The TV big dogs are out this week, with Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story), DB Weiss and David Benioff (Game of Thrones) and Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) all bringing us brand new drama series. Kim Kardashian takes her first lead role in Murphy’s legal thriller All’s Fair, while Matthew Macfadyen is the man who assassinated James Garfield in Death by Lightning, and the fantastic Rhea Seehorn stars in Gilligan’s mysterious Pluribus. Plus, there’s the return of BBC One’s Shetland and Celebrity Race Across the World, and the finale of both Bake Off and Celebrity Traitors.
Here’s the rundown of what to look forward to, and catch up on, this week.
What’s on TV tonight?
Pluribus
Apple TV
Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan’s new show is also set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is led by Rhea Seehorn, best known as no-nonsense lawyer Kim from prequel Better Call Saul. But in truth, the superb Pluribus has less in common with Breaking Bad than it does with Gilligan’s days writing on sci-fi classic The X-Files.
The reason why, exactly, cannot be revealed here. Apple TV has forbidden previewers from discussing the show’s central concept in advance of today’s two-part premiere. What can be said, however, is that it concerns a mysterious contagion that is transforming the world’s population into content and optimistic citizens. Everyone, that is, except Carol (Seehorn), a misanthropic fantasy author who seems to be immune to the virus’s charms.
It is a playful, haunting, genre-bending twist on the zombie apocalypse. Except instead of wanting to eat your brains, these zombies just want to make sure that you are happy. Gilligan’s penchant for the absurd (remember Walter White throwing that pizza?) is in full flow here, as Carol reluctantly deals with one surreal situation after another. At its core, though, are smart, challenging questions about individuality and free will. Namely, the freedom to be miserable.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.telegraph.co.uk ’
