The Watchlist: ‘The Afterparty’ Finale + What To Watch On TV This Week

Editor’s note: The Deadline Watchlist is a feature spotlighting small-screen specials, events and can’t-miss episodes of ongoing series each week.

1. The Afterparty Season Finale: Through the first seven episodes of the Christopher Miller created and Phil Lord EP’d murder mystery, Tiffany Haddish’s Detective Danner has been trying to find out who killed the annoying pop hack Xavier (Dave Franco) at the high school reunion shindig. With The Afterparty renewed today for a second season, this case looks to be ending, one way or the other. The thing is the Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Ben Schwartz, Ike Barinholtz, Ilana Glazer, Jamie Demetriou co-staring multi-perspective comedy’s “Maggie” eighth episode could see a true blast from the past provide the damning evidence, one way or the other. – Dominic Patten
March 4, AppleTV+

2. Our Flag Means Death Series Premiere: HBO Max reunites former What We Do In The Shadows collaborators and long-time friends Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi for a new take on the pirate genre. While fans may come for the New Zealand comics and their subtle humor, they might stay for the motley, but endearing group of crewmates played by Nathan Foad, Vico Ortiz, Samson Kayo and guest appearances by Fred Armisen and Leslie Jones. – Alexandra Del Rosario
March 3, HBO Max

3. The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle Debuts: The MSNBC host will have her official debut as the host of the network’s 11 PM ET hour, succeeding Brian Williams after his surprise departure at the end of last year. Ruhle, who has been anchoring the 9 AM hour, has been a rising star at NBCU, with a specialty in business and finance, but an ability to transition with ease to whatever else is atop the news cycle. Viewers already have seen Ruhle in the timeslot, as she anchored the 11 PM hour on Monday for special coverage of Ukraine, and then on Tuesday for the State of the Union. – Ted Johnson
March 2, 11 PM ET/8 PM PT, MSNBC

4. The Conners Tonight: In a nod to classic Roseanne episodes of the 90s, ABC’s The Conners is tackling a difficult and timely issue on Wednesday night’s episode at 9 p.m. In “Triggered,” the Lanford community goes on lock down after a shooting takes place at the local mall. Every character is affected by the tragic event differently, with Lecy Gorenson’s Becky, whose daughter was shopping with her dad Emilio (Rene Rosado) during the shooting, taking it particularly rough in the aftermath. Gorenson pitched the idea for the episode and served as one of the writers. Viewer discretion is advised. – Rosy Cordero
March 2, 9 PM ET/PT ABC

5. The Boys Presents: Diabolical: The Boys fans, awaiting the flagship series’ return in June, can get their fill with animated anthology series Diabolical, which premieres in its entirety. Like Disney+’s Star Wars: Visions, Diabolical features a collection of shorts that each tout different animation styles. Diabolical expands on the gory and foul-mouthed world of Vought and supes through contained plots. Shorts to check out are Garth Ennis’ “I’m Your Pusher,” Aisha Tyler’s “Nubian vs. Nubian” and Andy Samberg’s “John and Sun-Hee.” – Alexandra Del Rosario
March 4, Prime Video

6. Spirit Awards: The celebration of the best in independent film returns as an in-person ceremony at the Santa Monica Pier. Spouses and touring comedy team Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman host the 37th annual trophy show, whose nominees for the marquee Best Feature prize are A Chiara, C’mon C’mon, The Lost Daughter, The Novice and Zola. The Indie Spirits traditionally have been held the day before the Oscars, but that was upended for this year’s model as Film Independent looked to get more traction with the viewing public — as well as exert more possible influence on potential Academy Award voting. – Erik Pedersen
March 6, IFC and AMC+ 2 PM PT/5 PM PT