đș âThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 3â Trailer: Sauron Sets His Sights on Forging the One Ring as Galadriel, Elrond and Their Allies Prepare for War â Premiering Wednesday, November 11th on Prime Video
To be quite honest, we can see why this series has kept Tolkien fans in constant debate over whether it stays true to the source material or takes way too many liberties with Middle-earthâs mythology. Look, The Lord of the Rings novels are practically sacred texts at this point. And for a whole generation raised on Peter Jacksonâs films, even the thought of someone revisiting Middle-earth without his involvement was bound to raise a few eyebrows.
But hereâs the thing about Amazonâs The Rings of Power: it might not be remembered for expanding Tolkienâs world in a way that satisfies everyone, but it could very well be remembered as an example of just how sophisticated and ambitious original streaming shows have become. Thereâs no doubt the show is a colossal achievement in visual effects and production design, rivaling even some of Hollywoodâs biggest blockbusters. There was a time when television was seen as something smaller in scale and ambition, but The Rings of Power has shown that the only thing small about a TV production these days is the screen youâre watching it on.
Now, is all that enough to justify the existence of this Middle-earth prequel series, which at times has felt more like typical franchise drivel than anything else, or perhaps just an expensive vanity project for a few Amazon executives? Thatâs for viewers to decide.
The Rings of Power is coming back for its third season next month, and things arenât looking particularly good for the people of Middle-earth. With the series set thousands of years before the events of Tolkienâs novels, this new season picks up five years after the fall of Eregion, with Sauron (Charlie Vickers) getting dangerously close to conquering the whole place. Heâs building an army, spreading destruction wherever he goes, and generally making life miserable for just about everyone. Meanwhile, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), and their allies are still trying to get the remaining kingdoms to put aside their differences before an all-out war breaks out. And then thereâs Gandalf (Daniel Weyman), whoâs still finding his feet as a young wizard (well, relatively speaking, considering his age). All of this is happening while Sauron works on his biggest project yet: forging the One Ring. You know, the ring to rule them all.
Executive produced by series creators J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, the show also brings back Ismael Cruz CĂłrdova, Benjamin Walker, and Owain Arthur, while Stranger Thingsâ Jamie Campbell Bower and Eddie Marsan join the cast, along with Simon Pegg lending his voice to the Balrog.
Whatever your feelings about the series, itâs hard to argue with the sheer scale of the production for this new season. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to push the boundaries of visual effects and production values, once again aiming to challenge your preconceived notions of just how big and ambitious a streaming original series can be.
Season three kicks off Wednesday, November 11th on Prime Video with four episodes, followed by two more on November 18th and the final two on November 25th.
đș âMobLand: Season 2â Midseason Trailer: Tom Hardy Is Caught Between a Feuding Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren as the Harrigan Crime Family Faces an All-Out War â New Episodes Every Friday on Paramount+, With the Season Finale November 20th
If youâve been watching this Guy Ritchie-produced London mob series starring Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren, youâll know by now that it isnât just about wild Cockney lingo, violent bravado, and bullet-laden shootouts. Well, okay, thereâs plenty of that, too. But thereâs more going on here than meets the eye.
For starters, Hardy, an actor known for his wild, chaotic, and sometimes unpredictable performances, is surprisingly restrained here, playing the tightly wound Harry Da Souza. Whatâs great to see is that itâs actually Brosnan and Mirren who get to chew up the scenery, practically running wild like two rabid dogs let off their leashes as Conrad and Maeve Harrigan. Barking orders as the heads of a powerful London criminal empire, theyâre a married couple who might as well be at war with everyone around them, including each other. Itâs a toxic relationship to say the least.
And while the series certainly has that familiar Guy Ritchie vibe, at its core, itâs about the deeply dysfunctional Harrigan crime family, whose loyalties are constantly tested by the erratic behavior of its two larger-than-life leaders, Conrad and Maeve (Brosnan and Mirren). That leaves their loyal fixer, Harry (Hardy), to clean up one bloody mess after another, all in an effort to keep the family from plunging into an all-out gang war. But Harryâs unwavering devotion to the Harrigans has come at a steep personal cost, leaving his own marriage and family life in absolute ruins.
Season 2 has continued to stretch that already strained relationship between Harry and the Harrigans, testing just how far his loyalty will go before something finally snaps. Because if thereâs one thing thatâs become increasingly clear this season, itâs that Harry would probably make a far better leader of the criminal empire than Conrad and Maeve ever could.
And to make matters worse, the season introduces a couple of new adversaries: Johnny Flynn as Frankie Cooper, an up-and-coming London gangster looking to make his mark by muscling in on Harrigan territory while the family is busy at each otherâs throats. Meanwhile, Ophelia Lovibond joins the cast as Detective Kavanaugh, a determined investigator who has the Harrigans firmly in her sights.
So, if you like your British gangster dramas violent, chaotic, and a little fiery, then MobLand might be something youâll want to add to your watchlist. Tom Hardy gives Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren plenty of room to take over and be as gloriously unhinged as they please. But thatâs not to say Hardy isnât absolutely crushing it himself. His character keeps his emotions tightly bottled up, even as the pressure continues to build. And you just know heâs a powder keg waiting to explode, which makes his performance all the more fascinating to watch.
MobLand: Season 2 is now streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes every Friday leading up to the season finale on November 20th. Watch the newly released Season 2 midseason trailer above, which promises even more twists and deadly turns as the Harrigan familyâs criminal empire threatens to come apart at the seams, forcing Harry to pick a side⊠and perhaps finally take control himself.
đș âCarrie: Season 2â Announcement Promo: Mike Flanaganâs Modern Take on Stephen Kingâs Horror Classic Is Getting Another Season, With More of Carrie Whiteâs Story Still to Tell â Coming Soon to Prime Video
Horror maestro Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep) had his work cut out for him updating Stephen Kingâs classic horror novel Carrie for modern audiences. But whether you loved it or hated this new modern version, Flanaganâs take certainly got people talking⊠and tweeting. Of course, Carrie has been adapted several times before, with mixed results. But Flanagan managed to put his own spin on the familiar story, adding the horrors of social media and teenage bullying while showing what itâs like for teens growing up in a world where everyoneâs glued to their phones, free to air their grievances from behind a screen with almost total anonymity. And when all is said and done, he leaves the door open for the story to go places previous adaptations never could. Now, with Amazon Studios officially renewing the series for a second season, Flanagan clearly has more up his sleeve, purportedly a three-season arc in mind. Where things go from here is anyoneâs guess, however, especially with questions left hanging after Season Oneâs finale. But if thereâs one thing we know about Carrie White (played marvelously by breakout Summer H. Howell), itâs that pushing her too far is never a good idea.
đș âThe Hunting Wives: Season 2â Trailer: Brittany Snow and Malin Ă
kerman Return for More Dirty Secrets, Deadly Scandals, and Dangerous Games in Netflixâs Steamy Texas Thriller, With John Stamos Joining the Cast â Returns Thursday, November 26th on Netflix
They say Las Vegas is Sin City, but this Netflix hit is making a pretty good case that the real den of sin might just be in the state of Texas. After all, everything is bigger there, and apparently that goes for the local scandals, dirty domestic secrets, and salacious behavior, too. Brittany Snow and Malin Ă kerman return for Season 2 as Sophie and Margo, two married women whose dangerous relationship has left them on the outs. But in the wealthy community of Maple Brook, old secrets have a nasty habit of resurfacing, and new enemies have a way of bringing people back together⊠whether they like it or not. John Stamos and Dale Dickey join the cast alongside returning cast members Dermot Mulroney, Evan Jonigkeit, and Jaime Ray Newman. And with the townâs man-eating social circle getting messier by the minute, one question hangs over everything: Are Sophie and Margo still the hunters, or have they become the hunted? Locked and loaded, these housewives are anything but delicate flowers.
đș âNew Waveâ Trailer: Billy Idol, Devo, Duran Duran, Boy George, and More Look Back at the Music That Defined the Tubular â80s in Douglas Tirolaâs Four-Part Docuseries â Debuts Monday, November 23rd on MGM+
âGag me with a spoon!â âTotally tubular!â âTake a chill pill, Phil!â We could go on forever with â80s slang and catchphrases. But I think we can all agree that the decade gave us some of the coolest things in pop culture, and maybe nothing was cooler than the music, especially New Wave. This four-part docuseries from Douglas Tirola (Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon) takes us back to a time when artists and bands like Billy Idol, Devo, The Police, The Smiths, Duran Duran, Boy George, and the B-52s were making noise and breaking into the mainstream. But New Wave was more than just a mix of punk rock, pop, and dance music. It was a whole movement that shook up pop culture, influencing everything from fashion and technology to personal style and attitude. Packed with archival footage, firsthand stories, and plenty of nostalgia, the series looks back at the music and the people who helped define a generation. âParty on, dude!â
đș âFallout Shelter: The Experimentâ Announcement Teaser: Prime Video Turns the âFalloutâ Universe Into a Reality Competition Where Contestants Face the Apocalypse for a Shot at $1 Million â Streams Wednesday, January 13th on Prime Video
If youâve ever thought the Fallout universe would make a great setting for a reality competition show, well, apparently someone at Prime Video had the same idea. And so, a video game turned streaming series has now become a game show. Itâs the circle of life! Taking inspiration from the hit video games and TV series, this ten-episode competition drops everyday people into Vault-Tecâs bomb-proof shelters to see how well theyâd handle the apocalypse. Thereâll be physical challenges, psychological mind games, and some tough decisions that could turn friends into enemies. And, of course, thereâs money involved. A cool $1 million, to be exact. But with everyone looking out for themselves, who can you really trust when only one Vault Dweller gets to walk away with the prize?
đș âJanelle James: How Romanticâ Trailer: âAbbott Elementaryâ Star Janelle James Steps Onto the Stage With Plenty to Say About Sex, Relationships, Money, and Fame in Her First Hour-Long Netflix Stand-Up Special â Premieres Tuesday, November 10th on Netflix
You might know Janelle James as Principal Ava Coleman on the hit ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, but for her debut hour-long stand-up special, sheâs back onstage doing what she does best: talking into a microphone and speaking her mind. And while fame may have brought her a bigger paycheck and a growing fan base, James still finds plenty to laugh about, from relationships and sex to money and the differences between men and women. This Netflix comedy special finds James enjoying her newfound success, with her filter still firmly switched off.
đș âTaken: Natalee Hollowayâ Trailer: A Motherâs 20-Year Fight for Truth and Justice Takes Center Stage in Netflixâs Three-Part True-Crime Docuseries About Her Daughterâs Disappearance and Murder â Premieres Wednesday, November 4th on Netflix
On the surface, it has all the makings of a riveting true-crime docuseries: a young woman on a picturesque vacation in Aruba. A trip that ends in tragedy and heartbreak. But this story goes beyond simply piecing together what happened that fateful night. At the center of it all is a desperate mother who has spent twenty years searching for answers, only to fight like hell for justice for her murdered daughter. You might remember the headline: Back in 2005, 18-year-old Natalee Holloway vanished during a high school graduation trip, sparking an international investigation that made news around the world. Itâs now more than two decades later, and directors Dani Sloane and Matthew Galkin revisit the case in this three-part Netflix documentary. With unprecedented access to Nataleeâs mother, Beth, along with personal interviews and archival footage, the series follows her relentless search for the truth. Itâs a story of a mother who refused to give up, even as the years dragged on and the answers she desperately sought remained out of reach.
đș âHe Said, She Said: Till Death Do Us Partâ Trailer: A Bitter Custody Battle Between Two Lawyers Turns Into a Viral Public Spectacle in This Three-Part True-Crime Docuseries From the Filmmakers of âJesus Campâ â Debuts Tuesday, November 17th on Paramount+
Thereâs something fascinating about true-crime documentaries. They have a way of digging up skeletons in peopleâs closets and exposing the darker side of human nature. It just makes us wonder: Is everyone hiding some dark secret? Well, watch enough true crime, and you might start to think so. This three-part docuseries from Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp) further examines peopleâs dark skeletons as it follows a bitter custody battle between two high-powered lawyers, Allan and Catherine Kassenoff. What began as a private family dispute eventually spilled onto social media, turning their troubled marriage into an online spectacle. But that raises an interesting question: When someone puts their private life out there for the world to see, how much of the story are we really getting? Are we seeing the whole picture, or just the parts someone wants us to see? After all, no marriage is quite as perfect as it might seem⊠certainly not this one. And every story has two sides: his and hers. This one, however, ends in ways no one saw coming.
đș âMurder in Galiciaâ Trailer: A Detective Investigates a Brutal Attack and Suspects the Victimâs Own Husband in Netflixâs Spanish True-Crime Thriller Miniseries Starring TristĂĄn Ulloa and Miguel Borines â Premieres Friday, November 13th on Netflix
Murder is a devastating crime to investigate, no matter where it happens. Even in a town known for its orderly scenery. But when the suspect is someone close to the victim, well, that unbelievable ugliness becomes an almost universal story, no matter what language itâs told in. This new three-episode Spanish procedural thriller is set in a seemingly peaceful Galician village. The story follows a sergeant (TristĂĄn Ulloa) investigating a brutal attack on a woman named Irene. While she fights for her life in the hospital, he begins to suspect that her husband (Miguel Borines) may have been involved in the assault. But hereâs the thing: gathering enough evidence to make a case proves to be extremely difficult, leaving Irene vulnerable to another attack from her husband. Directed by Carlos Sedes and inspired by a real criminal case, this Netflix limited series explores a disturbing possibility: that some of the greatest dangers we face may come from those closest to us.
đș âThe Blue Roadâ Trailer: Two Detectives From Korea and Japan Join Forces to Hunt a Serial Killer in Netflixâs New Crime Thriller Series Starring Son Suk-ku and Eita Nagayama â Debuts Friday, November 20th on Netflix
Okay, we know what youâre thinking: What, yet another foreign crime series about an unsolved murder and a detective hunting down the killer? Yep. Hereâs another one. But thereâs nothing quite like a tense police procedural to get us hitting that play button again. This time, the hunt crosses international borders when a string of gruesome murders in Tokyo and Seoul brings together two detectives who would otherwise have little reason to work together. Son Suk-ku and Eita Nagayama star as Korean and Japanese investigators forced to join forces after bodies turn up with cryptic messages written in each otherâs language. And the deeper they dig, the more complicated things get, as their uneasy partnership is tested by a killer whose motives remain a mystery. Ooooh, sounds like another binge-watching session might be in order. Directed by D.P. filmmaker Han Jun-hee, this eight-episode Netflix thriller adds another international crime drama to the streamerâs lineup of tense murder mysteries.
đș âA Remarkable Place to Die: Season 2â Trailer: Detective Anais Mallory Is Back on the Case, Investigating New Murders and Uncovering More Secrets in New Zealandâs Picturesque Queenstown â Streams Monday, November 30th on Acorn TV in the U.S.
Itâs always interesting to see how detectives go about solving crimes in different parts of the world. Take this New Zealand crime series, for example. The police work might be a little different from what weâre used to seeing in American shows, but the job is pretty much the same: follow the clues, ask the right questions, and figure out what really happened. Back for Season 2, Detective Anais Mallory (again played by Chelsie Preston-Crayford) has another murder to investigate in the beautiful town of Queenstown, where the scenery is stunning, but the locals have their share of secrets. Hell, isnât that always the case? And if that werenât enough, sheâs still dealing with some unanswered questions about her own family.
đș âHoneyâ U.K. Trailer: Ann Skelly Gets Caught Between a Stasi Officer and an American CIA Agent in Emma Moranâs Darkly Comic Cold War Spy Thriller Co-Starring Nate Mann, Jannis Niewöhner, and Rory Kinnear â Premieres Saturday, November 14th on UKâs BBC One and BBC iPlayer
From Emma Moran, creator of the cult British superhero satire Extraordinary, comes this new darkly comic espionage drama set during the Cold War. Itâs 1982, and in East Berlin, young MI6 agent Martha Schmitt (Ann Skelly, from HBOâs The Nevers) has her hands full trying to keep her cover intact while staying one step ahead of the Stasi. As if that werenât enough, things get even messier when she finds herself romantically tangled up with a suspicious East German counter-espionage chief (German actor Jannis Niewöhner) and a rather impulsive American CIA agent (Masters of the Air actor Nate Mann). With secrets to keep, loyalties to question, and two men who could expose her true identity, Martha has plenty to worry about. Also co-starring The Diplomatâs Rory Kinnear, this six-part BBC thriller serves up Cold War spy intrigue with the kind of trouble that comes from falling for the wrong person on either side of the Wall.
đș âHunting Alice Bellâ U.K. Trailer: Alexandra Roach Joins Four Women Falsely Accused of Being a Serial Killerâs Accomplice, With Simon Pegg Playing Against Type in This Six-Episode British Psychological Thriller â Coming Soon to UKâs Channel 4
Okay, imagine being falsely accused of a terrible crime you didnât commit. What would be worse? Trying to clear your name or realizing that the public might not even care whether youâre innocent or not? Thatâs the nightmare facing Fran Da Silva (Alexandra Roach), whose life is turned upside down when a group of internet sleuths becomes convinced sheâs Alice Bell, the missing lover and accomplice of a notorious serial killer (played by Simon Pegg⊠yes, a little against type here). And Fran isnât the only one caught up in this mess. Four other women have also been accused of being Alice. Fed up with the accusations, they decide to join forces, track down the real woman, and hopefully put an end to the nightmare. Created by David Baddiel and Peter Bradshaw, this six-part British psychological thriller taps into something unsettling about our obsession with true crime and online detective work. When everyone on the internet thinks theyâve solved the mystery, does anyone actually care about getting the facts right?
đș âMy Happy Marriage: Special Episodesâ Trailer: Miyo and Kiyokaâs Wedding Plans Hit a Snag as Someone From Her Past Returns in This Three-Episode Anime Special â Premieres Sunday, October 25th on Netflix
Fans of My Happy Marriage have something more to look forward to, as three brand-new installments are coming this month. The romantic fantasy anime is returning with three special episodes following its second season. Based on the light novel series by Akumi Agitogi, the story picks up with Miyo and Kiyoka as they prepare for their wedding. For once, things seem to be falling into place for the couple. But, of course, their happiness doesnât come without a few complications. Just when you think Miyo and Kiyoka have seen it all by now, an unexpected reunion with someone from Miyoâs past threatens to derail their wedding plans. Directed by Takehiro Kubota, the special brings back the familiar mix of romance, family drama, and a little supernatural intrigue. And judging by whatâs in store, Miyo and Kiyoka still have a few hurdles to jump through before they can finally say âI do.â
