TV to watch in November

Godzilla returns in the new Apple TV+ series 'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters'

(Image credit: Apple TV+)

published 29 October 2023

Coming up in the world of television: The beginning of the end for a Netflix hit, a new series based on an iconic monster franchise, and ... a "genre-bending" HGTV parody? These are the new and returning shows you won’t want to miss in November 2023:

'Black Cake' (Nov. 1)

Oprah Winfrey produces this Hulu adaptation of the best-selling book "Black Cake," which is described as a "decades-spanning family drama wrapped in a murder mystery." After a woman, Eleanor Bennett, dies, her children find she left behind a flash drive revealing secrets about her life — including that Eleanor isn't her real name. Marissa Jo Cerar, who has written for "The Handmaid's Tale" and "13 Reasons Why," serves as showrunner.

Another hit book adaptation coming to streaming is "All the Light We Cannot See,” Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II novel about a blind French girl and a German boy. "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight wrote the limited series adaptation, while "Stranger Things" producer Shawn Levy directed all four episodes. Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, Aria Mia Loberti and Louis Hofmann star.

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The Willy Wonka of comedy will provide another hilarious existential crisis on Showtime. Following up HBO's "The Rehearsal," Nathan Fielder stars in and produces "The Curse," which pairs him with Emma Stone. They play a married couple who host a home-flipping show but have their relationship disturbed when a curse is placed on them. Benny Safdie also stars and co-created the series. From a guy who graduated from one of Canada's top business schools with really good grades, we expect great things.

A long goodbye for "The Crown" is about to begin. The Netflix series about the British royal family is headed into its two-part final season. The first four episodes drop in November, while the rest will debut in December. This last season picks up in 1997. It will covers events such as the death of Princess Diana, and it’s expected to go through 2005 — the year Prince Charles and Camilla got married. To avoid spoilers, avoid the history section of your local library.

Can the king of the monsters help make Apple the king of the streamers? The Apple TV+ series "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" dives into Legendary's MonsterVerse, the shared world from "Godzilla vs. Kong." It follows two siblings who seek to uncover their family’s connection to Monarch, the secretive organization that deals with giant monsters, per the streamer. Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt Russell, star as the same character at different points in time. The show premieres ahead of a new Japanese Godzilla movie dropping in December.

Game on. More than a decade after Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," the entire original cast reunites for this Netflix anime series. The show follows the same basic story as the movie and the original graphic novels, with Scott Pilgrim falling in love with Ramona Flowers and facing her seven evil exes in order to date her. Bryan Lee O’Malley, author of the novels, produces alongside BenDavid Grabinski and Edgar Wright. Wright’s movie set the bar high, but could an animated version take it to the next level?

This is a true story: "Fargo" will return to FX after a three-year hiatus. This latest installment of the anthology show is set in Minnesota and North Dakota and follows a Midwestern housewife, played by Juno Temple, who is "suddenly plunged back into a life she thought she had left behind" after she ends up in hot water with authorities, per FX. Jon Hamm plays one of those authorities, Sheriff Roy Tillman, alongside Joe Keery and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Did anyone watch "Squid Game" and conclude the central game should be a real thing? Apparently, Netflix did. The streamer is launching a competition series based on the breakout South Korean show. Like in "Squid Game," more than 400 contestants will compete in a series of (not deadly) games to win $4.56 million. Netflix has touted this as the largest cash prize in reality TV history — at least, until someone gets the bright idea to try to top it with a "Saw" game show.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.