The best TV shows to stream in November

Another month, another batch of TV shows sure to keep you glued to the couch.

Fresh from cleaning up at this year’s Emmys, The White Lotus returns for a second season on Binge. After the chaos in Hawaii, we’ll be dropped into the dry heat of Sicily. Rest assured, the guests are still as strange as ever.

Other highlights include the fifth season of Yellowstone (Stan) and mind-bending sci-fi series The Peripheral (Amazon Prime).

From factual to funny, our what-to-watch list for November offers something for everyone. Let us know what you think in the comments, and don’t forget to tell us what you’re watching.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

Netflix

Clockwise from main: Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip in The Crown, Eddie Redmayne in The Good Nurse and Naomi Watts in The Watcher.Credit: Keith Bernstein, JoJo Whilden, Eric Liebowitz/Netflix

Our top recommendation on Netflix is The Crown, which is available from November 9.

The fifth season of Netflix’s grand drama arrives at a time of great upheaval for the royal family, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. This next instalment of The Crown will focus on the 1990s, a time of significant controversy for the royal family amid the high-profile divorce of Princess Diana and the then Prince Charles. It is also expected to cover the controversy surrounding Diana’s notorious 1995 Panorama interview with Martin Bashir, and end with her death in 1997 in a car crash in Paris. Along with the change of decades comes a new cast: Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter, Downton Abbey) as Queen Elizabeth II, Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) as Prince Philip, Dominic West (The Wire) as Prince Charles, Australia’s Elizabeth Debicki (Tenet, The Night Manager) as Princess Diana and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Another Year) as Princess Margaret. The new season has already sparked controversy after former UK prime minister John Major labelled it a “barrel-load of nonsense” over a rumoured storyline involving Prince Charles attempting to oust the Queen. Dame Judi Dench also wrote an open letter to The Times criticising the series for its “cruelly unjust” representation of the royals. Be sure to expect plenty of drama.

What else to watch on Netflix:

If you want a chilling drama with an A-list cast ... The Good Nurse is a creepy, tense story about a nurse, Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain), who helped New Jersey detectives discover one of the worst serial killers in history. No one knows how many patients Charles Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) killed while working as a nurse at nine hospitals over 16 years. Not even Cullen could recall all his victims, but the numbers quoted at the end of the movie are chilling. It’s a shocking story, built around two superb performances from two Oscar-winning stars. Paul Byrnes

If you like creepy stories based on real cases … check out Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher. An enormous hit for Netflix, this unnerving series is based on the true story of one family that began receiving mysterious letters from someone known as “The Watcher”. Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts are the couple that moves into 657 Boulevard - the house of The Watcher’s obsession - in Westfield with their two kids.

If you miss renting videos … Blockbuster is a welcome throwback. Set in the last Blockbuster Video store to survive in the US, this comedy series stars Randall Park as Timmy, the desperate manager vying to keep his store afloat.

Stan*

Clockwise from main: Kevin Costner in Yellowstone, Russell Crowe in Poker Face and Janis: Little Girl Blue.Credit: Paramount Network, Brook Rushton/Stan, Supplied

Our top recommendation on Stan is Yellowstone, which gets ★★★★.

Saddle up, Yellowstone returns on November 14. This upcoming fifth season will be split into two seven-episode instalments. John Dutton (Kevin Costner) began his run for governor last season and all signs point towards him nabbing the top spot. But with Dutton holding a major position of power in Montana, his family is sure to be in the crosshairs. And don’t expect smooth sailing for newlyweds Rip (Cole Hauser) and Beth (Kelly Reilly). Keep an eye out for a familiar face this season: Jacki Weaver, who played the family’s corporate adversary Caroline Warner, is returning.

What else to watch on Stan:

If you want to see Russell Crowe play poker … Poker Face is released on November 22. The Oscar winner stars as tech billionaire and gambler Jake Foley who gives his best friends a night they’ll never forget. Each has a chance to win more money than they’ve ever dreamed of, but not all is as it seems. Co-written and directed by Crowe, the film also stars Liam Hemsworth, RZA, Elsa Pataky, Jack Thompson, Steve Bastoni, Daniel MacPherson and Brooke Satchwell.

If you’re a Janis Joplin fan … Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil) paints a heartbreaking portrait of the singer in Janis: Little Girl Blue. The film simultaneously underlines her incredible talent and power as a performer and the desperate desire for acceptance, approval and, eventually, fame that tormented Joplin in the drug-racked years leading up to her death from a heroin overdose at age 27. Interviews with old bandmates, friends and lovers give the documentary a tangible intimacy as it reveals the shy vulnerability behind the enormous voice. Brad Newsome

If you’re curious about the current state of America … The Circus is back with all new episodes. Journalist John Heilemann and the rest of the team fan out across the US ahead of next month’s midterm elections. The latest episodes provide keen insights into how the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade has sparked a surprising Democratic resurgence in some Republican strongholds, and how “election-denier” Republicans are working to take over posts overseeing elections in the crucial state of Arizona. Brad Newsome

Binge

Clockwise from main: Meghann Fahy and Theo James in The White Lotus, Sex Lives of College Girls and Los Espookys.Credit: HBO/Binge

Our top recommendation on Binge is The White Lotus, which gets ★★★★½.

The second season of The White Lotus wastes no time diving into the tension. In the opening scenes, we have a dead body on our hands. The only thing we know is that it isn’t Daphne (Meghann Fahy) because she’s the unlucky hotel guest who finds the body while swimming in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Sicily. With almost Fantasy Island flair, the hotel guests file into reception in the opening scenes, alternately smiling and balking at the unwitting (maybe?) insults of hotel manager Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore). You have a slightly awkward group of four: Daphne, her husband Cameron (Theo James), Cameron’s college roommate Ethan (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza). Then there are the three generations of the Di Grasso family: relentlessly farting grandfather Bert (F. Murray Abraham), son Dominic (Michael Imperioli) and grandson Albie (Adam DiMarco). And of course, the returning Tanya McQuoid-Hunt (Jennifer Coolidge), her now-husband Greg (Jon Gries), and her assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson).

The dramatic engine of The White Lotus is deconstructing the wealthy. Everyone here is exceptionally attractive (or at least meticulously groomed) and deeply dysfunctional. The elegance of The White Lotus lies in its writing. White’s Enlightened, about a woman who tries to rebuild her life after a nervous breakdown, was almost like an appetiser to The White Lotus. This is a triumphant take-down of the darkest indulgences of humanity; deeply flawed people in toxic relationships who would, in such large numbers, be utterly unwatchable, if they were not. Michael Idato

What else to watch on Binge:

If you long for your youthful years … The Sex Lives of College Girls is about as close as you can get to winding back the clock. Created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, the breakout hit returns for a second outing. The series stars Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Renee Rapp and Alyah Chanelle Scott as four college roommates at New England’s prestigious Essex College. From November 17.

If you watched The Vow … then part two is compulsory. Directed by Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Jehane Noujaim, The Vow: Part Two offers an exclusive look into Keith Raniere’s innermost circle, including a highly anticipated interview with NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman.

If you love horror with humour … Los Espookys is a deadpan character comedy, a homage to classic horror films, a telenovela satire and a paean to friendship. It is ludicrously funny, albeit with a straight face and some exceptional fake blood. The show follows a group of disparate young pals in a Latin American country whose love of horror has become an eccentric business. Craig Mathieson

Amazon Prime

Clockwise from main: Chloe Grace Moretz in The Peripheral, Kiernan Shipka in Swimming with Sharks and Chaske Spencer and Emily Blunt in The English.Credit: Sophie Mutevelian, Patrick McElhenney, Diego Lopez Calvin/Prime Video

Our top recommendation on Amazon Prime is The Peripheral, which gets ★★★½.

About halfway through the first episode of The Peripheral, Flynne Fisher’s (Chloe Grace Moretz) brain starts to hurt. I know exactly how she feels; having watched six of the eight episodes in this sci-fi action detective story, I’m almost as confused as I was at the outset. Flynne lives in the rural American South, working at the local 3D printing shop, while earning much-needed extra money playing VR games for the wealthy. One night she dons a headset and finds herself in futuristic London. But it soon becomes clear to Flynne that she hasn’t been transported to a simulation. Instead, she’s stumbled into London, 70 years in the future. Flynne must get to the bottom of who is responsible for her accidental time travel while also trying to avoid sinister forces determined to prevent her from finding out the truth. Perhaps all you need to know about this series is that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are behind it. Whether you enjoy the folding-in-upon-itself narrative of the husband-and-wife team’s Westworld will probably be a fair predictor of how you feel about this similarly Escher-like story. Karl Quinn

What else to watch on Amazon Prime:

If you’ve ever been in a toxic work environment … Swimming With Sharks will feel awfully familiar. Kiernan Shipka, Diane Kruger and Donald Sutherland star in a new drama about a doe-eyed young intern who walks into an abusive work environment at a major Hollywood movie studio. Will she be eaten alive, or should everyone else be afraid of her? Brad Newsome

If you like a good old revenge Western … The English tells the story of Lady Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), an aristocratic Englishwoman looking for revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. From November 11.

If you crave Hugh Laurie in a medical coat … then book in a consultation with Dr Gregory House (Hugh Laurie). Familiar to audiences from his Fry and Laurie days, Laurie was note-perfect as prickly genius Dr Gregory House solving health mysteries with his team of young diagnosticians. The supporting cast, including former Neighbours star Jesse Spencer and future Harry Styles lover Olivia Wilde, helped elevate House from just another medical show to Something Special™.

Disney+

Clockwise from main: Paul Reiser in Reboot, Chris Hemsworth and Laura Donnelly in Werewolf by Night.Credit: Michael Desmond/Hulu, Brook Mitchell, Disney+

Our top recommendation on Disney + is Reboot, which gets ★★★½.

Meta enough to matter, this Hollywood sitcom about the reboot of a hit Hollywood sitcom both sends up and profits from the generational divide in humour as an edgy Millennial filmmaker, Hannah (Rachel Bloom), successfully pitches a new version of Step Right Up, a cheesy turn-of-the century half-hour, which will bring back the original cast but add realistic wrinkles. Keen to work, the likes of Reed (Keegan Michael Key), Bree (Judy Greer), and Clay (Johnny Knoxville) sign back on, despite their considerable baggage. But what no one expects is the return of the show’s creator, the wealthy, wisecracking Gordon (Paul Reiser). His old-school Baby Boomer ways are ludicrous, but they get some laughs – as do his debates with Hannah about what works both on the show and for them personally. Reboot creator Steven Levitan, availing himself of language and scenarios that would never have played on his long-running hit Modern Family, weaves together industry satire and narcissistic actors with a deft touch. The early episodes haven’t quite found their sitcom sweet spot, but the best lines land. Describing the timeline for a Hollywood actress over 40, Bree says, “Grandma, playing a judge on Law & Order, death!” Brad Newsome

What else to watch on Disney+:

If you want to see Thor shirtless … check out Limitless with Chris Hemsworth. The National Geographic series, written by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, Noah, Mother!), follows Hemsworth as he tries to learn how to live longer and get the most out of the human body - mostly without a shirt. From November 16.

If you enjoy a solid spook … Werewolf by Night is basically the Addams Family on steroids. Rejoicing in classic horror tropes, from the cobweb-strewn haunted manor to the Psycho violin scratchings, it features a cast of outrageously creepy monsters that are not above cracking corny jokes as they join forces to fend off the biggest villain of all, the werewolf. Bridget McManus

If you want a fascinating slice of history … Shipwreck Hunters is an agreeably low-key series about a bunch of diving-enthusiast friends discovering long-lost shipwrecks off the West Australian coast. The first episode is a doozy: they find the wreck of the Glenbank, a 73-metre steel-hulled sailing ship lost in a cyclone in 1911. It’s hard to say what’s more amazing – the footage of the wreck teeming with a riot of marine life, or the story of the ship’s sole survivor, who fought off a shark in the middle of the cyclone before being rescued from a desert island. Brad Newsome

Paramount+

Clockwise from main: Madison Taylor Baez and Demian Bichir in Let the Right One In, Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King and Couples Therapy Australia’s Marryam Chehelnabi.Credit: Francisco Roman/Showtime, Paramount+

Our top recommendation on Paramount+ is Let The Right One In, which gets ★★★.

In Let the Right One In, Demian Bichir and the quite remarkable Madison Taylor Baez take their roles as father and daughter very seriously indeed. The latest take on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s 2004 vampire novel, which was first filmed in Sweden in 2008 and then in America in 2010 (as Let Me In), this series shifts the focus from the lonely young boy and the pubescent girl vampire who moves in next door to that of the girl and her guardian. In the novel, the man who finds victims and drains them of their blood so the girl can remain relatively untainted by the curse of her kind is a reformed paedophile trying to atone for his sins. In the Swedish movie, his relationship with Eli was unclear and short-lived. Here, the biblically named Mark Kane (Bichir), a chef, is her father, and after years of roaming the world searching for a cure, he has brought them back to New York in the hope they can finally have a place to call home. As with AMC+’s Interview With the Vampire, there’s a crushing sadness about this tale. But with its mash-up of police procedural and kitchen confidential, it’s also happy to stray from home base. Whether that will maintain intrigue or merely leave it looking a bit lost remains to be seen. Karl Quinn

What else to watch on Paramount+:

If you like stories about criminal empires … Tulsa King has Sylvester Stallone playing New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi. Manfredi finds himself banished to the backwaters of Tulsa, Oklahoma, after 25 years in prison. Realising that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, helping establish a new criminal empire in a place that, to him at least, might as well be another planet. From November 14.

If you want to see real relationships on screen … Couples Therapy Australia returns to Paramount for a second season. Three brave Aussie couples will delve into their long-standing conflicts and explore their personal histories with registered clinical psychotherapist Marryam Chehelnabi. From November 4.

Apple TV+

Clockwise from main: Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, Jennifer Lawrence in Causeway and Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell in Spirited.Credit: Apple TV+

Our top recommendation on Apple TV + is Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, which is available from November 4.

Now 30, Selena Gomez burst onto the stage as a young popstar (dating another young popstar named Justin Bieber) and became a mainstay in the charts. As a recording artist, she has sold more than 210 million singles worldwide and amassed over 45 billion global streams. More recently Gomez has switched the stage for screen, scoring an Emmy nomination for her role as Mabel Mora in the award-winning series Only Murders in the Building, starring opposite Steve Martin and Martin Short. But in a tale as old as time, shining brightly can lead to burnout and Gomez has been outspoken about her mental health. In Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, director Alek Keshishian (Madonna: Truth or Dare) explores what happens when a pop star peaks and the only way to go is down.

What else to watch on Apple TV+:

If you enjoyed the Netflix hit Maid … then check out Causeway, the latest work from director Lila Neugebauer. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence as a soldier struggling to adjust to her life after returning home to New Orleans. From November 4.

If you’re feeling festive … Spirited is an offbeat Christmas film. Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. Except this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds) turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself re-examining his own past, present and future. From November 18.

If you like a cat-and-mouse thriller … The Mosquito Coast is back for another tension-filled season. Based on Paul Theroux’s bestselling novel, the series charts the dangerous journey of Allie Fox (Justin Theroux), a brilliant inventor and stubborn idealist, who uproots his family on a dangerous quest to find refuge from the US government, cartels, and hitmen. In this new season, the Fox family trades Mexico for the Guatemalan jungle and meets up with an old friend and her community of refugees. From November 4.

SBS On Demand

Clockwise from main: Ana Maria Belo in It’s Fine, I’m Fine, Australia Uncovered: Me and My Tourette’s and Aylin Tezel in Unbroken.Credit: SBS

Our top recommendation on SBS On Demand is It’s Fine, I’m Fine, which gets ★★★★.

A self-contained, inventive drama about the relationship between a therapist and her diverse patient list, this is one of the best new Australian series of the year and easily consumed over four concise episodes. The setting is stage-like: the suburban office of therapist Joanne (Ana Maria Belo), who works her way through a selection of patients who treat her couch like a hot seat they want to escape. The pithy shrink might be a New York City staple, but the concept, and the very real issue of addressing mental health issues and emotional care, is not common in Australia. Joanne is dedicated, but wracked with self-doubt. One of the telling angles of It’s Fine, I’m Fine is that the doctor might quietly need as much assistance as her patients. Craig Mathieson

What else to watch on SBS On Demand:

If you’re into brooding Irish dramas … then allow yourself to be swept away to the stunning west coast of Ireland with North Sea Connection. Ciara Kenny (Lydia McGuinness) must confront the consequences of her brother’s decision to transport drugs at sea from the isolated and traditional rural Irish fishing community in Connemara.

If you want an enlightening documentary … Australia Uncovered: Me and My Tourette’s explores the often misunderstood syndrome from the perspective of three young people. The documentary shadows the subjects as they prepare to face major turning points in their lives, before heading to Tourette’s camp for what might just be a life-changing event for them and their families.

If you like a classic whodunnit … binge all six episodes of German series Unbroken. When heavily pregnant Chief Inspector Alex Enders (Aylin Tezel) goes on maternity leave, things don’t work out as planned. After an accident, she wakes up without her memory and realises her baby is gone.

ABC iview

Clockwise from main: Kitty Flanagan and Denise Scott in Fisk, Marc Fennell presents Stuff the British Stole and Alison Bell in Significant Others.Credit: ABC

Our top recommendation on ABC iview is Fisk, which gets ★★★★.

Writer, actor, producer, director, comedian, current-affairs show satirist, best-selling author, quiz-show regular and podcaster Kitty Flanagan is one of the funniest and most talented creative forces in the country. Like her TV heroine and title character, lawyer Helen Tudor-Fisk, she’s a woman who resolutely goes her own way. Gruber & Gruber sits at the opposite end of the legal spectrum from that which is more commonly TV terrain: gleaming, glass-tower city offices staffed with keen and hungry legal eagles. At Gruber & Gruber, they’re not quite dodgy ambulance-chasers, but they operate in similar territory. Through the first season, Helen gradually revealed a perhaps-surprising aptitude for her job and decency in her treatment of clients. And as she tackled cases and suffered a ban from the local coffee shop, the series deftly built an idiosyncratic and endearing ensemble around her. As the second season begins, Helen is harrumphing about a new café that offers blended juices but no coffee; protesting about the heat-generating photocopier deposited in her office; and trying to resolve a nuisance claim. The core cast is back, including Julia Zemiro, Marty Sheargold and Aaron Chen. And popping up in guest roles are some of the country’s funniest performers, including Glenn Robbins, Marg Downey, Denise Scott and Ed Kavalee. Debi Enker

What else to watch on ABC iview:

If you’re mad about the Elgin Marbles … Stuff The British Stole will really get you fired up. Across six episodes, Marc Fennell visits famous museums to explore the true origin stories of the objects on display before going on a journey to meet the people who want them back. From November 1.

If you’re a history buff … Secrets of the Museum is back for a third season. The latest series takes viewers behind the scenes of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, scratching the surface of the exhibitions and taking you deeper into the museum’s history.

If a family drama is more your vibe … there’s an immediately absorbing intensity to Significant Others. The six-part series opens with teenage Hanna (Zoe Steiner) waking to discover that her mother, Sarah (Jacqueline McKenzie), has left their home. She heads to the nearby beach, where she sees Sarah in the distance, signalling from the water: is she waving or indicating distress? Hanna tries to swim out to her, but can’t find her. So, from the outset, there’s a mystery. Did Sarah drown? Was it an accident? Soon after, Sarah’s three adult siblings arrive at the house that Hanna also shares with her brother, Ciaran (Gulliver McGrath) and it’s readily apparent that this is a fractured family. Debi Enker

Other free streamers

Benedict Samuel and Sarah Snook in The Beautiful Lie.

Our top recommendation on other free streamers is The Beautiful Lie on 10Play, which gets ★★★½.

This contemporary retelling of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina honours most of the specifics of the original. In a series of clever tweaks, the Karenin’s are now not aristocracy but famous former tennis champs; Vronsky is not a dashing cavalry officer but a sexy musician; and so on. It’s equally cleverly cast, including Sarah Snook and Rodger Corser as the impossibly handsome Ivins; Sophie Lowe as ditzy Kitty; and Gina Riley as Anna and Kitty’s imperious old-money mother. The production is absolutely gorgeous in every detail, from its well paced, thoughtful script to the note-perfect locations and rich cinematography. But as we’re no longer in feudal Russia, many of the ideas that sustained the original have inevitably fallen by the wayside. With the politics (in the broadest sense) stripped away, what’s left is a series of romances that wouldn’t be out of place on Ramsay Street, and a protagonist whose actions – freed from the social chains in which they originally took place – seem not so much tragic as profoundly immature. However, this remains a story exploring all the different faces of love in an intelligent and powerful way, and for many viewers that will be enough. Melinda Houston

What else to watch on other free streamers:

If you’re jealous of anyone who owns a pool … why not dive into an episode of Australia’s Best Pools on 9Now? Renowned landscape architect Dave Franklin tours the country in search of the most unique pools Australia has to offer. Perfect pre-summer viewing.

If you like big scares in small towns … Castle Rock on 7Plus should do the trick. The Stephen King references fly thick and fast in this loving homage to/expansion of the King universe. All the author’s favourite tropes, his favourite actors, and some direct references to his previous work mash up into a delightful confection. Melinda Houston

* Nine is the owner of Stan, 9Now and this masthead.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.