Look, we’re willing to put our hands up and admit fault when necessary — like in the case of last week’s column, when we accidentally thought that last week was eight days long. (Take a look at the headline.) I know that, these days, time can feel like an entirely false construct, but there’s no reason to make the work week any longer than it has to be, especially when… hey! We’ve all made it to another weekend, and that’s something to celebrate. And how do we like to celebrate here at Playlist Central? That’s right, by planning out your pop culture calendar for the next seven days. (Yes, seven.) We live to serve.

This week: HBO brings back the true prestige television everyone wants, Superman’s cousin flies into trouble, and it’s the (much-delayed) end of an era for Marvel Comics.

If you only watch one show this week, then it really has to be… House of the Dragon, Season 3

The understated joy of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms earlier this year — really, who would have thought that high fantasy scaled down would have been such a genuine joy, week-in, week-out — restored a lot of goodwill towards HBO’s handling of the world of Westeros, to the point where the return of House of the Dragon feels like a real event once again. And why shouldn’t it? Coming back after two years (yes, the last episode was way back on August 4, 2024!), the show returns with the epic Battle of the Gullet just to remind fans that this is the big Game of Thrones show, and continues to ratchet up tensions between different factions of the perfectly dysfunctional Targaryen family to breaking point and beyond. Honestly, this is what we’ve all been waiting for, right?

House of the Dragon Season 3 begins June 21 on HBO and HBO Max.

If you check out one movie this week, then it should be… Supergirl

2025’s Superman made fans believe that a man can fly one more time (and also made too many people debate what was and wasn’t ‘punk rock,’ but I digress), and for DC Studios’ next trick, it’s time to convince audiences that there’s more to the DCU than they might believe. Supergirl is a riskier proposition than it may first seem, in that it needs to demonstrate a different (and snarkier) tone than Superman despite featuring a hero with the same powers and costume, introduce fans to the cosmic side of the DC canon for what might be their first time — the old DCEU was purposefully Earth-bound, after all — and build a blockbuster hit for mainstream audiences out of characters they think they know and have particular expectations of that bluntly aren’t going to be met by the movie. (The CW Supergirl, this ain’t.) Will they succeed? Is Lobo going to be a breakout character of the summer? Will people be really, really upset by seeing Krypto in danger? We’ll all find out soon.

Supergirl will be in movie theaters June 26.

If you can only pick up one comic this week, then make sure it’s… Ultimate Universe: Finale #1

It’s taken longer than anyone expected — Marvel originally scheduled the end of the Ultimate Universe for April — but it’s time, finally, to close up the second incarnation of the edgier Marvel Universe; the final issue of Ultimate Endgame is out on Wednesday, and is accompanied by this last victory lap around the old place by creators including Jonathan Hickman, Peach Momoko, Deniz Camp, and others who have built the Ultimate line into a critical and commercial smash for Marvel across the past two years. It’s not entirely clear what to expect from the issue, but expect a celebration of what came before instead of a wake… and if you leave with a good taste in your mouth, maybe you’d like to come back in a handful of months for the launch of Marvel’s next publishing line made up of alternate universe versions of its biggest characters when Midnight launches?

Ultimate Universe: Finale #1 will be in comic book stores June 24.

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