“PEN15“
What You Need to Know: Perhaps we shouldn’t be so taken with the easy laughs provided from stars Maua Erskine (“Casual,” “Man Seeking Woman“) and Anna Konkle (“Man Seeking Woman“) playing teenagers in 7th great with a bunch of actual teenage supporting players, but we are. Created by the two stars, along with Sam Zvibleman, the show confronts the awkwardness of what it means to be a teenage girl, a topic that even with “Eighth Grade” last year goes underrepresented in media.
Release Date: Season 1 premieres February 8th on Hulu.
“Miracle Workers“
What You Need to Know: Not much beyond the fact that Steve Buscemi is playing God, I’d hope. If more is needed to push you in the right direction of checking this one out, Daniel Radcliffe co-stars as a frenzied low-level angel who must team up with a new recruit to stop Buscemi from destroying the earth. The series is also created by the brilliant Simon Rich who brought us the similarly offbeat “Man Seeking Woman” which achieved a small but noteworthy level of critical success as it broke format and played with the televised structure that was fun and fresh and indicated that more newer talent should be brought on board more often.
Release Date: Season 1 premieres February 12th on TBS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBVqgz0a4Kc
“Weird City“
What You Need To Know: It doesn’t require much to get us excited over anything that has creator Jordan Peele’s name attached to it. From his work on the incredible “Key and Peele” variety show to the formula shattering “Get Out,” that became both a commercial and critical darling in 2017 in a manner horror hadn’t seen in eons, to the upcoming “Us” starring Lupita Nyong’o which is nightmare inducing even while watching on mute, Peele is as versatile visionary as there is to be had these days. All of this to say that even though the new Youtube Red series “Weird City” looks a touch, well, odd, you’ll be hard pressed to have us bypassing it. With an anthology set up with performers such as Steven Yeun, Michael Cera and Rosario Dawson on board there’d be more difficult in scaring us away.
Release Date: Season 1 premieres February 13th on Youtube Red.
