TELEVISION
ERIC this one is a very long way from “sesame street.” set in 1980s new York, it features Benedict cumberbatch as an unstable puppeteer named Vincent whose 9-year-old son has gone missing. the creator of a famous kids puppet show, he begins to see and talk to the blue puppet character his son invented, a monster named eric. created by Abu Morgan of “the Hour,” it’s a thriller, but it’s also a character study of a troubled guy. gaby Hoffmann plays his wife, and the cast also features clarke peters, David Denman, and Dan fogler. (Netflix, May 30)
THE GREAT LILLIAN HALL it’s not a series, but this movie is coming directly to HBo, premiering just one day before the emmy eligibility cut-off. it’s about a beloved Broadway star who seems to be losing her memory as the opening night of her new play approaches. the real draw, though, is the cast, which is led by the great Jessica lange. Directed by pulitzer prize-winner Michael cristofer, it also features kathy Bates, lily Rabe, Jesse Williams, and pierce Brosnan. (HBO, May 31)
CLIPPED this six-episode miniseries is based on the true story of Donald sterling and the 2014 los Angeles clippers scandal, as told in the espn podcast “the sterling Affairs.” ed o’neill, in his first tV role since the end of “Modern family,” plays sterling, whose racist comments ultimately got him banned from the nBA for life. Jacki Weaver costars as shelly sterling, his wife and business partner of 60 years; cleopatra coleman plays sterling’s personal assistant and mistress, V. stiviano; and laurence fishburne is famed coach Doc Rivers, who has to deal with sterling’s cheapness and bullying. (FX, June 4)
QUEENIE this series promises some intimate tV portraiture in the manner of “somebody somewhere,” “feel good,” “insecure,” and “fleabag.” Based on the 2019 novel by candice carty-Williams, it follows a 25-year-old Black woman — referred to as a Black Bridget Jones in a lot of the press for the book — who writes for a newspaper and lives in london. After she and her longtime boyfriend break up, she goes out with inappropriate men before trying to rebuild her life. Dionne Brown, from “criminal Record,” stars. (Hulu, June 7)
PRESUMED INNOCENT go back, Jake, do it again … We already have a good 1990 movie based on scott turow’s 1987 novel, starring Harrison ford, but that’s not stopping the always busy David e. kelley. He’s written an eight-episode miniseries based on the novel, with Jake gyllenhaal in the lead position playing an intensely flawed man. the legal thriller is about a chicago prosecutor who is a suspect in the murder of a colleague who he was having an affair with. Also in the cast: Ruth negga, o-t fagbenle, lily Rabe, Bill camp, and peter sarsgaard, who happens to be gyllenhaal’s real-life brother-in-law. (Apple TV+, June 12)
MY LADY JANE eh, let’s just forget about the whole beheading thing, shall we? Based on the novel series “the lady Janies,” this one is very, very loosely based on the teenage years of lady Jane grey. she’s the tudor noble who was Queen of england for exactly nine days in the 16th century. it sounds potentially “Bridgerton”-esque, with a few genres in the mix including action, romance, and comedy. emily Bader stars as Jane, with edward Bluemel, kate o’flynn, Jordan peters, Dominic cooper, and
Jim Broadbent. (Amazon Prime, June 27)
SUNNY our robots, ourselves? Rashida Jones stars in this sci-fi-ish dark comedy series set in Japan, based on the novel “the Dark Manual” by colin o’sullivan. she plays suzie, an American who forms a complicated relationship with a domestic robot — is it trying to harm her? can they be friends? — after her husband and son die in a plane crash. By the way, her late husband helped design that robot, which is named sunny and voiced by Joanna sotomura. (Apple TV+, July 10)
THOSE ABOUT TO DIE swords? check. sandals? check. Blood and sport? Double check. Yup, we’ve got a gladiator series coming at us from Robert Rodat, who wrote “saving private Ryan” and the series “falling skies.” inspired by the 1958 book “those About to Die,” which also inspired the movie “gladiator,” the show will explore an ensemble of characters from ancient Rome and the notion of death as entertainment. Anthony Hopkins leads the cast, which includes iwan Rheon, formerly doing business as the super-evil Ramsay Bolton on “game of thrones.” (Peacock, July 18)
LADY IN THE LAKE Based on the novel by laura lippman, this 1960s-set miniseries follows a housewife-turned-journalist who’s looking into two unsolved murders in Baltimore, one of a young girl and the other of a Black bartender. charged with racial issues, the sevenepisode series stars natalie portman, Moses ingram, Brett gelman, and Y’lan noel. (Apple TV+, July 19)
THE DECAMERON How did they do it without Zoom? inspired by the 14thcentury collection of tales by giovanni Boccaccio, this dark comedy is set as the Black Death sweeps florence in 1348. A group of wealthy nobles take shelter in a villa to wait out the plague, where all kinds of social rules and class divisions start to break down. the cast features some funny folks, including tony Hale and Zosia Mamet. (Netflix, July)
RETURNING SERIES “We Are lady parts” (peacock, May 30); “House of the Dragon” (HBo, June 16); “the Bear” (Hulu, June 27); “the umbrella Academy” (netflix, Aug. 8); “emily in paris” (netflix, Aug. 15); “only Murders in the Building” (Hulu, Aug. 22); and “the lord of the Rings: the Rings of power” (Amazon prime, Aug. 29)