Kentucky Derby and Hallmark’s ‘Kentucky Roses,’ ‘Watson’ Series Finale, iHeartCountry Festival

The Kentucky Derby

SATURDAY: Mint julep, anyone? In what has become the Super Bowl of horse racing, coverage of the first leg of the fabled Triple Crown begins early, with hours to fill before the “most exciting two minutes in sports,” whose posted start time isn’t until just before 7 pm/ET. It’s the pageantry and history at Louisville’s Churchill Downs that has drawn fans to the spectacle for more than a century and a half. Oddsmaker favorites include the well-named Renegade, Further Ado and Commandment, and whichever of these majestic beasts, front-runner or dark horse, is bedecked with roses and $3.1 million for its lucky owner, speculation begins whether they can repeat at the Preakness in two weeks (May 16) on the way to a historic and rarely achieved Triple Crown.

Kentucky Roses

SATURDAY: If the race itself leaves you wanting more, Hallmark complies with a romance filmed on location at Churchill Downs. Odette Annable (Walker) stars as Sadie, who works in the facility’s greenhouse among the roses, with channel favorite Andrew Walker as Ash, the son of Churchill Downs’ CEO. In a parallel storyline set nearly a century earlier, we discover a connection between their families that clouds the relationship forming between Sadie and Ash when he’s called in to repair one of the iconic Twin Spires that was damaged in a storm. Lay your bets on a happy ending, and you’ll likely leave satisfied.

Watson

SUNDAY: The medical mystery procedural inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ends its run after just two seasons with a tip of the cap to Sherlockian lore. In the series finale, a murder outside the Holmes Clinic’s hospital presents one last challenge for the good Dr. Watson (Morris Chestnut) when a sinister figure from his and Holmes’ (Robert Carlyle) past emerges. Eddie Izzard guest-stars as Sebastian Moran, whom Sherlockians will recognize as one of the villainous Moriarty’s closest and most deadly associates.

iHeartCountry Festival

SATURDAY: Austin’s Moody Center is the staging ground for a musical jamboree featuring some of country’s biggest names, livestreamed on Hulu and Disney+ and also available on all iHeartCountry stations and the iHeartRadio app. Among the headliners on the roster: American Idol‘s Luke Bryan, Parker McCollum, Gretchen Wilson, Lauren Alaina, Carly Pearce, Shaboozey, Kane Brown, and Riley Green (currently appearing on CBS‘s Marshals).

The Comeback

SUNDAY: Poor Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow). Not only does she have to face the press after news breaks about her sitcom being written by AI, but the cast and crew accuse her of lying. So who leaked it? While she tries to do damage control on set, she agrees to appear with her husband Mark (Damian Young) on his Finance Dudes reality show, where she soon realizes not everyone is cut out for reality TV.

INSIDE WEEKEND TV:

• Kidnapped in Her Own Home: The Martha Carelli Story (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Castle alum Stana Katic stars in a survival thriller as Martha, a woman taken hostage by an escaped convict (Tyler Perez) lurking in her basement who forces her to drive his getaway car.
• 48 Hours (Saturday, 10/9c, CBS): Natalie Morales reports on the 2022 murder of single mom Gloria Choi, whose dream boyfriend turned out to be a nightmare.
• Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30/10:30c, 8:30 pm/PT, NBC): Olivia Rodrigo does double duty, guest-hosting for the first time on her third visit as musical guest.
• The Month of Mayberry (Sunday, 2 pm/1c, MeTV): Return to the bucolic North Carolina neverland with Andy, Barney, Opie and the rest of Mayberry’s beloved denizens for a monthlong tribute, starting with the 1986 reunion movie Return to Mayberry. An hour block (at 8/7c) each weeknight is curated with a different weekly theme, starting May 4 with “All About Andy [Griffith]” (and the unforgettable “The Pickle Story”) and moving on May 11 with “The Fife Is Right” episodes featuring Don Knotts as the hapless deputy Barney Fife.
• Miami Grand Prix (Sunday, 4 pm/ET, streaming on Apple TV): The streamer that gave us the F1 movie presents the Formula 1 race from Florida as the 2026 season resumes. (Sprint and qualifying rounds are livestreamed Saturday at noon/ET and 4 pm/ET.)
• Collector’s Call (Sunday, 6:30/5:30c, MeTV): On the eve of Star Wars Day, the force is with dentist and memorabilia collector Paul Chu, showing off his intergalactic treasures (including a one-of-a-kind Boba Fett bounty hunter figure).
• Family Guy (Sunday, 8/7c, Fox): Stewie’s attachment to his teddy bear Rupert is, to put it mildly, extreme. When the tyke announces his engagement, canine pal Brian is irked when he’s not asked to be best man. Followed by new episodes of Bob’s Burgers (8:30/7:30c) and American Dad (9/8c).
• Marshals (Sunday, 8/7c, CBS): The team splits up to track down prison escapees who fled when their transport bus crashed, the pursuit stirring up some troubling memories.
• Call the Midwife (Sunday, 8/7c, PBS): Violet (Annabelle Apsion) organizes a press campaign to call attention to the imminent closure of the maternity home.
• When Hope Calls: Brookfield (Sunday, 8/7c, Great American Family): Wyatt (Nick Bateman) is suspicious when a cattle buyer pressures Hannah (Sarah Fisher) to sell her ranch.
• Tracker (Sunday, 9/8c, CBS): Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Kathleen Robertson returns as Maxine, a lawyer working with Reenie (Fiona Rene) and hiring Colter (Justin Hartley) to find the missing star witness in their trial against a shady real-estate developer.
• The Way Home (Sunday, 9/8c, Hallmark Channel): Kat (Chyler Leigh) and Elliot (Evan Williams) aim for a romantic getaway while her daughter Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) heads back to 1979 for more answers about the past.
• The Count of Monte Cristo (Sunday, 10/9c, PBS): In the penultimate episode of the adventure classic, Edmond’s (Sam Claflin) campaign to bring down Fernand (Harry Taurasi) succeeds so well that Fernand’s and Mercedes’ (Ana Girardot) son Albert (Nicolas Maupas) challenges the incognito count to a duel.
• Soccer Meets America (Sunday, streaming on The Roku Channel): In anticipation of next month’s 2026 World Cup, a docuseries charts the rise of soccer’s popularity in the U.S.