new and noteworthy tv: 11/19-11/25

I finally wrapped up Ozark, which lost a little bit of its living on the edge charm for me. And though I’m not done with my backlog I decided that starting a half hour show with Kominsky Method could slot right in and the first two episodes show promise. Along with some serious Thanksgiving downtime will look to sample Little Drummer Girl and Dirty John below.

  • The Little Drummer Girl (AMC) Series Premiere, Monday, 9pm – John le Carre novel comes to the small screen where a young actress is drawn into international espionage in six parts rolling out over these next three days, while it sounds like the plot may be imperfect the performances make it worthwhile.
  • A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (ABC) Wednesday, 8pm – Charlie is the hapless host.
  • Thanksgiving Day Parade/National Dog Show (NBC) Thursday, 9am/12pm – ‘Tis the season.
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas (NBC), Frosty the Snowman/Frosty Returns (CBS), Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (ABC), Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (CW) – Friday we’ve officially switched to our next holiday.
  • Dirty John (Bravo) Series Premiere, Sunday, 10pm – Romance gone awry, I’ll try it with Connie Britton, Eric Bana, and Jean Smart?

Streaming: The Last Kingdom (Netflix, Monday), The Bureau (SunN, Wed), No Activity (CBSAA, Thursday), Frontier (Net, Fri).

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.

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new and noteworthy tv: 11/12-11/18

Before starting in on Patriot I felt like I needed to knock off a few other streaming options. I wrapped up Goliath and while I like the characters the second season just got ridiculous and still relatively difficult to follow as a seasonal case and while I should call it a day I just need to wrap up Fortitude. And I think I need to give some fresh eyes to the remaining Ozark oh wait and I still have some Sabrina, that hit a bit of a lag midway but still some good stuff in there.

  • Origin (YT Prem) Series Premiere, Wednesday – An intergalactic space thriller, I’m really still not yet onboard with these alt networks.
  • The Bisexual (Hulu) Series Premiere, Friday – A dramedy following a woman exiting a relationship with a woman looking to navigate dating both men and women.
  • The Kominsky Method (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – Actor turned acting coach Michael Douglas and his agent/friend Alan Arkin in an 8 episode dark comedy, critics are giving it some good buzz.
  • Marzapur (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – Indian gangsters.
  • The Prince of Peoria (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – A prince wants to experience regular life.
  • My Brilliant Friend (HBO) Series Premiere, Sunday, 9pm – An adaptation of the Ferrante novel of a coming-of-age story about childhood friends.
  • Queen America (Face Watch) Series Premiere, Sunday, 9pm – Catherine Zeta Jones takes on a new Miss America contender.
  • Escape at Dannemora (Show) Series Premiere, Sunday, 10pm – Benecio Del Toro and Paul Dano are prison inmates who escape.

Streaming returns: Narcos (Net, Friday).

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.

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new and noteworthy tv: 11/5-11/11

No early buzz to point to a yes or no on the new findings but I am cautiously optimistic for a new season of odd Patriot.

  • Elections (Various) – Tune in to see if the big blue wave makes its way to shore.
  • Clique (Pop) Series Premiere, Wednesday, 10pm – Besties head off to uni but does this clique of alpha girls have a dark underbelly?
  • The Cry (SundN) Series Premiere, Thursday – English psychological thriller follows young parents struggling with custody battles and unthinkable tragedy.
  • Sally4ever (HBO) Series Premiere, Sunday, 10:30pm – Sally is about to marry David but then Emma comes along…

Returning streaming: The Great British Baking Show (Net, Friday), Patriot (Am, Friday).

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.

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new and noteworthy tv: 10/29-11/4

Well the gas is easing off of new scripted series. Which is good because I’ve just about caught up to eliminating almost everything new. I’ve been ignoring my streaming shows (Ozark, Rectify, Fortitude, Goliath, Big Love, Downton Abbey) but did manage to take a first stab at Sabrina which isn’t amazing but is definitely a fun dark spin on comic.

  • Tell Me A Story (CBSAA) Series Premiere, Thursday – Fairy tales reimagined as psychological thrillers.
  • Homecoming (Am) Series Premiere, Friday – Julia Roberts does a round in series in a psychological thriller by Sam Esmail (Mr Robot).

Returning streaming: Startup (Crack, Thursday)

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted as appropriate are typically PST.

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new and noteworthy tv: 10/22-10/28

I think after this week we’re basically done with new fall shows. Which is good because I’ve gotten a little behind trying to sample all things new.

  • Bodyguard (Net) Series Premiere, Wednesday – This psychological thriller is getting some good early buzz.
  • Legacies (CW) Series Premiere, Thursday, 9pm – The next generation of supernatural beings, not sure how closely tied this is to The Vampire Diaries or The Originals.
  • Heathers (Para) Series Premiere, Thursday, 10pm – Loved the movie but this series is basically just a burn off since it was cancelled for being what sounds like bad and tone deaf.
  • The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – I have fond memories of the more campy Sabrina the Teenage Witch but it sounds like this more dramatic take with Kiernan Shipka could be a keeper.

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted as appropriate are typically PST.

 

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new and noteworthy tv: 10/15-10/21

Not much of the new network fare is sticking, All American felt like a not fresh version of the compared to OC. I am hanging in with God Friended Me and a few more things this week that could hit the queue.

  • The Conners (ABC) Series Premiere, Tuesday, 8pm – Critics seem to be indicating the show is working better than its previous incarnation.
  • The Kids are Alright (ABC) Series Premiere, Tuesday, 8:30pm – This ’70s set comedy with Michael Cudlitz and Mary McCormack and their eight sons has some good peeps but may not be enough good material here for them to work with.
  • The Rookie (ABC) Series Premiere, Tuesday, 10pm – 47 year old Nathan Fillion playing a 40 year old rookie cop may need to be enough to keep this show afloat, which he might be.
  • Best Worst Weekend Ever (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – This limited comedy series follows four friends making the most of their last weekend before high school, who knows.
  • Distrito Salvaje (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – A new Columbian drama with one of the guys from Narcos.
  • Wanderlust (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – Toni Collette in this drama taking a look at a marriage might be worth a look but mixed early reviews.
  • The Woman in White (PBS) Miniseries Premiere, Sunday, 10pm – Mystery, ghosts, or just crazy people?

Returning streaming: The Seven Deadly Sins (Net), Lore (Am), Making A Murderer (Net), Daredevil (Net).

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new and noteworthy tv: 10/8-10/14

Things are slowing down for a moment so I can try to clear things off a bit more and still get in the occasional streaming. And of course a couple more new things on the horizon.

  • American Music Awards (ABC) Tuesday, 8pm – Tracee Ellis Ross hosts.
  • All American (CW) Series Premiere, Wednesday, 9pm – Compton to Beverly Hills this high schooler has to navigate more than football sounds like early episodes might have promise if not recognized yet.
  • The Haunting of Hill House (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – A modern re-imagining of a Shirley Jackson novel about five siblings who grew up in a haunted house, early reviews are good if you like this sort of thing.
  • Light as a Feather (Hulu) Series Premiere, Friday – Girls played teh game and are now dying, no word on this one yet.
  • The Romanoffs (Am) Series Premiere, Friday – This new series from Mad Men’s Matthew Weiner brings standalone stories all tied together as descendants of the Romanov family, getting mixed reviews so far.
  • Titans (DC) Series Premiere, Friday – A group of superheroes comes together to defend the Earth and I’m not entirely sure where to watch DC Universe.
  • Pod Save America (HBO) Series Premiere, Friday, 11pm – For those who can’t get enough of this podcast here’s a four part political discussion.
  • Charmed (CW) Series Premiere, Sunday, 9pm – Curious enough to see if our new sisters and their witchcraft can entertain.
  • Camping (HBO) Series Premiere, Sunday, 10pm – Mixed reviews on this Jennifer Garner lead group of campers filled with contentiousness.

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted as appropriate are typically PST.

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new and noteworthy tv: 10/1-10/7


So trying to keep up to date on the new shows so I can determine whether they get another shot or I can ignore any future episodes. Magnum and FBI barely managed to be memorable enough to mention while New Amsterdam had a couple of good characters but was both annoying overall and had forgettable cases, pass. In the not good but maybe one more category, Manifest which wasn’t a good show but at least had an interesting enough premise and Million Little Things has some good actors but didn’t manage to make me feel invested in them or the setup. And interest was piqued by Mr Inbetween, the half hour drama criminal for hire and parent among other things, Single Parents with not quite a solid premise but the characters have room to be funny, and Murphy Brown, good return premise but needs time to see if it find its legs, while Cool Kids and Last Man Standing are both very sitcom if that’s your thing.

And excited this week for the return of some funny Superstore, Will & Grace, Fresh Off the Boat, Speechless, Z Nation and some serious with Madam Secretary. And of course there is more new stuff to come.

  • Us & Them (SonyCrack) Series Premiere, Monday – Boy meets girl and boy and girl’s friends, I don’t know that I would seek out a canceled Fox show on Crackle but with Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel in the leads it might be worth it.
  • The Neighborhood/Happy Together (CBS) Series Premiere, Monday, 8/8:30pm – Not hearing great things about these but some good peeps so worth a look to see if there are good ingredients.
  • Star Trek: Short Treks (CBSAA) Series Premiere, Thursday – Some shorts to wet your appetite for more Star Trek.
  • Elite (Net) Series Premiere, Friday – The haves nots introduced to the school of the haves creates some tension and perhaps a murder.
  • Into the Dark (Hulu) Series Premiere, Friday – Horror event series by some guy who does this sort of thing.

With some streaming returns: Big Mouth (Net, Friday), Little Things (Net, Friday), The Man in the High Castle (Am, Friday).

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted as appropriate are typically PST.

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new and noteworthy tv: 9/24-9/30


I have yet to catch any of last week’s premieres but wrapped up Forever from the previous, it wasn’t perfect but overall the premise, characters, and odd tone kept me engaged. I’m likely to skip the rest of I Feel Bad which was a little forced and after three eps of Mayans although it’s got lots of potential I still remain unengaged in characters or story, I’m out. Happy for the return this week of the final season of Big Bang, The Good Place, Mom, and curious about the new vibe on Lethal Weapon. I will also tune in for at least the first This Is Us as well as a few new options.

  • Magnum PI (CBS) Series Premiere, Monday, 9pm – I’ll catch one of these to see how they reimagined the characters but don’t assume this one will make the queue.
  • Manifest (NBC) Series Premiere, Monday, 10pm – Interesting premise (plane returns 5+ years later without the plane people missing a beat) but sounds like execution leaves something to be desired.
  • FBI (CBS) Series Premiere, Tuesday, 9pm – I used to love early Law & Order but haven’t really been in sync with any of the new worlds created.
  • New Amsterdam (NBC) Series Premiere, Tuesday, 10pm – Yes it’s another medical show but not sure this ideological approach will have enough to grab me.
  • Mr Inbetween (FX) Series Premiere, Tuesday, 11:25 – Haven’t heard much about criminal for hire but looks like it has possibilities.
  • Single Parents (ABC) Series Premiere, Wednesday, 9:30 – Will it be funny, we’ll see.
  • A Million Little Things (ABC) Series Premiere, Wednesday, 10pm – Hoping the buzz around this one means this could actually be a keeper as a group of friends deals with suicide.
  • Murphy Brown (CBS) Season Premiere, Thursday, 9:30pm – Technically not a new show but it’s back a chunk of time later and here’s hoping they’ve got a fresh take on today’s news Murphy style.
  • Last Man Standing (Fox) Season Premiere, Friday, 8pm – I don’t assume this has much of a new take at all but it was a solid enough sitcom and likely remains so.
  • The Cool Kids (Fox) Series Premiere, Friday, 8:30 – I’m hoping this retired life show gives these fun actors something good to work with.
  • God Friended Me (CBS) Series Premiere, Sunday, 8:30pm – We’ll see how god’s latest touch with humanity (or is it?) strikes.

And some returning streaming with Norsemen (Net, Wed), El Marginal (Net, Fri), Reboot (Net, Fri).

The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted as appropriate are typically PST.

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intriguing new fall tv


I tend to try to watch all the new scripted shows at least once, and usually at least twice, so I keep spreading myself pretty this at the beginning of fall. Stay tuned for each Next Week to hear a little more including the cable and streaming series noted below but here’s what we’ve got that’s new.

  • All American (CW, 10/10) – TVG’s Matt Roush gives this the Friday Night Lights and The OC comparison, both faves and tough tones to match but with Taye Diggs as coach I’ll tune in.
  • Charmed (CW, 10/14) – I never thought the original of this was amazing but liked the sisters enough (still sad Doherty left) to stay tuned for more than a few seasons but not sure this revisit with new sisters will rise to the queue.
  • The Conners/The Kids Are Alright (ABC, 10/16) – Aside from the whole Roseanne thing I thought the return season of this just felt off so not sure I’m that interested even without her, but hearing some good things about Mary McCormack and Michael Cudlitz as ’70s parents of 8.
  • The Cool Kids (Fox, 9/28) – Hijinks in a retirement community with Vicki Lawrence, David Alan Grier, Leslie Jordan, and Martin Mull could have its moments.
  • I Feel Bad (NBC, 9/19 preview, 10/4) – I wasn’t won over by the first ep of this woman overwhelmed, from the gaming job to her Indian parents it all just felt a little forced.
  • FBI (CBS, 9/25) – The latest from L&O’s Dick Wolf follows a new set of those around law, or is it order?
  • God Friended Me (CBS, 9/30) – Either because or despite being non-religious person I am often charmed by shows like Joan of Arcadia and Kevin Probably Saves the World so will check out this done more digital style.
  • Legacies (CW, 10/25) – Vampire Diaries lore lives on through it’s youth and can’t imagine this boarding school for vampires, werewolves, and witches won’t hit the sweet spot for that crowd.
  • Magnum PI (CBS, 9/24) – I can only assume this will feel like the Hawaii 5-0/MacGyver reboot.
  • Manifest (NBC, 9/24) – This is the latest swing at the weird when a plane lands five years later without the flight having lost a beat, and rumor has it this has some good ingredients but maybe doesn’t quite put them altogether.
  • A Million Little Things (ABC, 9/26) – This is being pushed as sort of the new This Is Us and while I’m over that show I do enjoy a good dose of friend and family drama so I’m willing to give these friends, made up of a cast with potential, shaken by suicide a shot.
  • The Neighborhood/Happy Together (CBS, 10/1) – New neighbors and a new long standing house guest all have good cast (Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield Beth Behrs and Damon Wayans Jr, Amber Stevens West respectively) so we’ll have to see if either of them can hit the sweet sitcom spot.
  • New Amsterdam (NBC, 9/25) – These promos are already bugging me but  maybe Ryan Eggold is allowed to reach a less smug ‘saving the hospital but doing it the right but maybe nonprofitable way’ story.
  • Rel (Fox, 9/9 preview, 9/30) – Another early preview that didn’t win me over with some flat jokes around this newly single dad getting a new start.
  • The Rookie (ABC, 10/16) – Ok so Nathan Fillion is probably closer to 50 than the 40 year old he plays but he’s always charming enough to see how he fills this out.
  • Single Parents (ABC, 9/26) – Another hope that the cast including Taran Killam, Brad Garrett, and Leighton Meister can keep the premise afloat.

And for other cable and streaming options: Camping (HBO, 10/14), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Net, 10/26), Dirty John (Bravo, TBD), Escape at Dannemora (Show, 11/18), The First (Hulu, 9/14), Forever (Net, 9/14), The Good Cop (Net, 9/21), The Haunting of Hill House (Net, 10/12), Homecoming (Prime, 11/2), Into the Dark (Hulu, 10/5), Kidding (Show, 9/9), The Kominsky Method (Net, 11/16), The Little Drummer Girl (AMC, 11/19), Maniac (Net, 9/21), Mayans MC (Fx, 9/4), Mr Inbetween (Fx, 9/25), Narcos: Mexico (Net, 11/16), Origin (YT Prem, 11/14), The Romanoffs (Prime, 10/12), Sorry for Your Loss (Face, 9/18), Tell Me A Story (CBSAA, 10/31), Titans (DCUniverse, 10/12), Wanderlust (Net, 10/19), You (Life)

Premiere dates are subject to change so stay tuned for “next week”s and check your local listings.

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