‘This is Us’ and Ellen Degeneres say goodbye while Grey’s Anatomy wraps up another year: What to watch this week

This article contains spoilers for “This is Us.”

With so many different streaming platforms and cable offerings to navigate through, choosing what to watch has never been harder. To make things easier, here are our best tune-in tips for the week ahead.

TUESDAY MAY 24

This Is Us

Tuesday’s final episode of “This Is Us” will face the pressure that all the great shows often do… to deliver a satisfying series finale. Often, when a show is as good as this one is, it’s a double-edged sword as no conclusion can ever meet the expectation that fans have. This might be the case here as the writing on the NBC drama has been strong enough to have audiences feel like they are also members of the Pearson family. We already had to deal with the death of Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) when the show first began and last week said goodbye to Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore) as well. I am not sure if I have ever watched a sadder episode of television than last week’s penultimate episode so we shall see what the final one will deliver. Top pick of the week and perhaps of the year.

Tuesday May 24, 9 p.m. EST, CTV & CTV.ca

WEDNESDAY MAY 25

Survivor 42

The 42nd season of “Survivor” concludes tonight and there is still one Canadian left in the game. Despite betraying fellow Ontarian Omar Zaheer last week, Maryanne Oketch seems destined for a strong finish. The Ajax seminary student is still holding a hidden immunity idol heading into the final five and has a chance to follow Erika as the second Canadian to win the game. She is up against beach service company owner Jonathan, dietitian Lindsay, retired firefighter Mike, and pageant coach Romeo in the final episode of the season.

Wednesday May 25, 8 p.m. EST, Global & StackTV

THURSDAY MAY 26

The Ellen Degeneres Show

After 19 seasons and one major controversy concerning the treatment of her staff, Ellen Degeneres finally leaves the talk show space. The last episode of the comedian’s daytime talk show will end the way it began… with a Jennifer Aniston interview. It will also feature appearances by Pink and Billie Eilish. It will be interesting to see how daytime TV evolves in a post-Ellen era as there is now clearly room for someone else to take the talk show throne.

Thursday May 26, 3 p.m. EST, CTV & CTV.ca

Grey’s Anatomy

The 400th episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” also serves as its season 18 finale. There is pressure to deliver on the milestone episode as the 200th episode saw the doctors put on a glitzy fundraiser and the 300th episode served as a nod to characters of the past. Reports indicate that Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew will both return to reprise their roles as Jackson and April in Thursday’s episode. When we last saw Jackson, he had decided to move to Boston to take over his family’s foundation.

Thursday May 26, 8 p.m. EST, CTV & CTV.ca

FRIDAY MAY 27

Stranger Things

It’s hard to believe that it has been three years since the last episode of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” streamed on Netflix or that the fourth season will debut on Friday. When we last saw Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown), she had lost her powers. Hopper (played by David Harbour) had been taken prisoner and Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard) finally get in touch with his feelings. There have been rumblings that the new season is the scariest yet and that the new storylines take on a more mature undertone.

Netflix

Kick Like Tayla

This new doc hones in on Australian Football League player and boxer Tayla Harris. The film dives into how the athlete is able to balance two sports simultaneously.

Prime Video

Prehistoric Planet

Jon Favreau is behind this immersive and weeklong documentary that takes viewers on a 66-million-year expedition to explore how dinosaurs used to live. The series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, follows versions of the creatures that have been recreated with computer-generated imagery.

Apple TV Plus

DON’T MISS

The Quest

This reality series comes with a high level of producing pedigree. It is the brainchild of the teams behind “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Amazing Race,” and “Queer Eye.” “The Quest” is competition series that sees eight teenagers dropped into the fictional world of “Everealm” where they must save a Kingdom by fulfilling an ancient prophecy. Think of it as a televised live-action role-play. It’s the second iteration of the concept that first aired in 2014 on ABC.

Disney Plus

So You Think You Can Dance

While there are many more seasons of “Survivor” and “Big Brother,” “So You Think You Can Dance” would likely be the sole survivor if there was a competition between the programs. It has saved itself so many times from certain cancellation and continues to be a summer staple. For Canadians, the show is now on Citytv and that’s not the only change. It features a totally new set of judges. The “Hot Tamale Train” has left the station as Mary Murphy is out. Nigel Lythgoe has also left the judging table but remains the show’s executive producer. Their replacements? Former contestant Stephen ‘Twitch’ Boss, former “Glee” star Matthew Morrison, and social media star JoJo Siwa. Think the show is trying to appeal to Gen Z? Me too.

Wednesdays, 8 p.m. EST, Citytv & Citytv.com

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