New year, new TV. January’s television releases include the return of two fan favorites: “Severance,” a psychological office drama about the ultimate work-life balance, and “The Night Agent,” a spy thriller that became Netflix’s most watched series of 2023. There’s also a new show from the creator of “Friday Night Lights,” a Jerry Springer docuseries and a show directed by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda.
‘Severance’
Season one of sci-fi thriller “Severance” debuted in February 2022 to critical acclaim. Three years later, audiences are about to be rescued from the metaphorical cliffside they have been hanging from with the arrival of season two. This workplace drama follows employees at Lumon Industries who undergo a surgical procedure that severs their work brain from their non-work brain; office workers on the “severed” floor become different people when they check in and revert back to their former selves upon completing their assignments. Not much is known about the new season, other than it was again directed by Ben Stiller and stars Adam Scott. “For something that reminds you by turns of Charlie Kaufman, Wes Anderson, Orwell and Kafka,” said The Guardian of season one, “‘Severance’ is an impressively idiosyncratic thing, wholly itself and confident in its mission to make your mind implode.” (Jan. 17, Apple TV+)
‘American Primeval’
Taylor Sheridan fans, take note. Helmed by director Peter Berg, the creator of beloved mid-2000s football drama “Friday Night Lights,” “American Primeval” heads even further back into our country’s sordid history. Set in 1857 Utah, the series chronicles the sturm und drang of life in the rough and rowdy Wild West. “This is a gritty, explicitly visceral story about this chaotic frontier where Native Americans and Mormons and other kinds of white settlers are coming together and clashing, often in bloody ways,” said Eric Deggans at NPR. (Jan. 9, Netflix)
‘The Night Agent’
Another crowd-pleaser back by popular demand: Season two of action thriller “The Night Agent” drops almost two years after its first season. Gabriel Basso is back as FBI agent Peter Sutherland, promoted by secret organization Night Action to the role of Night Agent last time we saw him. In the new season’s trailer, Peter is on the hunt for a CIA mole who is leaking U.S. secrets and helping to build a bomb big enough to blow up Manhattan. “‘The Night Agent’ reminded me of ’90s and ’00s projects like ‘In the Line of Fire’ and the Bourne movies. That’s a compliment,” said Brian Tallerico at RogerEbert.com in his season one review. “While the world of high-concept television has largely moved on to twisty plots and cultural commentaries, there’s something enjoyable about just watching a well-made, old-fashioned thriller play out.” (Jan. 23, Netflix)
‘Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action’
“Jerry. Jerry. Jerry.” Audiences used to chant the talk show host’s name like Colosseum crowds cheering for a Roman gladiator. “The Jerry Springer Show” was a cultural phenomenon that began in the ’90s and ran for nearly thirty years, (in)famous for its controversial topics — like infidelity and incest — and explosive guest behavior that often resulted in physical fights on-set. This two-part docuseries explores the show’s “origins, meteoric rise and the less than wonderful effect it had on the world at large,” said The Guardian. The documentary provides damning evidence of how “producers sought to provoke and incite their guests, which often resulted in screaming matches and thrown furniture on air,” said The Independent. (Jan. 7, Netflix)
‘Asura’
Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, winner of the coveted Cannes Palme d’Or for his 2018 movie “Shoplifters,” directs a new original series for Netflix that is a reworking a 1979 Japanese series and a 2003 film, both based on the novel “Like Asura” by Kuniko Mukoda. As with most of Kore-eda’s work, “Asura” is about family. The show “details the ups and downs of four sisters grappling with complicated romances, fraught familial dynamics and a society that expects them to suffer sexist indignities in silence and with a pleasant smile on their faces,” said Nick Schager at The Daily Beast. “At once highly particular and poignantly universal, it’s the year’s first grand television surprise, and additional confirmation that few filmmakers are as empathetic, nimble and masterful as Kore-eda.” (Jan. 9, Netflix)