"Billions" is back. Season 5 gets off to an explosive start.
This guilty-pleasure series, streaming on Showtime, keeps viewers guessing as to who's the bad guy, although we are never without one. They keep trading places, and it's getting harder to predict who will be the next to flip.
So far we've seen that U.S. attorney general Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) looks considerably older and wearier without a beard. Wendy Rhoades continues to dominate Axe Capital with her don't-argue-with-me pronouncements and incomparable ability to walk on any surface in four-inch heels, while brilliant binary Taylor Mason sees her unsmiling command of the finance world start to crumble.
Did I forget anyone? Oh yeah, Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Damian Lewis), who early in this season, clad in his usual well-worn jeans and scruffy hoodie, makes mincemeat out of his smartly dressed rival Michael Prince (Corey Stoll). For a while. Stay tuned.
"My Life is Murder" (Season 2, Acorn TV) Lucy Lawless (attractively ash-blonde, unlike her dark-haired starring role on TV's "Xena Warrior Princess," which ran for six seasons starting in 1995) plays wily retired Australian cop Alexa Crowe, who can't seem to get away from the pleas for help from her former boss Kieran Hussey (Bernard Curry) and the hard-to-say-no appeal of mentor-needy police data analyst Madison Feliciano (Ebony Wagulans). It's kinda slow at first, especially if you're used to the teeth-rattling pace and brutality of American police procedurals, but you'll warm to it.
"Gone for Good" (Netflix) Based on a Harlen Coben novel, this provocative five-episode mystery, set in the French city of Nice (worth watching just for the scenery) concerns Guillaume Lucchesi (Finnegan Oldfield) who, having suffered through the loss of his older brother as well as his former girlfriend, is dealing with yet another disaster: His current girlfriend Judith (Nailia Harzoune), a case worker who helps at-risk youth, disappears on the day of Guillaume's mother's funeral -- the same day he proposes marriage to her. From here, the plot thickens until it's practically impossible to make your way through it. But keep trying.
"American Rust" (eight episodes, Showtime) Similar to but not as compelling as "Mare of Easttown," here we have a sad-sack drama set in a decaying Pennsylvania Rust Belt town where everybody is miserable, especially police chief Del Harris (a morose Jeff Daniels, powerful but not nearly as appealing as he is in "The Newsroom") who spends most of his time grumping at everybody while trying to figure out a murder mystery. It's pretty gloomy, and populated with going-nowhere losers, but try to get past the depressing first episode and see what you think. With Maura Tierney, Bill Camp, and Rob Yang as a fellow police officer (the best character so far). It's based on Philipp Meyer's novel of the same name.
"In Treatment" (six episodes, HBO) Fans of the 2008-10 airing of this drama series, starring mesmerizing Gabriel Byrne as Brooklyn-based therapist Paul Weston, might be resistant to the new therapist, Paul's colleague Brooke Taylor (Uzo Aduba, who portrays Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in "Orange is the New Black"), who counsels three needy clients in various stages of dysfunction in her gorgeous ultra-modern Los Angeles house during the covid-19 pandemic, employing astute observations that manage to mostly overshadow her many personal challenges. It's intense, but at 30 minutes per episode, you'll be able to keep up.
"Only Murders in the Building" (Hulu) A charming, quirky, personality-infused 10-episode comedy mixed with mystery relies mightily on the appeal of its competent cast including Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, and Martin Short as three Upper West Side apartment residents (it's filmed at 225 W. 86th St. between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue) who find relief from their loneliness by bonding while working to solve a murder. With Amy Ryan.
"Hacks" (10 episodes, HBO Max) Good news: "Hacks," a must-see starring Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, an acerbic and ruthless veteran Las Vegas comedian intent on keeping her hugely successful but schtick-dated career intact, will be back for a second season, so get on board now. The magical moments involve the interplay between Vance and Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a prematurely rumpled 25-year-old comedy writer who's hired to help provide more modern material to attract a trendier audience and is rewarded with withering glances and sharply succinct put-downs. It's clever and wicked and hugely entertaining.
"Archer" (Hulu) The 12th season of this fast-talking, uppity urban animated series is populated with absolutely horrible characters who continue to somehow succeed in the competitive world of spycraft, mostly because of the hyper-confidence of its arrogant and obnoxious superstar (voiced with astounding verve by H. John Benjamin, who also voices Bob on the gentle family animated comedy "Bob's Burgers"). Caustic sparring continues between Archer and his former lover and equally competent spy Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), his elegant mother and spymaster (always with drink in hand) Malory Archer (Jessica Walter), wacky wisecracking super-rich office assistant Cheryl (Judy Greer), raunchy Pam Poovey (Amber Nash), put-upon Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell), opportunist Ray Gillette (Adam Reed) and totally immoral scientist Krieger (Lucky Yates). Hysterically funny and not a good choice for winding down before going to bed.
Karen Martin is senior editor of Perspective.
kmartin@arkansasonline.com