Comedy: ‘Sarah Silverman: PostMortem’
For standup comedians, it’s often difficult to navigate the barbed tightrope between smirky potshots and painful emotional truths, but Sarah Silverman skips along it merrily in her raw and hilarious new Netflix special about aging and grieving. Spurred by the deaths of her father and stepmother nine days apart, she wrings laughs from unexpected places, including her dad’s deathbed and his dentist’s Yelp reviews. —Doug Brod
TV: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’
It’s easy for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fans to suffer a bit of Drag Race fatigue, given its numerous spinoffs and certain lacklustre seasons of late. We are here, however, to urge you to rejoin the party for the new season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.” The tenth instalment features an exciting new bracket format and point system that ratchets up the suspense, and features many returning faves like Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Nicole Paige Brooks, along with surprisingly revelatory performances from less-beloved queens like Tina Burner and DeJa Skye. The shade is plentiful, the challenges fierce — including an all-time great rap roast (yes, really). —Briony Smith
Music: Alex G: ‘Afterlife’
Alex G may be on a major label now, but he’ll never be able to shed his reputation as the shaggy king of off-kilter indie rock. On the irresistible “Afterlife” — his first single since 2022 (and his first released via RCA) — the Philly singer-songwriter swaps his guitar for a mandolin, leaning further into to folky Americana and Celtic-inflected sound that he first experimented with on his 2017 album “Rocket.” A new parent, he sounds both pensive and optimistic here, as he reflects on his youth and muses about paths not trodden. His tenth album, “Headlights,” arrives on July 18, and he’ll play two nights at History in Toronto in September. —Richie Assaly
TV: ‘Hell Motel’
Horror isn’t just for Halloween. With summer road trips ahead, viewers are invited to check into the “Hell Motel.” The new series from Aaron Martin and Ian Carpenter, creators of Canadian American anthology show “Slasher,” sees 10 true-crime fans visit a creepy, secluded motel where eight people were murdered in a satanic massacre 30 years before. Need we say that fresh violence ensues? “Slasher” alumni Paula Brancati, Jim Watson, Shaun Benson, Genevieve DeGrave and Eric McCormack lead a cast of familiar Canadian faces. Stream it on Hollywood Suite and Shudder. —Debra Yeo
