New to View: October 25 – 31

A weekly guide to what’s new of note on air and online

Monday

➢ The Undoing SoHo, 8.30/Neon

A violent death, a missing spouse, and a chain of terrible revelations upwind the lives of a New York City therapist, her devoted husband and their young son. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant star. “A very competently made slice of crime drama, albeit one that plays it a little too safe. Fans of the genre will know exactly what to expect here, as the series administers familiar plot devices such as the incomplete flashback and the last-minute twist to unravel the central murder mystery. It’s hardly revolutionary, but it’s a tried and tested method of hooking viewers that functions with workmanlike efficiency.” — Radio Times.

➢ Anthony Acorn TV

Jimmy McGovern (The Street, Hillsborough) imagines what life might have been like for an 18-year-old devout Christian who was murdered in a racist attack 15 years ago. “This was essentially a film about grief and the gaping holes that bereavement leaves … It was powerful stuff and unlike anything I’ve seen before.” — The Times.

Tuesday

➢ 16 And Recovering MTV, 10.30

The four-part documentary series about the triumphs and tragedies of students working toward graduation while living with substance use and mental health issues at a recovery high school in Boston. “Raw and honest, with well-rounded characters who are immediately endearing … Each episode focuses on a few students, and ends with title cards explaining what happened to them since filming concluded.” — Reality Blurred.

Wednesday

➢ How to Build a Motorcar Duke, 8.30

Part one of five that takes a nuts-and-bolts look at how some of the world’s most fabulous cars come off the assembly line. The Channel 4 series opens with a trip to the Maserati home of its Quattroporte super saloon and continues with episodes about the London cab, the Morgan Plus Six, the Aston Martin Suerleggera and the Bentley Continental GT.

Thursday

➢ Blue Bloods Three, 11.05

The Tom Selleck police clan saga belatedly returns for its eight season. Like Hawaii Five-O, Three has treated this solid drama appallingly with haphazard scheduling that never allowed it to develop the following that’s kept it on air in the US for 11 years. S8 opens with the abrupt exit of a key character. “This is a rare departure for the long running, much watched, and fairly cast-consistent drama. It’s a departure that is all the more narratively expeditious with the character’s chopper demise – an event seemingly unrelated to the torching of her house by a Mexican drug cartel at the end of Blue Bloods’ Season 7.” — Deadline Hollywood.

Friday

➢ Truth Seekers Amazon Prime Video

“It’d be easy to glance at Truth Seekers and mistake it for a satirical farce. The new Amazon series comes from Nat Saunders, James Serafinowicz and the vaunted duo of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, who have collaborated on genre comedies like Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End. Starring Frost as a wireless service repairman slash amateur paranormal investigator, Truth Seekers has plenty of small-town British charm to spare as he travels from one haunted house to another. But the series also quickly reveals itself to be a genuinely creepy bit of horror, with ghost stories that are tragic and poignant, startling and violent.” — Variety.

➢ Suburra Netflix

In the third and season of this epic Italian crime drama, “final judgement in the battle for land in an Italian seaside town is close, and the criminals are ready to play the game for the last time”.