As always, there were more new TV premieres this past week than any one person could ever keep track of without some help. So here are this week's list of shows worth keeping on your radar when you are looking for something new:
This Is I (Netflix)
In 2009, Ai Haruna became the first Japanese contender to win the Miss International Queen transgender pageant in Thailand. But getting there was a painful struggle and that is the story at the center of this film. Born Kenji Onishi in Japan, she struggled as a young boy with bullying and an inability to understand what she was feeling. A random encounter with a performer at a local "Okama" night club led to her getting a job as a go-fer and eventually a performer. Kenji adopted the name Ai Haruna and became a favorite of patrons. But there were continuing challenges with identity and the desire to find surgical solutions at a time when Japanese law forbid gender reassignment surgery.
Some moments in the film drag a bit and there are some weirdly out-of-time moments, such as when Onishi's grandmother uses the very Oprah-era phrase "live your own life!" But overall, the film manages to provide a nuanced look at a very unfamiliar story. At least for Americans. It also makes me want to see an American equivalent of this story told by an American filmmaker.
State Of Fear (Netflix)
Created by Pedro Morelli, this film is a spin-off of his series Brotherhood, which ran for two seasons on Netflix. Co-written and directed by Morelli, the film is a high-octane and often extremely violent look at the chaos that ensues in the Brazilian city of São Paulo after high-ranking members of the gang The Brotherhood are sent to a maximum security prison. Then when Elisa (Camilla Damião), the 18-year-old daughter of Edson (Seu Jorge), founder of the Brotherhood, is kidnapped by corrupt police officers, the gang declares a “State of Fear,” a wave of violent attacks against police stations and security forces that plunges the city of São Paulo into chaos.
The Scream Murder: A True Teen Horror Story (Hulu)
While at her aunt's house in Pocatello, Idaho, 16-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddart was brutally murdered by two masked intruders. They stabbed her approximately 30 times and left her to die in the living room. As it turned out, the crime was committed by two horror-loving classmates who were looking to kill someone for no specific reason they ever articulated. And while the production of this three-part-but-could-have-two-art docuseries is solid, there isn't much that you've haven't seen before, even if you're not familiar with the case.
If you are a hardcore true crime TV fan, you'll likely enjoy the producer's access to family, friends and even the killers. But honestly, you've seen it all before.
How To Get To Heaven From Belfast Series Premiere (Netflix)
When a writer creates an extremely memorable series, many journalists will review their new series through the lens of their previous effort. And while it's not fair, it is a helpful bit of shorthand for viewers. So based on that, Lisa McGee's might not be quite as spectacular as Derry Girls, but few shows are. But it is a solidly entertaining, almost too complicated for its own good story about three lifelong 30-something friends who come together to grieve and then attempt to solve the murder of another previous member of the group.
None of the three had spoken to her for twenty years, following some traumatic event that teased early on. But they decide to travel from their Belfast homes to the village of Knockdara, County Donegal, under the mistaken impression they have been invited by a member of the family. What results are the kind of hijinks you would expect from the creator of Derry Girls. There are accidental misadventures, hints of the supernatural, a lot of swearing and a murder's row of entertaining side characters. And while the series slumps a bit in the middle, it's well worth waiting out to discover how everything (including the show's core murder mystery) are resolved.
Million-Follower Detective (Netflix)
Influencers have been dying under suspicious circumstances, and the deaths seem to have been predicted by a masked online fortune teller named “Witch Baba." With the deaths piling up, Veteran detective Chen Chia-jen (Ekin Cheng) is teamed up with Li Hsin-ping (Patty Lee), a young investigator in the High Technology unit to try and unravel the mystery. I'm not sure if this was supposed to be an indictment of the influencer culture, but it is a solid crime thriller with very few slow moments. The acting is first-rate, which always helps with shows in this genre. And it's another reminder that some very good television is coming out of Taiwan.
Soul Power: The Legend Of The American Basketball Association (Prime Video)
Given the power and prestige of the NBA in 2026, it's hard to imagine a time when its success was threatened by a direct competitor. And yet for nine years after the launch of the upstart American Basketball Association, the rivalry between the two leagues was real and often contentious. But as this four-episode docuseries recounts, while the ABA eventually disappeared into the NBA, it changed that league forever, introducing the three-point shot, and the All-Star Game slam dunk competition. The NBA also added former ABA teams such as the Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs to the league. It's a great documentary for sports fans and I can almost guarantee there are going to plenty of stories here you hadn't heard before.
Gold Rush Mine Rescue With Freddie & Juan (Discovery)
I gave up on watching the insufferable main Gold Rush series many seasons ago, but this series (along with Gold Rush: White Water) continues to be a show I watch when I want to relax my brain and just relax with some non-work television. The series originally a Discovery+ original entitled Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge’s Mine Rescue, but added Juan Ibarra as a fulltime on-air partner in season two, when the show moved to Discovery. In each episode, Freddie & Juan help struggling miners by improving their wash plants and scouting for better ground on their claims. Unlike the multimillion dollar efforts on Gold Rush, these are struggling family miners mostly trying to find enough gold to pay the bills. And that's what I enjoy about the series. While the stakes are still high, they feel more intimate and personal.