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Vast criminal conspiracies. Violent showdowns between hundreds of Samurai. Alien invasions that take a softer, gentler approach. This week is chock-full of great new TV shows to sink your teeth into on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV and the myriad other streaming services we all subscribe to these days. We have two different shows with Better Call Saul alumni starring, and two different shows with connections to The X-Files. Whether you’re into period dramas, crime thrillers or Palm Royale Season 2 – Season Premiere, Wednesday November 12th (Apple TV) Palm Royale returns for its second season this week. The show is set in the glamorous world of Palm Beach in the late ‘60s and follows Maxine (Kristen Wiig) as she tries to climb the social ladder into the glimmering halls of high society. The series has a star-studded cast including Carol Burnett, Ricky Martin, Leslie Bibb, Josh Lucas, Laura Dern among others. The series is based on Juliet McDaniel’s 2018 novel Mr. & Mrs. American Pie. Season 1 didn’t land for critics, with a 56% Rotten Tomatoes score, but it must have done well enough with audiences to warrant a second season. The season premiere drops this Wednesday on Apple TV, with 9 more episodes releasing weekly. Logline: “Palm Royale is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Dellacorte as she endeavors to find her footing in the cutthroat world of Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, “Palm Royale” asks the same question that still baffles us today: “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?” Palm Royale is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance to truly belong.” MORE FOR YOU Blue Lights Season 3 – Season Premiere, Thursday November 13th (BritBox) Blue Lights is set in modern Belfast and follows the day-to-day police work and personal lives of a group of Northern Ireland’s police, who begin their journey in Season 1 as new recruits struggling to learn the ropes. By Season 3, these recruits are now seasoned police, though plenty of struggles remain, both in Belfast’s criminal underbelly and with one another. The show’s second season one the BAFTA award for best drama earlier this year, an award that it very much deserved. Blue Lights stars Siân Brooke, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Martin McCann, Joanne Crawford, Frank Blake among many others. It’s one of the best police dramas on TV at the moment and very much worth picking up a BritBox subscription to see. New episodes land on BritBox on Thursdays. Logline: "In the return of this BAFTA-winning drama, limits are tested and moral lines blur as Belfast officers face the extremes of duty." The Beast In Me – Thursday, November 13th (Netflix) The Beast In Me is a new limited series coming to Netflix this week with a powerhouse cast, including Claire Danes as author Aggie Wiggs who finds herself nextdoor neighbors with Nile Jarvis, an infamous real estate mogul and accused killer, played by Matthew Rhys. The series also stars Jonathan Banks of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame. Reviews aren’t out yet for this one, but it looks incredibly tense and nobody plays mentally unraveling into a total mess better than Danes, who perfected the role in Homeland. All 8 episodes drop on Netflix this Thursday. Logline: “Since the tragic death of her young son, acclaimed author Aggie Wiggs has receded from public life, unable to write, a ghost of her former self. But she finds an unlikely subject for a new book when the house next door is bought by Nile Jarvis, a famed and formidable real estate mogul who was once the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. At once horrified and fascinated by this man, Aggie finds herself compulsively hunting for the truth — chasing his demons while fleeing her own — in a game of cat and mouse that might turn deadly.” Last Samurai Standing – Thursday, November 13th (Netflix) Last Samurai Standing just popped up on my radar, but it looks absolutely fantastic. The series looks like an anime but in live-action, which is fitting since it’s based on the Japanese manga of the same name. The story, set in the Meiji era (late 19th century), follows Shujiro Saga (Junichi Okada) who joins 291 other fighters at a Temple in Kyoto to play a game of battle royale (with hints of Call Of Duty’s Kill Confirmed mode). Kill an opponent and take his wooden tag to score points, fight to survive, and earn ¥100 billion if you win. Saga has a deeper purpose: to help his sickly wife and child. The action and choreography look absolutely phenomenal. I’m sure Netflix is hoping this has some of Squid Game’s broad appeal. The six-part miniseries lands on Netflix this Friday. Logline: “In the early Meiji era, Shujiro, once known as an undefeated samurai, decides to participate in a deadly survival game to save his family and villagers.” Pluribus – Episode 3, Thursday, November 14th (Apple TV) Vince Gilligan’s new science-fiction series, Pluribus, premiered last week with two episodes and the third drops this Friday. The post-apocalyptic series shares very little in common with Gilligan’s previous shows, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, though it is set in Albuquerque. The story follows romance author and notorious grouch, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) who is one of just a handful of people in the entire world immune to what appears to be an alien virus that turns earth’s entire population into a weirdly happy hivemind. The first two episodes were really interesting, though I remain a little uncertain of where this goes (both in a good and a bad way) and it’s not quite as funny as I expected it to be, though it’s certainly going for laughs. I suspect the rest of the season will go in very unexpected directions, however, so I remain optimistic. New episodes release every Friday on Apple TV. Logline: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.” Malice – Thursday, November 14th (Prime Video) Another series that I hadn’t heard of until recently, Malice is a new entry in what appears to be an emerging genre: The “creepy bad stuff happens to rich people on vacation” thriller subgenre that we’ve seen in shows like The White Lotus, movies like Blink Twice and so forth. The show follows Jamie (David Duchovny) and Nat (Carice van Houten) Turner who hire a male nanny named Adam (Jack Whitehall) whose true intentions may be quite terrifying. It’s kind of funny to have a list that includes both Vince Gilligan, who was a major behind-the-scenes force on The X-Files, and Duchovny, who played Agent Mulder on that show. All six episodes land on Prime Video this Friday. Logline: “Adam (Jack Whitehall) is a charismatic tutor who charms his way into the life of the wealthy Tanner family while they’re on holiday in Greece. When the family’s nanny falls dangerously ill, Adam orchestrates his way in to their London home and his true vengeful nature begins to emerge...” Landman Season 2 – Sunday, November 16th (Paramount+) Billy Bob Thornton returns as Tommy Norris, a petroleum Landman and Operations VP / fixer at M-Tex Oil in this Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace-created drama inspired by Wallace’s podcast, Boomtown. Landman is another hit for Sheridan, but I only watched the first few episodes of Season 1, which didn’t pull me in like some of his other shows. I was also a little bothered by the weird portrayal of Norris’s teenage daughter. Logline: "Set in the boomtowns of Texas, Landman is a modern tale of fortune seeking amongst roughnecks and billionaires in the world of oil." Be sure to check out my latest weekend streaming guide for all the best new TV shows and movies that have come out recently, including Guillermo del Toro’s new Netflix movie and much more.
