Hey, TV watchers! TV critic Michel Ghanem here. Every two weeks, I highlight the shows worth your TV time for Trust Me, I Watch Everything. Whether you prefer sticking to cable, catching the latest on streaming or digging up a hidden gem that slipped through the cracks, I try to curate something for everyone.
Fall TV is simply the best. I don’t know about you, but when it gets dark this early, all I want to do in the evenings is put on an episode of something comforting. Luckily for us, The Gilded Age is back on HBO. It’s one of the coziest period dramas in recent memory; the plot moves slowly, and the costumes keep your eyes glued to the screen.
Over on streaming, It Gets Worse, a steamy Gen Z comedy about 20-somethings figuring it all out, arrives stateside from the U.K. You might also want to tune in to the sophomore seasons of Black Doves and North of North on Netflix. Finally, I highlight Veneno on HBO Max as a timely hidden gem to check out in light of the critically acclaimed new filmLa Bola Negra hitting theaters.
And there’s more where that came from … grab the remote!
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Hidden gems you may have missed
⏰ Tune in
Why you should watch it:From my perspective, The Gilded Age just keeps getting better. Now in its fourth season, the show has found its rhythm between plot with forward momentum and rich character development — not to mention costume design that is so sumptuous you can hardly believe your eyes.
For those who haven’t yet tuned in: The story created by Downton Abbey‘s Julian Fellowes takes place in 1880s New York. There is a clash happening between old money — the Van Rhijn family led by matriarch Agnes (Christine Baranski) and her sister Ada (Cynthia Nixon) — and the nouveau riche family of the Russells, who live across the street in a modern, airy mansion. Their wealth comes from the railroad business; George (Morgan Spector) is a robber baron who butts heads with his union, while his wife, Bertha (Carrie Coon), is trying to assert her dominance in the local opera scene.
Both households have children seeking successful marriages and working staff who handle luncheons and dinner parties, although this show has less of an Upstairs, Downstairs class structure than Downton Abbeydid. There is much more social mobility in this era of New York, in which new money upsets old conventions and a maid might be one clever invention or marriage away from hanging up her feather duster for good.
Season 4’s excellent premiere tackles several loose threads, such as a lavender marriage between Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) and Enid Winterton (Kelley Curran), a couple intending to take down the Russell family. I particularly love Peggy Scott’s (Denée Benton) story as she goes from being Agnes’s secretary to a published writer, a rare achievement for African Americans in white spaces during the early Jim Crow era.
You could also watch for Kasia Walicka-Maimone’s costume designs alone. Sometimes hats are so large they fill the entire frame, and there’s so much meaning layered into the smallest details: a devilish brooch, a more relaxed silhouette, a vivid color. Each denotes a character trait or mood.
With a sprawling ensemble cast and overlapping social dynamics, there’s a bit of something for everyone on The Gilded Age. And given the era’s overt politeness and strict etiquette, the show never feels crass, overly sexual or violent — a rarity on television these days. That said, there’s always enough gossip to go around.
How to watch:New episodes of The Gilded Ageair every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and stream on HBO Max.
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The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins: The critically acclaimed sports mockumentary created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means returns for a second season. Disgraced football player Reggie Dinkins (Tracy Morgan) has hired the similarly disgraced filmmaker Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe) to chronicle his attempt to make a comeback. With the help of Reggie’s ex-wife and manager Monica (Erika Alexander), they might be able to slowly start rebuilding his reputation — with a few hijinks along the way. — New episodes air Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC and stream onPeacock.
📺 Stream
Why you should watch it:There is nothing like a mid-20s existential comedy, and It Gets Worse,created by comedian Leo Reich, is a promising addition to the canon.
The setup is classic: Three best friends living together in a flat in London are being forced to move out by their landlord and are trying to find a new place.
They’re about to sign a new lease when Abi (Emily Fairn) finally admits she’s planning to move in with her boyfriend Tom (Sean Delaney). As a temporary measure, Ethan (star and creator Reich) crashes with his situationship, and Sam (Olive Gray) moves into her ex-girlfriend’s communal living flat for alternative creatives.
Naturally, nothing goes according to plan. The friend group is fractured, and each of the trio is dealing with their own set of romantic issues. The sex scenes are graphic but realistic enough, and there is plenty of imagery that would make even the most loyal Heated Rivalry viewer gasp. One such scene — in which Ethan hooks up with a therapist played by Andrew Scott who spits in his mouth — went viral a few weeks ago.
It Gets Worse might be one of the defining Gen Z comedies of our time, even if it doesn’t quite reach the level of insight that Fleabag and Girls once did for millennials (it feels more akin to Big Mood).
It feels especially apt for Girls creator Lena Dunham to guest star in It Gets Worse. Reich appeared in her 2025 Netflix series Too Much, but I see Dunham’s cameo as a passing of the torch to a younger generation of messy, existential characters trying to figure out life in the city on a tight budget.
Lastly, for the literary folks out there, the season is narrated by Zadie Smith. Reich has assembled quite the team.
How to watch:All six episodes of It Gets Worse will stream Friday, Nov. 6 on Paramount+.
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The Greatest:The most iconic professional boxer gets the biopic miniseries treatment in this new series created by Ben Watkins and executive produced by Michael B. Jordan. Jaalen Best stars as Muhammad Ali in a season that traces Ali’s childhood, career and activism. The show is produced in collaboration with Ali’s estate, and you can expect other recognizable figures to appear, including Malcolm X (Michael Ealy). — All eight episodes will be streaming Wednesday, Nov. 4 onPrime Video
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Black Doves:I loved the first season of this tense but festive spy thriller starring Ben Whishaw, Keira Knightley and Sarah Lancashire. Two years after its premiere, the show returns for a second season, with Ambika Mod and Neve Campbell joining the cast. This isn’t quite Slow Horses — these characters play spies and killers for hire — but it’s engaging and infused with just the right amount of humor and earnestness. — The second season arrives Thursday, Nov. 5 onNetflix.
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North of North:North of Northmight be the most colorful show on television. The Canadian sitcom is set in the fictional Arctic town of Ice Cove and follows Siaja (Anna Lambe), a young Inuk woman who is trying to reinvent herself after giving birth and leaving a rocky marriage. Set against stark white snowy backdrops, every bright outfit and fur-lined jacket pops onscreen. There’s a cozy, affable quality to the show that feels like a warm hug in the style of Parks and Recreation or Ghosts. It’s a delight to have it back for another season. — The second season arrives Thursday, Nov. 5 onNetflix.
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Just One Before I Die:From former Yahoo correspondent Kevin Polowy and Addison Henderson comesJust One Before I Die, a five-part docuseries that takes an in-depth look into the passionate fanbase of the Buffalo Bills, or “Bills Mafia,” as they’re called. The directing duo spent three years immersed with these fans and interviewed the likes of Chad Michael Murray, a lifelong Bills fan, as well as legendary players. All they need now is an ever-elusive Super Bowl win. —All five episodes are streaming onTubi.
💎Hidden gems
Why you should watch it:Have you heard of La Bola Negra?The acclaimed Spanish epic is making its way through theaters right now before a Netflix release in December. It’s already expected to be a frontrunner for Best Picture at the Oscars, but co-directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi actually come from a television-producing background. To understand their directorial style ahead of La Bola Negra, I highly recommend Veneno, released in 2020.
The eight-episode biopic tells the real story of Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez, a Spanish television personality known as “La Veneno” who gained notoriety for her profanity and boisterous personality after an appearance on a late-night talk show in the mid-1990s. She became known as one of the most high-profile trans women in the country, with her life documented in a non-fiction book published by journalist Valeria Vegas in 2016, just a month before Cristina’s suspicious death.
It’s a story filled with a lot of tragedy, childhood violence and even time spent in a men’s prison. But there’s also a heartwarming community of dear friends she made along the way — not to mention the unique peculiarities of being trans in the public eye pre-internet.
In the show, Lola Rodríguez (who also appears briefly in La Bola Negra) plays journalism student Valeria Vegas, who is trans herself but still coming into her identity. She seeks out La Veneno (Isabel Torres) to learn more about her mysterious story and forms a tender friendship with her best friend, Paca la Piraña (interestingly, the real-life actor plays herself in the show). In flashbacks, we follow Cristina from a cruel childhood to her later years.
Cristina is a complex anti-hero of sorts and not without culpability for some of the dangerous circumstances she finds herself in throughout her life. The whole series is stylistically luscious; the Javiers (aka Los Javis) are fantastic directors who love to play with visual language and cinematography full of beauty and metaphor.
A sequel series, Vestidas de azul, was released in 2023 and continues Valeria’s story. For some reason, it was never made available to stream in North America, but I’m still hoping it could make its way to a streamer one of these days.
How to watch:All eight episodes of Veneno are streaming on HBO Max.
That’s it for this edition, but there’ll always be more TV to watch. I’ll be back on Nov. 16 with new recommendations.
Think there’s something missing that deserves my TV time? Let me know what else I should have on my radar in the comments below!
