What to Watch This Week: July 15 to 20

From housewife dramas to murder mockumentaries, we round up our top 10 shows to watch this week

1. The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale – Sunday, July 15, Netflix

After the success of its first ?13 episodes earlier this year, Netflix extended Joel McHale’s snarktastic, pop-culture-skewering clip show by another six episodes.

2. The Handmaid’s Tale – Sunday, July 15, 6 p.m. & 8:30 p.m., Bravo | Season Finale

When the first season of Margaret Atwood’s award-winning-novel-come-to-life ended, we were all on the edge of our seats waiting to see what could possibly happen next in the fictional Republic of Gilead. But given the unrelentingly bleak progression of season two, we almost can’t bear to look at what this week’s finale has in store for us. Offred’s pregnancy has added several new and complex layers to this politically charged tale, as the show has tackled child brides, a whole new level of legalized rape, the introduction of the hellish concentration camp that is the Colonies and in a prescient twist, even a disastrous trade mission to Canada. As you might expect, everyone involved with the show has been extremely tight-lipped about what’s coming next in this week’s season-ender. And now that they’ve branched off from Atwood’s book, we can’t even use that as a guide for where showrunner Bruce Miller plans to take the story. But specific plot details aside, you can bet the writers will continue to hold a dark mirror up to modern society, while leaving a tiny ember of hope burning in the blackness.

3. The History of Comedy – Sunday, July 15, 7 p.m. & 10 p.m., CNN | Season Premiere

One season just wasn’t enough to cover all of the laughter, so CNN has renewed this series for another round. This week focuses on sexual humour and the way this particular type of gag-making can cause discomfort and even wreak havoc in the minds of the more politically correct. Future episodes will tackle family-friendly comedy, comedy duos, sketch comedy and comedians who died too young. As with the previous outing, you can expect to see some of the biggest names in the biz chiming in with their memories and opinions, including Judd Apatow, Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin.

4. Our Cartoon President – Sunday, July 15, 9:30 p.m., TMN1

There was never ?any question that Donald Trump would provide sufficient material for the writers of Our Cartoon President. The bigger concern was probably whether or not impeachment proceedings would cut the series down in its prime. Well, that hasn’t happened yet, and now the Stephen Colbert-produced animated sitcom is returning for the second half of its first season.

This week, Donald tries to mend fences with Melania, while his sons struggle to stay scandal-free in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections.

5. The Real Housewives of Orange County – Monday, July 16, 6 p.m. & 10 p.m., Slice | Season Premiere

The ladies lost three of their own at the end of season 12, with Meghan King Edmonds, Peggy Sulahian and Lydia McLaughlin opting out. Season 13 welcomes two new “feisty” Housewives to the mix in Gina Kirschenheiter, a Long Island native who doesn’t do political correctness and often feels like a single mom, even though she’s still married; and Emily Simpson, a “rags-to-riches” attorney and part-time party planner from Ohio.

6. My Partner Knows Best – Tuesday, July 17, 7 p.m., Lifetime | Series Premiere

Celebrity lovebirds Jenny Mollen (Chicago Fire) and Jason Biggs (Orange Is the New Black) host this relationship game show that each week enlists three couples to compete against one another in challenges that test how well they really know their partner.

7. Girl Got Game – Wednesday, July 18, 8 p.m., The CW

The very idea of eSports, wherein teams of professional video gamers compete in tournaments cheered on by stadiums of raucous fans, may seem silly to many people, but it is well on its way to becoming a billion-dollar industry. This one-hour special follows CLG Red, the first all-female team to secure a corporate sponsorship, in the lead-up to their next big match. As they live and train together, their goal is to solidify their place in this male-dominated arena.

8. Code Black – Wednesday, July 18, 10 p.m., CTV & CBS | Series Finale

The gritty medical drama has finally flatlined, as CBS announced a few weeks ago that this third-season finale will also be a series finale. But at least they’re going out with a (literal) bang, as a plane crashes into the eighth floor of Angels Memorial. What’s more, a car accident leaves Noa’s life hanging in the balance.

9. Trial & Error – Thursday, July 19, 9 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., CTV & NBC | Season Premiere

“We’re so lucky someone got killed so we get to do this again!” exclaims Sherri Shepherd’s character Anne Flatch on the new season of Trial & Error. Indeed, the comedy inspired by the upswing of true-crime docuseries in the past few years is back for another outrageous murder trial. This time, it’s none other than Kristin Chenoweth—or rather, her alter-ego Lavinia Peck-Foster—who is accused of murdering her husband and stuffing him into a suitcase, once again leaving it up to attorney Josh Segal (Nicholas D’Agosto) to save the day, as he did last season for accused wife-killer Larry Henderson (John Lithgow).

10. Wynonna Earp – Friday, July 20, 6 p.m. & 11 p.m., Space | Season Premiere

The first two seasons of Wynonna Earp gave Ottawa-born star Melanie Scrofano a wild ride, and she’s holding on eagerly as season three begins.

The comic-book-inspired merging of western traditions and the supernatural returns Friday. Scrofano continues as legendary lawman Wyatt Earp’s great-great-granddaughter, whose relationship with the now-eternal Doc Holliday (fellow Canadian Tim Rozon) has produced a child—but one from whom Wynonna is separated, for daughter Alice’s safety. The plot has great resonance for Scrofano, now a parent herself; indeed, she filmed season two while pregnant.