Back in the ancient past, TV watchers had to wait until fall for new shows to drop, but with streaming, it’s fall every week, so we can enjoy a constant rotation of new programs to cheer or jeer. This past week’s most cheer-worthy new shows include Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, The Regime, a political comedy starring Kate Winslet as an iron-fisted despot, and way more.
The Gentlemen
There are tons of TV shows and movies that glamorize the golden age of the British aristocracy, but inheriting a title and an estate is a new kind of nightmare in The Gentlemen. When Eddie moves into his family’s ancestral mansion, he finds it a crumbling money pit with a drug dealing gang squatting on the estate. With no serfs to burn to keep warm, Eddie turns to crime to get by. Netflix advertises this series as “Old money meets drug money,” and that’s good enough for a click from me, but the show was created and directed by Guy “Two Smoking Barrels” Ritchie, so I might even click it twice.
Where to stream: Netflix
The Regime
Kate Winslet stars in this black comedy series that takes us inside the palace walls of an authoritarian regime. Winslet plays Elena Vernham, the reclusive leader of a fictional European totalitarian state. As Vernham grows more paranoid, her attempts to retain and grow her power fracture the palace and the nation. The Regime also stars Matthias Schoenaerts as Elena’s “personal water diviner” who becomes her closest advisor and Guillaume Gallienne as her poetry-loving husband.
Where to stream: Binge
The Reluctant Traveler, Season 2
Comedy legend Eugene Levy’s deadpan delivery carries this travel series with a twist. See, Levy doesn’t like traveling, but he does anyway, and it’s hilarious. In season 2 of The Reluctant Traveler, Levy is stepping out of his comfort zone in Europe, where he’ll bitch about beekeeping in Provence, grouse about kilts in Glasgow, and otherwise fail to display appropriate enthusiasm for the entire Old World.
Where to stream: Apple TV
Queens
The patriarchy slides its tentacles around every aspect of life—even our understanding of the animal kingdom. Queens aims to set the record straight. Through nature footage shot all over the world, from the tundra, to the rainforest, to the sea, and with powerful narration by Angela Bassett, this National Geographic documentary details the badass queens of the animal kingdom.
Where to stream: Disney+
Below Deck, Season 11
This long-running documentary series follows the lives of the salty sea dogs who crew glamorous yachts. While the high-wealth owners are busy cavorting with models and snorting caviar up top, the yachties down below are working hard—and partying even harder during their time off. Season 11 sees a drama-filled luxury vessel heading to the island of Grenada with a crew that includes returning Chief Stew Fraser Olender and deckhand Ben Willoughby, as well as a passel of fresh recruits.
Where to stream: Binge, Netflix, 7
Last week’s picks
Shōgun
Shōgun is the kind of sweeping, epic story that’s perfect for a miniseries. Based on James Clavell’s bestselling 1975 novel, Shōgun is a bigger-than-huge tale of war and passion set in Japan in 1600. With the country poised on the brink of civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is beset on all sides, from the other members of the Council of Regents to the mysterious Europeans who end up marooned in a small fishing village nearby. The book has been previously adapted, but this is the first time a production will include actual East Asian creatives behind the scenes. The first few episodes have received unanimous critical praise.
Where to stream: Disney+
Iwájú
To create animated series Iwájú, Disney teamed up with Pan-African arts collective Kugali Media with the goal of presenting African stories in a way that anyone can relate to and enjoy. Set in an afrofuturist Nigeria, Iwájú tells the story of Tole, a wryly funny young girl who lives in the wealthy part of Lagos, and her friend Kole, who resides on the rougher mainland. All six episodes of this lush, unique, and kick-ass series are available to stream now, so gather the kids around your streaming device of choice.
Where to stream: Disney+
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Having been burned by M. Night Shyamalan’s regrettable 2010 movie adaptation, Avatar fans were holding their breath for this live action series. Thankfully, Netflix has done far better with Avatar: The Last Airbender. It tells the story of Aang’s quest to master the four elements through a balance of over-the-top action, comedy, emotional resonance, and thoughtful commentary. Whether you’re a rabid devotee of the original animated series or an Avatar newcomer, it’s worth checking out.
Where to stream: Netflix
Constellation
When you’re finished with the new Adam Sandler feature Spaceman on Netflix, check out Constellation on Apple TV. This sci fi series also features an astronaut on lonely mission, but goes in a totally different direction. After narrowly escaping death in the vacuum of space, Jo returns to her earthbound home, eager to restart her life. But she soon finds that things have changed while she was in space: Nothing on earth is how it should be, almost as if she returned to a different planet than the one from which her rocket took off. Constellation carefully builds a Twilight Zone vibe over its eight episodes as Jo looks for answers: Is she experiencing space madness, or is something deeper and more sinister afoot?
Where to stream: Apple TV
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders
Blow the dust off your tinfoil hats, people. To tell the story of the mysterious death of writer Danny Casolaro, director Zachary Treitz drags us down the rabbit hole of a conspiracy so huge, its slimy tentacles circle the globe—if it’s real, of course. Before his supposed suicide in 1991, Casolaro was researching world-shaking secrets that went as high up as the Reagan White House, leading to the speculation that someone wanted him dead to keep him from naming names. Or so they say. Whether the story is what it seems is an open question, but either way, American Conspiracy is a fascinating series.
Where to stream: Netflix
Me, Hereafter
This new ABC/Hulu true-crime series tells murder stories from the point of view of their victims. You could argue with the ethics of putting words in dead peoples’ mouths, but you can’t argue with how dramatically compelling it is. Me, Hereafter also interviews victims’ families, investigators, and other relevant parties, and uses dramatizations to fill out its compelling cases.
Where to stream: Disney+
Dead Hot
British comedy/thriller Dead Hot follows best friends Elliot (Bilal Hasna) and Jess (Vivian Oparah), young residents of Liverpool whose lives change forever when Elliot’s first love (and Jess’s brother) Peter up and disappears. We follow the pair through the grieving process and beyond as they discover who they really are and try to solve the mystery of what happened to Peter.
Where to stream: Prime
Earthsounds
Tom Hiddleston narrates this sweeping nature documentary that travels the globe, from tropical jungles to the Antarctic ice shelf to the dunes of Namibia, to capture the most exotic and interesting natural sounds on the planet. If you’ve ever wanted to hear snow leopards sing love songs, what howler monkeys sound like when they howl, the otherworldly music of spiders, or the buzz of the Northern Lights, Earthsounds is for you.
Where to stream: AppleTV
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