What is happening: Lisey (Julianne Moore) is the widow of a famous bestselling author who died unexpectedly. Before his death he prepared a kind of posthumous scavenger hunt for his wife, which leads her to the secret of his writing skills and their marriage. At the same time, a mad stalker is after her who would kill for her husband’s unpublished manuscripts. The series is based on the novel “Love” by Stephen King, who wrote all the scripts for the eight episodes himself.
Secret star: The great opening credits, in which two puppet versions of the main characters set the dark, melancholy tone of the series.
Not suitable for: Stephen King despiser and horror film objector. David Steinitz
For Apple TV +, eight episodes.
What is happening: A volcanic eruption has cut off the small town of Vík in the south of Iceland from the outside world and because that is not enough, doubles and long-dead people also haunt the living. Cult director Baltasar Kormákur stages the first Icelandic Netflix series in an impressive lava landscape, told slowly but excitingly with gentle horror and slight political undertones about climate change and social responsibility.
Secret star: Exceptionally one of the leading actresses: Guðrún Ýr Eyfjörð, who can be seen in her second film role and actually makes pop music under the name GDRN.
Not suitable for: Everyone who doesn’t like it when entertainment sometimes asks unpleasant questions. Nicolas friend
On Netflix, eight episodes.
What is happening: Loki, the god of chaos, fled through time in one of the innumerable “Avengers” parts. In a spin-off of the films, he is now being charged with breaking the laws of the timeline. Anyone who is so careless about the different levels of time must be punished. But a gap opens up again for the ambivalent super villain / hero Loki: He is supposed to help in the hunt for a time-level criminal.
Secret star: One of the show’s great strengths is its excellent cast. If there weren’t so many good actors performing, you couldn’t follow the first parts without nodding off.
Not suitable for: Everyone who wants to see real life after work – Loki is the best fantasy. David Pfeifer
At Disney +, six episodes.
What is happening: The detective Mare Sheehan, played by Kate Winslet, investigates in the small town of Easttown. It’s not an idyll: teenagers prostitute themselves, girls disappear or are found dead. The setting is reminiscent of “Twin Peaks”, but the story quickly ends badly and is neither weird nor arty. A Whodunit that anyone can actually do as a perpetrator. And then the solution surprises you.
Secret star: The pandemic poster girl. More precisely, the unretouched wrinkles and the soft belly of Kate Winslet, who, when she stumbles as a detective, unabashedly puts a bag of frozen fries on her woolen socks.
Not suitable for: The faint hearted. Imagine: The horror of the silence of the Lambs takes seven times an hour. Catrin Lorch
At Sky, seven episodes.
What is happening: British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo lets Aretha Franklin shine brightly in this biographical mini-series: the Queen of Soul from the beginning of her career right through to the heyday of the civil rights movement. Costumes and equipment are wonderfully glamorous, the narrative structure is sometimes a bit too erratic. In addition to the artistic, private empowerment movements are also told – wrestling with father and husband, domestic violence and everyday racism.
Secret star: In addition to Erivo, Courtney B. Vance, who plays the dominant father, Reverend CL Franklin, as a fiery preacher and painter who loves Saturday evenings as much as Sunday mornings, shines.
Not suitable for: Viewers who like that one song that always plays on the radio, but are not particularly interested in the time and context of Franklin’s deep black sound. Annett Scheffel
At Disney +, eight episodes
What is happening: The hunt for the brutal Golden State killer, who struck Sacramento for the first time in the summer of 1976. He penetrated suburban houses at night, tied up and threatened the women (later also their husbands), raped them, stayed in the houses for hours, helped himself from the refrigerator. Out of sheer pleasure in terror. Only decades later could he be caught and convicted. A true crime research, filmed in an incredibly atmospheric way.
Secret star: The journalist Michelle McNamara, who was the killer on the internet for years and from whose book “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” the series was created. She died before the book was published and is vividly remembered by many, including her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt.
Not suitable for: Purists who expect sober objectivity from true crime documentaries and who do not want to admit that curiosity and stalking are replaced in the cinema … We are all creatures from the black lagoon. Fritz Goettler
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, at Sky.