6 new shows to watch out for
Consider the list below a tip sheet to get you going on the autumn TV season
There’s more new television to watch than is humanly possible. But everyone has to make a time-allocation decision in the end, and that’s what we’re here to help with. Consider the list below a tip sheet to get you going on the autumn TV season. Each of the six shows has something of note to offer, and some have the potential to be season (or beyond) standouts. Happy viewing, and the snacks are on you.
MURPHY BROWN
The unexpected success of Roseanne last season (before its sudden implosion due to star Roseanne Barr) would be enough to make this revival intriguing as another onetime TV hit eager to prove its relevance.
The original CBS sitcom starring Candice Bergen as a broadcast TV news anchor and reporter was unabashedly in the middle of politics and social issues when it aired from 1988-98, including going toe-to-toe with Vice President Dan Quayle over unwed motherhood.
Creator Diane English has said it was the chance to weigh in on Trump-era politics that persuaded her to put Murphy back to work, this time on the cable news side and with a bone to pick about socalled “fake news.”
Do we sense a realworld Twitter storm gathering on the horizon? The show debuted in the US on September 27.
THE ROMANOFFS
The Amazon Prime Video drama series makes the cut even without virtue of an early screening, thanks both to its pedigree and ambitions. It was created, written, directed and produced by Matthew Weiner of Mad Men glory and marks his return to series TV after his Emmy-showered drama ended in 2015.
An eight-episode anthology series, The
Romanoffs promises a kaleidoscope of tales about people who fancy themselves descendants of the royal Russian family that fell victim to revolution. The cast changes from episode to episode, starting with Marthe Keller and Aaron Eckhart in
The Violet Hour and Corey Stoll and Kerry Bishe in The Royal We.
Fair to say the bar is set for high — if not excessive — expectations. The first two episodes debut on October 12.
MY BRILLIANT FRIEND
HBO’s first non-English language series is based on the internationally best-selling novel of the same name, the first of four books by Elena Ferrante. That’s a pen name for the author who’s remained anonymous, creating as much a sensation for that choice as for the acclaimed saga of two women starting in their 1950s childhood in Naples, Italy. The production is impressive, from the casting of the actresses playing friends Elena and Lila as girls (newcomers Elisa Del Genio and Ludovica Nasti) and as teenagers (Margherita Mazzucco, Gaia Girace) to its re-creation of the tough, unforgiving neighbourhood that served as their incubator.
This season is coming in the US this November.
WARRIORS OF LIBERTY CITY
The Starz documentary series has the power of fiction and beyond, delving into American lives rarely seen on TV.
Miami’s disadvantaged Liberty City neighbourhood is home to a youth football programme, founded by 2 Live Crew frontman and activist Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, that’s helped launch Antonio Brown, Teddy Bridgewater and others into NFL careers.
While the twin football controversies of kneeling and concussions play out at a distance, the series provides intimate glimpses of Liberty City Warriors players on and off the field as they pursue the distant dream of a pro career and, more immediately, a winning season.
Their grit is impressive and touching, but it’s framed by the burdens of poverty, violence and lack of educational opportunities. The six-episode series debuted on September 16.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
This comedy fits snugly into ABC’s ethnic-family folio that includes blackish, The Goldbergs and Fresh Off the Boat. But the newcomer about a working-class, Irish-Catholic family in the 1970s isn’t riding anyone’s coattails: It’s sharply written, charming and boasts laugh-out-loud scenes.
Created by Tim Doyle, whose background mirrors that of the fictional Clearys, The Kids Are Alright gives the lovingly strict parents of eight (well-cast) sons their dignity as well as foibles as they navigate parenthood in a tumultuous decade.
Begins October 16 in the US.
THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL
For fans of the gripping, hugely entertaining The Night Manager that aired on AMC in 2016, there’s reason for celebration: executive producers of the Emmy Award-winning series based on a John le Carre novel are behind this le Carre adaptation.
The six-part miniseries stars Alexander Skarsgard and English actress Florence Pugh in a 1970s tale of espionage and intrigue. He’s a mystery man, she’s an actress with secrets of her own, and hovering over all is spy mastermind Kurtz (Michael Shannon).
The drama airs on November 19 in the US.
Each of the six shows has something of note to offer, and some have the potential to be season standouts.