Don’t cry because summer is over — celebrate, because fall TV season is upon us, and it is stacked.
Having spent the past month or so mainlining a ridiculous number of new TV series (22, to be exact), I have some good news: You will find more than enough to watch in the months ahead. Horror, mystery, true crime, psychological thriller, sci-fi — the new fall season has something for everyone. (At least, everyone who is not looking for a great new half-hour comedy. Those are in very short supply.)
Your TV to-do list awaits!
Task (HBO, Sept. 7)
Tom Pelphrey and Raúl Castillo in ‘Task’.
Peter Kramer/HBO
Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) and Cliff (Raúl Castillo) are sanitation workers with a side hustle: Stealing cash from drug houses on their trash routes in East Pennsylvania. When one of their late-night robberies goes wrong, the FBI brings in Tom (Mark Ruffalo) — an agent coping with the aftermath of a family tragedy — to head up a task force charged with finding the perps. Created by Brad Inglesby (Mare of Easttown), Task delivers suspenseful and often heart-rending crime drama rooted in the most powerful facets of the human condition: grief, vengeance, regret, and hope. Anchored by a phenomenal cast — including Emilia Jones, Jamie McShane, and Martha Plimpton — and some entertaining Delco accents, Task proves that doing something great isn’t always overrated.
The Girlfriend (Prime Video, Sept. 10)
Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke in ‘The Girlfriend’.
Christopher Raphael/Prime
Based on Michele Frances’ bestselling 2017 novel, The Girlfriend stars Robin Wright as Laura, a sophisticated London art gallery owner and very devoted mother to her doctor son, Daniel (Laurie Davidson). Though she vows to keep an open mind when meeting Daniel’s new girlfriend, Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke), Laura can’t ignore her creeping suspicions that the young woman is a dissembler… and maybe even dangerous. From there, it’s on: An intense, delicious battle of wits between this fiercely protective mother who’s used to getting her own way, and the savvy social climber who would absolutely kill to marry rich. It’s the kind of trashy-fun thriller viewers gobble up on Netflix — and I mean that as a compliment.
Black Rabbit (Netflix, Sept. 18)
Jason Bateman and Jude Law on ‘Black Rabbit’.
Netflix
If you’ve ever longed to see Jude Law and Jason Bateman get into a heated argument while standing by the side of a highway in their underwear, have we got the show for you. After hustling for years, Jake Friedkin (Law) is on the verge of turning his exclusive New York City restaurant/club, Black Rabbit, into a critical and financial success. Enter Vince (Bateman), Jake’s frequently down-on-his-luck older brother, who once again needs help getting out of a serious jam. At first, Black Rabbit feels like it was generated in the same Netflix lab that cranks out mediocre but watchable “gritty” dramas. (Enough with the in media res openings, please!) But dammit if creators Zach Baylin and Kate Susman don’t weave an undeniably watchable crime caper about the inescapable burden of family history and the lies we need to tell ourselves to move forward. Bateman is at his wry and weary best as Vince, while CODA’s Troy Kotsur brings extraordinary menace as the mob boss looking to collect.
The Lowdown (FX, Sept. 23)
Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ethan Hawke on ‘The Lowdown’.
Shane Brown/FX
Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) is, in his own words, “chronically unemployed,” “always broke,” and most importantly, “absolutely obsessed with the truth.” A part-time purveyor of rare books and full-time muckraker, Ray holds the rich and powerful of Tulsa to account with his journalism — including but not limited to the influential Washberg family, headed by telegenic scion and gubernatorial hopeful Donald (Kyle MacLachlan). When the Washberg family’s black sheep, Dale (Tim Blake Nelson), dies by suicide, Lee pledges to uncover the truth even if it gets him beaten to a pulp. (Spoiler: It does.) In his follow-up to the sublime Reservation Dogs, creator Sterlin Harjo crafts a darkly comedic noir that blends Coen brothers-esque quirk, a stellar cast (including Jeanne Tripplehorn, Kaniehtiio Horn, and Keith David), and sharp, Southern-fried social commentary.
IT: Welcome to Derry (HBO Max, Oct. 26)
Clara Stack and Amanda Christine on ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’.
HBO
A prequel to Stephen King’s massive 1986 novel, IT: Welcome to Derry has everything one would expect from a prestige-TV adaptation: Excellent (and adorable) child actors, gorgeous production design, and elaborately grotesque horror. Based on the two episodes HBO Max made available for review, Welcome to Derry is also the scariest show of the year — and probably next year, too. Starring Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, and a host of excellent child actors (including Miles Ekhardt, Amanda Christine, and Clara Stack) the series takes us back to the titular Maine town in 1962. A sinister dark entity is terrorizing the townsfolk by tapping into their deepest reservoirs of fear, guilt, and shame, and in classic King fashion, only the kids realize what’s happening. Derry swirls with wonder, terror, loneliness, love — and I’ll be watching the remaining seven episodes through my fingers, thank you very much.
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Murdaugh: Death in the Family (Hulu, Oct. 15)
Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette in ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’.
Disney/Daniel Delgado
Alex Murdaugh — the prominent Southern lawyer who was convicted of murdering his wife and son in 2023 — has already been the subject of multiple true-crime documentaries and one Lifetime movie. But Hulu’s drama from co-creators Michael D. Fuller (Rectify) and Erin Lee Carr (I Love You, Now Die) eschews sensationalism and instead treats the Murdaugh saga for what it is: A devastating, almost Shakespearean tragedy that destroyed a storied family in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Based on reporting by investigative journalist Mandy Matney (Murdagh Murders Podcast), the series carefully unravels the painful and totally avoidable events that led to Murdaugh’s crime — starting with a fatal boat accident caused by his son Paul (Johnny Berchtold). Jason Clarke stars as Alex, whose booming charm hides fraudulent business dealings and a growing opioid addiction, while Patricia Arquette is typically commanding as Alex’s long-suffering but demanding wife, Maggie.
All Her Fault (Peacock, Nov. 6)
Dakota Fanning and Sarah Snook in ‘All Her Fault’.
PEACOCK
This kidnapping thriller adds a new layer to the every-parent’s-worst-nightmare genre by placing a mother’s emotional labor — the tacit understanding that she’s “in charge” of managing all aspects of a child’s care and well-being — at its center. Marissa Irvine (Succession’s Sarah Snook) and Peter (Jake Lacy) are frantic when their little boy, Milo (Duke McCloud), is nowhere to be found after Marissa arrives to pick him up from a playdate she arranged. As the police launch an investigation and suspects begin to emerge, Marissa forms an unlikely friendship with Jenny (Dakota Fanning), a woman who understands the burden — and undeserved guilt — that comes with being a “supermom.” Based on Andrea Mara’s 2021 novel, All Her Fault should be required viewing for dads.
Pluribus (Apple TV+, Nov. 7)
Rhea Seehorn on ‘Pluribus’.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
First, a caveat: The three episodes Apple TV+ made available for review came with a video message from creator Vince Gilligan himself, imploring writers not to reveal any of the drama’s secrets. To that end, we’ll keep things relatively vague. Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) is a successful author whose resting state is nonetheless cranky and acerbic. Her mood gets significantly worse when humanity undergoes an abrupt and unprecedented change, leaving her to figure out what the hell is going on — and how to fix it. Shot in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico, Pluribus is a visually stunning, frequently laugh-out-loud funny blend of sci-fi, horror, and character-driven drama. Spoiler alert: Seehorn — a master at incredulous, sharp-tongued indignation — is phenomenal.
The Beast in Me (Netflix, Nov. 13)
Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys ‘The Beast in Me’.
Netflix
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Aggie Wiggs (Claire Danes) spends her days rambling around her large, Oyster Bay, N.Y. home trying — and failing — to write. Ever since the son she shared with her now ex-wife, Shelley (Natalie Morales), died in a car accident, Maggie hasn’t been able to do much but steep in sorrow and regret. That changes when Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys) — a real estate magnate suspected of killing his first wife — moves in next door and convinces Aggie to be his biographer. What starts as a mutually advantageous partnership quickly transforms into a twisty mystery, as Aggie goes all in on uncovering the truth about her seemingly sinister neighbor. No performer is having more fun this fall than Rhys, who is fantastic as the chatty-cocky-creepy Nile, and Danes remains the best on-camera crier in the biz.