It’s another heavy week for returning shows thanks to the start of the US fall TV season.
Most of you will press play on the latest Monster anthology season over at Netflix. And that’s okay. You do you.
But me? I’ll be pressing play this afternoon on the new Alan Partridge show which was fast-tracked onto HBO Max here in Australia, timed with the BBC launch.
Not much else has my attention this week. The Lost Bus on Apple TV+ is a Paul Greengrass film from a screenplay by Brad Englesby (Mare of Easttown, Task). I meant to press play on it last night, but instead watched Twelve Monkeys, which I don’t think I have seen in about 20 years and my word does it hold up very well. No regrets.
I was very not into Chad Powers. There isn’t a show I have disliked more than this one all year. It is offensively bland and lacking in anything suggesting inspiration.
Play Dirty is the latest Parker adaptation, this time by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). That sounds like a great pairing, but the film just doesn’t work very well.
Maybe give it a look if stuck on a plane or hung over on a couch.
Returning TV
RFDS (s03), Shifting Gears (s02), Chicago Med (s11), Abbott Elementary (s05), Chicago PD (s13), Chicago Fire (s14), The Simpsons (s37), Krapopolis (s03), Billy The Kid (s03), Bob’s Burgers (s16), Blue Lights (s03)
New TV
Monster - The Ed Gein Story — Netflix
Top cast: Charlie Hunnam, Laurie Metcalf, Addison Rae, Tom Hollander
What it’s about: The story of how one simple man in Plainfield, Wisconsin became history’s most singular ghoul.
Charlottes Web — HBO Max
Top cast: Amy Adams, Griffin Robert Faulkner, Jean Smart, Randall Park
What it’s about: There was friendship between a livestock pig named Wilbur and a barn spider named Charlotte, when Wilbur’s life is in danger, Charlotte tries to help him out of it.
How Are You? It’s Alan Partridge — BBC [UK ] | HBO Max [AUS]
Top cast: Steve Coogan
What it’s about: Partridge’s life after returning to Norfolk from Saudi Arabia where he spent a year. His struggles to readjust to his hometown and reintegrate into society.
Chad Powers — Hulu [US] | Disney+ [International]
Top cast: Glen Powell, Steve Zahn
What it’s about: A former college quarterback attempts a comeback by posing as a walk-on player for a struggling football team.
The Sisters Grimm — Apple TV+
Top cast: Ariel Winter, Leah Newman, Laraine Newman, Harry Trevaldwyn
What it’s about: Two orphaned sisters navigate a town full of people torn straight from fantasy and fairy tales, confronting heroes and villains alike, while investigating the mystery of their missing parents.
The New Force — Netflix
Top cast: Josefin Asplund, Agnes Rase, Malin Persson
What it’s about: An understaffed police district in 1950s Sweden launches an experiment to introduce its first group of female officers.
Murder Before Evensong — Acorn TV
Top cast: Matthew Lewis; Amanda Redman; Amit Shah; Adam James
What it’s about: Canon Daniel Clement’s life unravels when his mother, Audrey, arrives unannounced, and one of his parishioners, Anthony Bowness, is found dead. But as Clement investigates the man’s death, he begins to receive threats and questions who he can trust.
Dudes — Netflix
Top cast: Serkan Kaya, Moritz Führmann
What it’s about: Four close-knit friends in their 40s do their best to face a new world of modern masculinity but even their best tends to make things worse.
Genie, Make Me a Wish — Netflix
Top cast: Kim Woo-Bin
What it’s about: After a millennium, a flamboyant genie returns to grant wishes to a stoic woman; can his magic turn her routine-bound world into one of love and fantasy?
Riv4lries — Netflix
Top cast: Andrea Arru
What it’s about: At a middle school in Pisa, no one has ever challenged the cool kids — until new girl Terry arrives with bold ideas and the rivalries begin.
New Movies
Play Dirty — Prime Video
Top cast: Mark Wahlberg, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar
What it’s about: A team of thieves plans to rob an entire country for a sunken treasure worth a billion dollars.
The Lost Bus — Apple TV+
Top cast: Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrara
What it’s about: A determined bus driver and a dedicated school teacher battle to save 22 children from a deadly wildfire.
Steve — Netflix
Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman, Emily Watson
What it’s about: A head teacher at a reform school struggles to keep his students in line while also battling with his own mental health issues.
That’s the TV listings newsletter for this week.
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