‘Wild Borneo Adventure by Judi Dench’
The newest streaming giant, Discovery +, debuts on Monday with a library of more than 55,000 non-fiction TV episodes, as well as new series on nature with hosts as diverse as David Attenborough and David Schwimmer. Particularly appealing, however, is this two-part documentary featuring notable actress and orangutan actress Judi Dench, which is irresistible, whether describing her first vision of the real jungle (“it’s like flying over broccoli”) or introducing her companion in life and travel of adventure, conservationist David Mills (“I’m here with my buddy”). (Discovery +, Monday)
‘Spiral’
France’s gift to the procedural police genre begins its eighth and final season. Caroline Proust and Thierry Godard complete their long season as police officers Laure and Gilou, while Clara Bonnet joins the cast as a new investigative magistrate, in an approximate parallel to the program with the formula “Law & Order”. (Choice of MHz, Tuesday)
‘Coyote’
The change comes for everyone, even ViacomCBS. With its somewhat naturalistic style and general avoidance of episodic procedural formulas, this six-episode thriller starring Michael Chiklis as a recently retired border police officer stands out among CBS’s old school police dramas and by-products of “Star Trek” that populate the Viacom streaming service. (CBS All Access, Fifth)
‘Dickinson’
“The Morning Show”, with its big stars, and “Ted Lasso”, with its pandemic sentimentality, attracted attention. But the best shows on Apple TV + have been two relatively little-known shows: “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet”, about a chaotic video game studio; and “Dickinson,” Alena Smith’s transcendental teen comedy, starring Hailee Steinfeld as the poet Emily Dickinson, who begins her second season. (Apple TV +, January 8)
‘Lupine’
Thief gentleman Arsène Lupine was played by actors as diverse as John Barrymore, Jean-Claude Brialy and Ken Uehara. To this distinguished background is Omar Sy (“The Untouchables”), whose Lupine is the son of a Senegalese driver who was unjustly accused of theft. The French series, set in Paris, was created by British screenwriter George Kay (“Killing Eve”). (Netflix, January 8)