Good bets for a new season
NEW YORK — Although the major broadcast networks still make the most noise when it comes to promoting their new wares, savvy viewers may find the best new shows often blossom from far afield of mainstream outlets, as cable channels and streaming services prove more and more conclusively they’re where the action is.
For instance, Amazon Prime (not yet available in Canada) will host a six-part series starring as well as directed and written by Woody Allen beginning Sept. 30. Although Crisis in Six Scenes isn’t yet available for preview, one thing is for sure: The first-ever TV series from this master filmmaker will be a signal moment not only for him, but also for the network that snagged him and for viewers on the lookout for groundbreaking content.
And there’s plenty more ahead. Viewers who take the broad view this fall across the video landscape will find a host of delights such as these new arrivals:
• Atlanta, FX; Sept. 6. Starring and created by Donald Glover, who is also one of its writers, this remarkably gritty yet heartwarming comedy focuses on two cousins as they try to break into the Atlanta rap scene with many a stumble in both their professional and personal lives. Everything about this show rings true, sometimes painfully so: “I just keep losing. I mean, some people just supposed to lose . . . just to make it easier for the winners?” Good question. But hope springs eternal, along with well-earned laughs, on this winning new series.
• The Good Place, NBC; Sept. 19. Clerical errors can happen anywhere, even in the Hereafter. On this comedy, a paperwork glitch leads to a not-so-good young woman being mistakenly dispatched to the exclusive Good Place, where only the most virtuous are meant to gain entry. Kristen Bell plays the misappointed Eleanor, who, through wiles if not through personal improvement, means to hang onto her Good Place posting — and to keep the mistake hidden from her Good Place overseer (Ted Danson). It’s a refreshingly loopy, ultimately goodhearted romp, occasionally punctuated with surreal flights of fancy (Eleanor’s invasive presence in the Good Place has wildly disruptive effects). It’s a good place to settle for half-hour of fun.
• The Exorcist, Fox; Sept. 23. To judge from the pilot, at least, this is no pro-forma remake. No, it appears to truly be its own thing while recapturing the (evil) spirit of the chilling 1973 film. The less said beyond that, the better, other than to note that the impressive cast includes Ben Daniels and Geena Davis — and to promise a twist that, all by itself, will make the pilot episode worth checking out. Here’s hoping the same creative spirit haunts this show in episodes to come.
• Westworld, HBO; Oct. 2. This two-pronged odyssey is simultaneously set in an imagined sci-fi future and the reimagined Old West past in the form of an epic theme park where lifelike robots indulge every appetite of its paying guests. What measure of depravity does this unleash in the humans who visit? And what measure of upheaval will be triggered when the robots go haywire? A huge ensemble includes Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright. The potential sprawl of its mythology seems limitless. In short, this is a candidate to be HBO’s next Game of Thrones.
• Divorce, HBO; Oct. 9. Sarah Jessica Parker has passed beyond Sex and the City to a next-stage comedy that takes her out of New York City and up to the ’burbs. This time, she plays a mother and a wife (to co-star Thomas Haden Church) who’s having an affair and wants out of her marriage. But there’s no simple escape for her or anyone else among the series’ crumbling collection of marrieds, and this show about modern life and suburban mores is a shrewd reminder why. Funny and well-observed, Divorce could have viewers saying “I do.”