If you’re making the rounds this week, most of the streaming services are abundant with new material to keep your eyes and ears busy, but if you’d like a few suggestions to get started, we’ve got you covered. Start off your weekend with a binge of the true crime podcast parody series Based on a True Story. While sticking to the comedy and crime theme, Interior Chinatown and Man On The Inside, each promising their own form of laughs and hijinks. And if you’ve got kids swinging by, check out Spellbound for a family-friendly animated movie that won’t leave the adults groaning in pain.
Perhaps something more serious is called for this week, in which case Landman brings the acting chops of Billy Bob Thornton to a Texas oil company. For fans of the 25-year-old Cruel Intentions, or those that have never seen it, may consider its new remake on Prime Video. And finally, it’s time for Dune to get its first spin-off series with Dune:Prophecy.
7 Based on a True Story
Peacock — Season 2 — November 21
Kaley Cuoco’s true crime parody series was generally regarded as a hit, and despite some mixed reviews, the generally positive reception and large fanbase suggests there’s plenty of room for two comedies about murder podcasts.
Based on a True Story is returning for its second season, and things are getting more complicated for all involved. Matt is committed to “sobriety” from his hobby, and has also committed himself to dating Ava’s own sister. Meanwhile, new murders start popping up again with the same pattern, leaving it unclear if the West Side Ripper is at it again, or maybe a copycat has taken his place.
Every episode from the new season of Based on a True Story is available right away, so you won’t have to wait through a weekly schedule. But it feels safe to warn you, this one ends on a cliffhanger. A third season hasn’t been confirmed yet, but executive producer Michael Costigan is hinting that he has plans ready for a renewal.
6 Interior Chinatown
Hulu — Mini-series — November 19
Willis Wu is an actor, or at least he wants to be. His career has quickly relegated him to generic background roles for Asian guys, like a waiter or delivery driver — the invisible people. But his bland life takes a turn when a beautiful cop comes into the restaurant he also works at and asks him to help out with a case. Everything becomes even more complicated when he witnesses a crime.
Based on Charles Yu’s 2020 novel by the same name, Interior Chinatown is an intricate story designed to be a bit meta in its show-within-a-show structure. Not to worry, it makes regular use of Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng, both successful stand-ups on their own, so it stays quippy and funny thanks to good comedic timing.
This series also avoids the pain of weekly rollouts, so you can thank Hulu for making everything available from day one. It’s still unclear if there’s any point waiting for a second season, as the first has an ending, but leaves room if Hulu decides Interior Chinatown deserves another round.
5 Landman
Paramount+ — Series Premiere — November 17
Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm, Ali Larter, and Demi Moore… Need I say more? Well, yeah, probably, because it’s an eclectic list. These are the stars of Taylor Sheridan’s new western drama series, following a fixer (Thornton) working for a Texas oil company. He’s regularly going from one crisis to the next, handling exploding oil rigs, deaths out in the field, and any other catastrophe that comes along. He has made a mess of his life, but it creates the perfect environment for Billy Bob to deliver plenty of speeches from his world-weary wisdom.
After Territory recently premiered, and now with Landman, it looks like we’re catching a wave of big-business westerns riding in the wake of Yellowstone, much like doctor and lawyer shows spun up following the successes of E.R. and L.A. Law. Regardless of the motivation, you can’t deny the star power, which also includes Colm Feore, Michelle Randolph, and Kayla Wallace.
The first two episodes of Landman launched over last weekend, and a new episode will roll out every Sunday through January 12th.
4 Man On The Inside
Netflix — Season 1 — November 21
It’s hard not to talk about The Good Place when bringing up Man On The Inside. Both were created by Michael Schur and star the venerable Ted Danson. In this new series, Charles (Danson) takes a job with a private investigator to go undercover at a nursing home to expose a crime. While there, he finds a vibrant and entertaining community that fills the emptiness he was feeling in his own life.
It’s not meant to be a complicated or daunting show, but more like a light-hearted series that is itself full of heart. Joining
Danson is Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), and several other notable names you’ll probably have to look up on IMDb when you can’t quite place where you’ve seen them before.
In the Netflix style, all eight episodes of Man On The Inside are available right now for your weekend binge.
3 Cruel Intentions
Prime Video — Season 1 — November 21
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Witherspoon starred in the iconic and notorious 1999 film Cruel Intentions. Has 25 years been long enough to warrant a reboot? On the one hand, it was practically timeless; but on the other hand, nobody had smartphones, and that’s like the stone age. Whether it was time or not, Amazon is taking a crack at modernizing the twisted teen drama, while also turning it into a series. In truth, the last time Amazon turned a former SMG project into a series, I Know What You Did Last Summer, I actually liked it… but I might have been the only one.
Cruel Intentions, the new one, takes us into the world of Caroline and Lucien, two scheming and manipulative step-siblings attending Manchester College while flaunting their wealth and power. An incident threatens the Greek system and their respective sorority and fraternity, and the two cook up a plan to trick the daughter of the US vice president into joining the sorority to ensure it’s too important to shut down. There is plenty of seduction and sexual antics, lies and deceit, and generally despicable acts.
While reviews have questioned the necessity of a remake, and how loosely it follows the original — which was itself a remake of Dangerous Liaisons — everybody should see at least one version of this story. Fortunately, Amazon isn’t locking this one behind weekly releases either, so you can binge all eight episodes of Cruel Intentions straight away or stretch them out as you like.
2 Dune: Prophecy
Max — Season 1 — November 17
If you’re invested in the Dune universe, either through the books, the 1984 epic mini-series, or the currently unfinished remake trilogy, you’ve probably been waiting for Dune: Prophecy. This is technically the prequel to the Dune story, taking place 10,148 years before Paul Atreides is born.
Perhaps more pointedly, this is HBO’s latest attempt to find a Game of Thrones replacement that balances complicated storylines, politics, intrigue, and the occasional war.
Starring Emily Watson, Mark Strong, Olivia Williams, and several other top-tier actors, Dune: Prophecy is rolling out in weekly installments every Sunday night.
1 Spellbound
Netflix — Movie — November 22
With families getting together for the holiday season, let’s have one that the kids and adults can watch together. Produced by John Lasseter (formerly Disney/Pixar) and directed by Vicky Jenson (formerly DreamWorks), Spellbound is the delightful story of princess Ellian of Lumbria.
While she’s a fun-loving kid, she’s been covering up a secret: Her parents were turned into monsters. When the secret is exposed, Ellian escapes with her monstrous parents on a quest for a cure before the magics become permanent.
Netflix didn’t hold back on the cast list for Spellbound either, giving it a treatment nearly rivaling the likes of an Ice Age or Shrek movie. Rachel Zegler takes the lead as Ellian, with Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem playing her parents, the queen and king. Joining them is John Lithgow, Nathan Lane, Dee Bradley Baker, and many more.
