Lives & Legacy

I was rightly called out by cousins at Thanksgiving for boasting, “I watch all the new TV.” TV-wise, I remain adverse to (most) serial killing, baroque violence and so-called reality and true-crime TV. I do, however, read about as much of the upcoming new TV as I can, looking for the most soothing, inspiring or laugh-out-loud options for you and me and even my cranky cousins. You’re welcome and here you go. PHONY (series’ premiere episode now streaming on Disney+/Hulu) In this new comedy mystery, young Sonny (Sam Nivola, The White Lotus) has every reason to be faltering in his perception of reality, having just barely survived a terrible car accident. But his friends are having a hard time with his insistence that his single mom, also their high school principal, has been replaced by an imposter. Is this a traumatic brain injury or a sinister plot? NEWLYWEDS (series premieres Friday, Oct. 23, on NBC/CTV, next day on Crave) Dating for seniors is no picnic, so why not jump the queue and just get married? This is the starting point for the new sitcom created by Gail Lerner (Will & Grace) and executive produced by Jamie Lee Curtis. The latter also plays the intrusive ex-wife of uptight James (Tim Daly), who has impulsively married free spirit Jeanie (Téa Leoni). Fun fact: Daly and Leoni are married in real life. Less fun fact: Lerner was fired earlier this month after completing the first six episodes. Let the fun begin? YAGA (series premieres Friday, Oct. 23, on Crave) Rich kid Henry Park (Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams) is missing in the small fishing town of Whittock. Or is he? Arriving to parse that mystery is Rapp (Schitt’s Creek’s Noah Reid), a private investigator who is barely tolerated by the local detective. Whether related or not, mystery also surrounds a local professor with a taste for young men (Carrie-Anne Moss of the Matrix film franchise).  IN PURSUIT: LESSONS OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP (doc premieres Tuesday, Oct. 27, on PBS/Passport app) and STORIES THAT MADE US (doc premieres Friday, Oct. 30, on CBC/Gem) Stories soothe and amuse but they also shape us. Two projects based on previous web series dig deep into those formative links. PBS’s In Pursuit distills the best of the 2026 essay series of the same name on Substack that taps current American leaders for their thoughts on the best lessons from past presidents and first ladies. Among those featured are Barack Obama on Abraham Lincoln, George W. Bush on George Washington, Bill Clinton on Theodore Roosevelt, Michelle Obama on Jacqueline Kennedy and Hillary Clinton on Eleanor Roosevelt. On CBC a few days later comes a roundup of the best of George Stroumboulopoulos’s web series asking prominent Canadians about the films and TV that shaped Canada’s national identity. Interviewees include actors Tantoo Cardinal, Ryan Reynolds and Jay Baruchel.  NOCTURNE (series premieres Friday, Oct. 30, on Apple TV) Americanizing a popular Nordic noir series from the husband and wife team writing under the name Lars Kepler, executive producer and actor Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan) stars as ex-soldier Det. Jonah Lynn. Weary of big-city stress, he arrives in a small Pennsylvania town just as people go missing in a style previously employed by a now incarcerated serial killer (Stephen Graham). Zazie Beetz (Atlanta) is the ambitious FBI agent trying to help. The cast also includes Bill Camp (The Outsider), Rory Culkin (Under the Banner of Heaven), Chrissy Metz (This Is Us) and Poorna Jagannathan (Lanterns). Leave the lights on. Broadcast details subject to change. Questions, comments and suggestions gratefully accepted at d2calm@gmail.com. You are unauthorized to view this page.

Quick, stock up on snacks and call in sick. The September onslaught is about to take over your TV-watching life.

Is it just me or is there an increase in the pressure to just calm down and carry on? Like getting worked up is a bad thing? Especially with the recent passing of feminist stalwart Gloria Steinem (check out Famous Last Words on Netflix and the Finding Your Roots episode The Pioneers on the PBS Passport app), maybe it’s time to lean in to the antsy discomfort that might lead to change. Just me? OK, carry on anyway with these edgy new offerings.

Looking back is often productive, although occasionally the victory exacts its own price, as evidenced by this selection of new viewing recommendations: another look back at an epic poem, a group vacation, an anniversary reflection on The Tragically Hip (sob), a missing-child crime thriller and the return of a fictional talk-show host.

Crazy weather got you hunkering down? A richly varied assortment of recommendations will help you pass the time until we get back to climatic normal. Or, as close as possible.

Now that all good (and SO intense!) soccer/football people have had a nap or two to recover from the 2026 World Cup final, but before they turn to their screens for the return of Ted Lasso (coaching a women’s soccer/football team in Season 4, starting Aug. 5 on Apple TV), here are a few suggestions for some brand new non-soccer programming.

From back in the black-and-white days to today’s kaleidoscope of small-screen streaming options, television has offered many pleasures. This new handful of viewing recommendations dances nicely along that spectrum, from a period drama with a much needed modern perspective, a weekend of she-raging, a couple of spy thrillers and golf as a path to true grace (and a few gut-laughs). Onward!

Weird, stupid, funny, intense and historically inaccurate are not the words they recommend using in TV reviewer school, and yet these are all good reasons to check out the latest batch of viewing highlights. Settle in. Probably get a drink. Maybe call your therapist. And then definitely press ‘Play.’

If you are stacking up your beach reads for the summer, here is a list of lightweight TV viewing for when you’re too tired to hold up a book or e-reader. Pour yourself a drink and press play.

Television is working hard to keep you occupied with escapism, supernatural twists and turns, and a good old-fashioned tear-jerker. Get comfortable. Here’s your new batch of small-screen premieres.