From "Maschi veri" to "American Horror Story": this week’s TV series, from pride to star-studded line-ups

By Sarah Quintrell and Maddie Dai (on Sky and streaming on Now)

Mary Bennet – as decided by Jane Austen, the brand’s owner – is the middle sister. She is sandwiched between Elizabeth and Jane, who are now of marriageable age, and the younger sisters, Kitty and Lydia. Somewhat socially awkward, she sits down at the piano and everyone wants to flee the drawing room. She has no desire to marry, reads a great deal and wears spectacles. But nowadays, no one must be left behind, ever. Not even a young woman who is certainly more modern than her sisters, desperately on the hunt for a husband. The Bennet sisters have been reimagined in many ways; there’s even a "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (published by Nord). Now it’s Mary’s turn, after having done so much wallpapering, to tell her side of the story. The revenge of the plain girls – not yet past their prime.

By Lee Eisenberg, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson (an eight-episode miniseries on Apple TV+).

It’s been 14 years since True Detective – the first series, which remains the best. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are teaming up again. Both for fun and for the plot: they might be distantly related. We’re in Malibu; Harrelson is swimming in the pool – an infinity pool, of course, with a motor that lets you swim for kilometres. He is trying to avoid being seen by his wife and daughter; a tense, argumentative atmosphere hangs in the air – it would be disastrous if they saw him enjoying himself. His daughter Olive has broken off her engagement, and the entire family is suffering as a result. His solution: he will take them on a trip to the hills of Texas, to his friend Matthew McConaughey’s house. The plains are miraculously healing for those suffering from heartbreak. Especially when certain small secrets from the past come to light.

Showrunners Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, starring Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson (from 1 October on Disney+)

A
veritable parade of stars for the 13th instalment of the series. The issue and the poster are rather unappealing; fans are scoffing at the elegance and originality of "Backrooms", the film by Kane Parsons which last summer gave the horror genre a real contemporary twist (budget: $10 million; box office takings: 400). There is an angry black cat—actually grey, which is more chic and goes better with the patent leather ankle boots and fishnet stockings, perhaps belonging to a witch. In another poster, we see a shiny black latex jumpsuit. The actors and characters from previous seasons have been brought back, right from the trailer. Viewers grow fond of even the most unsettling elements: witches, freak shows, haunted houses, spells, pentagrams, the apocalypse.

Starring Maurizio Lastrico, Matteo Martari, Francesco Montanari and Pietro Sermonti (second series from 7 October 2026)

Remarkably, the series is now in its second season. In the first, the four alpha males—as the original Spanish series is titled—attempted to shed ‘toxic masculinity’. More precisely, they sought to ‘deconstruct’ it, a term that elevates everything. Even the banality of double standards: the men cheat, but woe betide anyone who cheats on one of them. The narrative is high on drama, melodrama and fatal wrath. Mattia, Massimo, Riccardo and Luigi, having completed their deconstruction, must still carry on. What to do with the female executive who hires you but wants a ‘real man’? How to behave with the new women, independent yet romantic? The men know little about one another. One wants to set up a gay-friendly bar; his straight friend offers to be the poster boy.