April 23-29: Crave Programming Overview

Crave continues to deliver weekly alerts highlighting new and noteworthy programming and scheduling changes for the week ahead. Highlights This Week  

• The all-new RUPAUL’S SECRET CELEBRITY DRAG RACE begins Friday, April 24 at 11 p.m. ET, following new episodes of RUPAUL’s DRAG RACE Season 12 (Fridays at 9:30 p.m. ET on Crave). Each episode of the four-part series features a trio of celebrities opening up their hearts and minds to the transformative power of drag. With help from past Drag Race contestants – Alyssa Edwards, Asia O’Hara, Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi, Monét X Change, Monique Heart, Nina West, Trinity the Tuck, Trixie Mattel and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo – the celebrity contestants compete in fan-favorite challenges and step onto the runway in their new looks. At the end of each episode, one contestant wins the title of “America’s Next Celebrity Drag Race Superstar” and prize money for a charity of their choice.

 

• In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the all-new VICE series SHELTER IN PLACE WITH SHANE SMITH begins Thursday, April 23. The timely half-hour weekly interview series sees Vice Media Group founder Shane Smith sit down for remote video interviews tackling the biggest questions of the moment with experts from the fields of science, journalism, entertainment, food, and economics. The series debuts on Crave with four episodes dropping at once, featuring interviews with Edward Snowden; California Governor Gavin Newsom and UCLA Professor of Epidemiology Anne Rimoin; Momofuku founder David Chang and CEO Marguerite Mariscal; and Italian politician Matteo Renzi and Dr. Margaret Harris of the W.H.O. Following its four-episode premiere, episodes roll out weekly, Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, day-and-date with their US premiere on Viceland.

 

• As announced earlier this week, the all-Canadian special STRONGER TOGETHER, TOUS ENSEMBLE will be made available for streaming on Crave Sunday, April 26 at 11 p.m. ET, following its television debut. Coming together in a show of support for the frontline workers fighting the battle against COVID-19, the special also encourages donations to Food Banks Canada’s $150 million campaign to provide immediate support to food banks across the country.

 

• The Crave and TIFF Stay-at-Home Cinema initiative continues with Q&As and Crave screenings featuring the following talent: Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier (ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH, a Crave Original Documentary) on Wednesday, April 22; THE HATE YOU GIVE on Friday, April 24, with guest to be announced; and Geraldine Viswanathan (HBO Films’ BAD EDUCATION) on Saturday, April 25. For all the details on how to participate, click HERE.

 

• Based on the 1986 Stephen King novel and a follow up to 2017’s IT, IT: CHAPTER 2 begins streaming Friday, April 24. Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back. Set in 2016, 27 years after the first film, IT: CHAPTER 2 stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Bill Skarsgård, who returns as Pennywise the Dancing Clown

  Crave Audience Metrics Crave continues to have Canadians covered, delivering the best movies, TV series, and original hits all in one place. Last week (April 13-19), Crave streaming platforms once again had their most-viewed week in Crave history in terms of streams, topping the record set last week*. Here are the Top 10 programs being watched on Crave for the week of April 15-21:  

1. WESTWORLD
2. RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE
3. LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER
4. STUBER
5. HOMELAND
6. GAME OF THRONES
7. SEINFELD
8. THE BIG BANG THEORY
9. SOUTH PARK
10. SEX AND THE CITY

What to Watch for the Week of April 23-29 *All Programming Subject to Change  

• The Oscar^®-nominated PAIN AND GLORY begins streaming Friday, April 24. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar and chosen by Time as the best movie of the year, the Spanish-language film stars Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz, Asier Etxeandia, Julieta Serrano, and Leonardo Sbaraglia and tells the story of an aging film director suffering from chronic illness and writer’s block reflecting on his life.

 

• The premiere episode of SHOWTIME’s PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS is available for streaming on Crave on Friday, April 24, ahead of its linear premiere on Sunday. Subsequent episodes roll out Sundays at 10 p.m. ET. A spiritual descendant of the original PENNY DREADFUL story, the new drama series stars Tony^® and Emmy winner Nathan Lane and Natalie Dormer (GAME OF THRONES), and is set in 1938 Los Angeles, a time and place deeply infused with social and political tension. When a grisly murder shocks the city, Detective Tiago Vega (Daniel Zovatto) and his partner Lewis Michener (Lane) become embroiled in an epic story that reflects the rich history of Los Angeles, from the building of the city’s first freeways and its deep traditions of Mexican-American folklore, to the dangerous espionage actions of the Third Reich and the rise of radio evangelism.

 

• The award-winning Starz series VIDA returns for its third and final season, premiering Sundays beginning April 26. This season, Emma (Mishel Prada) and Lyn (Melissa Barrera) are riding on the heels of success. The bar is booming and their love lives are actually flourishing, until the Hernandez sisters discover a long-buried family secret that ruins their hard-won peace. The sisters find themselves face-to-face with old ghosts and new enemies, all while deciding if they can continue together as a family or if they should move on alone, for good this time.

 

• From HBO Films, BAD EDUCATION premieres Saturday, April 25 at 8 p.m. ET. Inspired by true events, BAD EDUCATION follows Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) and Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), who reign over a popular Long Island school district on the verge of the nation’s top spot, spurring record college admissions and soaring property values. When an embezzlement scheme surfaces that threatens to destroy all they’ve built, Frank is forced to maintain order and secrecy. The HBO film also stars Ray Romano, Geraldine Viswanathan, Alex Wolff, Rafael Casal, and Annaleigh Ashford.

 

• HBO’s WE’RE HERE premieres Thursday, April 23 at 9 p.m. ET. The six-part unscripted series recruits small-town residents across America to participate in a one-night-only drag show. In each episode, renowned drag queens Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and Shangela Laquifa Wadley inspire and teach their own “drag daughters” to step outside their comfort zone for a night of no-holds-barred, full-on drag.

 

• The tension-packed mentor/mentee relationship between Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) and Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) has reached the ultimate pressure point heading into the series finale Showtime’s HOMELAND. The Emmy^® and Peabody-winning drama series comes to a close after eight seasons Sunday, April 26 at 9 p.m. ET.

 

• All-new episodes this week include BROCKMIRE (Thursday, April 23); SHELTER IN PLACE (Thursday, April 23 at 10 p.m. ET); DESUS & MERO (Thursday, April 23 and Monday, April 27 at 11 p.m. ET); RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (Friday, April 24 at 9:30 p.m. ET); REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER (Saturday, April 25 live at 10 p.m. ET, on-demand the following morning); ATLANTA’S MISSING AND MURDERED: THE LOST CHILDREN (April 26 at 7:45 p.m. ET); VICE (Sunday, April 26 at 8 p.m. ET); HOMELAND (Sunday, April 26 at 9 p.m. ET); WESTWORLD, (Sunday, April 26 at 9 p.m. ET); INSECURE (Sunday, April 26 at 10 p.m. ET); RUN (Sunday, April 26 at 10:30 p.m. ET); and MY BRILLIANT FRIEND: THE STORY OF A NEW NAME (Monday, April 27 at 10 p.m. ET).

  Complete listings for the week of April 23-29 *All Programming Subject to Change HBO WE’RE HERE, Season 1, Episode 1 *Series Premiere* (April 23 at 9 p.m. ET) REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER, Season 18, Episode 12 (April 25, live at 10 p.m. ET, on demand the following morning) BAD EDUCATION (April 25 at 8 p.m. ET) ATLANTA’S MISSING AND MURDERED: THE LOST CHILDREN, Season 1, Episode 4 (April 26 at 7:45 p.m. ET) WESTWORLD, Season 3, Episode 7 (April 26 at 9 p.m. ET) INSECURE, Season 4, Episode 3 (April 26 at 10 p.m. ET) RUN, Season 1, Episode 3 (April 26 at 10:30 p.m. ET) MY BRILLIANT FRIEND: THE STORY OF A NEW NAME, Season 2, Episode 7 (April 27 at 10 p.m. ET) AUTISM: THE SEQUEL, (April 28 at 9 p.m. ET) Movies RULE OF 3 (April 23) IT: CHAPTER 2 (April 24) PAIN AND GLORY (April 24) SHOWTIME DESUS & MERO, Season 2, Episode 19 (April 23 at 11 p.m. ET) PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS, Season 1, Episode 1 *Series Premiere* (April 24) VICE, Season 1, Episode 5 (April 26 at 8 p.m. ET) HOMELAND, Season 8, Episode 12 *Series Finale* (April 26 at 9 p.m. ET) DESUS & MERO, Season 2, Episode 20 (April 27 at 11 p.m. ET) STARZ THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS (April 24) LONE SURVIVOR (April 24) VIDA, Season 3, Episode 1 *Season Premiere* (April 26) Other BROCKMIRE, Season 4 Episode 6 (April 23) SHELTER IN PLACE WITH SHANE SMITH, Episodes 1-4 (April 23) SHELTER IN PLACE WITH SHANE SMITH, Episode 5 (April 23 at 10 p.m. ET) PRESSURE’S ON, Season 1 (April 24) SPENCER’S BIG 30, Season 2 (April 24) TACOMA FD, Season 1 (April 24) RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, Season 12, Episode 9 (April 24 at 9:30 p.m. ET) RUPAUL’S SECRET CELEBRITY DRAG RACE, Season 1, Episode 1 *Series Premiere* (April 24 at 11 p.m. ET) STRONGER TOGETHER, *Special Premiere* (April 26 at 11 p.m. ET) THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, Season 33, Episodes 156-159 (April 28) CARDINAL, Season 4, Episode 4 (April 28) THE VOICE, Season 18, Episode 11 (April 28) DARK SIDE OF THE RING, Season 2, Episode 7 (April 28 at 10 p.m. ET) *Source: Adobe Analytics