It’s a pretty full week of television this week and yet, I’m going to open this week’s wrap of the new and returning shows that debuted this week with a suggestion that you swing back and give Hulu’s The Lowdown a look if you haven’t already.
Week after week I continue to be delighted by Ethan Hawke’s grungy, hopeless, beaten-down journalist. This week saw Peter Dinklage appear as his best friend, former business partner, and a complete dirtbag. The Lowdown is a show that started with some pretty big BDE confidence, but now, only five episodes in, the show feels so worn in and comfortable with itself.
I haven’t been this enthused to press play on a new episode of a show for some time as I am with The Lowdown, but after the final sequence of this week’s show, which had Hawke being escorted through the scariest ‘cop party’ ever committed to screen and ending on a cliffhanger, I’m desperate to see the next episode.
There’s three episodes left of season one and I’d very much like to hear news of the show going into a season two.
Returning this week is, probably my favourite show, The Diplomat (streaming on Netflix). I blitzed through the third season in two viewings and the show continues to tickle me.
This season has the introduction of Bradley Whitford as the husband of the (former) Vice President Allison Janney, creating a delightful The West Wing reunion. While it is stunt casting, it gives the two a sense of intimacy and shared history that will be integral for the show as it heads into the fourth season.
I was also very into the first episode of The Chair Company, with Tim Robinson really stepping up the cringe-inducing anxiety that he revels in. I read someone during the week likening this to the way that Nathan Fielder has used The Rehearsal to amplify his comedic style on a bigger budgeted canvas. And that feels like an interesting comparison to frame what Robinson is doing here.
The first episode, which so far is the only one I have seen, really keeps the focus on his character, a retail real estate executive who faces a public humiliation when the chair he sits on at a meeting collapses. But the show routinely hints to a deeper psychological trauma that the character has been through and it’s going to be fascinating to see how Robinson layers that into the character and the relationship he has with his family, while investigating the vast conspiracy related to the faulty chair he sat on.
I haven’t yet seen it, but check out the trailer for Sky Atlantic’s latest European-set Tom Hollander spy show, The Iris Affair. It looks both deeply silly and hugely entertaining.
Returning TV
The Diplomat (s03), Matlock (s02), Elsbeth (s03), The Neighborhood (s08), FBI (s08), Solar Opposites (s06), NCIS: Sydney (s03), NCIS (s23), NCIS: Origins (s02), Loot (s03), Ghosts US (s05), Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (s02), Turn of The Tide (s02), One Punch Man (s03)
New TV
The Chair Company — HBO Max
Top cast: Tim Robinson, Lake Bell, Sophia Lillis, Will Price, Joseph Tudisco
What it’s about: After an embarrassing incident at work, William Ronald Trosper finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy.
DMV — CBS (US) | Binge (AUS - debuts Nov 11)
Top cast: Tim Meadows and Harriet Dyer
What it’s about: Follows a workplace comedy set in the dreaded DMV office, following quirky minimum-wage employees who make the best of dealing with annoyed customers.
Splinter Cell: Death Watch — Netflix
Top cast: Liev Schreiber; Kirby Howell-Baptise, Janet Varney
What it’s about: In the shadowy world of espionage, Sam Fisher is a rumor and a legend; pulled back into action, he must help a new recruit unravel a global conspiracy.
No One Saw Us Leave — Netflix
Top cast: Tessa la as Valeria
What it’s about: Follows a mother desperately pursuing her husband who kidnapped their children, highlighting the clash between two powerful Jewish families in the 1960s.
Murdaugh: Death In The Family — Hulu
Top cast: Jason Clarke, Patricia Arquette, J. Smith-Cameron, Johnny Berchtold, and Brittany Snow.
What it’s about: Maggie and Alex enjoy a lavish life of privilege as members of one of South Carolina’s most powerful legal dynasties; but when their son Paul is involved in a deadly boat crash, the family is faced with a test unlike any they’ve ever encountered.
The Iris Affair — Sky Atlantic
Top cast: Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander
What it’s about: The Iris Affair is a tense and cinematic chase thriller that pits two brilliant minds against each other in a deadly game of hide and seek across Italy.
Romantics Anonymous — Netflix
Top cast: Shun Oguri, Han Hyo-joo, Yuri Nakamura, and Jin Akanishi
What it’s about: A brilliant chocolatier who’s afraid of making eye contact meets an heir who can’t touch others - but somehow, they’re immune to each other.
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy — Peacock (US) | Binge (AUS)
Top cast: Michael Chernus, Gabriel Luna, James Badge Dale, Michael Angarano
What it’s about: It dramatizes the life and crimes of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who murdered dozens of young men and boys during the 1970s.
Leonard & Hungry Paul — BBC Three
Top cast: Alex Lawther and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell
What it’s about: Two gentle friends, Leonard and Hungry Paul, navigate life’s challenges as overlooked nice guys, their journeys unfolding through humorous and poignant moments.
The Chosen Adventures — Prime Video
Top cast: Yvonne Orji
What it’s about: Abby, a nine-year-old, and her best friend Joshua navigate life in the ancient city of Capernaum; the children encounter a wise craftsman and teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, who helps them change the way they see the world.
New Movies
The Twits — Netflix
Top cast: Margo Martindale, Johnny Vegas, Natalie Portman, Emilia Clarke, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Ryan Lopez
What it’s about: When the meanest, nastiest villains pull a trick to take over their town, two brave children team up with a family of magical animals to bring them down.
She Walks In Darkness — Netflix
Top cast: Susana Abaitua, Andrés Gertrúdix, Iraia Elias, Ariadna Gil
What it’s about: A young agent leaves everything behind to pose as a member of ETA, risking her life to uncover the terrorists’ hideouts in the south of France.
27 Nights — Netflix
Top cast: Marilú Marini
What it’s about: When a woman is admitted by her daughters to a psychiatric clinic for her carefree ways, an expert must judge if she is ill or simply wants to enjoy life.
The Time That Remains — Netflix
Top cast: Carlo Aquino
What it’s about: Surrounded by a string of deaths, an older woman relives her romance with a mysterious, ageless lover as an inspector closes in on their dark secret.
That’s the TV listings newsletter for this week.
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