New Shows to Stream This Week
This week, there are several new shows that are worth watching. From a horror series featuring Dan Stevens to a gardening docuseries and a British comedy-thriller about divorce, there is something for everyone.
The Terror: Devil in Silver
The Terror: Devil in Silver is a stand-alone horror season that aims to scare you. It does this quite effectively. Starting with otherworldly menace, it progresses to supernatural excess, and peaks with something monstrous in the darkened hallways. The show moves quickly with expert care, making it comfortably uncomfortable.
Pepper (Dan Stevens) is warned, “You were summoned,” when he is dumped at the New Hyde psychiatric hospital by a trio of paperwork-averse New York city cops. A former heavy metal drummer turned moving man, Pepper has good intentions but a salty temper. His mistakes soon spiral as New Hyde gets its hands on him. The facility is decrepit, the staff just want to maintain order, and – as Pepper hears it – something large is living in the roof.
Adapted by Victor LaValle from his 2013 novel, Devil in Silver doesn’t feel deeply connected to the previous seasons of The Terror. The horror anthology has focused on historic malfeasance, whether it’s an ice-bound 19th century polar expedition or the evils of World War II interment camp for Japanese-Americans. This is a contemporary tale, although it does once more unfold within another inescapable locale.
Lead director Karyn Kusama tracks the camera down low along grim corridors, following a faded red line that is bloodshed bound. “A malevolent presence has taken hold of this place,” Pepper’s new roommate, Coffee (Chinaza Uche), tells him, with the spooked inmate giving up on trying to alert outsiders. The lurking evil could be the ageing, unseen inmate locked behind a silver door, or a health system so underfunded that horrors become the norm. The show’s response? Let’s do both.
Original Downton Abbey star Stevens has a wavering American accent, but he captures the struggle within Pepper – stay and fight or flee at first chance? The middle episodes prosper on schemes, forging alliances, and gathering intel, as Pepper tries to make sense of the institution’s lifer, Dory (Judith Light), and a head nurse, Miss Chris (CCH Pounder), who doesn’t want to acknowledge the increasingly obvious.
There are some smart grace notes. Just when Pepper’s predicament is getting into One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest territory, a therapist played with creepy cheer by Stephen Root brings the book to group session. But what matters is how the flashbacks and visions, nightmare realms and bleak hospital meals all fit neatly into the show’s momentum. This inexplicable horror works to a tight clock.
This is a Gardening Show
This terrific docuseries requires a host who can navigate 15-minute episodes, is in thrall to horticulture’s age-old wonders, and can interact with both flora-friendly experts and small children. Come on down Zach Galifianakis. The American comic flourishes throughout This is a Gardening Show, funnelling his passion for cultivation through absurdist exchanges and informative visits. His satirical online chat show Between Two Ferns might be the definitive Galifianakis experience, but between two vines is also swell.
M-rated – it gets a little blue(berry) at times – the whimsically concise episodes are rich soil for the Hangover star: he gets to wander with foragers, question accomplished gardeners and banter with young children, who he quizzes on their fruit and vegetable knowledge. As a comic, Galifianakis can exude loopy naivete or snippy disdain, and he smartly curates both here. His deadpan response to a small boy’s poop joke? “Do you work with Joe Rogan?”
Shooting around his adopted home of British Columbia in Canada, Galifianakis is in his element. He talks about his gardening practices while making clear that on a planet of 8 billion people, food sustainability is essential. His segues might be daft, yet Galifianakis is genuine in his questions to the adult guests and draws illuminating answers. This might be a passion project, but crucially Galifianakis knows when to cede the spotlight.
Prisoner
There’s nothing particularly original about this British action-thriller, which has a prison transport guard (Izuka Hoyle) handcuffed to the contract killer (Tahar Rahim) she’s trying to keep alive as assassins pursue them, but it’s cleanly executed on a modest budget and rarely slows down so that you can register the implausible contours of the plot. The likes of Eddie Marsan do control room exposition as the mismatched pair have to go outside the compromised system, but it’s the chemistry between the two leads that ultimately matters, and they find a dynamic that works.
The Revenge Club
It’s a smart concept given how support groups have become prominent plugs in our leaky lives: six strangers – played by the likes of Martin Compston and Aimee-Ffion Edwards – are thrown together at a therapy session for those struggling to recover from divorce. Bruised, sometimes betrayed, sometimes broke, the squad’s bond goes from mutual consolation to a shared desire for payback. They start pranking each other’s exes, but the sabotage gets dangerously out of hand. This British series is eclectic in tone and somewhat shallow, but the rawness of the emotion is genuine.
On the Roam
Hollywood star Jason Momoa (Dune, Game of Thrones) is a very large man with a very large personality, but to his credit his vibe is outgoing, curious and interested in the knowledge of others. The second season of this celebrity experience documentary series somewhat widens the focus from season one’s motorbikes and metal music, as Momoa’s professional travels have various encounters tagged onto them. The Hawaiian native might hang with artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, or test-drive a vintage car that’s been restored with an electric engine. His privilege bestows genuine pleasure.
Rescue Me
Debuting in 2004, this acerbic comic-drama followed a New York firefighting crew left traumatised by 9/11, who deal with their trauma through traditional burly bloke methods such as acrimony, alcohol and adultery. At the centre of it is comic Denis Leary, who co-created the show and stars as veteran crew member Tommy Gavin, a man whose vast flaws sometimes seem like the only things keeping him afloat. Netflix has licensed all seven seasons and it’s a time capsule, whether in terms of the working-class Irish-American milieu or the casual brutalities handed out.
Additional Recommendations
There are several other shows that are worth checking out this week. Widow’s Bay, The Bear, Who Do You Think You Are?, Eurovision, and Stephen Colbert are all highlights. For more TV recommendations, sign up for the newsletter to get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
