This week: Jodie Foster in a new ‘True Detective,’ Sam Spade in retirement, and the ‘Ted’ prequel
1. The anthology series “True Detective” is back for a fourth round, and I’m hoping it’s a good one. Called “True Detective: Night Country” this time, and written by Issa Lopez, it’s set in Alaska during the dark season, when the eight scientists who run an isolated research station suddenly vanish without a trace. Jodie Foster and Kali Reis star as the detectives, whose relationship is strained but nonetheless productive as the case gets more mysterious with each new piece of evidence. The cast includes Christopher Eccleston, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, and John Hawkes, and the season, which starts Friday on HBO Max, will be six episodes long.
2. A pair of acting dynamos power the thriller series “Criminal Record,” which premieres Wednesday on Apple TV+. “Doctor” Peter Capaldi is a veteran detective, and Cush Jumbo of “The Good Wife” and “The Beast Must Die” is a newer member of the force. They clash when she wants to reopen an old case and he is dead-set against doing that. Is he hiding something? I’m betting yes. Zoë Wanamaker is also in the cast.
3. “Monsieur Spade” is a twist on Dashiell Hammett’s P.I. Sam Spade, portrayed most famously by Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon” in 1941. Clive Owen’s version is Spade in retirement in the South of France, enjoying the peace, out of the biz — until the murder of six nuns at the local convent pries him out of his relaxation. Just when he thought he was out, etc. The series, premiering Sunday on AMC+, will be six episodes long, and Alfre Woodard and Dean Winters are also in the cast. The co-creators are Scott Frank (“The Queen’s Gambit”) and Tom Fontana (“Oz”), so fingers crossed.
4. Julian Fellowes, of “Downton Abbey” and “The Gilded Age,” wrote and produced a series in 2020 called “Belgravia.” It was OK — a solid period drama set in the 1840s that gave us familiar storylines about old secrets and new money. Now the show is getting a sequel series called “Belgravia: The Next Chapter,” which premieres on MGM+ on Sunday. It’s an eight-parter that’s based in the same part of London as the original, but it takes place in the 1870s and features later generations of the families. Also, it’s from a different writer, Helen Edmundson, who brings in more unusual plots involving recovery from early abuse and the traumas of a closeted gay man.
5. If you can never get enough Ted, and you want to know more of his backstory, I have some good news for you. The teddy bear of the movie franchise, voiced by Seth MacFarlane, now has a prequel TV series, called “Ted,” premiering Thursday on Peacock. Our foul-mouthed friend lives in Massachusetts with John Bennett (played by Max Burkholder from “Parenthood” as the younger version of Mark Wahlberg from the movies), along with John’s parents and his cousin.
6. MCU anyone-anyone-anyone? “Echo” is here-here-here. The five-episode miniseries spinoff of “Hawkeye” will be released Tuesday in its entirety on both Disney+ and Hulu. It brings back Alaqua Cox as the deaf heroine, as she’s pursued by Wilson Fisk’s organization. She winds up back in her Oklahoma hometown, where she reconnects with her Native American roots, her family, and her community. The cast also includes Vincent D’Onofrio, Zahn McClarnon, Devery Jacobs, and Graham Greene.
7. The Australian series “Boy Swallows Universe,” based on the novel by Trent Dalton, premieres on Netflix on Thursday. Set in the 1980s, it’s a coming-of-age story about a working-class boy who enters Brisbane’s underworld to save his mother from danger. The cast features a few wellknown Aussie actors, including Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker, and Anthony LaPaglia.