, as the case may be) finally sees the light of day in the week of March 11. The last full week of the September-to-May season also brings a host of network finales, and the week in streaming brings an interactive special to Netflix and a comedic look at a historical figure.

Here is The Hollywood Reporter‘s rundown of some of the coming week’s highlights. It would be next to impossible to watch everything, but let THR point the way to worthy options each week. All times are ET/PT unless noted.

The Big Show

Snowpiercer, based on the feature film by Bong Joon Ho, is about a massive train that carries what’s left of humanity around the globe after an attempt to stop global warming leads to a new Ice Age. The story of the show’s journey to finally premiering on TNT is nearly as complicated.

After first being developed in 2015 by Josh Friedman, with a feature-length pilot directed by Scott Derrickson, TNT went in a different direction after ordering it to series, hiring Orphan Black‘s Graeme Manson as showrunner and James Hawes to direct, with next to nothing left of the original (“I pitched a different world,” Manson said). A brief move to TBS, then back to TNT, and finally the show debuts at 9 p.m. May 17 — which, by the way, is two weeks sooner than the originally announced date.

Also on cable …

Food Network debuts two shows Monday, one showcasing experts and one for novices. For the former, there’s Bakeaway Camp With Martha Stewart at 9 p.m., followed by Amy Schumer Learns to Cook at 10. Docuseries Kingdom of the Mummies premieres at 10 p.m. Tuesday on National Geographic; The Misery Index begins its second season at 10:30 p.m. Thursday on TBS; and Starz premieres Hightown, a murder mystery set against the backdrop of the opioid epidemic on Cape Cod, at 8 p.m. May 17.

On broadcast …

New: Asian Americans is a five-hour miniseries highlighting the contributions Asian Americans have made to American history and culture, dating back to the first wave of Asian immigrants in the 1800s. It premieres at 8 p.m. Monday and continues on Tuesday.

Specials: ABC looks back at the life and career of Garry Marshall with The Happy Days of Garry Marshall (8 p.m. Tuesday). Cedric the Entertainer hosts The Greatest Stay at Home Videos (8 p.m. Friday, CBS), and Alfonso Ribeiro presents a special at-home edition of America’s Funniest Home Videos at 7 p.m. May 17. CBS News’ Bravery and Hope: 7 Days on the Front Line (9 p.m. Friday) goes inside a New York hospital in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. ABC airs a Taylor Swift concert special, City of Lover, at 10 p.m. May 17.

Finales: A host of shows end their seasons this week. The list: 911 (8 p.m. Monday, Fox), The Flash (8 p.m. Tuesday, The CW), For Life (10 p.m. Tuesday, ABC), The Goldbergs (8 p.m. Wednesday, ABC), Survivor (8 p.m. Wednesday, CBS), Schooled (8:30 p.m. Wednesday, ABC), Single Parents (9:30 p.m. Wednesday, ABC), Katy Keene (8 p.m. Thursday, The CW), Station 19 (9 p.m. Thursday, ABC), the series finale of How to Get Away With Murder (10 p.m. Thursday, ABC), The Blacklist (8 p.m. Friday, NBC), Shark Tank (8 p.m. Friday, ABC), The Simpsons (8 p.m. May 17, Fox), American Idol (8 p.m. Sunday, ABC), Batwoman (8 p.m. May 17, The CW), Duncanville (8:30 p.m. May 17, Fox), Bob’s Burgers (9 p.m. May 17, Fox), Supergirl (9 p.m. May 17, The CW) and Family Guy (9:30 p.m. May 17, Fox).

On streaming …

New: The Great (Friday, Hulu) comes from Tony McNamara, the writer of The Favourite, and it takes a similarly gimlet-eyed look at royalty, this time the Russian court when a young Catherine (Dakota Fanning) arrives as the wife of Peter (Nicholas Hoult), the emperor. THR critic Inkoo Kang says that while the show doesn’t go as deep as it could, it’s “consistently entertaining” and carried by strong performances from Fanning and Hoult.

Also new: Docuseries Trial by Media (Monday, Netflix) looks at a half-dozen court cases that attracted heavy media coverage; The Last Narc (Friday, Amazon) examines the 1985 kidnapping and murder of a DEA agent; the voice of Goofy and Pluto, Bill Farmer, meets real-life dogs who do incredible things in It’s a Dog’s Life (Friday, Disney+); White Lines (Friday, Netflix), from the creator of Money Heist, centers on the sister (Laura Haddock) investigating the 20-year-old murder of her DJ brother on Ibiza.

Special: Netflix puts a bow on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt with an interactive special called Kimmy vs. the Reverend (Tuesday) that lets viewers decide how Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) foils a plot by her former captor (Jon Hamm) — or doesn’t, depending on the choices they make.

In case you missed it …

The documentary feature Spaceship Earth premiered at Sundance to solid reviews (THR‘s John DeFore called it “fascinating as a case study in turning big ideas into reality”). It follows the people who built and staffed Biosphere 2, an ambitious and ultimately doomed experiment at creating a number of the planet’s environments in miniature in the Arizona desert. It’s streaming on Hulu and available on demand.