This week, new TV shows are dropping faster than the leaves on Netflix, Apple TV Plus, and other streaming services, broadcast stations, and cable TV channels.
This week’s new TV lineup features the long-awaited return of two fan favorites: “The Shrinking” Season 2 and “The Lincoln Lawyer” Season 3. Additionally, a new installment of the prequel series “NCIS: Origins” will be added to the “NCIS” series. An old game show tries a new trick on “Are You Smarter than Celebrities?” Here’s your guide to the top new TV shows to check out this week.
“NCIS: Origins” (CBS)
CBS’ flagship procedural franchise is still going strong. Its latest expansion follows young Leroy Jethro Gibbs as an up-and-coming agent, not in another city, but rather back in time. Mark Harmon, who played Gibbs on the OG series for many years, will narrate the film, and Austin Stowell will star as a younger version. In 1991, Gibbs begins his career at the newly established NCIS Camp Pendleton office, where he rises through the ranks of a gritty ragtag team led by the legendary Mike Franks (Kyle Schmidt).
on Monday, October 14th at 9pm ET on CBS. Paramount Plus with Showtime
“Rachel Bloom: Death, Please Let Me Do a Special” (Netflix)
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It’s no surprise that the creator and star of the underrated musical comedy series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” bursts into song during a new special based on her Off-Broadway one-woman play. Birth, death, and cosmic uncertainty reared its ugly head during the pandemic, which coincided with Bloom losing her longtime musical collaborator Adam Schlesinger to COVID-19 and giving birth to her first child. I’m thinking about it. While the material is certainly heavy, Bloom has a talent for finding humor in the most serious of topics.
Premieres on Tuesday, October 15th at 3am ET Netflix
“Are you smarter than celebrities?” (Prime Video)
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The popular game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” is back with a new spin: Celebrity! Contestants rely on a classroom full of comedy, movie, and sports stars to learn from the elementary school curriculum. Help them answer 11 questions on a variety of selected themes for a chance to win $100,000 in prizes. Host Travis Kelce, a Kansas City Chiefs tight end and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, oversees the round, which culminates with a final question at the sixth-grade level.
Premieres Wednesday, October 16th at 12am ET prime video
“Shrinking” Season 2 (Apple TV Plus)
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One of my favorite shows of 2023 returns with a second season of therapy-related humor and pranks. Therapist Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) still grieves for his wife, but has reached a tentative truce with his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell). He is still experimenting with his approach of telling clients exactly what he thinks, much to the chagrin of his colleague Paul Rhodes (Harrison Ford). Paul faces his own problems, including worsening Parkinson’s disease. Meanwhile, another colleague, Gabby (Jessica Williams), has to deal with her feelings for Jimmy.
Premieres on Wednesday, October 16th at 12am ET Apple TV Plus
“The Lincoln Lawyer” Season 3 (Netflix)
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This time it’s the personal story of attorney Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). At the end of Season 2, Mickey learns that Gloria Days (Fiona Rene), a former client who helped him with the Jesús Mendéndez case in Season 1, has passed away. Now he is on a mission to find her killer. Mickey feels guilty and wonders if he could have done something to save her. His personal connection to Gloria makes this one of his most important and dangerous cases yet.
First broadcast on Thursday, October 17th at 3am ET. Netflix
“Rivals” (Hulu)
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Jilly Cooper’s soapy “Bonkbusters” books were a huge hit in the UK in the 1980s and ’90s thanks to their extremely naughty depictions of British upper class society. This film adaptation of Cooper’s second novel harkens back to the days of “Dynasty,” “Dallas” and “Desperate Housewives,” with its sex, scandal, and shocking plot twists. Their nominal rivals are politician Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and television executive Sir Tony Buddingham (David Tennant). They thoroughly hate each other, but hide their poison behind a cool and aristocratic exterior.
Premieres on Friday, October 18th at 12am ET Hulu
‘hysteria! ‘
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Every generation thinks kids are doing bad things. But in some cases, these generational rifts can lead to hysteria. Peacock’s new thriller is set in the late 1980s, when a “diabolical panic” gripped the United States. In a small Michigan town, the disappearance of a beloved varsity quarterback sparks unrest. A trio of teenage dropouts in a struggling heavy metal band realize they can capitalize on the growing interest in the occult by rebranding as a Satanic metal band. But a strange series of murders, kidnappings, and reports of “supernatural activity” spark a witch hunt targeting them.
Premieres on Friday, October 18th at 3am ET peacock
