Premieres Wednesday:
Cheat — The British essentially and unofficially adapt Balderdash to TV with this new game show, in which contestants are rewarded as much for creative lying as for knowing the actual answer. So of the two titles, why is "Balderdash" the one that sounds like a bunch of English people would have come up with it first? (Netflix)
The Mandalorian — The action of Season 3 takes us back to Mandalore, where our title character will seek absolution for having removed his helmet not once but twice. New cast members Christopher Lloyd and Tim Meadows will help him plead his case that he was only trying to improve his profile picture on JDate. (Disney+)
Tonight You're Sleeping With Me — A Polish journalist has to decide if she wants to stay loyal to her husband or make hot pierogis of love with her ex. I'm sure this will make for a fine dramatic series and all, but I kind of wish they had saved the premise for a reality dating show where the answer would be determined by an audience vote. Mostly so they could have called it Take a Pole. (Netflix)
Wreck — Comedy is the unexpected resuwlt when a British 19-year-old takes a job on a cruise ship so he can search for his vanished sister, only to learn there's a serial killer aboard too. On the plus side, the lounge band does a mean Bucks Fizz. (Hulu)
Wrong Side of the Tracks Season 2 — This Spanish series about a vengeance-seeking grandpa has already been renewed for Seasons 3 and 4, so if you've been wanting to see the drug criminals who assaulted Tirso's granddaughter get their final what-for, you'll need to wait a bit longer. Sheesh, it's like Merrick Garland is writing the thing. (Netflix)
Premieres Thursday:
Framed! A Sicilian Murder Mystery 2 — The efforts of TV repairmen Salvo and Valentino to distance themselves from the murder they stumbled upon land them in even hotter water this time out. Season 2 includes a jokey meta-reference to Netflix being able to drag out such premises indefinitely, which honestly seems like tempting fate these days: Better hope the show doesn't get canceled before that episode even drops. (Netflix)
Karate Sheep — France's Xilam animation house shows how sheep can use the martial arts to fend off predators, in a series Variety says is the studio's "first slapstick CGI comedy for kids." In a nod to the country's rich comedic tradition, a cartoon Jerry Lewis leads them all to the slaughterhouse. (Netflix)
Masameer County — Plotlines in Season 2 of the Saudi animated comedy include Trad seeking work as an emotional-support dog. Since MBS is letting this go out to 190 countries, it's safe to assume the pup's remit will be "healing generalized anxiety" and not "comforting the families of the slain." (Netflix)
Monique Olivier: Accessory to Evil — Convicted of raping and murdering eight women ages 12 to 30 — and having confessed to three more killings — Michel Fourniret was France's most notorious serial killer. This documentary retrospective seeks to answer the question I think is on all our minds: What kind of wife helps her husband do something like that? Oh, streaming, your priorities are unerring. (Netflix)
Sex/Life — Billie is on the outs with both her husband and her ex in Season 2, but don't worry: There's a third himbo on the horizon in this hotcha examination of "women's choices." You know, the same reason you're home bingeing this dribble. Because you're awash in choices. (Netflix)
Spoonful of Sugar — Filmmaker Mercedes Bryce Morgan shows us what happens when a baby-sitter makes the unconventional choice of administering LSD to the sick kid she's taking care of. My money's on "David Crosby finds another human vessel to occupy." (Shudder)
Premieres Friday:
Daisy Jones & the Six — Presley spawn Riley Keough channels the spirit of Stevie Nicks to play a '70s rocker in this series adaptation of the best-selling novel about a group that breaks up at the apex of its success. Just think: If they had managed to stick it out, they could have played the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival. (Prime Video)
Gulmohar — Having survived becoming tiger chow in Life of Pi, Suraj Sharma plays the oldest child in an Indian family that has to move out of their home after three decades. Cue all manner of wistful recollections — including the time they went to see a production of The Cherry Orchard together and said, "This thing is public domain, right?" (Hulu)
Love at First Kiss — The language is Spanish and the status is "It's complicated" as a clairvoyant identifies his one true love: his buddy's current girlfriend. Man, to think that Love Actually dude could have just claimed ESP and spent a lifetime with Keira Knightley. (Second prize: Two lifetimes with Keira Knightley.) (Netflix)
Next in Fashion: Season 2 — Supermodel Gigi Hadid joins co-host Tan France for the triumphant return of the design competition that was thought dead after its first season in 2020. Why, that's so long ago that we were all wearing Zoom tops. And intubators! (Netflix)
The Pimp: No F**ing Fairytale — Set on the Reeperbahn of the early '80s, this drama shows how AIDS shifted the foundation of Hamburg's underground economy from prostitution to drugs. And just when they had weathered that upheaval, they had to deal with New Coke. (Prime Video)
Transformers: Earth Spark — Eight new animated episodes welcome the arrival of beloved character actor Keith David (They Live) as Grimlock, the Dinobot leader with pronoun trouble. He Grimlock giving you choice: either put on glasses, or start eating trash can! (If that indeed trash can.) (Paramount+)
Premieres Sunday:
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage — For its first-ever live telecast, Netflix has decided to give Chris Rock a platform to say or do whatever he wants in front of a global audience. What do they have to lose, right? In the best-case scenario, somebody smacks him again. In the worst-case scenario, he brings out Elon Musk. (Netflix)
Premieres Monday:
History of the World, Part II — An unprecedented 42-year wait comes to an end with the arrival of a sketch series that sees Mel Brooks skewering a bunch of eras and events he didn't get around to the first time. Maybe we'll finally get to see the full "Hitler on Ice" routine, before the new Reedy Creek board installs it as a twice-nightly feature at Animal Kingdom. (Hulu)
Jared From Subway: Catching a Monster — A three-part documentary follows the life and crimes of the notorious Jared Fogle, whose urge to wave his $5 footlong around in front of kids got him sentenced to 15 years in the slammer. Back when you could be prosecuted for such a thing, that is. (Reports that Matt Gaetz plans to binge the entire show while inhaling a Cold Cut Combo are highly plausible at press time.) (Discovery+)
