Fierce Mirren dons the crown in ‘Catherine the Great’
It’s the end of the road for some tech bros, a soul-searching animated horse and an iconic comedy. And the incomparable Dame Helen Mirren rules as a Russian empress.
Dispatches: Weekly TV news
• Lead actor John Cho suffered a knee injury on the set of Netflix’s upcoming live-action series “Cowboy Bebop,” which has put the show on hiatus. The production shutdown is expected to last seven to nine months.
• Monica Lewinsky and Max Joseph, co-host of MTV’s “Catfish,” will star in and executive produce “15 Minutes of Shame” for HBO Max. The documentary will explore public shaming in modern culture.
• Also coming to HBO Max “in the spirit of Crazy Rich Asians” is new docu-series “The Ho’s” (working title), which follows patriarch Binh Ho, his wife Hue and their children. Immigrants from Vietnam, Binh and Hue realized the American dream and are now a wealthy power couple in Houston.
Contenders: Shows to keep on your radar
• No one plays a queen quite like the glorious Helen Mirren, this time in “Catherine the Great” (Mondays, HBO, 10 p.m. ET). Playing the Russian empress, Mirren is seeking romance and fighting to hang onto power after taking down her husband Peter III.
• The prolific Tyler Perry takes on the highest office in the land in “The Oval” (Wednesdays, BET, 9 p.m. ET). Perry’s first family is interracial and seemingly flawless, but behind closed doors things aren’t quite so perfect.
• One show’s loss is another’s gain, at least for fans of “Will & Grace.” The 11th and final season of the comedy premieres way ahead of schedule (Oct. 24, 9:30 p.m. ET) after NBC announced that struggling “Sunnyside” would be removed from the lineup.
• Netflix drops the first half of the last season of “BoJack Horseman” (Oct. 25). In this sixth season of the animated show, BoJack has finished rehab and is trying to figure out the rest of his life. The second half will be released Jan. 31.
• The sixth and final season of “Silicon Valley” (Oct. 27, HBO, 10:30 p.m. ET) begins, and it’s more money, more problems for the tech wizards as they finally start reaping the rewards of their success.