Best 5 new shows to stream: quick view
Best 5 new shows to stream
1) Douglas is Cancelled – 1 Dec (ABC iview)
Miniseries. In this British comedy-drama, widely respected TV news anchor Douglas Bellows (is that a clue in his surname? Yes it is) sees his life and career start to fall apart thanks to an accusation on social media that he made a sexist joke at a wedding, made all the worse when his co-host Madeleine accidentally amplifies the situation.
But, seriously, what harm could a sexist joke make, especially when it’s the kind of gag Douglas regularly makes in his free time? That’s enough, Douglas. Don’t say anything else, really. Starring Hugh Bonneville and Karen Gillan. Watch the trailer.
2) Earth Abides – 2 Dec (Stan)
Series. Featuring Alexander Ludwig and Jessica Frances Dukes, Earth Abides is a (deep breath) post-apocalyptic science-fiction drama TV miniseries based on George R Stewart’s classic sci-fi novel of the same name. When a plague of unprecedented virulence sweeps the globe, the human race is all but wiped out (yay!).
In the aftermath, as the machinery of civilisation grinds to an ominous halt, only a few shattered survivors remain to struggle against extinction (why bother?). Come for the post-apocalypse, stay for the post-apocalypse … Watch the trailer.
3) Skeleton Crew – 3 Dec (Disney+)
Series. Let’s be honest, none of us have had enough of the Star Wars franchise yet. The screeds of spinoffs are by no means grating. We can’t wait till that little monkey-lizard thing who works as Jabba the Hutt’s annoying jester in Return of the Jedi gets its own eight-part mega-budget series because no amount of Star Wars is enough, even if the number of new takes rivals the number of stars in the galaxy itself.
Starring Jude Law, this new series tells the story of four kids searching for their home planet after getting lost in the Star Wars galaxy, and the strange aliens and dangerous places they encounter on their adventure, and … look, if you’re into it you’re into it, if you’re not, you’re not. Watch the trailer.
4) Black Doves – 5 Dec (Netflix)
Series. In this British thriller, a spy posing as a politician’s wife learns her lover has been murdered and an old assassin pal joins her on her search for the truth – and vengeance. Basically, it sounds pretty much like every other spy thriller revenge story, but it stars Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, and we like them, whatever they do. Watch the trailer.
5) The Sticky – 6 Dec (Prime Video)
Series. The Sticky is inspired by the real-life ‘Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist’, which we’ve literally never heard of, but was supposedly a thing back in 2012.
It follows Ruth Landry, a tough, middle-aged maple syrup farmer (I mean, they’re all pretty tough, hey) who turns to crime when the bureaucratic authorities threaten to take away everything she loves.
In short: she teams up with a hot-tempered Bostonian mobster and a mild-mannered French-Canadian security guard to carry out a multi-million dollar heist on Quebec’s maple syrup surplus.
Starring Margo Martindale, Chris Diamantopoulos, Guillaume Cyr and Jamie Lee Curtis. Watch the trailer.
