15 shows to watch, including “True Detective”

With the strikes in Hollywood resolved, 2024 promises a return to normal, or whatever “normal” looks like in an increasingly unstable TV landscape.

New and returning programs returned to broadcast networks with shortened seasons in the 10-13 episode range. NBC’s “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago PD” return Jan. 17. The “Law & Order” series returns the next night, with Kelli Giddish returning for the Season 25 premiere of “Law & Order: SVU.” ” NBC’s freshman drama “Illogical” The movie, starring Jesse L. Martin, returns on January 29.

The CBS lineup kicks off a month later with familiar shows like “The Neighborhood,” “NCIS,” “So Help Me Todd” and “Ghosts,” among others. This will also be the last season of “Young Sheldon.” For those wondering about the remake of “Matlock” led by Kathy Bates, the series has been postponed to the next season.

If you don’t subscribe to Hulu and haven’t watched “Only Murders in the Building,” ABC first season The story of a comedy murder mystery starring Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez (which started airing last week).

Last few bits of cleanup: Show time name change and will now be called Paramount+, along with Showtime (don’t ask!) and, starting this year, Amazon adding ads to the default Prime subscription. What it means: An ad-free streaming experience will now cost extra.

What else will be talked about in the coming weeks:

“Finding Your Roots” (premiered on PBS earlier this month): The long-running series, hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., features a new group of celebrities, including Valerie Bertinelli, Brendan Fraser, LeVar Burton, Michael Douglas, Lena Dunham, Tracy Morgan, Ed O’Neill, Bob Odenkirk, and Sammy’s family. researching their past. Hagar and Dionne Warwick. There’s also a new twist this season: It will also feature three non-celebrity guests, chosen from a nationwide casting call.

“Mugshot” (January 10 on Apple TV+): This eight-episode crime thriller stars Peter Capaldi (“Doctor Who” and “The Thick of It”) as a seasoned detective and Cush Jumbo (“The Good Fight”) as his less experienced colleague. high profile murder case.

“True Detective: Night Country” (January 14 on HBO): The anthology series returns with Season 4. When a team at an Alaska research station disappears, two detectives (Jodie Foster and Kali Reis) look into the case. Issa López is the showrunner, writer and director of all episodes.

“Monsieur Spade” (January 14 on AMC): Monsieur Spade stars as Sam Spade, the private detective in Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon,” played by Clive Owen (replacing Humphrey Bogart). The year is 1963 and he has retired to the south of France, but those relaxing days end with the murder of nuns at a local convent.

“Death and Other Details” (January 16, Hulu): Mandy Patinkin plays a world-famous private detective in the series that seems to be Hulu’s answer to your questions. “Knives Out.” While Patinkin’s detective is on a lavish Mediterranean cruise, a murder occurs. The suspects include a number of authorized passengers and exhausted, possibly compromised crew members. The game continues.

“The Woman in the Wall” (January 21 on Showtime and Paramount+): The mystery, which first aired on the BBC, stars Ruth Wilson (“Luther” and “The Affair”) as a woman who wakes up one morning to find a dead body in her home in a small town in Ireland. She worries that she might be responsible for this because she experiences sleepwalking spells. Sleepwalking began when, as a teenager, she was sent to one of Ireland’s famous Magdalene Laundries, where she gave birth to a child whose fate was unknown. While a police detective searches for the killer, Wilson’s character searches for his daughter.

“Griselda” (on Netflix January 25): The six-episode series, starring (and executive produced) by Sofia Vergara, is based on the life of ’80s-era drug queen Griselda Blanco, aka the Cocaine Godmother. Why isn’t his catchy nickname included in the title? Because Lifetime beat out Netflix with the 2017 movie starring Catherine Zeta-Jones.

“Immigrants” (Jan. 26 on Amazon): Adapted from Janice YK Lee’s 2016 novel “The Expatriates” and starring Nicole Kidman, the story is about three American women living in Hong Kong.

“Masters of the Air” (January 26 on Apple TV+): Another World War II series from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, starring Austin Butler (“Elvis”).

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (February 2 on Amazon): Donald Glover and Maya Erskine star in the eight-episode remake of the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie film. Their secret stories are jeopardized when the spies in an arranged marriage begin to develop real feelings for each other.

“Abbott Elementary School” (Feb. 7 on ABC): The return of Quinta Brunson’s comedy series with an overdue Season 3 — wow! Without the talents of the show’s writers and cast, the TV landscape has become noticeably barren. The first episode will last one hour. (“Abbott” this season will also have a special Sunday airing after the Oscars on March 10.)

“The Audience” (Feb. 11 on CBS): This case-of-the-week drama, starring “This Is Us” alum Justin Hartley, is based on “The Never Game” books, about a survivalist who uses his tracking skills to travel across the country helping people and cops solve mysteries. He doesn’t do this for free, guys! This is how he makes his living.

“New Look” (February 14 on Apple TV+): According to Apple’s press materials, the series focuses on fashion designers Christian Dior and Coco Chanel as they “recover from the horrors of World War II and launch modern fashion.” Dior’s designed Wives of Nazi officials (in contrast, Miss Dior, her sister for whom her fragrance is named, was part of the French Resistance and was later held captive in a concentration camp) and dresses for Chanel worked As a secret agent of the Nazis. We hope this series is actually about that and not an exaggerated version of their story! Ben Mendelsohn plays Dior and Juliette Binoche plays Chanel.

“Shōgun” (February 27 on Hulu): NBC first adapted James Clavell’s novel into a miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain in 1980. Nearly a quarter-century later, we’re getting a new version on FX (on Hulu) in the form of a 10-episode limited series. The story takes us into the circles of Japanese power (circa the 1600s) from the perspective of a Westerner named John Blackthorne. This is the role of Chamberlain, this time played by British actor Cosmo Jarvis (“Persuasion”).

“Elsbeth” (Feb. 29 on CBS): CBS legal drama “The Good Wife” has not one, but two spinoffs “Good Fight” and now there’s “Elsbeth,” built around Carrie Preston’s recurring character Elsbeth Tascioni. Elsbeth Tascioni is a lawyer who is very smart, very cunning and has quirks in her personality. She now uses her strange perspective on the world to “make unique observations and work with the NYPD to corner brilliant criminals.” I have no idea why creators Michelle and Robert King made a more or less crime series. Really? Police show? Elsbeth was too much entertainment as a lawyer who outshines opposing counsel. But I’m enough of a fan of Kings’ previous work (and Preston as Elsbeth) to be cautiously optimistic.

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.

nmetz@chicagotribune.com