We're shooting straight into fall without a cushion. September TV comes in hot with four brand new crime shows: a "Mare of Easttown" follow-up, an Ethan Hawke-starring deep dive into Tulsa crime, an Irish brewery scrabble and the fictionalization of a terrorist tracker's life. There is also a bit of respite with one lower-stakes new show from the creator of "The Office."
'The Paper'
The U.S. version of "The Office" ended 12 years ago, but the absurdist mockumentary about a local paper company remains one of the most rewatched shows of all time. Capitalizing on its ever-continuing popularity, the original series' creator, Greg Daniels, returns as the co-creator, executive producer and co-showrunner of new spinoff "The Paper." The first season stars Domhnall Gleeson ("Ex Machina") and Sabrina Impacciatore ("The White Lotus") as workers at Ohio newspaper The Toledo Truth Teller. Oscar Nuñez alone reprises his NBC "Office" role. "The series takes a moment to work out its kinks," said Aramide Tinubu at Variety, "but by the season finale, it has all the makings of being as witty and iconic as its predecessor." (out now, Peacock)
'Task'
Brad Ingelsby, the creator of HBO's hit 2021 series "Mare of Easttown," is back with his second original crime show about a small-town Pennsylvania detective — a pretty specific niche! "Mare" starred the fantastic Kate Winslet, and "Task" puts Mark Ruffalo in the lead as Tom, a priest-turned-FBI-agent tracking a gang of home invaders. "Casually shedding the clichés it's built upon, HBO's crime saga mounts a potent blend of cat-and-mouse chase, bleak family drama and a character study," said Ben Travers at IndieWire. "The laughs may be hard to come by, but the emphasis on caring — not as a burden to escape, but a responsibility to embrace — more than makes up for the hardships along the way." (out now, HBO)
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'The Lowdown'
This neo-noir starring Ethan Hawke was created by Sterlin Harjo, whose previous show "Reservation Dogs" emerged as "one of the best TV series of the 2020s," said Noel Murray at The New York Times. In "The Lowdown," Hawke plays a freelance journalist in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who hopes to expose the seedy underbelly of corruption in his city and becomes embroiled in a murder mystery.
"Instead of asking viewers to invest in a whodunit or howdunit or whydunit, 'The Lowdown' offers immersion in Tulsa and its environs," said Daniel Fienberg at The Hollywood Reporter. Here, "artistic oddballs, fringe right-wing bigots, deep-rooted Indigenous communities and more butt heads." (Sept. 23, FX; Sept. 24, Hulu)
'House of Guinness'
Missing the epic period gangster violence that was "Peaky Blinders" or the foppish familial dramatics of "Succession"? "House of Guinness" is a new show from "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight that spotlights the real-life Guinnesses and their wild interpersonal dynamics. The series was "inspired by one of Europe's most famous and enduring dynasties, The Guinness Family — i.e., the family behind the famous Irish brewery," said Good Housekeeping. Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, the show "reimagines the period immediately following the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the man responsible for the Guinness brewery's storming success," and covers the "far-reaching impact of his will on the fate of his four adult children." (Sept. 25, Netflix)
'The Savant'
Jessica Chastain stars in "The Savant" as Jodie, a character based on a real person profiled in the fascinating 2019 Cosmopolitan piece "Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before it Happens?" Created by Melissa James Gibson ("The Americans"), the series follows Jodie's career as an undercover investigator who tracks white supremacists and online hate groups in an effort to stop them from committing mass crimes. "She should be safely infiltrating the groups from her desk, interacting with them using a false persona, but her work becomes more immediate than she expected," said Caryn James at the BBC — ultimately putting a "strain on her home life, which includes two children and a husband in the military." (Sept. 26, Apple TV+)
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