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If you’re looking for a new show to watch this week, the vast landscape of streaming networks will provide plenty of them. Some of them are even good! Of particular note: the premiere of Rivals, in which two British big shots square off against each other in the go-go ’80s, and family comedy The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh. There’s also a new season of Shrinking, below-the-radar British dark comedy Sweetpea, and the streaming debut of Detroiters, a comedy show that is as funny as anything on TV.
Rivals
David Tennant and Alex Hassell play the bitter Rivals of the title in an eight-part series set among the crumbling aristocracy of 1980s Great Britain. Hassell plays Rupert Campbell-Black, a member of Parliament and a rake and raconteur. Tennant plays Lord Tony Baddingham, the head of Corinium Television. The two hate each others’ guts in a very British, very rich way, so look for dishy action and scandals in boardrooms and bedrooms.
Where to stream: Hulu
Brothers
Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage play (non-identical) twins in crime-comedy Brothers. Brolin is a former criminal trying desperately to stay straight, but his reprobate brother drags him into a cross-country roadtrip in pursuit of a score so big it will change the entire family’s lives—if they can keep from killing each other along the way.
Where to stream: Prime
The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, season 1
The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh is a family comedy with a mystery at its center. The titular family are fresh off the plane from India, but their new life in America quickly turns bizarre as a run-in with a polar opposite family in their new neighborhood spins out of control. Told partly through flashback from an interrogation room, this comedy promises a touch of Rashomon and a new twist on the immigrant comedy genre.
Where to stream: Prime
American Horror Stories: Huluween Event
If you dig shows like Tales from the Crypt and Dark Mirror, check out American Horror Stories. The anthology spin-off of the long-running horror franchise American Horror Story will drop five spooky, hour-long episodes at once for Halloween, each telling a different dark tale on topics like tapeworms, organ thieves, and jealous artificial intelligences. (I want to watch the one about the tapeworm most.)
Where to stream: Hulu
The Devil’s Hour, season 2
Jessica Raine and Peter Capaldi return for another season of this Emmy-nominated, critically lauded series. Season 1 of The Devil’s Hour is a known for its mind-screw plot twists, solid acting, and touches of black humor. Season 2 sees former adversaries Lucy (Raine) and Gideon (Capaldi) teaming up to hunt down a horrific monster. To make matters worse, Lucy is in the crosshairs of her ex-husband from a past life. If you’re looking for intelligent, psychological horror, this should do the trick.
Where to stream: Prime
Shrinking, Season 2
The first season of warm-hearted, emotional comedy/drama Shrinking earned raves for its solid cast and sharp writing, and season 2 promises more of the same. Created by Ted Lasso creator Bill Lawrence and Jason Segel, Shrinking’s cast includes Segel as Jimmy Laird, a therapist whose own grief leads to him throwing aside professional ethics and drastically changing the lives of his patients. The cast includes heavy hitters like Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, and even Ted McGinley!
Where to stream: Apple TV+
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Season 2
The first season of this animated series set in the Jurassic World universe earned 100% positive reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes, so it would be literally impossible to not like it. In Chaos Theory, the dinosaurs have taken over the world. “The Nublar Six,” six teenagers with dinosaur experience, embark on a mission to unravel a conspiracy that threatens everything on Earth, humans and dinos alike. This is a perfect series to share with your kids: It’s gentle enough for anyone over seven, but adult enough that parents won’t want to claw their eyes out.
Where to stream: Netflix
Detroiters
Criminally under-appreciated when it originally aired on Comedy Central in 2017 and 2018, Detroiters is too funny to die. This is legit one of the best comedies that has ever been on TV, and if you haven’t seen it, I feel bad for you. Tim Robinson, auteur of wildly popular sketch show I Think You Should Leave, created Detroiters and stars as a dope who inherits a Detroit advertising company then hires his best friend, another dope played by Sam Richardson, to make commercials. Seriously: If you do nothing else in October, watch this show.
Where to stream: Netflix
Sweetpea
This British import stars Ella Purnell as Rhiannon Lewis, a mousey wallflower who was bullied as a child and is roundly ignored as an adult, until she finds her true calling: murdering everyone who has ever wronged her. A six-part comedy/thriller, Sweetpea is a revenge story that deftly mixes darkness and comedy—just in time for Halloween!
Where to stream: Starz
The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 3
Lawyers with weekly legal imbroglios have been fodder for compelling television since Perry Mason made objections in the 1950s. The Lincoln Lawyer is a particularly solid example of the genre. Now on its third season, the show’s main character, Mickey Haller, (played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) earned the name by solving cases in his Continental convertible. Like the car, the show is a throwback; it’s one of those episodic TV dramas that you don’t have to watch in order—exciting enough, but not meant to be taken too seriously.
Where to stream: Netflix
Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? Season 1
This game show isn’t exactly Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader? but you get the idea. In Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, normal people match wits with “stars” like comedian Nikki Glaser, football analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick, and reality star Lala Kent. I was going to say I was smarter than all those people and host Travis Kelce combined, but then I realized they’re getting paid to answer trivia questions on TV and I’m writing about it, so who’s the idiot now?
Where to stream: Prime
Last week’s picks
Disclaimer
In Apple TV+’s Disclaimer, Cate Blanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft, a journalist and documentarian known for uncovering hidden truths. Her perfect life is shattered when a mysterious novel arrives in the mail with a narrative based on tragic, hidden events from her past. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, nothing is as it seems in this taut, psychological puzzle of a TV show.
Where to stream: Apple TV+
La Máquina
La Máquina, Hulu’s first Spanish-language original series is part underdog sports story, part comedy, and part conspiracy theory thriller—it’s all over the place, but in a good way. Gael García Bernal plays Esteban “La Máquina” Osuna, a boxing legend coaxed into the ring for one last fight. Things spin so far out of control from there that reality itself is called into question.
Where to stream: Hulu
Teacup
Loosely based on Robert McCammon bestselling novel Stinger, Peacock original series Teacup tells the story of a group of strangers in rural Georgia who must work together if they hope to survive a supernatural threat. To reveal any more details would risk ruining the surprises of this twisty horror series, so I’ll just say the early notices are solid.
Where to stream: Peacock
Citadel: Diana
In Citadel: Diana, Matilda De Angelis plays Diana Cavalieri, a secret agent without an agency. Citadel, a once-powerful international spy organization, has been taken over by evil Manticore, leaving Cavalieri out in the cold, trapped behind enemy lines and working as a mole in Manticore itself. To escape, she’ll have to rely on unlikely allies and make dangerous moves. If you’re into cloak and dagger, give Citadel: Diana a spin.
Where to stream: Max
Roller Jam
Did you know that, in 2024, there are people out there for whom high-level roller skating is a lifestyle? Roller Jam takes viewers into their hidden world. Singer/songwriter and actress Jordin Sparks hosts this reality competition in which 10 teams of roller skaters create a different number each week and perform it in front of a live audience and a judges panel that includes two-time U.S. Olympian and figure skating champion Johnny Weir and “roller-skating legend” Terrell Ferguson. The winning team gets $150,000.
Where to stream: Max
The Franchise
The Franchise takes superhero movies to another level by focusing on the cast and crew of flea-bitten superhero franchise that’s falling out of public favor. While their movie counterparts are saving the world, the actors that play them are trying to save the movie series they star in. If you’re into a workplace comedy that skewers Hollywood blockbusters, The Franchise might become your favorite show.
Where to stream: Max