This month’s new releases run the gamut. There’s a delving into history, with a series about the assassination of our 20th president and another about the defiant bloodshed of the American Revolution; science fiction, with the return of “Stranger Things” and a new show from TV legend Vince Gilligan; and a palate cleanser with a silly, salient look into the complicated lives of modern day twentysomethings.
‘I Love L.A.’
Lena Dunham’s “Girls” spoofed life for privileged and rudderless twentysomething women living in New York City. Rachel Sennott’s new series provides a similar service to Gen Zers living amid the excess and squalor of Los Angeles.
Sennott, who previously starred in “Shiva Baby” and “Bottoms,” both created and stars in “I Love L.A.,” which follows a group of zillennials anchored by Maia (Sennott) navigating their careers and love lives. “The heart of a series” like ‘I Love LA’ lies in its “ability to capture what it feels like to be young — when your heart still sings with possibility and ambition, a vital defense in a world all too ready to pelt you with disappointments,” said Nicholas Quah at Vulture. (out now, HBO)
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‘Pluribus’
Created by Vince Gilligan, “Pluribus” is the long-awaited and mystery-cloaked follow-up to “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” This series is a little different than those others: It’s a sci-fi mystery rather than a gritty crime drama.
This shift may not be entirely surprising, as Gilligan wrote for “The X-Files” before creating “Breaking Bad,” and “was responsible for some of the show’s weirdest and funniest episodes,” said Linda Holmes at NPR. Most of the plot of “Pluribus” was “kept intentionally vague in marketing,” but it is clear the series is set in Albuquerque and stars Rhea Seehorn as Carol, a “miserable woman investigating a strange contagion that has turned the population of the city (and the world) unrelentingly happy,” said Wilson Chapman at IndieWire. (out now, Apple TV)
‘Death by Lightning’
Based on Candice Millard’s 2011 book “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President,” this Netflix historical drama spotlights U.S. President James Garfield (Michael Shannon), who was assassinated just 199 days into his first term and thus tends to be forgotten in the grand scheme of American politics. “That tragedy set the table for one of U.S. history’s great ‘what ifs’ with Garfield’s lost potential felt most acutely in the area of civil rights, where his commitment to equality for African Americans might have altered the nation’s post-Reconstruction trajectory,” said David Smith at The Guardian. Matthew Macfadyen also stars as the assassin, Charles Guiteau, who brings about Garfield’s untimely demise. (out now, Netflix)
‘The American Revolution’
Documentarian Ken Burns, renowned for his epic explorations of American history and culture, has already covered the Civil War, World War II and Vietnam. Now he’s turned his unrelenting gaze on one of our country’s most important battles: the American Revolution. The series “uncovers brand new information, tidbits and fascinating facts about this fraught time in our history,” said Amy Amatangelo at Paste Magazine.
Although it’s “hard to watch” the show “without awareness of the anti-monarchic sentiments shared at recent rounds of “No Kings!” protests — to hear the noble egalitarian sentiments that launched the American experiment without pondering the ways the fulfillment of our freedoms has fallen short of our loftiest aspirations — the doc does not overtly acknowledge Donald Trump,” said Daniel Fienberg at The Hollywood Reporter. (Nov. 16, PBS)
‘Stranger Things’
It’s hard to believe that “Stranger Things” is only returning for its fifth — and final — season. The show, about a group of friends in 1980s Indiana who become entangled in a secret government experiment and discover a supernatural dimension, has burrowed its way deep into pop culture consciousness. It launched a group of unknown kid actors to fame, gave Winona Ryder the kind of starring role she hadn’t seen since the ’90s and introduced Kate Bush’s 1985 masterpiece “Running Up That Hill” to a whole new generation. This last season is leading toward the final battle with humanoid monster Vecna, the series’ main antagonist, and the feature-length series finale will also screen in theaters on Dec. 31, a first for Netflix. (Nov. 26, Netflix)
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