‘True Detective: Night Country’ Episode 5 to Debut Early This Week Due to the Super Bowl (TV News Roundup)

The fifth episode of “True Detective: Night Country” will be available to stream early on Max beginning Feb. 9 at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT, in order to avoid the Sunday night streamroller that is the Super Bowl. The show will still get its HBO linear premiere on Feb. 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, opposite the Big Game.

Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Finn Bennett and Fiona Shaw star in the series, with Christopher Eccleston, Isabella Star LaBlanc and John Hawkes rounding out the cast. Anna Lambe, Aka Niviâna and Joel D. Montgrand are guest stars.

Issa López serves as showrunner, writer and director. Foster executive produces alongside Mari Jo Winkler, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak for Pastel. Chris Mundy, Alan Page Arriaga, Steve Golin, Richard Brown, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Cary Joji Fukunaga and Nic Pizzolatto also executive produce.

FIRST LOOKS

Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for the new comedy “The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin,” starring Noel Fielding as the legendary British highwayman. The first two episodes of the series premiere on March 1, with new episodes coming out every Friday through March 29.

“The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin” will see Dick Turpin embark on “a journey of wildly absurd escapades when he’s made the reluctant leader of a band of outlaws — and tasked with outwitting corrupt lawman and self-appointed thief-taker Jonathan Wilde (Hugh Bonneville),” per the release.

The ensemble cast is rounded out by Ellie White, Marc Wootton, Duayne Boachie, Bonneville, Tamsin Greig, Asim Chaudhry, Dolly Wells, Joe Wilkinson, Mark Heap, Geoff McGivern, Michael Fielding, Samuel Leakey and Kiri Flaherty.

Apple Studios and Big Talk Studios, part of ITV Studios, produce. The series was created by Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis and Stuart Lane. Kenton Allen, Big Talk Studios, Fielding, Victoria Grew, Big Talk Studios and Ben Palmer executive produce.

See the full trailer below.

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Apple TV+ has launched the first trailer for “Palm Royale,” which will debut on March 20 and stars Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, and Ricky Martin.

“‘Palm Royale’ is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) as she endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, ‘Palm Royale’ asks the same question that still baffles us today: ‘How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?’ Set during the powder keg year of 1969, ‘Palm Royale’ is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance to truly belong,” reads the series’ log line.

Rounding out the cast are Josh Lucas, Leslie Bibb, Amber Chardae Robinson, Mindy Cohn, Julia Duffy and Kaia Gerber. Carol Burnett is a special recurring star.

Loosely based on the novel “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie” by Juliet McDaniel and produced for Apple TV+ by Apple Studios, “Palm Royale” is written, executive produced and showrun by Abe Sylvia. It is executive produced by Laura Dern, Jayme Lemons, Kristen Wiig, Katie O’Connell Marsh, Tate Taylor, John Norris, Sharr White and Sheri Holman.

Taylor, Sylvia, Claire Scanlon and Stephanie Laing direct the series, which will premiere globally in March with the release of its first three episodes, followed by a new episode every Wednesday through May 8.

Watch the trailer here.

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Apple TV+ has dropped the Season 2 trailer for “The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy,” which returns March 8 with a two-episode premiere. Additional episodes will debut each week through April 12.

This seven-episode season will see Levy take on a ground tour of Europe, making his way from the north to the south of the continent. Per the release, “along the way, he unearths stunning hidden local gems, discovers his family tree and attempts to broaden his taste buds while experiencing the region’s most unique destinations along the way.”

Twofour produces “The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy” for Apple TV+. Levy, David Brindley, Nic Patten and Sara Brailsford executive produce.

See the full trailer below.

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Apple TV+ has dropped the first trailer for its new seven-part true crime series “Manhunt.” 

Starring Emmy Award-winning actor Tobias Menzies and created by Emmy nominee Monica Beletsky, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer, the series is based on The New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning nonfiction book of the same name from author James L. Swanson. 

“‘Manhunt’ is a conspiracy thriller about one of the best known but least understood crimes in history, the astonishing story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination,” read the series’ logline. 

Anthony Boyle, Lovie Simone, Will Harrison, Brandon Flynn, Damian O’Hare, Glenn Morshower, Patton Oswalt, Matt Walsh and Hamish Linklater will star alongside Menzies.

Beletsky, Franklin, Layne Eskridge and Kate Barry executive produce. Emmy nominee Carl Franklin directed the first two episodes and is also an executive producer on the series. Swanson also serves as executive producer alongside Michael Rotenberg, Richard Abate, Frank Smith and Naia Cucukov.

The series will premiere globally on Apple TV+, with the first two episodes airing on March 15 and episodes debuting weekly on Fridays through April 19. 

Watch the trailer here. 

PROGRAMMING

The CW’s motorsports documentary series “100 Days to Indy” will return for a second season in spring. The Penske Entertainment six-part series takes viewers behind the scenes and onto the track with the NTT IndyCar Series drivers as they prepare to compete for the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

“We are thrilled to bring another season of ‘100 Days to Indy’ to The CW and continue to grow our portfolio of quality sports programming,” Heather Olander, head of unscripted programming at The CW, said in a statement. “Last season gave fans unprecedented access behind the scenes of IndyCar racing leading up to the biggest race of the year, the Indy 500. We featured Josef Newgarden’s journey to the Brickyard in Indianapolis to become last year’s Indy 500 winner. We look forward to another season riding along with the incredible drivers and capturing all the action leading up to this year’s race.”

This season will see reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden return to defend his triumph against an abundance of generational talent on his heels, which includes rising star Pato O’Ward, former Indy 500 champion Marcus Ericsson and Series champion Alex Palou. The new season will kick off in March in St. Petersburgh, Florida, before arriving in the Southern Calif. desert for a new $1 million challenge at the Thermal Club.

The series is produced by Penske Entertainment (which is unrelated to Variety owner PMC). Patrick Dimon and Adam Marinelli serve as co-executive producers.

DEALS

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment will form a joint venture with Swirl Films to relaunch the FrightPIX streaming channel as a free ad-supported streaming television channel (FAST) and YouTube channel and offer it through other connected platforms.

A horror-film-centered channel, FrightPIX offers everything from zombie films to thrillers and feature-length horror films.

As per the terms of the venture, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment will provide content from its Screen Media Ventures division, while Swirl Films will produce exclusive, original content for FrightPIX and manage the channel itself.

“As a consistent producer of thrilling content for networks, partnering with Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment on FrightPIX and having our own platform is a dream,” Eric Tomosunas, CEO of Swirl Films/FrightPIX LLC, said in a statement. “FrightPIX allows us to continue to expand our content offerings and gives us the unique advantage to leverage our ability to produce quality content at lower price points for our platform.”

The deal comes after the recently announced Fuel TV joint venture. It is the next in a series of partnerships that sees Chicken Soup hoping to drive 2024 revenues for existing properties it already owns through the use and expertise of third parties like Swirl Films.