The Why Watch That Talk: Plenty of TV Going Around for Everybody!
La Mante (miniseries, Netflix)
Decades after she was captured, imprisoned serial killer Jeanne Deber is asked by Paris’ police commissioner to help solve a series of unsolved murders being committed by someone who is copying her crimes from years earlier. Jeanne — who was known as “The Mantis” during her days as a criminal — agrees, but only if estranged son Damien — now a detective — works alongside her. He reluctantly agrees so that they can try to end the copycat’s crime spree. Time is of the essence because as the investigation goes on, the number of victims continues to rise.
The Magicians (season 3, Syfy)
Quentin Coldwater, a grad student at Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, has been fascinated by the magical fantasy world since he was young. But as he has gotten older, Quentin and his 20-something friends have discovered that the magical world they read about as children is not only real, but poses dangers to humanity. While studying at the secret upstate New York school, the friends struggle to cope with the aftermath of a catastrophe that befalls the institution. The fantasy series is based on a series of novels by Lev Grossman.
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams (anthology, Amazon Prime)
“Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams” is a 10-episode science-fiction anthology series that journeys into unique worlds beyond the reach of the imagination. Based on short stories written by Dick, each stand-alone episode is inspired by a different story, adapted by a team of leading British and American writers. The all-star cast changes with each episode and includes Bryan Cranston, Steve Buscemi, Greg Kinnear, Timothy Spall and Anna Paquin. “Electric Dreams” is a co-production between the U.K’s Channel 4 and Amazon Prime Video.
Babylon Berlin (season 1, Netflix)
Police commissioner Gereon Rath is transferred from Cologne to Berlin, the epicenter of political and social change in the Golden Twenties. Shellshocked from his service during World War II, he uncovers a dangerous web of intrigue while investigating one of Berlin’s biggest pornography rings. There’s an even bigger conspiracy unfolding, though, when Soviet rebels hijack a train as part of a mission hatched by Trotsky supporters in the city.
A.P. Bio (season 1, NBC)
When Harvard philosophy professor Jack Griffin fails to get his dream job and reluctantly moves back to Ohio to work as a high school Advanced Placement Biology teacher, he makes one thing very clear: he will not be teaching one bit of biology. Instead, realizing he has a room full of honor roll students at his disposal, Jack recruits the kids to help him mentally break his job-stealing nemesis and win back the position that’s rightfully his. From Saturday Night Live alums Seth Meyers and Mike O’Brien.
Here and Now (season 1, HBO)
A multi-racial family made up of a husband, a wife, three adopted children from Somalia, Vietnam and Colombia, and one biological child, finds its bonds tested.
Homeland (season 7, Showtime)
When Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody returns home following eight years in captivity, CIA agent Carrie Mathison thinks he has turned and is connected to a terror plot to be carried out on American soil, so she engages him in a dangerous game of cat and mouse that puts America’s national security at risk. Later on, Carrie gets a promotion and returns to the front lines overseas. She is assigned to one of the CIA’s most volatile and dangerous stations in the Middle East, where she is in the heart of battle in the war on terror. Years later, after being disillusioned and placing herself in a self-imposed exile in Berlin, Carrie becomes estranged from the CIA, eventually returning stateside where she works for a foundation providing aid to Muslims living in America.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (return of season 3, CW)
“Arrow” and “The Flash” have some new superhero company in the CW’s lineup with the addition of “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.” After seeing what doom the future holds, time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter realizes heroes alone are not enough to prevent the impending catastrophe that threatens not only the planet, but all of time itself. Tasked with recruiting both heroes and villains, Rip brings together a ragtag team of divergent talents, which includes the likes of Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, and Heat Wave.
Mozart in the Jungle (season 4, Amazon Prime)
As Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle” opens, Maestro Thomas takes his final bow with the New York Symphony. Applause dies down, and the orchestra’s chairwoman introduces a new conductor — young, flamboyant, talented Rodrigo, who strides onto the stage, bows and turns his baton into a rose! Conflict begins for the badly behaved genius and his stodgy predecessor, now music director emeritus. Rodrigo promises change when he icily reviews Thomas’ last concert, and it starts with auditions that alter life for a female oboist scrambling for gigs.