10 shows arriving in November that we’re excited about

Turn November into yesvember, with the month’s promising slate of new and returning stuff to stream. You definitely already know that Stranger Things is back, but what about all the other, even stranger stuff in store: samurais, a pandemic of happiness, assassins, and Kim Kardashian?

Add titles to your Flicks watchlist to get notified when new episodes drop. Happy streaming!

All’s Fair: Season 1

A legal drama led by one Kimberley Noel Kardashian, relegating such stellar and experienced performers as Sarah Paulson, Glenn Close, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash and Teyana Taylor to supporting roles?! This splashy, star-studded new series is en route to girlboss far too close to the sun, featuring gaggy guest stars and outrageous costumes.

It follows fierce female divorce lawyers who split off to start their own firm, proving that women can do anything they set their minds to. Except writing a TV show, it seems: the trio of showrunners who developed this stridently feminist, yass queen project are all men, hilariously enough, including public TV enemy number one Ryan Murphy. The prosecution rests, no further questions your honour!

All Her Fault: Limited Series

What if Sarah Snook turned up on your doorstep, her piercing, pale eyes flashing, demanding that her son’s inside your home when you’ve never met her or the supposed tyke before? What if you were Sarah Snook, confronted by a total stranger when you’ve gone to pick up your kid from a suburban playdate? The eerie implications and nightmare scenarios swirl, in this absorbing new thriller series with a fantastic cast.

All eight episodes are available at once, which we’re grateful for when it comes to a mystery-based story like this. Dakota Fanning, Michael Pena and Jake Lacy are amongst the ensemble, but if it was a one-woman show of Snook freaking out alone in a room, we’d tune in anyways—she’s that commanding.

The Beast in Me: Limited Series

Who are the people in your neighborhood—really? Claire Danes’ character has this nosy question on her mind, in a tense eight-part drama co-starring the terrific Matthew Rhys. He’s a real estate mogul who’s wife has recently disappeared, and that nagging feeling that he may have had something to do with it leaves Danes obsessed. If the guy really is a murderer, he might be too moneyed and powerful to bring to justice—but she’s a famous author, precisely the kind of person you’d want on the case if you happened to be Mrs Rhys (poor Brittany Snow).

Jodie Foster and Conan O’Brien co-produce the series, oddly enough, which should be a rollicking cat-and-mouse game between two formidable acting talents.

Death By Lightning: Limited Series

Step aside, Lincoln; slow your roll, Kennedy; it’s finally time for the stranger-than-fiction assassination of James Garfield to get its time in the spotlight, with Michael Shannon bunging on some mutton chops to play the slain US President. Matthew Macfadyen is the killer Charles J Guiteau, whose delusional belief that he personally contributed to Garfield’s election was warped into bitterness—and then further, on a fateful day in 1881, into homicidal rage.

Those are the facts, roughly, but this miniseries’ illustrious cast happens to be packed with comedy stars, suggesting a quirkier take on true events. You’ve got Nick Offerman, Bradley Whitford, Shea Wigham and my beloved Betty Gilpin, in four episodes of irreverent and epic US history.

Last Samurai Standing: Season 1

Set in the late 19th century, this historical action drama brings a little prestige to a hugely popular and troubling trend: the “game of death” subgenre. Netflix is still extremely on board, releasing another season of their twisted Squid Game reality competition series this month, too. Here, almost 300 of the Meiji era’s greatest warriors prove that folks will slash and bash for a bit of cash (100 billion yen!), no matter what time period or location.

Junichi Okada, once a member of a JPop boy band, is really the anchoring force of the project, starring in the lead role as well as tackling fight choreography and creative direction. It’s based on a manga which was itself based on a novel, but the battle royale depicted in this epic show is entirely imagined, just FYI.

I Love LA: Season 1

Rachel Sennott really should’ve had her own TV show about three or four years ago, but better late than never. In eight hilarious episodes, we’ll see the comedian and her best pals trying to take the City of Angels by hook or by crook.

Josh Hutcherson, Jordan Firstman, Odessa A’zion and True Whitaker are amongst the main cast, with cameos from Elijah Wood, Leighton Meester and many more recognisable names. It’s low-concept, but very high on potential and style, with each of the eight episodes dropping on the same day as the US so you don’t get spoiled on one tidbit of gossip regarding life/love/laughter/LA zennial shenanigans.

Malice: Season 1

We never get tired of a Tom Ripley type, i.e. Saltburn, true crime stories of scammers sidling their way into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and even Netflix’s grim adaptation Ripley. Can British comedian Jack Whitehall measure up as one of these sordid schemers, on a sunny Grecian holiday with David Duchovny and Carice Van Houten?

Whitehall’s character Adam charms his way into the wealthy Tanner family while on vacay before following them home to London, and secretly turning husband and wife against one another. It’ll be interesting to figure out where to direct our empathy here. Eat-the-rich yarns are always a bit of fun indulgence, but do I really want Whitehall to victor over my beloved Fox Mulder?

The Mighty Nein: Season 1

For whatever reason, Amazon’s streaming service is the unofficial home of fantasy, offering not only those super-expensive Tolkien adaptations but also a slew of animated D&D-inspired projects. This one, as tabletop fans will already know, comes from the Critical Role team, but is set 20 years after the timeline of existing show Vox Machina, which is now into its fourth season.

Following a motley crew of outcasts, fugitives and powered-up weirdos, the adaptation of a beloved D&D campaign features Lucy Liu, Anjelica Huston and Nathan Fillion in supporting voice roles, with the main cast made up of established voice acting talent.

Pluribus: Season 1 

We know so little about this new speculative sci-fi series, but the only thing you really need to understand to get on board is that Vince Gilligan—creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul—is behind it all. And his BCS star Rhea Seehorn plays the lead role! And it’s set in New Mexico again!

Seehorn stars as a misanthropic author of historical romance; the only woman on earth who is not afflicted by a pandemic of sheer happiness. I’m sure we’ve all felt this sort of immunity before—perhaps at a party where we don’t know anyone, or some kind of happy-clappy office team-building exercise. But here, it’s a truly global, surreal situation, forcing our unhappy protagonist to battle against a smiling majority over nine episodes.

Stranger Things 5: Volume 1

A final battle is looming. Well, almost final—Netflix loves to lop the last instalments of its most exciting shows into parts, after all. It’s the start of a final battle at least, with the tubular teens and adult allies of Hawkins, Indiana banding together to find and take down Vecna at any cost.

Linda Hamilton will be a great addition to the sprawling cast, as an agent on the trail of Millie Bobby Brown’s telekinetic kiddo Eleven. One can barely believe it’s been almost a decade, since we first met her and her buddies. That’s the peril of making a TV show that everybody loves: your stars all get too famous too quickly, book a bunch of other high-profile projects, and suddenly fans have to wait years for the whole story to wrap up, with everybody looking a bit too grown-up by the end.