From Off Campus to Mobland 2: this week’s TV series. From university life to crime

By Chuck Lorre, with Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapsus and Brian Posehn (HBO Max)

A spin-off from one of the best-known, most beloved and longest-running series. The new series by Chuck Lorre – the man behind ‘The Kominsky Method’, ‘Mike & Molly’ and, above all, ‘The Big Bang Theory’, from which ‘The Young Sheldon’ was already derived – tells the story of Stuart Bloom, the comic book seller from whom the scientists used to buy their comics. When the shop burns down, he becomes the carer for Howard Wolowitz’s mother – the one with the quiff. Here, Stuart, who’s always a bit clumsy, breaks a quantum device built by Stuart and Leonard. He causes a colossal disaster in the universe, so he finds himself forced to travel between parallel universes to repair the damage. Each of the 10 episodes has a spoiler in its title.

By Chloe Rickard, based on the novel by Miles Franklin, with Philippa Northeast and Christopher Chun (Netflix)

First, 100 per cent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Then the hunt – online, using Shazam – for the musicians who worked on the soundtrack. This is notable for an Australian period drama. This comes from an audience that was likely unfamiliar with the 1979 film adaptation of the same Miles Franklin novel (starring Judy Davis and directed by Gillian Armstrong—both Australian, like the early-20th-century source novel). A young woman from a modest background is sent to stay with her wealthy grandmother for a while, a move intended to help her make a good debut in society. She, however, would like to become a writer and gain her independence. But as we know, love always throws a spanner in the works for ambitious young women.

By Louise Levy, based on the novels by Elle Kennedy, starring Ella Bright, Belmont Cameli and Myka Abdalla (Prime Video)

It’s raining hits. Amazing ones, judging by what we’re seeing. Here’s another one, not quite 100 per cent approved (on Rotten Tomatoes). We’re now at 91 per cent – still a great result, White Lotus-level figures. Here too we have ice hockey, but in a setting that champions traditional values. It is difficult to believe—it must be the effect of all those romance novels read over and over again. The setting is university years, and the ‘vulnerable male’ is all the rage: the sort who listens to his own feelings and, above all, those of his girlfriend. In short, no tormented or obsessive love affairs, and certainly nothing toxic. Everything is calm and respectable, all in the name of respect. ‘Which becomes irresistible’, as a promotional tagline on YouTube puts it.

By Ronan Bennett, co-written with Jez Butterworth, starring Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy and Helen Mirren (series 2 from 18 September)

London. A criminal family. The go-between Tom Hardy – or rather, the ‘fixer’, as we’re in an international setting – warns: ‘This family is on a deadly downward spiral’. However, Conrad and Maeve Harrigan appear unconcerned. The second series picks up where the first left off, with the family locked in a battle for the North London criminal empire—facing both external enemies and ‘internal’ threats. Family ties could turn into all-out war: rivalries, betrayals and violence. Will our Harrigans manage to pull through, now that an international cartel has them in its sights? It’s hard work for the fixer. Even off-set: Tom Hardy wanted to leave, due to creative differences.