TV Trailers of the Week: Wonder Man, Shrinking: Season 3, Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair and More
📺 Take a peek at some of the latest trailers for upcoming TV shows.
📺 “Wonder Man” New Trailer: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Skewers Superhero Stardom in Marvel’s Meta Hollywood Satire Series with Sir Ben Kingsley — Premiering Tues, January 27th on Disney+
It’s a new year and so is a new slate of MCU projects coming soon. First on the docket, Wonder Man, a satirical, meta superhero series that poses the question: in a world filled with Marvel superheroes, what does the making of a superhero movie really look like. Feeling more like a tongue-in-cheek satire than an actual MCU canon entry, the eight-episode miniseries leans into self-awareness, poking fun at Hollywood’s obsession with superhero IP—which might be a welcome change of pace, considering how serious the MCU’s recent output has been.
Here, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, of HBO’s Watchmen and Aquaman fame, stars as Simon Williams, a struggling L.A. actor who finally lands the role of a lifetime: playing the lead in a big-budget Wonder Man movie remake. It’s a dream gig that quickly spirals into something messier, as Simon is swallowed by the Hollywood machinery while trying to figure out who he really is beneath the mask. The twist, of course, is that Simon may be hiding a little secret of his own: he might actually have real superhero powers. A huge no-no according to the deal he just signed with the studio, making things far more complicated than any role he’s ever played.
Added to the baked-in humor of the show is Sir Ben Kingsley, who reprises his fan-favorite role as Trevor Slattery, a washed-up actor once known as “the Mandarin,” now freshly freed from the clutches of Xu Wenwu and back on the streets of L.A. looking for… what else? More acting gigs. Trevor becomes Simon’s unlikely mentor, doling out career advice, questionable wisdom, and carrying a whole lot of baggage—chief among it being that much of the world still remembers him as the public face of the evil terrorist known as the Mandarin. Hey, they say bad press is better than no press at all.
Simon and Trevor become unlikely partners as they attack the absurdity of Hollywood from the inside, navigating big egos and industry nonsense, all in the dream of becoming something real in a town built almost entirely on illusion.
Croatian-Danish actor Zlatko Burić becomes one of those rare performers to appear in both the Marvel and DC cinematic universes, having just co-starred as the ruthless President of Boravia in last year’s Superman movie. Here, Burić takes on the larger-than-life role of Von Kovak, a bloated, egomaniacal filmmaker who not only controls the rights to the Wonder Man IP but is determined to turn this latest reboot into his ultimate vanity project.
The first two episodes are directed by Shang-Chi helmer Destin Daniel Cretton, who also serves as co-creator of the series alongside writer-producer Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine).
Wonder Man is slated to premiere Tuesday, January 27th on Disney+.
📺 “Shrinking: Season 3” Trailer: Jason Segel and Harrison Ford Return in a New Season of Apple’s Most Emotionally Messy, Big-Hearted Comedy Series Featuring a Guest Turn From Michael J. Fox — Premieres Wed, January 28th on Apple TV
Hey, are you looking for a really good comedy series that leans hard on friendship—and shows how sometimes the act of being good can be messy, complicated, and emotionally exhausting? Plus, Harrison Ford as a lovable curmudgeon who couldn’t be more perfectly cast if he tried? Well, Shrinking just might be the show for you, as it has all those things alongside Jason Segel at the center as a therapist who might need more help than the people he’s trying to fix.
Shrinking will be returning later this month with its third season, and fans who have watched since its start have followed the trials and tribulations of Segel’s Jimmy Laird as he’s gone from a grieving therapist and fractured family man to an overly optimistic, boundary-obliterating fixer who’s learning—often the hard way—that good intentions don’t always lead to clean outcomes.
It’s the show your friends and family members have been telling you to watch since season one. And so, maybe it’s finally time to catch up and get ready for season three of Shrinking, as it will feature a couple of nice surprises you might not have expected—namely, a guest appearance by TV icon Michael J. Fox, marking his first on-screen TV role since 2020’s The Good Fight. The other cool surprise: a mini How I Met Your Mother reunion, as Cobie Smulders pops up as Jimmy’s new potential love interest.
What started as a character piece on grief, with Segel’s Jimmy falling apart after the death of his wife and being left to care for his teenage daughter, played by Lukita Maxwell, has slowly turned into one of the best ensemble comedy series in recent memory. The show now feels less about one man imploding and more about a messy, interconnected group of friends trying (sometimes clumsily, sometimes selfishly) to show up for one another.
Also, the unlikely pairing of Harrison Ford and comedienne Jessica Williams has become one of the show’s secret weapons—a twosome we didn’t know we needed, but now can’t imagine the series without. And the other huge secret weapon: Ted McGinley, a TV vet who finally gets to chew on a role that fully understands how funny, warm, and deceptively sharp he’s always been.
Co-created by Bill Lawrence and British comedian Brett Goldstein—the same team behind Ted Lasso—along with Jason Segel, the series will be returning Wednesday, January 28th on Apple TV. So, consider this your friendly reminder to finally see what everyone’s been raving about.
📺 “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” Teaser: Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston & Jane Kaczmarek Return for This 4-Part Reunion Special — Premiering Fri, April 10th on Hulu/Disney+
Here’s a shock to the system you might not have knon: Frankie Muniz just turned 40 years old this past December. But if you think Malcolm has finally escaped the gravitational pull of his dysfunctional family, think again. It’s been 19 years since we last checked in on the clan, and they’re back for a reunion that doubles as a nostalgia trip and a reality check, as everyone is a bit older but very much the same in terms of maturity level. It’s like they’ve been emotionally frozen right where we left them: still arguing, still scheming, and still making Malcolm’s life a never-ending exercise in survival.
Frankie Muniz reunites with Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, and original cast members Christopher Masterson and Justin Berfield for a four-part reunion special, marking the long-awaited revival of Malcolm in the Middle, the long-running FOX sitcom that aired for seven seasons during the early 2000s—and was likely playing in the background for the entirety of your childhood.
The whole gang is back for Hal and Lois’s (Cranston and Kaczmarek) 40th anniversary party. But whenever this family gets under the same roof, chaos isn’t just inevitable, it’s basically the guest of honor.
Malcolm (Muniz), Hal and Lois’s brilliant middle child, is now a father to a teenage daughter (Keeley Karsten) and, much like his own dad, is finding it difficult to navigate parenthood without reliving a few familiar emotional scars along the way. His plan, however, was working—his life had been “fantastic” as long as he stayed far away from his family. But that peace could only last so long.
Actor Caleb Ellsworth-Clark joins the reunion special to play Malcolm’s often-ignored younger brother, Dewey, replacing original actor Erik Per Sullivan, who has since stepped away from acting following the show’s original run.
Meanwhile, new cast members include Kiana Madeira as Malcolm’s girlfriend, Tristan; Emy Coligado as Piama, Francis’s (Christopher Masterson) sharp-tongued Alaskan wife; and Vaughan Murrae as Kelly, the youngest sibling—a character teased in the series finale when Malcolm learns his mother is pregnant again with a daughter.
Once again executive produced and written by series creator Linwood Boomer, Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair will consist of four 30-minute episodes, premiering as a Hulu and Disney+ exclusive comedy special set for Friday, April 10th. Catch the teaser above.
📺 “Primal: Season 3” Trailer: Emmy-Winning Animator Genndy Tartakovsky Returns to a Brutal, Wordless Prehistoric World Where Death Is No Longer a Possibility... but a Promise! — Premieres Sun, January 11th on Adult Swim
Time to get a little primitive! Genndy Tartakovsky’s cult, Emmy-winning caveman animated series turns violence and savagery into pure, wordless wonder, where in a cruel prehistoric world the only things that matter are instinct, and the ability to survive at all cost. Season 3 of Tartakovsky’s Adult Swim cartoon continues the barbaric adventures of Spear, the lone Neanderthal warrior seeking purpose, survival, and connection as he pushes deeper into an unforgiving planet that only gets more brutal with every step forward. Now that death is no longer a distant threat but a constant presence, survival takes on a new meaning—one defined not by choices but by pure refusal to stay down.
📺 “Memory of a Killer” Trailer: Patrick Dempsey Stars as a Hitman Battling Alzheimer’s in FOX’s New Thriller Series with Gina Torres, Michael Imperioli & Odeya Rush — Premieres Sun, January 25th on FOX
Grey’s Anatomy alum Patrick Dempsey trades scrubs for silencers as he takes the lead in FOX’s new hitman thriller series. Inspired by the acclaimed Belgian film De Zaak Alzheimer, Dempsey plays Angelo Doyle, a professional contract killer hiding a devastating secret: he’s battling early-onset Alzheimer’s. Now seriously compromised and facing a rapid decline in memory, this hit man is desperate to leave his career behind. Slight problem? In this business, retirement isn’t an option—and forgetting that golden rule might be the biggest and deadliest mistake he’s made yet. Also starring Suits’ Gina Torres as an FBI detective hot on his trail, and Odeya Rush as his innocent daughter, with The Sopranos alum Michael Imperioli as his oldest friend and handler whose mob-connected restaurant doubles as a criminal front. Sometimes the biggest threat is when you know it’s time to walk away, but can’t.
📺 “Will Trent: Season 4” Trailer: Ramón Rodríguez Faces His Darkest Case Yet in ABC’s Hit Crime Procedural Series — Premieres Tues, January 6th on ABC
Ramón Rodríguez returns as brilliant GBI special agent Will Trent for another season of ABC’s razor-sharp crime procedural. Using his traumatic past as a baseline for his instincts, Trent navigates brutal cases, messy relationships, and a system that often underestimates him as he takes his investigations deeper and more personal than ever. This season finds Trent confronting some of his deepest trauma as a new case forces him to face a person from his dark past — the man who may have made him who he is today.
📺 “The Muppet Show” New Teaser: Popstar Sabrina Carpenter Joins Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Seth Rogen for a Star-Studded Night of Variety-Show Musical Special — Premieres Wednesday, February 4th on ABC/Disney+
You know you’re a superstar when you get to share the stage with legends. Popstar sensation Sabrina Carpenter learns this to be true when she gets to show off her playful side by joining the variety-show zaniness of the Muppets in their latest musical special. Kermit and the gang are reclaiming the spotlight yet again as they scurry around to put on the perfect show. But Miss Piggy isn’t the only diva in the room, as it’s shaping up to be a star-studded night with the likes of Carpenter and Seth Rogen.
📺 “Red Eye: Season 2” Trailer: Jing Lusi and Martin Compston Race to Stop a Deadly Embassy Plot in the High-Stakes British Conspiracy Thriller — Streaming Now on Hulu/Disney+
What happens if the London embassy becomes compromised, leading to a deadly lockdown, a string of murders, and a race against time to stop a government plane from being destroyed? The new season of this British action-driven conspiracy thriller throws its leads into this pressure-cooker scenario where political tensions, personal grudges, and high-stakes espionage collide into one massive, escalating nightmare. British-Chinese actress Jing Lusi (Gangs of London) is back as agent Hana Li, who is forced into an uneasy alliance with a no-nonsense embassy security chief (Martin Compston) when murders erupt and a passenger plane becomes the centerpiece of a chilling political threat. With international stakes, buried grudges, and a ticking clock, this is espionage that traps its heroes in one place—and gives them little room to breathe, let alone escape.
Wonder Man leaning into meta Hollywood satire is probably the smartest move Marvel could make right now. The whole "making a superhero movie about making a superhero movie" angle sidesteps alot of the fatigue people have with straight MCU content. Abdul-Mateen bringing that Watchmen sensibility to this feels like perfect casting, and Ben Kingsley coming back as Trevor Slattery is genuinly inspired since that character already existsin that weird space between actor and hero. Curious if they'll actualy commit to the satire or pull back into safe MCU territory.
The entire season for of Wonder Man is being dumped at once, usually a sign that the streaming service realizes that drawing it out won't bring in any new subscribers. The same thing they did with Echo, I guess the only question will it be as bad.