Rueben's Ramblings

Here is the list of the programming options to expect on TV this coming week:

On January 13, the 3rd season premiere of Tell Me Lies will air online on Hulu.

The first two episodes of the second season of Hijack will air online on Apple TV on January 14; meanwhile, on that same day, the second season finale of Palm Royale will air today on Apple TV.

On January 14, the British drama Riot Women will debut online on Britbox.  A teacher, a police officer, a pub landlady, a midwife, and a shoplifting freeloader: five menopausal women – Joanna Scanlan, Tamsin Greig, Lorraine Ashbourne, Rosalie Craig and Amelia Bullmore, form a punk rock band to take part in a local talent contest, and suddenly find they have a lot more to shout about than they ever imagined. As they become closer, the teacher, Beth, and freeloader, Kitty, discover a surprising, heartbreaking connection. The cast includes Anne Reid, Angel Coulby and Peter Davison.

The first two episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will debut online on Paramount+ on January 15. Sandro Rosta plays Caleb Mir, Karim Diané plays Jay-Den Kraag, Kerrice Brooks plays Series Acclimation Mil, George Hawkins plays Darem Reymi and Bella Shepard plays Genesis Lythe, all cadets who train to become Starfleet officers as they deal with friendships, rivalries and romance, all while facing a mysterious threat to both the Academy and the Federation. The series also stars Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti, Robert Picardo, Tig Notaro and Oded Fehr.

On January 15, the new Netflix series Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials will debut online. When a lavish country house party ends in murder, a witty young aristocrat (Mia McKenna-Bruce) sets out to solve the mystery in this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel. The cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Freeman and Edward Bluemel.

The period piece drama Ponies will debut online on Peacock on January 15. The series is set in 1977 in Moscow. Two “PONIES” (persons of no interest in intelligence speak) work anonymously as secretaries in the American Embassy. That is until their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, and the pair become CIA operatives. Bea (Emilia Clarke) is an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants. Her cohort, Twila (Haley Lu Richardson), is a small-town girl who is as abrasive as she is fearless. Together, they work to uncover a vast Cold War conspiracy and solve the mystery that made them widows in the first place.

Also on January 15, the third season of Gangs of London will premiere online on AMC+.

The new feature film The Rip will debut online on Netflix on January 16. A group of Miami cops discovers a stash of millions in cash, leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the huge seizure, making them question who to rely on. The ensemble cast includes Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Kyle Chandler, Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, Scott Adkins, Sasha Calle, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Nestor Carbonell and Lina Esco.

On January 16, the Tubi movie How to Lose a Popularity Contest will debut online. This young adult romantic comedy will star Sara Waisglass (Ginny & Georgia) and TikTok star-singer Chase Hudson who will play an overachiever and a slacker (respectively) who team up to win student body president but find themselves falling for each other instead.

The series finale of Power Book IV: Force will air on Starz on January 16 at 8 PM.

On January 16, the new drama series The Nowhere Man will debut on Starz, but check your local listings for airtime. Lukas (Bonko Khoza), a former Special Forces mercenary crippled by PTSD, has turned his back on his violent past and is operating as a junk collector on the streets of Johannesburg. But when he witnesses a home invasion and intervenes, he is dragged back into the world he’s spent years trying to escape. To survive, he will have to come face-to-face with his demons and confront the dark secrets of his old life. Power alum Naturi Naughton-Lewis will also star.

The new Hallmark Channel movie Love on the Amazon will debut on January 17 at 8 PM. Claire (Jaicy Elliot) travels to Brazil and hires Danny (Rafael de la Fuente), a riverboat captain, to help her deliver an important message for her sister Amelia, a marine biologist studying pink dolphins on the Amazon River.

On January 18, the new Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will debut on HBO at 10 PM. A century before the events of “Game of Thrones,” two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), and his diminutive squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

Lastly, the season finale of Landman will air online on Paramount+ on January 18.

Mark your calendars!