Netflix’s K-drama reality show, a Baz Luhrmann miniseries and more new TV this week

27.11.2023 - 20:35 / polygon.com / Carl Lumbly

While this week may feel like a bit of a slog after the long holiday weekend, luckily the new TV this week does not. Take Obliterated, for example, Netflix’s latest bawdy comedy about an elite special forces team having to go through their own The Hangover-esque recovery as they try to track down a nuclear bomb. It’s a comedy that is often raunchy but even more frequently funny, and the show is smarter than it has to be.

Then we’ve got Apple TV Plus’ Slow Horses, now in its third season and back with its espionage exploits. It’s one of the best shows on TV: a tense, funny spy thriller that keeps you on your toes. And that’s all before we get to Baz Luhrmann making a miniseries out of his film Australia! (Which, to be fair, was closing in on miniseries length already.)

Here are all the best new TV premieres to watch in this fake, post-holiday week:

Genre: Romance reality show
Release date: Nov. 28, with all episodes
Host: Yuko Fueki
Cast: A host of actors and actresses doing K-drama plot beats

Netflix frames this show with a very simple seeming question: “As actors and actresses rehearse, audition and act out a variety of situations reminiscent of Korean dramas, how will the relationships between them change?”

But the situation is much more complicated than that. The all-star studio commentators include Haruna Kondo of comedy duo Harisenbon, A-chan from musical group Perfume, Shusuke Fukutoku of comedy duo JaruJaru, Hayato Komori of musical group GENERATIONS, and Maria Tani. This reality show seeks to bring all the feels of a Korean drama romance into the real world, with actors and actresses left to use their acting skills and love to overcome their cultural and language barriers.

Genre: Bawdy action comedy
Release date: Nov. 30, with all episodes
Showrunner/creator: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald
Cast: Nick Zano, Shelley Hennig, Terrence Terrell, Alyson Gorske, C. Thomas Howell, Eugene Kim, Paola Lázaro, Kimi Rutledge, Carl Lumbly, and more

An elite special forces team is in the middle of a wild night celebrating their latest mission when they find out — oop, turns out the nuclear bomb is still in play. And with only a few hours to find it, they’ve got to overcome the “what happens in Vegas” partying in their system and dismantle the nuke.

Genre: Unexpected sequel to literary classic
Release date: Nov. 29 with one episode
Showrunner/creator: James McNamara, David Maher, and David Taylor
Cast: Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Thewlis, Maia Mitchell, Damon Herriman, Tim Minchin, Miranda Tapsell, and more

Jack Dawkins (Brodie-Sangster), formerly known as “The Artful Dodger,” has moved on from his life of crime in England to a life of being a surgeon in Australia. But Fagin (Thewlis) returns to