SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The fall TV season is underway, and this year that means some familiar shows are coming back - "The Morning Show," "Stranger Things," Apple TV+'s spy show, "Slow Horses."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SLOW HORSES")
SASKIA REEVES: (As Catherine Standish) Sinister forces are trying to bring down the country. What are we going to do?
JACK LOWDEN: (As River Cartwright) And don't say nothing.
DETROW: What makes this season interesting, though, is not just the familiar names. We also have some new series, and critic Glen Weldon is already diving in. He hosts NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and he's here to talk about what he's watching. Hey, Glen.
GLEN WELDON, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: Let's start with this new HBO Max series, "Task." This is from the same creator as "Mare Of Easttown," Brad Inglesby. What do we need to know?
WELDON: Well, it's set in the same suburbs of Philly where I grew up, and "Mare" was a whodunit, right? This is more a cat-and-mouse crime thriller. It stars Mark Ruffalo as a very sad and very tired FBI agent who's heading up a task force to go after a motorcycle gang. Tom Pelphrey from "Ozark" is the guy he's after, and the show's really about how both of these men are wallowing in grief that is setting them on a collision course.
DETROW: I hear you say that, and it makes me wonder, is this just yet another grim prestige drama?
WELDON: I mean, yeah, I'm not going to lie. It's a tough sit. It's dark. But if you stick with it, Scott, it's going to pay off 'cause it ends up being weirdly hopeful in the end. And plus, you get to see a brand-new cast kind of hurling themselves against that very difficult Philly accent. Martha Plimpton, for example, plays Ruffalo's boss.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TASK")
MARK RUFFALO: (As Tom Brandis) It's not exactly a wealth of experience, Kath.
MARTHA PLIMPTON: (As Kathleen McGinty) Well, it's task, Tom. You know, we're not talking the tip of the spear here. You got to work with what you're given.
WELDON: So that character is always eating on the show, Scott, so if it was nothing more than her talking about (imitating Philly accent) water ice and hoagies, I would watch 'cause it feels like home.
DETROW: You said those both so authentically.
WELDON: (Laughter) My people.
DETROW: Speaking of dark - different kind of dark - a show I love - "BoJack Horseman" - the guy behind that has a new show out. Is he tackling similar themes in this new series?
WELDON: Yeah, I mean, this is a Netflix animated series called "Long Story Short." I think it's the best show on TV right now. It's about several generations of one Jewish family just getting through it. You know, it's funny. It's sweet, but it's never too sweet. And while "BoJack," I agree, was a great show, after some of those episodes, you did feel kind of like you needed to lie on the floor for a while.
DETROW: Yeah.
WELDON: This is a lot more gentle.
DETROW: A lot of animated stuff here, but I have also heard that "Haunted Hotel" just came out on Netflix. Is this good for a Halloween list? What should we expect?
WELDON: Oh, I love that one, too. It's different. It's a lot sharper. It's a lot edgier. The jokes come at you a lot faster. It's about a single mom, voiced by Eliza Coupe - the great Eliza Coupe - who inherits a very haunted hotel from her late brother, and she moves into it with her family. The brother is still around to show her the ropes, though, because he's one of hundreds and hundreds of ghosts. And he is voiced by Will Forte at his absolute Will Forte-est (ph). I mean, I got to imagine this part was written for him 'cause he's just this very chipper goofball, the way the best Will Forte characters are.
DETROW: Not everything's out yet. What are you looking forward to that hasn't dropped yet?
WELDON: A show called "Pluribus" comes out on Apple TV+ on November 7. That is the latest show from Vince Gilligan, the guy behind "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul." It stars Rhea Seehorn from "Better Call Saul." And that, Scott, is pretty much all we know about it, except that it's going to return Gilligan to his sci-fi roots. Here's a guy who made his bones writing for "The X Files," after all. It's the show I'm most excited about in part because they're keeping such a weirdly tight lid on it, which never really happens anymore.
DETROW: It does not. Glen Weldon hosts NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Thanks so much, Glen.
WELDON: Thank you, man. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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