Our guide to new and noteworthy genre series debuting this week encompasses a sequel, a fifth season, a German thriller, and a broad comedy.
The Testaments
The first three episodes are now streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney Plus elsewhere. Subsequent episodes will debut every Wednesday.
The first season of The Handmaid's Tale, based on Margaret Atwood's novel, was truly "powerful and terrifying," as our own Shelagh Rowan-Legg described in her review. At some point in the second or third season, however, my attention and energies turned elsewhere, and I was surprised to realize that it ran for six seasons before concluding last year.
Now a sequel series has arrived, based on Atwood's titular followup novel, and picking up the story a few years later. It looks amazing -- the colors really pop in 4K -- especially since the initial episodes are set at a gorgeous school. Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another) stars, which is reason enough to watch, though the first couple episodes don't appear to progress the story very far; it's all set-up for what's to come. We shall see.
Official synopsis: "An evolution of The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments is a dramatic coming-of-age story set in Gilead. The series follows young teens Agnes, dutiful and pious, and Daisy, a new arrival and convert from beyond Gilead's borders. As they navigate the gilded halls of Aunt Lydia's elite preparatory school for future wives, a place where obedience is instilled brutally and always with divine justification, their bond becomes the catalyst that will upend their past, their present, and their future."
The Boys
The first two episodes of Season 5 are now streaming on Prime Video. Subsequent episodes will debut every Thursday.
The fifth and final season looks like more of the same to me -- mind-numbing, non-stop blood-gushing and body-ripping and incessant vulgarities -- but if you have enjoyed the first four seasons, that's probably reason enough to watch. Have fun!
Official synopsis: "The Boys is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It's the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about 'The Seven,' and their formidable Vought backing."
Dangerous Touch
All six episodes are now streaming in the U.S. on ViaPlay Prime Video Channel or via their other partners.
Rather than the approach taken by major streamers like Netflix, which tend to make it easy to pick up the leading players and the premise in the opening scenes, Dangerous Touch requires paying greater attention to what's happening as it sets up its story, said to be "inspired by true events that took place in the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq."
The opaque approach fits the material, which shifts between the modern day and events in 2003, and moves between counties and settings. It's not a question of 'good versus evil.' Instead, the series works in the gray area between right and wrong. I've only seen the first two episodes, but it's enough to make me want to see more.
The Miniature Wife
All 10 episodes are now streaming on Peacock TV.
Narrated by Elizabeth Banks, the opening scene establishes the show's premise -- "Honey, I'm Sorry I Shrunk You!" -- by showing her as a very, very tiny person.
Her scientist husband (Matthew Macfayden) is responsible for inventing a spray that is intended for field crops to help farmers maximize their production and thus help with the world hunger crisis. Instead, Elizabeth Banks accidentally sprays it on herself and shrinks.
The first episode is devoted to depicting the unhappiness of their relationship. They spend most of the time in frantic screaming matches, when he's not ignoring her and she's not acting out by spending time with her lover. She intends to divorce her husband when she accidentally shrinks herself. Oops!
The teaser for the succeeding episodes holds some promise that she will display increasing agency, but the first episode, despite being directed by Greg Mottola, did not fill me with hope for the future. As depicted, the lead characters are rather awful people, but your mileage may vary.
Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.