What’s new to watch this week

Hacks (May 12, TVNZ OnDemand)

When she wasn’t stealing scenes as Kate Winslet’s character’s plain-speaking mother in last year’s Mare of Easttown, Jean Smart was starring in this 10-part tale (finally screening here almost a year after its US debut) about an established Las Vegas comedian who is advised to modernise her act in order to save her career. However, she immediately clashes with the much younger writer she hires. ‘‘There are plenty of laughs along the way, but it’s the unforced emotional truths that make Hacks a right and proper vehicle for Smart,’’ wrote The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan.

The Essex Serpent (May 13, Apple TV+)

Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston team up for this six-part adaptation of Sarah Perry’s Victorian England-set 2016 novel. It follows London widow Cora Seaborne, who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent. She forms a surprising bond of science and skepticism with a local pastor, but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature.

The Thing About Pam (May 13, Amazon Prime Video)

Renee Zellweger, Josh Duhamel and Judy Greer star in this six-part drama based on the hit 2019 podcast of the same name. Both revolve around the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria, a brutal crime that set off a chain of events that would not only result in her husband Russ’ conviction, but also expose a diabolical scheme involving a woman named Pam Hupp. ‘‘A welcome departure from the current avalanche of poker-faced true-crime efforts,’’ wrote Entertainment Weekly’s Kristen Baldwin.

– James Croot