Television is hitting its annual homestretch. As the film world gears up for another contentious awards season, the TV realm continues ever onward, filling up the pre-holiday calendar with plenty of new offerings on streaming and cable.
Perhaps subconsciously matching the Academy-chasing stories on the feature side, plenty of this month’s brand new TV options are adaptations of acclaimed existing stories: November promises an on-screen look at a beloved novel of young friendship and not one but two TV series based on podcasts.
So which of the new offerings for the month are worth checking out? Our overviews of potential new favorites are all gathered below.
(We do this roundup of new shows pretty much every month — if you missed any of those previous picks, here are some notable TV premieres from February, March, April, May, June, July, August, October, and our giant fall preview.)
“Homecoming” (Amazon Prime Video, November 2)
Julia Roberts in “Homecoming”
Hilary B Gayle/SMPSP
Answers aren’t easy to come by in this new mystery from “Mr. Robot” creator/director Sam Esmail. Based on the hit fiction podcast, “Homecoming” tells the story of a former employee (Julia Roberts) of a government facility intended to help military veterans acclimate to life back home. What follows is a conspiracy thriller that ensnares past associates, determined federal officials, and a few surprise animals. Stephan James, Bobby Cannavale, Shea Whigham, Alex Karpovsky, and Dermot Mulroney round out the main cast of this series written by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg, who penned the original Gimlet show.
“Clique” (Pop, November 7)
“Clique”
Pop
A half dozen college-aged interns find much more than they planned in this BBC import. Executive produced by the creators of “Skins,” a two-part premiere kicks off this six-episode first season.
“The Cry” (Sundance Now, November 8)
Two new parents face a difficult overseas trip and a brewing custody crisis in this series that premiered in the UK at the end of September. “Doctor Who” alum Jenna Coleman co-stars alongside Ewen Leslie, who starred in “Safe Harbour” (another show based around residual trauma) earlier this year.
“Beat” (Amazon Prime Video, November 9)
“Beat” goes inside the Berlin club scene, as viewed through the eyes of a promoter (Robert Schlag) who sees everything this world has to offer. That knowledge makes him a prime target for law enforcement, who try to recruit him to take down a drug-running techno club owner.
“Sally4Ever” (HBO, November 11)
On the verge of marriage with her long-time boyfriend, Sally (Catherine Shepherd) encounters a bolt from the blue with the arrival of Emma (Julia Davis). But their passionate fling becomes something much more uncontrollable as Emma’s shiny exterior gives way to something much more wild underneath. Davis, who was also behind the original UK version of “Camping,” created the series.
“Origin” (YouTube Premium, November 14)
Paul W.S. Anderson becomes the latest genre director to leave his mark on YouTube Premium with this tale of a group of interstellar travelers looking to redeem themselves through a trip into uncharted space. The only problem is that someone (or something) is taking the trip with them. By all early accounts, the prospects of all of them making it safely to their destinations looks very, very slim. Tom Felton and Natalia Tena lead this sci-fi ensemble.
“The Bisexual” (Hulu, November 16)
“The Bisexual”
Tereza Cervenova/Hulu
Desiree Akhavan stars in and directs this Channel 4 co-production about Leila (Akhavan), a New Yorker who navigates a post-breakup journey of self-discovery through London. Ex-girlfriend Sadie (“Black Mirror: Metalhead” star Maxine Peake) and new flatmate Gabe (Brian Gleeson) help Leila shift her focus toward dating men and women for the first time, all with a humorous touch that Akhavan brought to her breakout feature film debut “Appropriate Behavior.”
“Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle” (Sundance, November 17)
Forty years to the day after hundreds of people lost their lives in the events at the Peoples Temple commune in Guyana, this two-part documentary will feature interviews with surviving followers and family members of the deceased. The Leonardo DiCaprio-executive-produced project will also incorporate reenactments of various developments leading up to that tragic day in November 1978.
“My Brilliant Friend” (HBO, November 18)
“My Brilliant Friend”
Eduardo Castaldo/HBO
Elena Ferrante’s global powerhouse gets its first small-screen treatment with this eight-part season based on the first in the author’s legendary Neapolitan Novels series. The complicated, evolving friendship of young Lila and Elena forms the backbone of this story of danger and discovery, as the two navigate the various sides of the Italian neighborhood where they both live. Directed by Saverio Costanzo, this season made its debut earlier this fall at the Venice Film Festival.
“Queen America” (Facebook Watch, November 21)
Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as a ferociously dedicated pageant coach in this Tulsa-set series. She faces her toughest challenge yet with a wildly ambitious new would-be beauty queen, as seen in the trailer above. New episodes will roll out every Wednesday on Facebook Watch.
“Dirty John” (Bravo, November 25)
“Dirty John”
Jordin Althaus/Bravo
One of 2017’s biggest podcast phenomena became a TV show in short order, under the guide of showrunner Alexandra Cunningham and director Jeffrey Reiner. This eight-part limited series — the first season in a planned ongoing anthology for Bravo — features Connie Britton and Eric Bana in the adaptation of the true-life story of romance, deception, and peril. Juno Temple, Julia Garner, and Kevin Zegers also co-star.
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