‘SNL’ Gets (Dr.) Strange, ‘NCIS: LA’ Hits 300, Scene Partners on ‘Barry,’ ‘Winning Time’ Finale

Saturday Night Live

SATURDAY: Best known as TV’s contemporary Sherlock—oh wait, that’s my world—Doctor Strange himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, a recent Oscar nominee for Netflix’s The Power of the Dog, returns to studio 8H for his second gig as guest host. Arcade Fire is the musical guest.

NCIS: Los Angeles

SUNDAY: Hitting another milestone, the long-running crime-drama spinoff marks its 300th episode with Sam (LL Cool J) moving in with his dad (Richard Gant, seen recently as a granddad on The Wonder Years) and Callen (Chris O’Donnell) considering taking the next step with Anna (Bar Paly). In the case of the week, the team investigates an explosion when two men blow themselves up trying to break into a military base.

Barry

SUNDAY: The dark comedy goes Hollywood in another superior episode. “I’m making it up to him—by acting,” Barry (Bill Hader) insists, trying to make amends for his bloody past actions to his acting coach and mentor Gene Cousineau (the great Henry Winkler). Gene is still unhappily processing his protégé’s secret life, which builds to a surprising breakthrough when they share a scene in a TV show which Barry helped book for his acting hero. (Ironically, while Gene finds it hard to forgive Barry, Hollywood is slow to forgive Gene for his own toxic past as a “difficult” actor.) Elsewhere, Noho Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and Cristobal (Michael Irby) go to extreme measures when they’re caught in the crossfire in the war between the Chechens and the Bolivians. Yet another fine mess for our favorite conflicted hit man to deal with.

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

SUNDAY: The Season 1 finale of the perhaps too-colorful docudrama takes place in the run-up to the 1980 NBA Championship, with the “Showtime” Lakers two men down and hobbling to the finish line. If Jerry Buss’s (John C. Reilly) West Coast stars are to prevail in Philly, court leader Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah) must somehow outdo his role model, Julius Erving (James Lesure).

Gaslit

SUNDAY: Things get scary for Martha Mitchell (Julia Roberts) when she’s held captive in a luxury California hotel by agents determined to keep her from hearing about the Watergate break-in debacle. For comic relief back in D.C., John Dean (Dan Stevens) is tasked to destroy some inflammatory documents, an assignment that sends this nervous White House lawyer into slapstick mode. His girlfriend Maureen (Betty Gilpin) is not amused.

Inside Weekend TV:

• 148th Kentucky Derby (Saturday, 2:30 pm/ET, NBC and Peacock): Coverage starts early of the iconic horse race that kicks off the Triple Crown. The race itself won’t happen until just before 7 pm/ET.
• Buffalo Keepers (Saturday, 4 pm/ET, INSP): An historical docudrama recounts how the American buffalo was nearly rendered extinct by the late 1800s and how Native Americans and ranchers helped repopulate the species.
• Inspiring America: The 2022 Inspiration List (Saturday, 9/8c, 7:30 pm/PT, NBC): NBC News anchors Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb salute uplifting figures including nonagenarian EGOT Rita Moreno, climate scientist/evangelist Katharine Hayhoe, fashion icon Christy Turlington Burns, Space X President-COO Gwynne Shotwell, Olympians Nathan Chen, Mikaela Shiffrin and Erin Jackson, and California pastor Phil Metzger, whose efforts to welcome Ukrainian refugees across the Mexican border have inspired others.
• 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7/6c, CBS): Norah O’Donnell interviews former Defense Secretary Mark Esper about his explosive new book, Jon Wertheim explores how the war in Ukraine has affected the ballet world and Sharyn Alfonsi investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of kids and teens.
• Yellowstone Romance (Sunday, 7/6c, UPtv): Not to be confused with Paramount’s popular (and profane) contemporary Western, Beth and Rip would likely find little to relate to in the squeaky-clean romance of a maid of honor (Stephanie Bennett), planning a friend’s bridal shower at a Wyoming ranch, who falls for a cowboy (Christopher Russell).
• The Simpsons (Sunday, 8/7c, Fox): In honor of Mother’s Day, an episode about Marge, whose blast from the past causes her to bond with Bart, which terrifies Homer.
• Bob’s Burgers (Sunday, 9/8c, Fox): Also marking the holiday: the Belchers, when Louise, Gene and Tina trigger an old family feud while tracking down a lost recipe as a Mother’s Day gift for Linda.
• I Love That for You (Sunday, 8:30/7:30c, Showtime): While the shopping network celebrates Jackie’s (Molly Shannon) 30th anniversary on air, newbie Joanna (Vanessa Bayer) is forced to perpetuate her “cancer girl” lie on air, because her sales numbers are just too good.
• The Rookie (Sunday, 10/9c, ABC): Nolan (Nathan Fillion) expresses a desire to become a training officer, so Sgt. Grey (Richard T. Jones) offers to ride with him to show him the ropes.
• Reality Love Stories: In Bravo’s new Love Match Atlanta (Sunday, 10/9), love is a battlefield for five matchmakers playing cupid for the city’s most eligible singles while playing head games with one another. Things are even more savage on Love in the Jungle (Sunday, streaming on discovery+), an extreme dating-show sendup that sends 14 hot singles into the Columbian jungle, each adopting an animal personality as they attempt mating rituals with minimal verbal communication.