The exodus to series television of mature actresses seeking meatier roles, more exposure, and regular paychecks at Netflix continues with A-lister Julianne Moore. In “Sirens,” on the streamer Thursday, the Oscar-winner sends out a seductive call in a darkly comedic limited series from “Elemeno Pea” playwright Molly Smith Metzler.
Joining Moore, who plays a scepter-wielding socialite, are Longmeadow native Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, and Kevin Bacon. The action unfolds over one long and combustible Labor Day Weekend at a sumptuous seaside estate – echoes of the streamer’s lifestyles of the rich and venomous Nicole Kidman vehicle, “The Perfect Couple.”
What else clicks this week?
1. “Sarah Silverman: Postmortem,” Tuesday on Netflix: Everybody mourns differently. For coarse comedienne (and actress) Silverman, grieving takes the form of a sheaf of dark new and repurposed material. The subject for this daddy’s girl? Her late beloved father Donald, a.k.a. Schleppy Silverman, and the stepmother, Janice, who predeceased him by nine days. Telling stories with affection and noodging, Silverman has always been encouraged by her family, who embraced rather than ostracized her for revealing family secrets on the way to reaping howls of laughter. For Silverman, love, death, and laughter are all part of the same mishegoss.
2. “Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service,” Wednesday on Fox at 9 p.m. then streaming on Hulu: The ubiquitous Scottish-born gourmet has found a new format for brow-beating sloppy restaurateurs, and bending them to his will. With a new reality format on a new network, and the help of spies, Ramsay sneaks in and inspects commercial kitchens while the resident chefs are away. And what does the undercover celebrity cuisinier find in the wee hours of the night when the kitchens are closed? Rodents and feces and roaches, oh, my! Will Ramsay’s new reality series be leftovers, or a brand-new dish?
3. “She the People,” Thursday on Netflix: The Tyler Perry TV takeover continues with a new political sitcom. Terri J. Vaughn, best-known for her long-running role as a high school secretary on “The Steve Harvey Show,” stars as Mississippi’s ambitious first black lieutenant governor. Problems arise when this dedicated working mom, who’s clawed her way to the top, has to juggle her outrageous family crises with the demands of a way-down-south-in-dixie cigar-chomping white governor who withholds power. She’ll just have to grab it, while being true to her roots and her constituents.
4. “Pee-wee as Himself,” Friday on HBO at 8 p.m. then streaming on Max: Few childhood TV idols have so daringly crossed the line between kiddy show and subversive humor as Pee-wee Herman, aka Paul Reubens. He kept his private life separate from his public persona – until a trip to a Florida porno theater led to an arrest, and the curdling of his career. That needn’t tarnish his visionary TV show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” and Tim Burton collaboration, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” The wildly entertaining, emotionally moving two-part original docuseries reveals the boyish man behind the nervous chuckles, who grew up in Sarasota, Florida, in the shadow of the Ringling Bros. Circus.
5. “The French Open,” Sunday on TNT: The Parisian clay courts host the second of four grand slam tournaments lobbing onto TV sets for two weeks, from May 25 to June 8. With lefty champion Rafael “King of Clay” Nadal, 38, recently retired, all eyes turn to the rising stars of Roland-Garros. The hall of famers hosting and commenting will include John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, and Chris Evert, with Venus Williams presenting special features.
Thelma Adams is a cultural critic and the author of the best-selling historical novel “The Last Woman Standing,” about Josephine Marcus, the Jewish wife of Wyatt Earp.
Land ho! Edwin Land, that is‘The Paper,’ a new ‘The Office’ spinoff, will be out in September
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