(Here’s the second of three season-preview stories. This one focuses on cable and streamers.)
As the big TV networks keep trimming down, others — streamers and a few cable networks — are bulking up.
It all evens out … except that viewers have to juggle and pay for lots of separate things.
Right now, there’s a flurry of returning cable-or-streaming shows, starting with the brilliant “Only Murders in the Building” (shown here), Tuesdays on Hulu. This time, the sorta-sleuths try to see who killed the doorman.
Other key returners include “Reasonable Doubt” (Hulu, Sept. 18), “The Morning Show” (Apple TV+, Sept. 17), “Tulsa King” (Paramount+, Sept. 21), “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+, Sept. 24), “Billy the Kid” (MGM+. Sept. 28), “Loot” (Apple, Oct. 15), “The Diplomat” (Netflix, Oct. 18), “Palm Royale” (Apple, Nov. 12) and more.
But this list involves new shows. Here’s a sampling of scripted series and mini-series on cable or streaming this fall:
ALREADY HERE
— “The Paper,” any time, Peacock. The camera crew from “The Office” finds a new crop of hapless/likable souls. They’re trying to salvage the Toledo Truth Teller, a crumbling newspaper owned by the company that bought Dunder Mifflin. The result is occasionally overwrought but often very funny.
— “Alien: Earth,” 8 p.m. Tuesdays, FX; also Hulu. Noah Hawley — the brilliant writer-director of “Fargo” minis — merges opposite stories. There’s a creepy tale of outer-space monsters, plus the richly human one of dying children whose minds have been placed in synthetic, adult bodies. Sydney Chandler is superb as Wendy, the first of those synth kids.
— “NCIS: Tony & Ziva,” Thursdays, Paramount+. The telegenic spies are together in Europe, chasing bad guys and protecting their daughter.
— “The Rainmaker,” 10 p.m. Fridays, USA; also Peacock. Fresh from law school, Rudy was fired from an upscale firm. Then he was working for a ragged little law office, battling those big guys (including his ex-girlfriend) in court. Big twists have follow, as he desperately searched for two nurses — an earnest whistleblower and a nasty killer who took her captive.
— “Outlander: Blood of My Blood,” 8 p.m. Fridays, Starz. We follow the roots of the “Outlander” couple — Jamie’s parents in 18th-century Scotland and Claire’s in World War I England.
— “Task,” 9 p.m. Sundays, HBO; also Max. Mark Ruffalo already has two Emmys, four Oscar nominations and a separate career as the Hulk in Marvel films. Now he plays another shattered soul — a former priest and current FBI agent, probing violent home invasions in small-town Pennsylvania.
COMING SOON
— “Black Rabbit,” Sept. 18, Netflix. After his “Ozark” success, Jason Bateman tackles another gritty tale. He’s a wayward guy who leads his brother into trouble and a robbery attempt.
— “Marvel Zombies,” Sept. 24, Disney+. Often, this streamer will peel off a character for a six-week series. This time it’s even shorter, with a four-episode, animated tale that has various characters — Ant-Man, Ms. Marvel, Red Guardian, etc. — confront the walking dead.
— “The Lowdown,” 9 p.m. Sept. 23, FX; also Hulu. Tulsa has become a media favorite lately — Sylvester Stallone tries to become “Tulsa King” on Paramount+, the Tony-winning “Outsiders” romps on Broadway and now Ethan Hawke works the mean streets. He’s a journalist, short on money and long on persistence, probing a powerful family. This is a lot like the “Southern Gothic” tales set in Florida and beyond, but adds the droll touch of Sterlin Harjo, who previously cast Hawke in an episode of his quietly brilliant “Reservation Dogs.”
— “Hotel Costiera,” Sept. 24, Amazon Prime. Jesse Williams plays an ex-military guy, now working for a luxury Italian hotel and trying to find his boss’ kidnapped daughter.
— “Chad Powers,” Sept. 30, Hulu. In a comedy, Glen Powell plays a former college football player who blemished his name … then tries to come back years later, under a false identity.
— “The Last Frontier,” Oct. 10, Apple TV+. A prison plane crashes in the Alaskan mountains, freeing lots of bad folks. Now the search covers frozen turf. Dominic Cooper — who starred in “Preacher” and plays a handsome crook in PBS’ “Gold” — plays a mysterious figure.
— “Murdaugh: Death in the Family,” Oct. 15, Hulu. Alex Murdaugh was a fourth-generation lawyer in a prominent South Carolina firm. In 2023, he was convicted of killing his wife and son and accused of years of criminal dealings. The story has been retold often, but this one, starring Brittany Snow, focuses on the reporters uncovering his misdeeds.
— “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy,” Oct. 16, Peacock. This follows the search for the man responsible for at least 33 murders of boys and young men. That led to Gacy, who had sometimes worked as a clown.
— “Down Cemetery Road,” Oct. 29, Apple TV+. After an explosion in a quiet suburban neighborhood, a girl goes missing. Ruth Wilson plays the neighbor who hires a private-eye (Emma Thompson) to investigate.
— “Talamasca: The Secret Order,” Oct. 26, AMC; also AMC+. In a mega-deal, AMC bought film rights to Anne Rice’s creations. Now it throws several into this new series. There’s the Talamasca, which tries to bring some order to the world of witches and more; and there’s Molloy (Eric Bogosian), the cynical interviewer in “Interview With the Vampire.”
— “IT: Welcome to Derry,” Oct. 26, HBO; also Max. And here — eye-to-eye with “Talamasca” — are some more scares on the weekend before Halloween. It’s an “IT” sequel, with a new family moving to the killer-clown town.
— “Robin Hood,” Nov. 2, MGM+. This reboot reminds us why the rich were so rich and the poor so poor that Robin stole from the one to give to the other. Sean Bean (“Game of Thrones”) is the sheriff of Nottingham.
— “Death by Lightning,” Netflix, Nov. 6. History often ignores Jame Garfield, who was shot four months into his presidency and died four months later. This mini portrays Garfield (Michael Shannon), his assassin (Matthew Macfadyen of “Succession”) and Chester Arthur (Nick Offerman), the lesser chap who became president.
— “All Her Fault,” Nov. 6, Peacock. Another “Succession” star, Sarah Snook, plays someone who faces scrutiny — from herself and others — when her son is missing.
— “Pluribus,” Nov. 7, Apple TV+. Two potent “Better Call Saul” forces — producer Vince Gilligan and star Rhea Seehorn — link. She plays a romance novelist whose life, like everyone’s, is transformed by a global event.
— “The Beast in Me,” Nov. 13, Netflix. Claire Danes, the master of nuanced drama for 30 years, plays a grief-stricken mom, probing a neighbor whose wife is missing.