Can HBO Reignite Sunday Nights With Kate Winslet's Mare of Easttown?

As Primetimer's Jon Hein recently wrote, it's been a while since we've seen HBO bow a new signature series on Sunday nights, the premium channel's once bullet-proof launching pad. With critics and audiences lukewarm on last week's debut of The Nevers, can Kate Winslet — last seen on HBO in 2011's Mildred Pierce — hand the network another hit? We'll find out when Winslet's Mare of Easttown premieres Sunday night.

Also this weekend: David Attenborough narrates The Year Earth Changed, Forest Whitaker's Godfather of Harlem returns for Season 2, and John Stamos returns to his roots in the new Disney+ series Big Shot. Here's what's new and noteworthy on TV this weekend:

FRIDAY APRIL 16

SERIES PREMIERE: It was only a matter of time before Disney fanatic John Stamos landed on Disney+. Big Shot stars the Full House alum as a temperamental college basketball coach who's forced to take a teaching and coaching job at an elite all-girls private high school. Watch trailer. Streaming on Disney+

SEASON PREMIERE: Vanessa Helsing (Kelly Overton) fights to bring an end to the Dark One once and for all as Van Helsing kicks off its fifth and final season. Watch preview. 10:00 PM ET on Syfy

COMPLETE FIRST SEASON: Three best friends negotiate work, fun and identity politics in the Aussie import Why Are You Like This, a satire of 20-something life in Melbourne. Watch preview. Streaming on Netflix

SERIES PREMIERE: Brian Gleeson (Peaky Blinders) plays a 32-year-old misanthrope living at home with his mother in the six-episode comedy Frank From Ireland. Gleeson's real-life brother Domhnall co-stars as Doofus, Frank's best friend. Watch trailer. Streaming on Prime Video

DOCUMENTARY: Turns out the pandemic hasn't been all bad. The new Apple original documentary The Year Earth Changed looks at the postive effects last year's global lockdown had on wildlife worldwide. David Attenborough narrates. Watch trailer. Streaming on Apple TV+

SERIES PREMIERE: Fire up your electronic picture frame. National Geographic's Earth Moods joins the growing ranks of ambient TV available on streaming. Watch trailer. Streaming on Disney+

SATURDAY APRIL 17

BOXING: Former world champion Tony Harrison faces off against Bryant Perrella as PBC Fight Night airs live from Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, CA. 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT on FOX

NBA BASKETBALL: Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors take on Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics on tonight's NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC, live from Boston's TD Garden. 8:30 PM ET / 5:30 PM PT on ABC

MADE FOR TV MOVIE: First comes lust, then comes envy. Serayah (Empire), Rose Rollins (The L Word), and Kandi Burruss (The Real Housewives of Atlanta) star in Envy: A Seven Deadly Sins Saga, based on Victoria Christopher Murray's best-selling book series. Watch trailer. 8:00 PM ET on Lifetime

DOCUSERIES PREMIERE: From the depths of the Costa Rican jungle to open plains of South Africa and the dry deserts of Arizona, the three-part docuseries One Wild Day looks at how different animals thrive at different hours of the day. Watch trailer. 8:00 PM ET on BBC America

MADE FOR TV MOVIE: It's a tale as old as time. In Right in Front of Me: Spring Fling, Carly (Janel Parrish) gets a second chance at romance with her college crush, but her friend Nick (Marco Grazzini) may be a better match. 9:00 PM ET on Hallmark

ENCORE PRESENTATION: Regina King hosts Saturday Night Live (with an assist from her hype man Kenan Thompson) in this February repeat. With musical guest Nathaniel Rateliff. 11:30 PM ET on NBC

SUNDAY APRIL 18

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Michelle Obama, Matthew McConaughey and Lin-Manuel Miranda are just a few of the stars set to participate in Roll Up Your Sleeves, an hour-long special aimed at encouraging Americans to help put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic by getting vaccinated. 7:00 PM ET on NBC

LIMITED SERIES PREMIERE: Kate Winslet leads a starry cast in HBO's new seven part mystery The Mare of Easttown, about a small town police detective (Winslet) tasked with solving a harrowing new murder case. Watch trailer. 10:00 PM ET on HBO

AWARDS SHOW: Returning just seven months after its COVID-delayed 2020 installment, it's all systems go for this year's 56th Academy of Country Music Awards, with scheduled performances from the likes of Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Carrie Underwood, Lady A, and Kelsea Ballerini. Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton host. 8:00 PM ET on CBS

SEASON PREMIERE: Period crime drama Godfather of Harlem returns for Season 2 with Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) facing new challenges from the Italians, Adam Clayton Powell (Giancarlo Esposito), prosecutor Robert Morgenthau (Justin Bartha), and even his friend Malcolm X (Nigél Thatch). Watch trailer. 9:00 PM ET on Epix

DOCUSERIES PREMIERE: Joe Berlinger's new five-part true crime docuseries Confronting a Serial Killer tells the story of the unprecedented relationship between author Jillian Lauren and Sam Little, the most prolific serial killer in American history. Watch trailer. 9:00 PM ET on STARZ

SEASON PREMIERE: Shot before and during the opening stages of the pandemic in New York City, Couples Therapy Season 2 pairs psychologist Dr. Orna Guralnik with three new couples whose relationships will soon be tested in ways they couldn't have imagined. Read our review. 10:00 PM ET on Showtime

SERIES PREMIERE: From the producers of The Food That Built America comes the series spinoff Snack Sized, telling the bite-sized history of all of the foods we love in 30 minutes or less. First up: Coca-Cola. 10:00 PM ET on History Channel

Jed Rosenzweig is the Founder and Publisher of Primetimer.