TV Watchlist: George Clooney and Brad Pitt's 'Wolfs' Hits Apple TV+, Will Ferrell Takes an Emotional Road Trip on Netflix

Plus the debut of Adam Brody and Kristen Bell's rom-com series "Nobody Wants This" and Kathy Bates' "Matlock" Week of September 21 – 27 A lot has been written about the slowdown in television output, but that isn’t evident by this week’s offerings, which include two new Ryan Murphy series (“Grotesquerie” is on cable channel FX and “Doctor Odyssey” is on network channel ABC), a Brad Pitt/George Clooney movie (“Wolfs” on Apple TV+), a “Rosemary’s Baby” prequel (“Apartment 7A” on Paramount+) and a heartwarming documentary starring Will Ferrell (“Will & Harper”). And that’s just to name a few! If things have slowed down, they haven’t told us. On with the television! Grotesquerie Thursday, June 15, Netflix Source: FX While it looks like we won’t be receiving a new cycle of “American Horror Story” this Halloween (which is fine, considering the strike-impacted 12th cycle ended in April), “AHS” co-creator Ryan Murphy has come up with the next best thing. “Grotesquerie,” co-created with Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken (together, the three wrote every episode), follows a detective (Niecy Nash), who teams up with a local nun (Micaela Diamond) to solve a series of baffling murders. Also worth noting is that the cast includes Courtney B. Vance, Lesley Manville and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend (and professional football player) Travis Kelce. Kelce’s role has yet to be revealed. (Do we think that he has what it takes to be a Satanic killer? Discuss.) Judging by the promotional materials released thus far, this looks to have all the hallmarks of “AHS” – brutal murders, philosophical pontifications on the nature of evil, crazy guest stars (see above) and a pervasive feeling of dread, shot through with outlandish elements that border on camp. Perhaps the biggest question is – will this be an ongoing affair? Or is this a true limited series? Because there are few things scarier than not getting renewed. [[TRAILER](] Snowpiercer Sunday, September 22, AMC+ Source: AMC Let’s be honest – it’s pretty amazing that “Snowpiercer,” which was inspired by both Bong Joon-ho’s masterful 2013 film and the French comic book that the film was based on by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette, has lasted four seasons. It’s endured a prolonged development period, a change in the show’s leadership and a move from networks (it began life on TNT, was meant to air on TBS, switched back to TNT and its last season ran on AMC). And through all of that, it endured, just like the passengers on the very long train at the center of the show, which traverses a frosty landscape after a procedure meant to reverse global warming plunges the earth into a new ice age. If you’ve never seen the show – or, for that matter, the excellent movie – now is your chance. The final episode is called “Last Stop.” Seems appropriate. [[TRAILER](] Wolfs Friday, September 27, Apple TV+ Source: Apple Jon Watts’ first non-“Spider-Man” film in almost a decade is “Wolfs,” a dark comedy about a pair of fixers (played by George Clooney and Brad Pitt) who are called in to do the same job – dispose of a body for a troubled woman (Amy Ryan). Of course, things take a turn when the previously thought-dead guy is very much alive, setting the two on a nocturnal odyssey full of comedic misadventures and high-stakes action. The movie premiered earlier this month (out of competition) at the Venice International Film Festival, where Clooney and Pitt seemed to be in high spirits and the movie itself was warmly received. (Our own review called it a “very enjoyable film” and sometimes that’s enough.) While a proposed theatrical launch for “Wolfs” was truncated, Apple seems very high on the property, already ordering a sequel from Watts that would reunite him with Clooney and Pitt. Just another job for the “Wolfs.” [[TRAILER](] Will & Harper Friday, September 27, Netflix Source: Netflix Josh Greenbaum, who last directed very funny studio comedies “Strays” and “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” returns to his documentary roots (he also made the genuinely hilarious “Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show”) with “Will & Harper.” The doc covers the real-life road trip that Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, a frequent collaborator, took during the pandemic shortly after Harper told Ferrell her intention to go through gender transition. The movie premiered at Sundance to rapturous reviews and Netflix quickly picked it up for distribution. And it really is one of the very best movies of the year – documentary or otherwise. The type of movie that makes you laugh until you cry … and then just makes you cry. Deeply raw and empathetic, it’s a movie that could change hearts and minds while also being relentlessly entertaining. We love “Will & Harper.” [[TRAILER](] American Horror Story: Asylum Hulu Source: FX Just because we aren’t getting a new “AHS” for Halloween doesn’t mean you can’t revisit the show’s greatest season – the show’s second cycle, “Asylum.” Part of what made “Asylum” so great was the fun of it – we had no idea that “AHS” was coming back, after every character ended up a ghost in the show’s haunted house (the initial season was retroactively referred to as “Murder House”). But also the second season just hit every note perfectly – it largely took place in 1964, in a creaky mental institution called Briarcliff Manor. Jessica Lange played a nun working at the institution, with a supporting cast that included Zachary Quinto, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and James Cromwell. There were Nazi experiments and alien abductions, with a murderer’s row of A+ writers (including Tim Minear, James Wong and Jennifer Salt) and three episodes directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, including the surprisingly heart-tugging finale. This is the ideal of what “AHS” could be. It has yet to reach these heights again. [[WATCH](] Source: Paramount+ “Matlock” Sunday, September 22 at 8 p.m., CBS That’s right. “Matlock” is back. And this time she’s a lady! Instead of Andy Griffith, the title character is being essayed by Kathy Bates, which is very cool indeed. This new iteration, developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, also stars Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, David Del Rio and Leah Lewis. And if “Perry Mason,” another formerly dusty courtroom procedural, could turn into one of the more riveting series on television, we think a new version of “Matlock” could do just the same. [[TRAILER](] “Mr. McMahon” Wednesday, September 25, Netflix From Chris Smith, the director of “Tiger King,” comes a documentary about a very different type of animal – Vince McMahon, the controversial, embittered and now evicted co-founder and former head of World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly World Wrestling Federattion). Smith, via Netflix, has said his intention was to “pull back the curtain to reveal the true Vince McMahon obscured beneath the persona he presented to the world.” Smith worked on the doc for four years, during which time some truly horrifying sexual misconduct allegations were leveled against McMahon. This will be more explosive than anything inside the ring. [[TRAILER](] “Doctor Odyssey” Thursday, September 26 at 9 p.m., ABC Incredibly, this is another series created by Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken premiering the same week as their FX horror show “Grotesquerie.” “Doctor Odyssey” is much gentler entertainment, following a brilliant young doctor (Joshua Jackson), who serves as the on-board doctor for “a luxury cruise ship where the staff works hard and plays harder,” according to the official synopsis. Phillipa Soo, Sean Teale and Don Johnson also star. Sounds like a cruise worth booking. [[TRAILER](] “Nobody Wants This” Thursday, September 26, Netflix Created by Erin Foster, this 10-episode rom-com stars Kristen Bell as a free-wheeling podcast co-host who falls in love with a rabbi (played by Adam Brody). The series was created by Erin Foster, who co-starred with Brody on “The O.C.” (and has gone on to a rich career herself), and features a supporting cast that includes Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, Michael Hitchcock and Emily Arlook. Early word is that it is very sweet and cute, channeling Millennial rom-com vibes, which is something we could probably use more of right now. [[TRAILER](] “Apartment 7A” Friday, September 27, Paramount+ “Rosemary’s Baby” returns. Sort of. “Apartment 7A” traces the final months of Terry Gionoffrio (now played by the great Julia Garner), the woman who falls to her death in front of Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse in Roman Polanski’s 1968 original. As portrayed by Garner, she’s an ambitious dancer who injures her leg and is taken in by the kindly Minnie and Roman Castavet (Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally taking over for Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer). But, as we know, there’s more to the Bramford building than spacious New York apartments, and Terry starts to get the devilish vibe too. (Jim Sturgess inverts his natural charm as a menacing theater director and Bramford neighbor.) Garner is, as always, a powerhouse, and co-writer/director Natalie Erika James offers up classic thrills with more contemporary sensibilities, never indulging in unnecessary fan service or easy-to-spot Easter eggs. Ready to check in? [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](