It’s a quieter week, but with a few intriguing new projects. There’s been a surge of new women-led shows over the last month, so it’s also a good opportunity to catch up. The last few weeks have had new series dropping left and right, including Apple’s “The Essex Serpent” and “Shining Girls”, HBO’s “The Staircase”, Hulu’s “Candy”, Netflix’s “42 Days of Darkness” and “The 7 Lives of Lea”, Paramount’s “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” and “The Offer”, PBS’s “Ridley Road”, and Showtime’s “The First Lady” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth”.
I’m personally interested in “Angelyne” and “Troppo” this week, and I’m always curious what Belen Rueda’s doing, but a lighter week means that not all tastes will be served. It’s a great opportunity to catch up on what’s been covered in past weeks, too.
For now, let’s look at this week:
NEW SERIES
Angelyne (Peacock)
showrunner Allison Miller
directed by Lucy Tcherniak
Emmy Rossum plays “Angelyne”. Based on the true story of a model who came to prominence in the 80s by buying billboards to promote her punk band, she in many ways presaged our brand-as-content era.
Allison Miller showruns. She’s produced on “Strange Angel” and “Brave New World”. She started her career as an assistant on the “Spartacus” series.
You may not know Lucy Tcherniak as a director, but with multiple episodes each of “The End of the F***ing World”, “Station Eleven”, and “Wanderlust”, she’s the definition of a director to watch out for.
You can watch “Angelyne” on Peacock. All 5 episodes are available immediately.
Troppo (Amazon)
showrunner Yolanda Ramke
In this Australian series, Thomas Jane plays a disgraced ex-cop. He escapes to the Australian tropics and finds himself wrapped up in a private investigative service run by a wanted woman.
Showrunner Yolanda Ramke wrote and directed Martin Freeman-starrer “Cargo”. She’s also directed on “The Haunting of Bly Manor” and wrote on “New Gold Mountain”.
You can watch “Troppo” on Amazon. It’s on one of the app’s sub-channels called Freevee, which means you can watch it as part of your subscription, but with ads. All 8 episodes are available immediately.
NEW MOVIES
The Perfect Family (Netflix)
directed by Arantxa Echevarria
Belen Rueda plays Lucia, a matriarch who disapproves of her son’s girlfriend and their in-laws. If Rueda seems familiar, she was the lead in Spanish horror film “The Orphanage” and drama “The Sea Inside”. There’s no English-translated trailer, but the film will have subtitles.
Arantxa Echevarria directs. She also directed “Carmen & Lola”. She got her start as a trainee assistant director in the 90s, later moving into production managing.
You can watch “The Perfect Family” on Netflix.
13 Minutes (Showtime)
directed by Lindsay Gossling
This drama follows four families on the day a tornado hits their town. Amy Smart, Thora Birch, Paz Vega, and Anne Heche star.
Writer-director Lindsay Gossling previously wrote “Un traductor”. This is her first feature film as director.
You can watch “13 Minutes” on Showtime, or see where to rent it.
Take a look at new shows + movies by women from past weeks.
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Gabriel Diego Valdez 