What to watch this weekend May 24, 2024: TV awards contenders

Much like “Hannibal,” it’s difficult to believe a show as spooky and complex as “Evil” ever aired on network television (and it’s even more surprising it aired on CBS, of all networks). But as the horror series about an unlikely trio investigating reports of demonic incidents for the Catholic Church debuts its entertaining final season on Paramount+, where the Robert and Michelle King-created series moved in Season 2, it’s also hard to believe the show exists anywhere, as it remains wholly unlike anything else on TV.

In Season 4, the first episode of which is now streaming, the series continues to balance its unique cases of the week with storylines involving overarching mythology, all while engaging with and exploring the personal beliefs and fears of Kristen (Katja Herbers), David (Mike Colter) and Ben (Aasif Mandvi). And then there’s that little issue of the antichrist and the fact it’s Kristen’s biological child. All of these things come together nicely to make a thrilling final chapter, so “Evil” is the awards contender to watch this weekend.

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But if horror isn’t your speed, other contenders include:

• “Hacks”: There are those who would have you believe “Hacks” is more dramatic this season, but that’s not really true. The Max comedy simply excels at mining dramatic themes and topics for laughs, and that’s obvious in both of this week’s episodes, “The Deborah Vance Christmas Spectacular” and “Yes, And.” The former outing features Emmy nominee J. Smith-Cameron as Deborah’s (Jean Smart) estranged sister, while the latter finds Deborah forced to confront the problematic nature of her earlier work at the same time she is set to receive an honorary doctorate. The episodes are now streaming on Max.

• “Trying”: Despite the fact it’s embarking on its fourth season, Apple’s “Trying” still feels like something of a hidden gem. But it probably shouldn’t be. Which is to say if you’ve yet to watch the acclaimed series about marriage and parenting, you can rectify that mistake now. The new season jumps ahead six years in order to examine Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) as parents to adopted children. But their family is tested when their teenage daughter (Scarlett Rayner) becomes interested in connecting with her birth mother. The first two episodes are now streaming on Apple TV+.

• “The Sympathizer”: HBO’s adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a half-Vietnamese, half-French communist spy (Hoa Xuande) comes to its dramatic conclusion this weekend. And after the way the limited series’ penultimate episode ended — with the Captain (Xuande) and Bốn (Fred Nguyen Khan) on their way to Thailand — it’s probably not headed anywhere good. The series finale airs Sunday at 9/8c on HBO and Max.

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