Heated Rivalry Finale, New Gladiator in the Ring in Spartacus, TCM Tributes, HGTVs Junk or Jackpot

The very buzzy Canadian drama about a secret gay romance in the world of hockey ends its first season with an episode that could be thought of as “The Summer That Changed Everything.” For Canadian star Shane (Hudson Williams) and bad-boy Russian upstart Ilya (Connor Storrie), it’s a long-awaited July reunion between seasons as the two steal away to Shane’s lavishly appointed “cottage” in the Ottawa woods for what Shane tells his clueless parents is a “silent retreat.” If you don’t count the passionate moaning. The getaway gives them a chance to open up about their feelings and think about a potential future—and then more drama breaks out.

For this week, the spinoff replaces the name of “Ashur” with “Caesar” in the credits, because Julius Caesar (Jackson Gallagher), sporting the long blond locks of a surfer dude, is crashing at Ashur’s (Nick E. Tarabay) gladiator training camp with his spoiled wife Cornelia (Jaime Slater). The future Roman dictator steals Ashur’s spotlight as the games of the Ludi Apollinaires approaches, but no one is prepared for what Ashur is about to present: the first female gladiator, the fierce but untested Achillia (Tenika Davis), who’s going to need to muster all of her strength, speed and endurance to survive her first round in the ring, turning jeers into cheers if she lives long enough.

The classic movie channel pays tribute in prime time to several cinematic notables who passed away this year and haven’t previously been saluted by TCM. (This was scheduled before the death of Rob Reiner, who most likely will get a night in his honor sometime in the new year.) The evening opens with the late director Robert Benton’s Oscar-winning 1979 drama Kramer vs. Kramer (8/7c). Followed by Val Kilmer’s star turn in the 1984 action-comedy Top Secret! (10/9c), Joe Don Baker as vigilante lawman Buford Pusser in 1973’s Walking Tall (11:45/10:45c), and overnight, former child star Claude Jarman Jr. in 1946’s The Yearling (2 am/1c), British actress (and widow of Laurence Olivier) Joan Plowright in 1960s’s The Entertainer (4:15 am/3:15c) opposite Olivier; and representing composer Lalo Schifrin, 1967’s Cool Hand Luke (6 am/5c).

Queer Eye alum and designer Bobby Berk hosts a new home renovation series where he trains his keen eye on people’s sprawling collections that threaten to overwhelm their living spaces. Berk becomes a counselor as he learns the emotional stories behind the stockpiles before advising the homeowners on which prized possessions they should sell, which could then help fund their much-needed makeovers. In the premiere, he meets Patrick, whose two-bedroom condo is cluttered with marionettes, puppets, pinball machines, and figurines, much to the dismay of his partner Peter. Berk helps find the items that will bring top dollar at auction to finance the transformation of the living space and home office.

After all of these years in the investigative journalism trade, Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh still won’t give up his sources. “Just let their voice be the story,” he says in this fascinating and revelatory documentary profile. He is a master of bringing illegal activities to light, from Watergate to Vietnam’s My Lai massacre and the torture tactics in Agy Gharib prison. “I don’t know why, but people want to talk to me,” he says at 88.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• Popstar! Best of 2025 (8/7c, The CW): Elizabeth Stanton, host of the network’s World’s Funniest Animals, looks back at the biggest moments and trends of the year, as decided by polls from pop-culture junkies.
• Power Book IV: Force (8/7c, Starz): With the series finale just a few weeks away, Chicago drug kingpin Tommy Egan (Joseph Siroka) scrambles to rebuild after the latest shake-up.
• It’s Florida, Man (10/9c, HBO): Johnny Knoxville and comedian Nick Thune appear in a vignette about a novice moonshiner who crosses paths with another illegal backwoods scheme.
• Nightsleeper (streaming on BritBox): Joe Cole (Gangs of London) stars in a six-part real-time thriller as a former Detective Inspector who rises to the heroic occasion when he boards a sleeper train from London to Glasgow that gets hacked and is headed toward danger.
• Bugonia (streaming on Peacock): Director Yorgos Lanthimos‘ latest baroque dark comedy makes its streaming debut, starring Oscar winner Emma Stone as a CEO kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) who are convinced she’s an alien from outer space.