Welcome to 2020 gang, we’re officially in the hellscape of an election year. The only solace from news over the next 11 months will be bingeable TV shows, so let’s get into some premieres that are delightful enough to keep you from checking your phone for at least a half hour.
These recommendations courtesy of TV Guide are here to help you through your weekend binge, and if you’re looking for even more suggestions, head over to TV Guide’s Watch This Now! page, which has hand-picked recommendations for all the best shows you can start watching immediately.
1. Medical Police
Erinn Hayes, Medical Police
From the creative team behind cult hit Children’s Hospital, comes a spin-off of nonsensical proportions called Medical Police. Erinn Hayes returns as Dr. Lola Spratt who jets to Brazil when a deadly virus outbreak at local university demands her expertise. Her ex, Dr. Owen Maestro (Rob Huebel) gives her a lift, and the mystery they stumble into sets them off on a globe-trotting adventure. A playful parody of the thriller and cop genres, Medical Police is a must watch for fans of Wet Hot American Summer–style comedy.
2. Giri/Haji
Will Sharpe, Giri/Haji
Giri/Haji, which translates to Duty/Shame, is BBC’s latest international thriller (distributed in America via Netflix). Centering on two brothers on opposite sides of the law, Giri/Haji weaves a complicated tale the explores the ripple effects of one man’s deceit. Spanning from London to Tokyo, the series is much more than a broody reimagining of modern Yakuza, it’s a genre-defying masterpiece both in terms of tone (the British characters serve as much needed comic relief in this Japanese tale) and medium. Cutting into various styles of film, the series also dips into stunning animation scenes that look like watercolors springing to life. Giri/Haji is a show well worth reading the subtitles for.
3. The Outsider
Ben Mendelsohn and Cynthia Erivo, The Outsider
On the surface, The Outsider sounds like another gritty crime drama: The murder of an 11 year-old boy leads to the arrest of a Little League coach (Jason Bateman), only for evidence to place him at two different locations 60 miles apart at the time of the murder. But The Outsider is adapted from a Stephen King novel so what follows when a detective played by Ben Mendelsohn begins to investigate is less of a whodunit and more of a metaphysical meditation on where we turn when all logic fails.
If you’re still looking for something to watch, remember to check out TV Guide’s Watch This Now! feature. It’s full of hand-picked recommendations, from the talked-about shows to the gems you can’t afford to pass up.
(Disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.)