DUBAI: From new franchise extensions to returning favorites, these are the Fall/Winter shows we’re most looking forward to
‘Only Murders in the Building’
Starring: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez
Where: Disney+
When: August 27
The acclaimed show about an unlikely trio of true-crime podcasters is back for a fourth season, with another group of superstar guests. This time around, Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy and Eva Longoria appear as themselves, but they’ve been cast to play Short’s Oliver Putnam, Martin’s Charles-Haden Savage, and Gomez’s Mabel Mora respectively in a Hollywood adaptation of their podcast. While that’s going on, the podcasters are also trying to solve the mystery of who shot Savage’s former stunt double, Sazz Pataki, at the end of season three.
‘Slow Horses’
Starring: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas
Where: Apple TV+
When: Sept. 4
Season four of the brilliant UK spy thriller based on Mick Herron’s novels about Jackson Lamb — a former secret-service great whose job now involves overseeing the misfits and miscreants of Slough House, where MI5 sends the agents it wants to forget about (and to whom the titular nickname applies) — finds Lamb and his crew embroiled in the aftermath of a car bomb explosion in London, while River Cartwright, the Slow Horse whose grandfather is another legend of the service, is pressured by former CIA agent Frank Harkness to join his cause.
‘The Penguin’
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Where: OSN+
When: Sept. 20
Farrell reprises his role as the second-best-known enemy of Batman in this spinoff series from 2022 movie “The Batman” (starring Robert Pattinson in the title role). Set one week after the events of the film, the series traces the rise of Oswald “Oz” Cobb, aka Penguin, as he steps into the shoes of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, the criminal kingpin of Gotham’s underworld. Fighting Cobb for control, however, is Falcone’s daughter Sofia (aka Hangman) a psychotic serial killer who has just been released from the infamous Arkham Asylum.
‘Disclaimer’
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen
Where: Apple TV+
When: Oct. 11
The Mexican filmmaker and five-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity,” “Roma”) helms this mini-series in which two-time Oscar winner Blanchett plays veteran investigative journalist Catherine Ravenscroft, whose life is turned upside-down when she receives a copy of a (supposedly fictional) novel. She quickly realizes that one of the novel’s main characters appears to be based on her, and shares the same dark secret she has long kept hidden from the world. If the Blanchett-Cuaron combo hasn’t already sold you on this, the stellar cast also includes Kline, Baron-Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Lesley Manville.
‘Dune: Prophecy’
Starring: Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Jodhi May
Where: OSN+
When: November
This prequel series to Denis Villeneuve’s superb recent film adaptations of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic focuses on the founding of the mystical sisterhood with supernatural powers known as the Bene Gesserit by sisters Sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen and is set 10 millennia before the events of the movies. Showrunner Alison Schapker has an impressive CV including production credits on “Lost,” “Alias,” and “Westworld.”
‘Silo’
Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Common
Where: Apple TV+
When: Nov. 15
One of last year’s best debut shows returns for a second season. Ferguson plays Juliette Nichols, the reluctant sheriff (at least until the first season finale) of the gigantic underground bunker known as the Silo in which 10,000 people have been living for years, bound by rules they believed were intended to protect them. But, as Nichols has discovered, it seems that the people have been lied to.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew – Disney+ Dec. 3
Starring: Jude Law, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong
Where: Disney+
When: Dec. 3
Given Disney’s propensity for milking the “Star Wars” franchise for all its worth, it’s a surprise no one has previously done a coming-of-age piece set in the “Star Wars” universe, although considering how poorly child actors have generally fared in it so far (hi Jake Lloyd), maybe not a huge surprise. Either way, “Skeleton Crew” lands in December and follows a group of four kids trying to find their way back to their home planet after getting lost. They meet a Force-user known as Jod Na Nawood (Law), who they assume is a Jedi.
‘Squid Game’
Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Yim Si-wan
Where: Netflix
When: Dec. 26
As the biggest small-screen phenomenon of 2021, Korean drama “Squid Game” changed the media landscape. Its success (both in terms of viewership and profits) pushed other streaming services to look beyond Hollywood at regional content. Now it’s back for a second season. The premise is a simple one: hundreds of people sign up to play a bunch of games in the hope of winning a fortune. The catch? The hundreds who don’t win die.
