TV to watch in September, from 'Agatha All Along' to 'The Penguin'
A 'WandaVision' spinoff, a DC Comics villain's starring turn and a silly Netflix original
September marks the start of Halloween season, which means spooky vibes and dressing up as someone other than yourself. This month's new releases will give you plenty of costume inspiration, as not one but two new prestige shows centered around comic book villains are debuting.
'English Teacher' (Sept. 2)
September has arrived, which means it is time to purchase school supplies (like "bouquets of newly sharpened pencils," to quote Nora Ephron) and switch on back-to-school programming. FX's new series "English Teacher" stars — and was created by — Brian Jordan Alvarez, who plays a gay educator named Evan Marquez working at a Texas public school. The comedy series is a "drier, snarkier, world-wearier older brother to Quinta Brunson's 'Abbott Elementary,'" said Angie Han at The Hollywood Reporter. Working at a high school is anything but easy, as Evan must contend with problems of a personal, professional and political nature. (Hulu)
'Emily in Paris' (Sept. 12)
The second half of this Netflix series' fourth season drops this month, and many critics are rejoicing, despite having no profound love for the show. "Emily in Paris" is "absurdly, adorably idiotic," said The Daily Beast; a "whirlwind of nonsense," said The Guardian; "insipid yet strangely alluring" said David Mack at Slate. The series follows the Parisian adventures of the titular Emily (played with vacant grace by Lily Collins), who apparently works in marketing. The show's creators are "determined to keep things as pretty, lighthearted and smooth-brained as Emily herself," Mack added. "This is television that wants you to have fun." (Netflix)
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'Child Star' (Sept. 17)
Child stars get a bad rap for growing into troubled adults. But coming of age in the spotlight usually means growing up way too fast. A new documentary features interviews with — and archival footage of — a host of former Disney Channel actors and other Hollywood stars who found on-screen success at a young age, including Drew Barrymore, Kenan Thompson, JoJo Siwa and Christina Ricci. The project also marks the directorial debut of Demi Lovato, a child-actor-turned-pop-star whose own career trajectory led her down a path of drugs and mental health struggles. (Hulu)
'Agatha All Along' (Sept. 18)
This alliterative new Marvel series is a spinoff of 2021's "WandaVision," only this time its sorceress Agatha Harkness' time to shine. Kathryn Hahn reprises her role as the titular witch, still trapped in Westview under a spell Elisabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff placed on her in the previous show's finale. Agatha is "forced to live out a true-crime drama as a detective investigating the murder of a young Jane Doe," said EW. The show gets its title from Hahn's "chart-topping song" — performed with campy aplomb in the first series — in which Agatha reveals herself to be Wanda's sneaky nemesis. (Disney+)
'The Penguin' (Sept. 19)
As the days get shorter and the nights grow colder, the light-hearted snark of Marvel gives way to the hardened grit of DC Comics. "The Penguin" won't feature any characters singing songs, but it does star an unrecognizable Colin Farrell as Gotham gangster Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot, aka The Penguin, in what looks to be a "Sopranos" meets "Dark Knight" new chapter of the Batman saga. (Just do not expect Batman himself to show up.) "With Oz, you're in the city streets, you're in the grit and the muck and the grime," said showrunner Lauren LeFranc to SFX Magazine. "He's looking up, wanting to claw his way to the top." (HBO)
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