Best new shows – quick links
Widow’s Bay – 29 April (Apple TV)
Series. We’re in a quaint island town 40 miles off the coast of New England. But something lurks beneath the surface. Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is desperate to revive his struggling community.
There’s no wi-fi, spotty cellular reception and he must contend with superstitious locals who believe their island is cursed. He wants these people to respect him. They don’t. They think he is soft and cowardly. And he is.
But Loftis is determined to build a better future for his teenage son and turn the island into a tourist destination. Miraculously, he succeeds: tourists are finally coming. Unfortunately, the locals were right. After decades of calm, the old stories that seemed too ludicrous to be true start happening again. Watch the trailer.
The Americans Seasons 1-6 – 1 May (SBS On Demand)
Series. The Americans is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington DC during the Reagan administration. The arranged marriage of Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) grows more passionate and genuine by the day, but as the pressures and demands of the job grow heavier, the personal toll becomes almost too exhausting to bear.
Alongside real-life couple Rhys and Russell, the cast includes Margo Martindale, Noah Emmerich and Richard Thomas. Recurring cast members include Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Julia Garner (Ozark) and Miriam Shor (Pluribus, Younger).
Ludwig Season 1 – 29 April (BritBox)
Series. David Mitchell portrays the puzzle setter John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, whose life is upended when his identical twin suddenly disappears in this award-winning comedy series.
John reluctantly assumes his twin’s identity to find clues to his whereabouts. Given John’s identical twin is DCI James Taylor, John must infiltrate the major investigations team, solve a string of seemingly unconnected murders, and convincingly remain in character as his detective brother.
Starring David Mitchell, Anna Maxwell Martin, Dipo Ola and Sophie Willan.
The House Of The Spirits – 29 April (Prime Video)
Series. A magnificent family saga that tells the epic tale of a proud and passionate family, secret loves and bloody revolution.
The Trueba family’s passions, struggles, and secrets span a century of violent social change, culminating in a crisis that hurls the proud, tyrannical patriarch and his beloved granddaughter towards opposite sides of the fence.
Starring Alfonso Herrera, Dolores Fonzi, Nicole Wallace, Juan Pablo Raba and Fernanda Castillo.
The Way Home Season 4 – 21 April (Binge)
Series. Season 4 marks the return of this time travel show following the lives of three generations of Landry women, whose mission is to somehow find their way back to each other while learning important – and not always easy – lessons about their family’s past.
Starring Chyler Leigh, Evan Williams and Andie MacDowell.
