It’s April Fool’s Day, but this post is no joke: There’s a lot of new TV to watch this week. In many ways it’s a confrontation of tense situations – ‘tense’ here, used to disguise things like Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott, in the new adaptation) trying to fight his way into high society, American horror story: delicate‘s Anna (Emma Roberts) trying to figure out what’s really haunted and what’s in her head, while Mark (Steven Yeun) tries to live up to the title of Invincible while protecting his family, or Larry David (Larry David) just trying to make it to the end of the movie Control your enthusiasm empathize.
There is a lot to discover in those stories, and beyond. Here are this week’s best new TV premieres and finales.
New shows on Netflix
Ripley
Genre: Class struggle between scammers
Date of publication: April 4, with all episodes
Showrunner/creator: Steven Zaillian
Form: Andrew Scott, Johnny Flynn, Dakota Fanning and more
Tom Ripley is always slick, whether you encounter him in Patricia Highsmith’s original novels or in the film. While he was last played by Matt Damon in The talented Mr. Ripleyhere it is Andrew Scott, rendered in stark black and white, ash Ripley tells the same story as the film, and the tragicomic story of Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn).
New shows on Hulu
American Horror Story: Delicate Part 2
Genre: Rosemary’s child
Date of publication: April 3 on FX at 10pm EDT, the next day on Hulu
Showrunner/creator: Ryan Murphy and Halley Feiffer
Form: Emma Roberts, Kim Kardashian, Matt Czuchry and more
Anna (Emma Roberts) should enjoy having it all, in the running for the Oscar and pregnant with a child. Unfortunately, things keep going mysteriously wrong, and she quickly loses time and sanity. Season 12b picks up where we left her last year before the season break – as the mystery increases and the pregnancy progresses.
New programs on Max
Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 finale
Genre: Cringe comedy
Date of publication: April 7
Showrunner/creator: Larry David
Form: Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Susie Essman and more
Larry David comes out on top – or at least his version of it. This is the man who co-created Seinfeld, as he is often remembered, and left in the final season, but did return for the series finale, which he is also often remembered for. Probably nothing to read into for this finale.
The regime
Genre: Drama
Date of publication: April 7
Showrunner/creator: Will Tracy
Form: Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts and more
The Chancellor is losing it – and now it’s time to see how everything really works out for her.
New programs on Prime Video
Invincible season 2
Image: Amazon Studios
Genre: Coming of age (as superhero)
Date of publication: April 4
Showrunner/creator: Robert Kirkman
Form: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Sterling K. Brown and more
Mark (Steven Yeun) is still trying to work through his issues, especially as he comes to terms with a breakup and a complete confusion of his sense of purpose. And now Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown) is back and threatening his family. fuck, guy.
New shows on Paramount Plus
Elsbeth
Genre: (Still a) Columbo-like procedure
Date of publication: April 4
Showrunner/creator: Robert and Michelle King
Form: Carrie Preston, Wendell Pierce and more
That’s right, we’re doing it again! Elsbeththe Good wife spin-off focused on the best Good wife supporting character, Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), is back for the rest of the season. While it technically appeared on these pages where the premiere was announced earlier in February, the season is now starting in earnest. Join us!
Star Trek: Discovery season 5
Genre: Science fiction
Date of publication: April 4, with one episode
Showrunner/creator: Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise
Form: Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, David Ajala and more
Star Trek: Discovery returns for its fifth and final season. It’s the show that powered the Star Trek TV renaissance (or at least the show that all other shows built on). And, as Susana Polo put it in her preview: “Discovery has reached the last final frontier for a Star Trek show,” with an opportunity not seen in a quarter century.
New shows on Apple TV Plus
Loot season 2
Genre: Comedy
Date of publication: April 3, with two episodes
Showrunner/creator: Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard
Form: Maya Rudolph, Joel Kim Booster, Nat Faxon and more
Molly Novak (Maya Rudolph) is still trying to reconnect with the real world through her philanthropic efforts. She gradually learns to be a little more human herself – often with, well, humorous effect. With Rudolf and Loot When we return for season 2, we can trust that Molly will actually find out this time.
Sugar
Genre: Contemporary black
Date of publication: April 5, with two episodes
Showrunner/creator: Mark Protosevich
Form: Colin Farrell, Kirby, James Cromwell and more
Sugar (Colin Farrell) is a world-weary private detective who needs a break but is now booked on one more case. This modern noir – vividly told both in palette and tone – follows that case, which, as these things do, turns out to be more complicated than it first appears. (That’s his real name, though.)
New shows on Crunchyroll
Windbreaker
Genre: Shonen anime
Date of publication: April 4
Based on the manga by: Satoru Nii
Haruka Sakura is lonely in his first year at Furin High School, which is recognized in town as the school with a bad academic reputation that is really only for delinquents. Or at least him used to be He is bored, until he meets the members of Bofurin, a school organization made up of named delinquents, who he discovers are actually the city’s only protectors.