There are a lot of exciting movies coming out over the rest of 2019...but what if the allures of engaging in the Joker cultural conversation aren't quite your bag? What if you really don't want to watch a 210 minute Martin Scorsese epic? What if you just straight up don't want to leave your apartment?
But that's why God (via Philo Taylor Farnsworth) invented television. Below, you can check out a list of our most anticipated TV shows coming out over the final four months of 2019.
The Deuce (HBO, September 9th): David Simon and George Pelecanos' show continued to explore the historical development of pornography and examine how capitalism drove the exploitation and misogyny at the heart of the sex industry in season two. The show will skip from the late '70s to 1985 for this third and final season, depicting changes for the industry and the characters. As a press release reads, it'll cover the period "just as VHS overtakes film as the primary medium for porn production and distribution, the lure of the California sunshine, the city’s aggressive takeover of commercial sex properties, and the devastating impact of the AIDS epidemic mark the end of an era."
Unbelievable (Netflix, September 13th): Based on The Marshall Project and ProPublica Pulitzer Prize-winning article, "An Unbelievable Story of Rape," this is one of the most anticipated new series of the fall, a serious crime procedural those who want something a little more prestige. It's written by showrunner Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), in collaboration with married novelists Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman (Oscar-nominated director Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right, is behind the camera for some episodes too). It has a great cast, including lead Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart) and Toni Collette and Merritt Wever, who play a pair of detectives. As Time wrote, the show "manages to be frank about the forensic realities of rape cases without sensationalizing the acts themselves. Survivors tell their own stories."
Undone (Amazon Prime, September 13th): This is the trippiest-looking new show of the season. It was co-created by BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and BoJack writer Kate Purd, and stars Rosa Salazar as a woman who has a near fatal accident which induces visions of her late father (played by Bob Odenkirk). She then starts traveling through space and time in an attempt to reverse his death. It's magical realism done in rotoscope animation style (think Waking Life); it also uses several different mediums, including oil painting on canvas, to render the backgrounds.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX, September 25th): Over thirteen seasons, Sunny has unexpectedly bucked the trend of most live-action sitcoms (it never got bad!), making it the most consistently funny show on TV. Last season included the uproarious #MeToo seminar of "Time's Up for the Gang," the claustrophobic madness of "The Gang Escapes," the identity politics bottle episode "The Gang Solves the Bathroom Problem," and the sincerely touching finale "Mac Finds His Pride," in which Mac finally came out to his dad through the power of dance. This season, the gang will go to a zoo, play laser tag, poison each other, and battle over a casaba melon. Also: "Mac learns a new language, Charlie does a period piece, Dennis attempts a one-act play, Dee cuts her hair, and Frank performs a death scene."
The Good Place (NBC, September 26th): The best forking comedy on network TV has become a masterful blend of blissfully silly recurring gags, existential humor, and surprisingly sincere ethical debates. Season three had a couple instant classic episodes—including "Jeremy Bearimy," in which Chidi's mind temporarily was broken after he learns how time works, and "Janet(s)," a showcase tour de force for D'arcy Carden—but the seams started showing ever so slightly. Good thing then that this fourth season will be the final one for Team Cockroach.
Sunnyside (NBC, September 26th): Michael Schur's latest show, which he executed produced, will premiere alongside The Good Place later this month. Set in Queens, this show is about a disgraced Queens councilman (played by Kal Penn) who tries to fix his reputation (and make some money) by helping a motley group of immigrants pass their citizenship test. The promo is not the best we've ever seen, but we have a lot of faith in Schur and his resume filled with quality sitcoms (The Office, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine).
The Politician (Netflix, September 27th): The Ryan Murphy takeover of Netflix begins here. This show revolves around the political aspirations of star Ben Platt’s character, Payton Hobart, a wealthy Santa Barbarian, starting in high school. But Netflix adds that "every season will revolve around a different political race his character is involved in." Initially, it's a bit like Election mixed with Glee, and features lots of Murphy alums including Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Lange, and up-and-comers including Zoey Deutsch and Lucy Boynton.
Big Mouth (Netflix, October 4th): This wonderful animated series explores the enduring awkwardness of adolescence with both warmth and gross-out humor. I can't recommend it enough for people who enjoy their comedy swinging between earnestness and utter perversity. Not much is known about what's in store for season three, but Martin Short will guest voice, and at least one episode will be set in Florida, and feature the Hormone Monster singing a an ‘80s metal song called "Anything Goes In Florida."
Mr. Robot (USA, October 6th): After a two year delay, we're getting a fourth and final season of Sam Esmail's always ambitious, sometimes confusing series about a hacker with dissociative identity disorder who is trying to bring down corporate America. Esmail has described this final season as a long Christmas special—even though it was filmed in summertime—and honestly, that just feels right.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Netflix, October 11th): Breaking Bad remains one of the most compelling TV series ever, and spinoff Better Call Saul has proven to be a just as marvelous study about decent people who make devastating-but-understandable moral compromises and find themselves inexorably pulled toward an inevitable, tragic destination. So we remain incredibly optimistic about this film, which follows Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) after the events of the BB finale as he "pursues freedom after escaping from his captors." Not much else is known about the film, but Vince Gilligan wrote and directed it, and it seems almost assured that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) will show up in some form.
Living With Yourself (Netflix, October 16th): Paul Rudd is the ageless star of this new series, playing married ad copywriter Miles, who is in the midst of a personal and professional rut. He "undergoes a novel treatment to become a better person,” then “finds he’s been replaced by a new and improved version — revealing that his own worst enemy is himself.” Shenanigans ensue!
Modern Love (Amazon Prime, October 18th): What if the NY Times' beloved Modern Love column was turned into an anthology series? That's basically the concept behind this series, which is directed, written, and produced by John Carney (Once, Sing Street). The show will feature a wide range of stories about love in its myriad forms ("including sexual, romantic, familial, platonic, and self love"), and features a hell of a cast: Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, Dev Patel, John Slattery, Brandon Victor Dixon, Catherine Keener, Julia Garner, Andy García, Cristin Milioti, Olivia Cooke, Andrew Scott, Shea Whigham, Gary Carr, Sofia Boutella, and John Gallagher Jr.
Watchmen (HBO, October 20th): Damon Lindelof will followup The Leftovers with this hotly anticipated sequel to the beloved graphic novel. The most important thing to know about the series is that unlike Zack Snyder's 2009 movie, this is not a direct adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's cult classic comic book series—rather, it imagines the world after the events of the comic, opening up way more narrative possibilities and sidestepping the problems of slavish recreation that affected the film. Lindelof told Vulture that "the ostensible villains are a white-supremacist militia group, and [Regina] King’s character is a masked cop set to take them down." Also, Robert Redford, playing himself, will be president.
Silicon Valley (HBO, October 27th): The delayed sixth and final season of Silicon Valley will end with a shortened seven episode season—but at least it has plenty of real world material to work with, as seen in the trailer below in which Richard Hendrick testifies before Congress ala Mark Zuckerberg. The show was always at its best when it could come up with new hilarious and ridiculous ways of snatching victory away from the Pied Piper guys (without it getting annoying), and hopefully the end of the show will find a satisfying way of bringing their story to a close.
Mrs. Fletcher (HBO, October 27th): Kathryn Hahn can do no wrong in our eyes, so the prospect of an HBO show with her at the lead is just too good to pass up. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta, it's a dual coming-of-age story chronicling the personal and sexual journeys of an empty-nest mother and her college freshman son, who both embrace their newfound freedom with mixed results. Hahn plays the titular character, a 40-something single mom who goes through something of a mid-life crisis with her son out of the house, leading to a sexual reawakening.
The Mandalorian (Disney+, November 12th): The first must-see show from the new Disney streaming network (sorry High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) is this Star Wars space era, set in the era between Return Of The Jedi and The Force Awakens. Pedro Pascal (Game Of Thrones' Red Viper) plays the titular bounty hunter, and the rest of the cast is stacked with an assortment of actors including Gina Carano, Nick Nolte, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Carl Weathers, Bill Burr, Omid Abtahi, and Werner Herzog.
The Crown (Netflix, November 17th): The big news for season three is that Olivia Motherfucking Colman is taking over for Claire Foy to play Queen Elizabeth II. Colman has plenty of experience playing queens: she won a Best Actress Oscar earlier this year for playing Queen Anne in The Favourite, and she also played Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon—wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret—in Hyde Park on Hudson. Tobias Menzies is joining the cast as Prince Philip and Helena Bohnman Carter will play Princess Margaret; don't expect to see Princess Dianna just yet, but Camilla Parker Bowles reportedly will appear, played by Killing Eve season two showrunner Emerald Fennell.
Rick & Morty (Adult Swim, November): It's been a very long time since we've gotten a new episode of the cult cartoon, but after being given a 70-episode renewal last year, expect plenty R&M in the near future. Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland told EW earlier this summer that fans wouldn't have to wait this long again for new episodes. They also offered some teases about what's to come: "Without giving anything away, we have serialized stuff we check in on now and then that’s sprinkled over the top of strong episodic episodes," Roiland said. "To fans of the show, they’re going to want to watch them in order." New guest stars will include Paul Giamatti, Kathleen Turner, Sam Neill and Taika Waititi.
And here are a few undated shows expected to come out soon:
BoJack Horseman (Netflix): Heading into season six, BoJack remains the funniest, most ambitious comedy on TV, one that also happens to be a bittersweet rumination on people's ability (or inability) to change. Last season, the show examined the Hollywood machinery that springs up to protect "bad men," Diane struggled with her identity as a Vietnamese-American as she also went through with her divorce, Mr. Peanutbutter buried his emotions by jumping into a hasty new relationship, Princess Carolyn finally adopted a baby, and Todd became an executive at WhatTimeIsItRightNow.Com.
The New Pope (HBO): Paolo Sorrentino's surreal and over-the-top series The Young Pope polarized audiences, and there's little doubt his followup will likely do the same thing. But if you were on the wavelength with that series, you definitely won't want to miss out on the nine-episode sequel, which brings back Jude Law and adds John Malkovich, Sharon Stone and Marilyn Manson to the cast. The new series picks up right where the last ended (the teaser actually sets up the vibe of the season pretty well), and the Guardian writes that "it provides another deep dive into the hidden world of the Vatican City, marvelling at its mystique with agnostic fervour."
His Dark Materials (HBO): This adaptation of the Phillip Pullman's trilogy of fantasy novels could end up being the big hit of the fall. Dafne Keen, who you may remember slicing people up in Logan, plays orphan Lyra Belacqua, who is trying to find a group of kidnapped children in an alternative world where all humans have animal companions called dæmons. Pullman wrote it in part as a retelling and inversion of John Milton's epic Paradise Lost, just FYI. The cast includes James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Clarke Peters, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and lots more.
The Morning Show (Apple TV): Another show that could be a huge hit: Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carrell are the leads of this star-studded show about a semi-functional morning news program. The plot is set in motion when Carrell's host is fired after a sexual harassment scandal. Not a huge amount else is known about it, but the cast also includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Billy Crudup, Néstor Carbonell, Mark Duplass and Bel Powley. Now we just have to figure out how to watch it on this new streaming service...
