By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines. Author of TV Dot Com.
There are so many channels and streaming services that it’s become virtually impossible to keep track of all the new shows and movies. But that’s where we come in, making television easy again. Here are five new TV shows that are premiering this weekend on a pay TV network or streaming service near you:
Thursday, February 1
FX’s Feud: Capote vs. the Swans (FX, Hulu)
Tom Hollander stars as mercurial writer Truman Capote who betrays his coterie of high society females (‘The Swans’) by penning a thinly veiled expose of their exploits. Based on a true story, the FX original (each episode airs one day later on Hulu) from Ryan Murphy features a delicious cast as the betrayed ladies, including Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloe Sevigny and Calista Flockhart. The first two episodes of the eight-episode show are available today on Hulu and FX On Demand. Rottentomatoes.com, which tracks critical reviews, is currently giving Feud a score of 74, which doesn’t sound like high praise. But the site’s capsule summary says: “While this Feud might lack the abundance of incident that made its predecessor such a nasty delight, Capote vs. the Swans’ luxe milieu and dynamite ensemble will keep spectators entertained.”
Friday, February 2
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Amazon Prime Video)
Donald Glover and Maya Erskine play two spies who must enter an arranged marriage to carry out their missions in this Amazon original series. Based on the 2005 Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie film, with a twist from FX’s The Americans, Mr. and Mrs. Smith promises thrills and laughs with the talented Glover (Atlanta) and Francesca Sloane (Atlanta, Fargo) serving as co-creators. The eight-episode series starts Friday, February 2, and the first episode is available now for viewing and downloading. Rottentomatoes.com, which tracks critical reviews, currently gives the show a score of 90 out of 100, based on 58 reviews. “Building on the basic premise of its source material, Mr. & Mrs. Smith anchors its spy hijinks in a relationship drama fueled by the chemistry between its charming leads,” the site states, summarizing the reviews.
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Genius: MLK/X: Limited Series Premiere (Hulu/Disney+/Nat Geo)
The fourth season of the Nat Geo anthology series will focus on the two giants of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Genius will examine how King and Malcom arrived at their moments of destiny from entirely different paths and environments, which undoubtedly created the wide gap in philosophies between the two. The first two episodes, which are available now on Hulu and Disney+ as well as Nat Geo’s on-demand menu, currently has a score of 78 at Rottentomatoes.com, based on nine reviews. “MLK/X exhibits a clear desire to humanize its subjects, conveying the men, women and personal sacrifices behind the myths and legends. While it generally succeeds on that level, the denseness of that history comes at the expense of slowing its march,” says CNN.
Sunday, February 4
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO/Max)
Larry David is back for one more season of complaining about…everything. The brilliant co-creator of Seinfeld says this is it although we wonder. Regardless, we will savor every episode of season 12 which will feature the usual gang of idiots including Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, J.B. Smoove and Cheryl Hines. The season 12’s first episode on HBO/Max, which debuts Sunday, February 4 at 10 p.m. ET, currently has a score of 80, based on five reviews at Rottentomatoes.com. “While the episode doesn’t reach the vertiginous heights of the series’ best… it says something about Curb’s enduring brilliance that even a relatively unremarkable installment such as this is still funnier than almost anything currently on TV,” writes the Financial Times.
True Detective: Night Country (HBO/Max)
Jodie Foster stars as a police chief in a frigid small town in Alaska who’s investigating the supernatural (maybe) murder of several scientists at a mysterious research center. The True Detective series peaked with season one (starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey) but the first three episodes of season four are worthy of comparison. Foster is great and so is Kali Reis as her reluctant partner. Episode four is Sunday night, February 4, at 9 p.m. ET so you have time to catch up — and you’ll be glad you did. Rotten Tomatoes currently gives season four a sizzling score of 93.
Update, February 5: HBO now says episode 5 of True Detective will stream early on Friday night (February 9) at 9 pm on Max to avoid Super Bowl conflicts. The season finale will now air on February 18.
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The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
