November's most anticipated TV shows: The Crown, The Curse, Fargo, and more

Oprah Winfrey co-produces Black Cake, the adaptation of Charmaine Wilkerson’s book of the same name. Set in the ’60s, the show is part-murder mystery, part-family drama and centers on a runaway bride, Covey (Mia Isaac), who vanishes off of the Jamaican coast and is assumed to be a fugitive after her groom is found dead. Fifty years later in America, an old woman passes, leaving her two children letters that reveal the sordid truth about the whole ordeal. The cast includes Glynn Turman, Adrienne Warren, Chipo Chung, Ashley Thomas, Lashay Anderson, and Faith Alabi. [Saloni Gajjar]

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr, All The Light We Cannot See is a historical drama set in Europe before and during World War II. Like the book, it’s split into parallel narratives following two protagonists—Marie-Laure (Aria Mia Loberti), a blind French girl living with her father (Mark Ruffalo) and uncle (Hugh Laurie) in the walled city of Saint-Malo, and Werner (Louis Hofmann), a German boy with an affinity for radios who is recruited to fight on the side of the Nazis. The timeline jumps back and forth between the past and present, as their seemingly separate paths head toward an inevitable collision. [Cindy White]

Invincible is finally back for season two—or, at least, the first half of season two. We’ll have to wait until sometime in 2024 for the rest of the season, but for now, we’ll take what we can get. The adult-animated superhero show built to a jaw-dropping, horrifying season finale in 2021, as Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) revealed the extent of his betrayal and decimated Chicago while fighting his son, Invincible (Steven Yeun). This time around, Invincible is facing off against a new antagonist called Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown), who has a specific but as-yet-unknown grudge against him. [Jen Lennon]

Co-created by husband-wife duo Michael Green and Amber Noizumi, Blue Eye Samurai is an animated drama set in Japan during the 17th century. Maya Erskine voices Mizu, a sword master whose desire for vengeance takes her down a scary path. The voice cast boasts Randall Park, George Takei, Brenda Song, Darren Barnet, Ming-Na Wen, Stephanie Hsu, and Masi Oka. [Saloni Gajjar]

Yellowstone’s Taylor Sheridan continues his takeover of Paramount+ with his latest Western, which stars David Oyelowo (who exec-produced the project with Sheridan) as the titular slave-turned-Deputy U.S. Marshal. Forrest Goodluck, Dennis Quaid, Lauren E. Banks, and Barry Pepper also appear in the eight-episode period piece, which was created by Rectify scribe Chad Feehan and, although it takes place in a similar era, has no direct connection to 1883 (or Yellowstone, for that matter). [Tim Lowery]

An anachronistic adaptation of Edith Wharton’s unfinished final novel, The Buccaneers finds a group of wealthy and raucous young American ladies invading British high society as they search for love in Victorian England. They find no shortage of handsome and eligible suitors, but their courtships become complicated by tradition and restrictive notions of propriety. If you already miss Sanditon or you can’t wait for the next season of Bridgerton, this show might just scratch that itch. [Cindy White]

For All Mankind is ready to conquer space—and our TV screens—again. Ronald D. Moore’s stunning drama about an alternate space race returns for its fourth season, which jumps eight years ahead. It’s 2003 now, with the U.S. having successfully established its Happy Valley base on Mars. And, of course, with the mineral-rich resources available, the Red Planet has turned into a war zone of sorts for countries vying to set up there. [Saloni Gajjar]

The Curse, per Showtime’s description, is an hour-long, genre-bending dramedy that “explores how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show.” Any series from Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie is sure to be laugh-out-loud funny, extremely meta, and unlike anything we’ve seen before. Emma Stone and Fielder star as the ill-fated couple, while Safdie steps into the shoes of the HGTV producer. [Emma Keates]

Game Of Thrones star Lena Headey leads this sci-fi psychological thriller, which is set in a faraway galaxy. The MGM+ project follows Headey’s Aster and Stephan James’ Halan, who are trapped in a lighthouse for intergalactic travelers and have to figure out if they should work together to escape—or plot against each other. [Saloni Gajjar]

The OA co-creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij are behind this FX limited series, in which a billionaire (Clive Owen) hosts a group of folks in a remote locale (as billionaires are wont to do) that, yes, feels like it’s at the end of the world. When one of the guests turns up dead, an amateur sleuth (The Crown’s Emma Corrin) tries to piece it all together. Marling, Harris Dickinson, and City Of God’s Alice Braga round out the cast. [Tim Lowery]

Oh, you thought CBS was done making NCIS spin-offs? Think again. The network is going down under for some reason for the crime procedural’s latest iteration. The show follows U.S. NCIS agents working with the Australian Federal Police to nab naval criminals as tensions rise in the Indo-Pacific. The show first aired in Australia, and now, amid the lack of new fall shows due to the SAG and WGA strikes, it’s set to make its American debut. [Saloni Gajjar]

The Crown finally ventures into the long-awaited mid-’90s in its sixth season, which means documenting the heartbreaking death of Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and the eventual introduction of an adult William and Kate and their early courtship as the show jumps forward. Imelda Staunton returns to play Queen Elizabeth once again, with Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Dominic West as Charles, and Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker Bowles. The Crown’s final season is divided into two parts; the first, consisting of four episodes, premieres on November 16, while the second arrives on December 14. [Saloni Gajjar]

Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters is Apple TV+’s latest sci-fi exploration (after Invasion, Foundation, and—best of all—For All Mankind). The show is set in the aftermath of a battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco. In the series, two siblings follow in their father’s footsteps to work for a secret organization called the Monarch. The drama spans three generations and features father-son duo Kurt and Wyatt Russell playing the same character. Anna Sawai and Kiersey Clemons co-star. [Saloni Gajjar]

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is one of the most beloved movies of the last two decades. Does it necessarily need an anime remake? No. But if the entire cast is coming together to tell the story in a new format, who are we to judge? Scott Pilgrim Takes Off features Michael Cera, Aubrey Plaza, Kieran Culkin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brie Larson, Chris Evans, Allison Pill, Anna Kendrick, Mae Whitman, Satya Bhabha, and Jason Schwartzman. And we’re ready for whatever joyousness they’re cooking up. [Saloni Gajjar]

Fargo, one of the most consistently great shows of the past decade, is finally back after a three-year break. For the upcoming installment, the anthology series moves to 2019 and, like the film, takes place in Minnesota and North Dakota. Jon Hamm (as a cowboy-hat-wearing sheriff) stars with Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh, with Stranger Things’ Joe Keery, Never Have I Ever’s Richa Moorjani, and The Kids In The Hall’s Dave Foley rounding out the cast. Expect plenty of dark comedy and more than a few Coen brothers references. (Did anyone else think of this when they heard Temple’s character was named Dorothy “Dot” Lyon?) [Tim Lowery]

South Korea’s Squid Game was a global phenomenon so, naturally, the decision was made to launch a reality competition series inspired by the show’s crazy-difficult (and fatal) challenges. (Sure, why the hell not?) In this series, actual human beings battle during high-stakes children’s games to win a cash prize of $4.56 million. [Saloni Gajjar]

Remember Australia, Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 epic film starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman? Well, now everyone can return to its world in the form of a six-episode limited series. Faraway Downs reimagines and expands the story of English aristocrat Sarah Ashley (Kidman) as she travels around the world to confront her wayward husband and sell a cattle ranch. Of course, she teams up with the handsome cattle drover, played by Jackman, to do so. [Saloni Gajjar]

Charles Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist has a lot of notable characters beyond its titular protagonist, including the Artful Dodger, who gets the spotlight in this new Hulu and Disney+ venture. Thomas Brodie-Sangster stars in the eight-part series as the Dodger who, in the 1850s, is working as a surgeon when an old friend resurfaces, tempting him to go back to pickpocketing and petty theft. David Thewlis, Maia Mitchell, Damon Herriman, and Tim Minchin co-star. [Saloni Gajjar]

In Obliterated, Nick Zano and Shelley Hennig star as members of an elite team comprised of various branches of the U.S. armed forces. Their goal is to capture a terrorist network in Las Vegas, which they do successfully. It’s only when they’re out celebrating—that is, drinking, taking drugs, and having sex—that they discover they were set up. Now, inebriation be damned, they must deliver some payback. [Saloni Gajjar]

Planet Earth III (BBC, November 4)

The Santa Clauses season two (Disney+, November 8)

Rap Sh!t season two (Max, November 9)

Julia season two (Max, November 16)

Virgin River holiday episodes (Netflix, November 30)