November streaming guide: The Great, Dopesick, Dickinson, The Shrink Next Door
What to watch this month? From period dramas to fantasy epics and star-studded true stories, you’re spoiled for choice.
The steady migration of Hollywood A-listers from the silver to the small screen gains pace over the next month, with some big stars adorning November’s bumper crop of new TV.
On AppleTV+, comedy megastars Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn are reuniting for an addictive adaptation of a true crime podcast. Elsewhere on the platform, Hailee Steinfeld frocks up as Emily Dickinson in the third and final season of her phenomenally underrated period drama Dickinson. (Zosia Mamet returns as Louisa May Alcott, Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman as Sylvia Plath and Billy Eichner as Walt Whitman.)
Steinfeld has another series out this month, too: Hawkeye, the latest in the Disney+ Marvel offering, bringing her into the fold as Kate Bishop alongside Jeremy Renner’s battle-weary archer. Speaking of superheroes — or rather, former superheroes — on Disney+ this month, Michael Keaton fronts a stellar cast on Dopesick, a Hulu original streaming on Disney+’s Star platform, which chronicles the true story of America’s opioid crisis, also comprising Kaitlyn Dever, Will Poulter and Rosario Dawson.
And yet there’s still more original, never-before-seen stories in which to indulge. Australian actor Madeleine Madden holds her own against Rosamund Pike in fantasy epic Wheel of Time. Australians are behind the scenes on The Great, the Russian period drama created by The Favourite screenwriter Tony McNamara and starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. Oh, and there’s also Kevin Costner, returning to ranch life in the fourth season of Yellowstone. Phew. What will you be watching this month?
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Dalgliesh
Beloved mystery author PD James’ most famous character is DCI Adam Dalgleish, a surly but cerebral — when are they ever anything but? — Detective and part time poet, uniquely gifted with crime solving ability. This six episode miniseries tackles a different James story every two episodes and is brilliantly acted by star Bertie Carvel in the lead role. Nobody does a murder mystery like the Brits. On Acorn from November 1
The North Water
An all-star cast leads this cold, wet miniseries, set in the frigid Svalbard Archipelago during an ill-fated whaling expedition that devolves into a fight for survival. Colin Farrell, Stephen Graham and Jack O’Connell are just a handful of the major actors on board for this The Revenant-esque drama, all five episodes of which will be dropped onto Foxtel simultaneously. Although we have to admit, the subject matter of this one doesn’t lend itself to bingeing. On Foxtel from November 2
Dr Brain
AppleTV+ is getting into the Korean television game with Dr Brain, a six episode miniseries premiering in early November. The story is based on a popular Korean ‘webtoon’, or a digital comic, and follows a scientist in the aftermath of a personal tragedy who believes that he can sync with the brains of dead people in his attempts to solve a mystery. On AppleTV+ from November 4
Dickinson
For three seasons, Dickinson has been one of the most criminally underrated shows on streaming. It was a launch series for AppleTV+ in 2019 and has remained largely under-appreciated since then: even a critically acclaimed second season earlier this year failed to move the needle. Our hope is that this third and final season will bring in a new audience ready to binge the whole lot — and with episodes clocking in under half an hour, there’s really no excuse not to. Dickinson is a portrait of the poet, played by the Oscar-nominated and ultra-charismatic Hailee Steinfeld, as a young woman, and it features some of the smartest and most canny writing on television, mapping modern concerns onto a period setting. But actually, as creator Alena Smith has frequently pointed out, almost everything you see onscreen in Dickinson was something that was happening in the poet’s own timeline, a reminder that the desires and ambitions of young women have rarely changed over the years. On AppleTV+ from November 5
Yellowstone
If Succession is your favourite series on television and all you want is more dysfunctional, ultra-rich families going at each other, you need to try Yellowstone. It’s Succession just on a ranch, basically, and it’s anchored by a powerful performance from the great Kevin Costner. A fourth season is about to drop onto streaming this month, but there’s still time left to start bingeing from the start. Giddy up. On Stan from 8 November
Dopesick
The reality of the devastating American opioid crisis is laid bare in this harrowing and unflinching miniseries. Several storylines are threaded together, from the Big Pharma boardrooms where marketing campaigns for a new pain medication are dreamt up, to the consulting rooms where doctors prescribe those pills to desperate patients in pain. Based on an acclaimed book and with a stellar cast including Michael Keaton, Kaitlyn Dever, Peter Sarsgard, Will Poulter, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rosario Dawson, Dopesick is a well scripted and even better acted miniseries that is a powerful watch. On Disney+’s Star from 12 November
The Shrink Next Door
Will Ferrell. Paul Rudd. Kathryn Hahn. What more do you need to know? AppleTV+’s The Shrink Next Door is just fantastic television, but how could it not be, with a cast like that? Based on a podcast of the same name from the team behind Dr Death and Dirty John, the series follows Marty Markowitz (Ferrell), encouraged by his sister Phyllis (Hahn) to seek out psychiatrist Dr Ike (Rudd) to help with his social anxiety, but the boundaries between doctor and patient soon begin to blur. Ferrell is career best in this, equal parts tender and vulnerable, and Hahn is her always wonderful self, but it’s Rudd you need to watch out for: endearing and charismatic and ultra charming, he weaponises all his most loveable personality traits to shocking effect in the series. Absolutely phenomenal. Some of the best television of the year. On AppleTV+ from November 12
Tiger King
Did anybody ask for a second season of Tiger King? Regardless, another is coming. What more could there possibly be to excavate when it comes to the tale of big cats, big personalities and the big hubris of Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin? Who can say, really. There’s also something a little unsettling about revisiting the well of a series that is so indelibly linked with the early days of the pandemic. We’re not sure we’ll be watching, but we guess that many people around the world will be. On Netflix from November 17
The Sex Lives Of College Girls
From creator Mindy Kaling comes The Sex Lives Of College Girls, an addictive comedy series about a gaggle of roommates starring one Pauline Chalamet. (Yes, sister to Timothee.) Raunchy and raucous, Kaling has really gone to town on this one, giving it the same loudmouthed, meme-able energy as her acclaimed Netflix series Never Have I Ever, just with an exponential increase in R-rated jokes. Kaling is one of our great scripted comedy writers and she is in excellent form here. Also did we mention Timothee Chalamet’s sister is in it? On Binge from November 18
Cowboy Bebop
For those keeping the anime faith, there is no series more reverently held than Cowboy Bebop. Frequently hailed as the anime that brought the craze to American shores, the story follows a ragtag group of galactic bounty hunters on the hunt for the universe’s worst criminals. Images of star John Cho in his perfectly tailored costume broke a certain subset of the internet when they were first released earlier this year. Those already in the anime pocket are going to love it, but can this live action series convert a new host of fans? We’ll have to wait and see. On Netflix from November 19
Hellbound
Coming in hot on the heels of the phenomenal success of Squid Game is Hellbound, a Korean horror series with a high concept premise. The show is set in a dystopian near future where everybody knows exactly when they are going to die, which begs the question: how would you go about living your life? What choices would you make? On Netflix from November 19
Wheel of Time
Ever since Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones made fantasy cool again, streaming platforms have searched for an epic to call their own. Some, including Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, have come close. Others — Carnival Row, anyone? — are best forgotten, as quickly as you can. Wheel of Time is the latest to attempt the climb, based on a best-selling book series and with an inclusive cast, including Rosamund Pike, Sophie Okonedo and Australian actor Madeleine Madden. Wheel of Time’s USP is that its story heroes female characters, all too frequently underused by the genre. Let’s see if Wheel of Time can stick the landing. On Amazon Prime Video from November 19
The Great
Period dramas had a, ahem, period of change over the past year, courtesy of television series including Bridgerton, Dickinson and The Great. They moved from stuffy and uptight to colourful, creative and quite cheeky, none embodying that tone more so than The Great. Created by Australian screenwriter Tony McNamara (The Favourite), the series is a loosely historical look at the ascension to power by a young Catherine of Russia (Elle Fanning) and her feckless husband Peter (Nicholas Hoult). At the end of the first season, Catherine had staged a coup and deposed Peter — what will happen next is anyone’s guess, especially now that the show will feature a guest performance by Gillian Anderson as Catherine’s odious mother. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, Cat. On Stan from November 20
Hawkeye
Be honest. Brutally so: is Clint Barton, alias Hawkeye, actually anyone’s favourite Avenger? Well, no matter the answer, a series dedicated to the super … archerer … is coming to Disney+ this holiday season. That’s right, Hawkeye is actually a secret Christmas story, following the hero (played once more by Jeremy Renner, looking a little long in the tooth) as he tries to get back to his family for the festive season, aided by Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld in her second streaming appearance this month), a 22-year-old archer with aspirations of being a hero one day. Renner is a steady hand and he knows the character beats inside and out, but it’s Steinfeld you should watch. Between this and Dickinson — and she can sing, too — she’s really proving herself to be one of the most talented young stars in Hollywood and one to watch. On Disney+ from November 24
True Story
Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes headline this Netflix miniseries loosely based on Hart’s own life. Kid (Hart) is a successful comedian, who reconnects with his brother Carlton (Snipes) while in their hometown of Philadelphia for a performance, but a night out together threatens to derail everything he has built thus far. The comedian has said that this is the most exciting acting job of his career — tune in to see what Hart makes of such personal material. On Netflix from November 24
There’s a new English murder mystery this month on Britbox. Crime stars Dougray Scott and Joanna Vanderham as two police officers investigating a missing school student, with concerns that a serial killer could be on the loose. It’s the first ever television adaptation of an Irvine Welsh book, aka the man behind Trainspotting and Filth, and is directed by James Strong, of Vigil fame. This one is sure to be just as much of a twisted, addictive thriller. On BritBox from November 25
Gossip Girl
They’re calling this Part B of season one, and so it shall be, a continuation of the reboot that first launched back in July. Stars Jordan Alexander, Whitney Peak, Tavi Gevinson, Evan Mock and Emily Alyn Lind are all back for round two, which picks up exactly where it left off. On Binge in November