The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
Pinocchio
Disney’s effort to give every one of its animated classics an at least average live-action remake continues. Though the studio’s new Pinocchio won’t upstage the 1940 version, it does have its high points, beginning with a superb cast, featuring Tom Hanks as Geppetto, Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the voice of Jiminy Cricket. Families looking for fresh streaming content (who isn’t?) will find it a worthy-enough adventure—at least until Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion Pinocchio hits theaters in November. Available Thursday, Sept. 8, Disney+
Wedding Season
’Til death do us part and all, but what if the bride poisoned the groom and the rest of his wedding party? In this new British action-comedy series, Rosa Salazar and Gavin Drea co-star as Katie and Stefan, would-be soulmates who meet at a wedding weeks before Salazar’s Katie is scheduled to tie the knot with another man. When the groom and most of his family drop dead at the reception, Katie and Stefan wind up on the run, each uncertain the other can be trusted. Available Thursday, Sept. 8, Hulu
The Serpent Queen
No one else in history’s parade of cunning, cruel monarchs was quite like Catherine de Medici. In this devilish new series, which traces Catherine from her youth in Florence, the always excellent Samantha Morton plays the 16th-century queen after she has married into the French royal family, endured her husband’s cheating, and survived plots against her crown to reveal a callous thirst for power. Sunday, Sept. 11, at 8 p.m., Starz
The Handmaid’s Tale
The series based on Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel continues to spin out its own dark dramas. As Season 5 begins, Elisabeth Moss’ June Osborne has just assassinated her abusive former master, Fred Waterford, a co-founder of the totalitarian state of Gilead. But even across Gilead’s northern border, in Canada, June is not safe from the reach of Waterford’s powerful widow, Serena. Moss and Yvonne Strahovski look set up for a season-long cat and mouse. Available Wednesday, Sept. 14, Hulu.
The U.S. and the Holocaust
Americans like to think that our nation served purely as a refuge and liberator when Nazi Germany undertook the extermination of Europe’s Jewish population. Ken Burns’ new three-part dive into U.S. history reckons with a more complex truth. Perhaps its most surprisingly moving passages feature the stories of Jewish immigrants who were children when their families sought asylum here. Begins Sunday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Other highlights
The Murders Before the Marathon Journalist Susan Zalkind details her investigation into an unsolved 2011 triple homicide that may have been committed by Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Available Monday, Sept. 5, Hulu
The 2022 Emmy Awards
Succession leads all shows with 25 nominations as stars gather for television’s big awards night. Monday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m., NBC
Sins of Our Mother
The latest true-crime film from the Girl in the Picture team focuses on Lori Vallow, a mother accused of killing her children after falling under the influence of an apocalypse-obsessed author. Available Wednesday, Sept. 14, Netflix