When the pandemic is a thing of the past, I hope we all remember that even in our darkest days TV was there for us and we were there for TV (we weren’t there for Quibi, of course, but that’s on them).
We are entering our ninth month of the pandemic and there is still so much TV. This month Paste will be covering the new ABC series Big Sky (November 17), HBO Max’s dark comedy The Flight Attendant (November 26) and the long-awaited return of Netflix’s The Crown (November 15). The randy doctors of Seattle Grace will offer us an escape when Grey’s Anatomy returns on November 12 and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life makes its network debut on the CW on November 23. But we also wanted to highlight some more under-the-radar picks as well in our list below!
As always, we don’t want you to miss a thing. Here are the five new shows you can’t miss this month:
1. B Positive
Executive Producers: Chuck Lorre and Marco Pennette
Stars: Thomas Middleditch, Annaleigh Ashford, Kether Donohue, Sara Rue, Izzy G., and Terrence Terrell
Premiere Date: November 5 at 8:30 p.m. on CBS
One thing we’ve learned about TV over the years: Don’t count out Chuck Lorre. The man knows how to make a hit (see The Big Bang Theory’s 12 season run and Mom, which begins its eighth season November 5). So a broad pilot with a canned laugh track and easy jokes could turn into something more nuanced and heartfelt. Thomas Middleditch stars as Drew, a divorced man in need of a kidney transplant. He runs into his former high school classmate Gina (Annaleigh Ashford) at a wedding and it turns out she’s his perfect match. The only problem? Gina, by her own admission, is a bit of a train wreck. Kether Donohue, who lit up the screen on You’re the Worst, co-stars as Gina’s friend Gabby. The series is based on executive producer Marco Pennette’s friendship with his kidney donor. As the theme song tells us “It’s your prerogative to be positive” which is a great message for our time and how I’m choosing to feel about this series.
2. The South Westerlies
Executive Producer: Ailish McElmeel, Paul Donovan, Anne Kolbjørnsen, Ole Marius Araldsen
Stars: Orla Brady, Eileen Walsh, Patrick Bergin, Sorcha Cusack, Steve Wall
Premiere Date: November 9 on AcornTV
If you can’t travel to the gorgeous Irish countryside right now, this series gives you the next best thing. Orla Brady stars as Kate Ryan, an environmental consultant awaiting a big promotion when she must return to her past and go undercover in the quaint vacation town of Carrigeen. The locals there are in strong opposition to the offshore wind farm her company is putting in. Kate, of course, has a history with Carrigeen, a town she has avoided returning to for more than 15 years. But there’s no escaping her past now, with her ex-boyfriend Baz (Steve Wall) and former friend Breege (Eileen Walsh) less than thrilled with Kate’s reappearance in their lives.
3. Dash & Lilly
Executive Producer: Joe Tracz, Shawn Levy, Josh Barry, Nick Jonas
Stars: Austin Abrams, Midori Francis, Dante Brown, Troy Iwata, Keana Marie, James Saito, Jodi Long, Glenn McCuen
Premiere Date: November 10 on Netflix
Based on the popular book Dash & Lilly’s Book of Dares, this holiday-themed series finds Dash (Austin Abrams, teen-Kate’s dastardly boyfriend last season on This is Us) and Lilly (Midori Francis) leaving notes for each other all throughout New York City. The series was filmed from October to December last year and like many things these days, there’s a feeling of wistful nostalgia seeing before times New York City in peak holiday adornment. This is also the first series from Nick Jonas’ production company Image 32.
4. Murder on Middle Beach
Executive Producers: Ron Nyswaner, Neda Armian, Toby Oppenheimer, Madison Hamburg, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello
Premiere Date: November 15 at 10 p.m. on HBO
“When people get to adulthood they get to meet their parents as human beings, and I didn’t have that. I need to meet that person and this is the way to do that.” That’s filmmaker Madison Hamburg during the first episode of this four-part documentary series. In 2010, when he was just 17 years old, Hamburg’s mother was found violently murdered in the yard of her Connecticut home. Hamburg has spent the last decade trying to try to uncover what happened that tragic day and solve the case that the police department let run cold. In his quest for the facts, he has difficult conversations with his estranged father, his aunt, his guidance counselor, sister, and detective in charge of the case. It’s a deeply personal journey of a son who was robbed of time with his beloved mother and must confront the truth about her life.
5.Saved by the Bell
Executive Producer: Tracey Wigfield, Franco Bario and Peter Engel
Stars: Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Mario Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, John Michael Higgins, Belmont Cameli, Dexter Darden, Mitchell Hoog, Alycia Pascual-Peña
Premiere Date: November 25 on Peacock
Get ready to have a Zack Attack! The Bayside crew returns but now they’re not only adults, Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is the Governor of California. In one of Governor Morris’ first act of official business, he shuts down under-funded high schools throughout the state leading to an influx of new students at Bayside High. Slater (Mario Lopez) is now the gym teacher, and keep an eye out for Tiffani Thiessen and Lark Voorhies to reprise their roles as Kelly and Lisa respectively. (Although it’s safe to say we probably won’t be seeing Screech any time soon.) Tracey Wigfield, whose credits include 30 Rock and The Mindy Project is the writer and executive producer of the series. No matter how this goes you know it’s alright because—that’s right— they’re Saved by the Bell.
Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal®, is a Boston-based freelance writer, a member of the Television Critics Association and the Assistant TV Editor for Paste. She wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter (@AmyTVGal).
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