“His Dark Materials”
What You Need to Know: Even if you weren’t a huge fan of season one of HBO’s “His Dark Materials” based on the famous book series by author Phillip Pullman, it might be worth your time to at least give its second season a chance. As we’re veering into second book territory, with it means the expansion of the world, a bigger pool of characters who offer counterpoints to the ones that have already been established and, in retrospect, will make much of what happened in season one feel a lot like set up (which, in fairness, it is.) The new season of the show picks up after Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) opens a bridge into another world and Lyra (Dafne Keen) follows him to experience new adventures and worlds in unknown territory. Along with returning actors such as McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Lin Manuel-Miranda, and Andrew Scott comes newcomers Terence Stamp, Jade Anouka, and Simone Kirby.
Release Date: Season two premieres November 16 on HBO.
“No Man’s Land”
What You Need to Know: Created by Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen, the last Hulu drama “No Man’s Land” follows a young French man searching for his presumed-dead sister in Syria. In “No Mans’s Land” we witness the Syrian war through the eyes of our lead character Antoine, played by Félix Moati, as he ends up joining forces with a unit of Kurdish female fighters. On its own, the story makes for compelling television, though we’ll have to see how the final product turns out and if it lives up to the high stakes synopsis. The series, executively produced by Maria Feldman, also stars Mélanie Thierry and James Purefoy.
Release Date: Season one premieres November 18th on Hulu.
“Animaniacs”
What You Need To Know: This revival of ‘90s cartoon “Animaniacs” is decidedly not like other reboots. The official trailer for the series, slated to return to streaming network Hulu for at least two seasons, directly pokes fun at it’s own return to television and Hollywood declaring, “reboots are symptomatic of a fundamental lack of originality in Hollywood.” Steven Spielberg returns as executive producer and all the original voice actors return to reprise their roles on the show. Per the synopsis: “The Warner brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner sister Dot, have a great time wreaking havoc and mayhem in the lives of everyone they meet. After returning to their beloved home, the Warner Bros. water tower, the siblings waste no time in causing chaos and comic confusion as they run loose through the studio, turning the world into their personal playground. Joining Yakko, Wakko and Dot, fan-favorite characters Pinky and the Brain also return to continue their quest for world domination.”
Release Date: November 20th on Hulu.