It’s a big day for highly anticipated new streaming series, two of which just released their first trailers.
First, we have Constellation, the AppleTV sci-fi thriller starring Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks.
Rapace plays an astronaut who returns to Earth after a stint on a space station and finds that her life has changed in a number of small, subtle ways.
In his best world-weary “go home, Walter” voice, Banks explains that astronauts have a tendency to become “unstuck” after spending too much time in space.
What does that mean, exactly?
Well, we guess we’ll have to watch the spacy drama unfold to find out!
It’s tough to discern much about the plot from the trailer, but it looks like the series will enter supernatural horror territory as it progresses.
There’s some weirdness involving Rapace’s daughter, and the trailer delivers some genuinely spine-tingling creepy kid moments.
It also has lots of snowy spookiness in the style of True Detective Season 4. ‘Tis the season for frigid frights!
Constellation will premiere on February 21. Check out the trailer now.
Also receiving its first trailer today is Ripley, a new Netflix series based on Patricia Highsmith’s novels about an awkward con artist with dreams of scheming his way into high society.
The first book, The Talented Mr. Ripley, was adapted into a 1999 film starring Matt Damon and Jude Law that has taken on the status as a cult classic in recent years.
The casting of 47-year-old Andrew Scott as the title character — who’s described as a broke early-twentysomething in the series’ first novel — indicates that director Steve Zaillian might be taking the story in a different direction.
With its stark black-and-white photography, Ripley is evocative of the noir thrillers from the era in which it takes place.
If you’ve been missing Mad Men, this exploration of the dark side of Manhattan in the early ’60s might help to fill the void left by Don Draper and company.
One of the industry’s most revered screenwriters (he’s penned films directed by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and David Fincher), Zaillian is best known in the TV world for his brilliantly bleak 2016 limited series The Night Of.
This sort of prestige project is the type of thing Netflix subscribers have been clamoring for, and we hope it’ll siglnal the start of a new era for the streaming giant, which has become synonymous in recent years with cheap, rather forgettable fare.
Check out the trailer for Ripley below.
And if you’re a fan of TV adaptations of popular books, we’ve got more good news for you!
Apples Never Fall is an upcoming Peacock limited series based on the novel by Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers author Liane Moriarty.
If you’re familar with Moriarty’s work (or the TV adaptations of her work!), then we probably don’t need to tell you that her latest centers around an affluent family with a dark side and a lot of secrets.
Peacock is likely hoping to repeat the success of Lies, which became an instant hit with audiences and critics when it debuted in 2017.
(Nicole Kidman recently revealed that a third season is in the works.)
Apples producers are very much following the Lies blueprint by stacking the show’s cast with A-list talent.
The series stars Annette Bening and Sam Neil as Joy and Stan Delaney, a pair of wealthy husband-and-wife former tennis coaches who are enjoying the fruits of their labor after retiring and selling their business for a hefty sum.
While it might be fun to watch yuppies spend money on expensive activewear week after week, the Delaneys fortunes take a turn for the worse when Joy disappears, and her four children are forced to reexamine their parents’ seemingly perfect marriage.
“Ultimately, Apples Never Fall is a very honest show about what it means to be a part of a very complicated family. Which is every family, right?” says showrunner Melanie Marnich.
“As we always said in the writers’ room… Something really bad might’ve happened at the Delaney’s…but you still wanna swing by for a gin and tonic. Watch the trailer now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpM6oe5UCIM
In other streaming news, Netflix is continuing its partnership with Lindsay Lohan with a new rom-com titled Our Little Secret.
Kristin Chenoweth co-stars in the holiday flick, which also reunites Lindsay with her Mean Girls castmate Tim Meadows.
This will be the second Christmas-themed Netflix movie to star LiLo, following 2022’s Falling For Christmas.
“We’re so happy with our collaboration with Lindsay to date, and we’re thrilled to continue our partnership with her,” says Netflix’s director of independent film Christina Rogers.
“We look forward to bringing more of her films to our members around the world.”
Finally, today brought the announcement of the annual Razzie Award nominations.
The controversial awards are basically the anti-Oscars, bestowing dubious honors upon the movies and stars that the selection committee dubs the year’s very worst.
The Exorcist: Believer, Expend4bles, Meg 2: The Trench, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey made the list of the crappiest feature films of 2023.
Meanwhile, the year’s worst performances featured work from a mixed bag of serious actors and A-list movie stars:
Russell Crowe was nominated for The Pope’s Exorcist, Vin Diesel for Fast X, Chris Evans for Ghosted, Jason Statham for Meg 2: The Trench, and Jon Voight for Mercy.
Among the leading ladies, Ana de Armas made the cut for Ghosted, Megan Fox for Johnny & Clyde, Salma Hayek for Magic Mike’s Last Dance, Jennifer Lopez for The Mother, and Helen Mirren for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Hopefully, everyone inviolved will be able to laugh off their involvement in the 2023 Razzies.
It might not be very kind to single out the year’s worst artists and creations, but thankfully, everyone nominated has enjoyed a great deal of praise and success over the years.
Even if they win the year’s least-coveted prize, we’re sure their egos will recover.
Tyler Johnson is an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic and the other Mediavine O&O sites. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and, of course, watching TV. You can Follow him on X and email him here at TV Fanatic.