September TV preview: Charles Dickens, Lizzie Borden, and a trip back to Hillman College
Plus, Reacher gets a spin-off, while Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson play themselves (sort of).
A Different World (Photo: Quantrell Colbert/Netflix), Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story (Photo: Courtesy of Netflix), and A Tale Of Two Cities (Photo: Prime Video)
Once upon a time not so very long ago, September marked the start of the new fall TV season, full of heavy-hitting premieres and big-name series returns. The rise of the streaming era means that the TV season is now eternal, but the arrival of fall does still herald a glut of programs new and old. Known properties are hot this month, with the arrival of Netflix’s A Different World sequel, Paramount+’s Martin spin-off The Varnell Hill Show, FX’s The Drop: A Snowfall Saga, and Prime Video’s Reacher follow-up Neagley. Elsewhere, new series see Ella Beatty playing Lizzie Borden for Ryan Murphy, Colin From Accounts’ star Patrick Brammall in an Apple TV+ crime thriller, and Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as themselves.Here’s The A.V. Club‘s guide for what to watch on TV this September:
The Varnell Hill Show (Paramount+, September 1)
Martin Lawrence and Tommy Davidson (Photo: Paramount+)
Everything old really is new again. Almost 30 years after the end of Martin, Tommy Davidson returns to the series’ universe as WZUP DJ-turned-late-night host Varnell Hill. Martin Lawrence himself will make special appearances on the show, which sees Varnell trying to stay afloat amid the shifting tides and constant head winds of 21st-century media, a topic The A.V. Club would know nothing about…
A Tale Of Two Cities (MGM+, September 6)
The BBC’s fourth TV adaptation of Charles Dickens’ perennial bestseller finds the British broadcaster teaming with the cable channel formerly known as Epix. (Speaking of transformation.) Kit Harington, Mirren Mack, and Francois Civil make for an appealing love triangle at the center of Dickens’ saga of romance, sacrifice, transformation, and justice in the best of times and the worst of times
The Drop: A Snowfall Saga (FX, September 8)
Gail Bean and Isaiah John reprise their roles as fan-favorite Snowfall characters Wanda Bell and Leon Simmons, who are now attempting to reinvent themselves in 1990s Los Angeles. The rise of West Coast rap serves as the backdrop to The Drop’s complicated story about ambition, loyalty, survival, and the clash between street politics and hip-hop culture.
Dang! (Netflix, September 8)
Andrew Law and Matt Murray’s new adult animated series follows the adventures of a pair of misfit siblings in New York City whose lives are turned upside down when their high-achieving older sister arrives and wants to hang out with them. Complex relationship dynamics and sibling rivalry ensue. Law is also part of the voice cast alongside Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Stephanie Hsu and Hacks’ Poppy Liu.
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