November brings four new streaming series and a special Wicked event featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
I Love L.A. is an HBO original comedy TV series that premieres on Nov. 2 (first season is eight episodes). I venture to say that the five lead characters are supposed to be about 28 years old. As I write this, they haven’t released a lot of plot info. Here’s the official premise: “A codependent friend group reunites, navigating how the time apart, ambition and new relationships have changed them.”
Rachel Sennott stars as Maza. She also created the series, and she wrote the first season scripts. Even though she isn’t Jewish, Sennott got her breakthrough role playing a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman in Shiva Baby (2020), a well-received movie.
Two I Love L.A. characters are played by Jewish actors. Odessa A’zion, 25, plays Tallulah. A’zion is the daughter of actress Pamela Segall Adlon, 59 (Better Things star; and many other credits).
Timothée Chalamet portrays Bob Dylan in the biopic “A Complete Unknown.” (Macall Polay, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)
Her parents are long divorced, and A’zion is not close to her father, who isn’t Jewish. He has lived in Europe for decades.
A’zion has a big role in Marty Supreme, a comedy film that will open in December. Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow star.
Jordan Firstman, 34, plays Charlie. He’s a comedy writer and actor. He really got noticed for his skits on Instagram called Impressions during the Covid pandemic (2020). He’s very out as gay and has worked with LGBTQ organizations. (My guess is that he will play a gay character in I Love L.A.).
Mystery Series
It’s Her Fault is an eight-episode mystery series that will begin streaming on Peacock on Nov. 6. The stars are Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning. Here’s the premise: Marissa Irvine (Snook) arrives at a house to pick up her son Milo from a play date, but when she gets there, she can’t find Milo, sparking a parent’s nightmare.
Minkie Spiro, 54, co-produced the series and directed half of the episodes. She’s a respected British TV director. Her parents, Robin Spiro (now deceased) and Nitza Spiro (a Hebrew language teacher) founded “Spiro’s Ark,” an important London adult school featuring many types of Jewish education.
Historical Drama
Death by Lightning is a historical drama miniseries that starts streaming on Netflix on Nov. 6. The series is based on the short presidency (March-July 1881) of President James Garfield and his assassination on July 2. Most viewed Garfield as an honest and smart man, who would make a good president. However, a mentally ill man wanted a high-level government job, and he killed Garfield because Garfield, and other administration officials turned him down.
This series was created by Mike Makowsky, 34. He’s best known for writing and directing Bad Education, an HBO (2020) original movie that won the Emmy for the best TV movie. It was based on a real story about a highly respected school superintendent and some aides who stole millions of dollars from the Roslyn, Long Island school district. Roslyn is an affluent and heavily Jewish suburb. Makowsky went to Roslyn schools.
Wicked News
Cynthia Erivo at an FYC panel for Wicked in Santa Monica, California
Wicked for Good is a film that opens in theaters on Nov. 21. Of course, it’s a sequel to the Wicked film that came out in 2024 and made $750 million worldwide, an astonishing amount. (Later this month, I will tell you all the Wicked for Good “Jewish connections.”)
A two-hour Wicked “special event” will air on NBC on Nov. 6 (8 p.m.). It will stream on Peacock on Nov. 7. The Wicked special features Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, the stars of the Wicked movies. They will host and sing. The publicity promises that the two stars will be joined by Wicked co-stars and “surprise” guests.
Ethan Slater, 32, is very likely a guest. He’s been Grande’s beau for two years. He has a biggish film role as “Boq Woodsman” in both Wicked films.
Sci-Fi Drama
Miriam Shor
Phur1bus is a sci-fi drama that begins streaming on AppleTV+ on Nov. 7. The series is set in Albuquerque. Rhea Seehorn stars as Carol Sturka, an author who seems to be the only person immune to the effects of a new virus. The infected are perpetually content and optimistic.
Miriam Shor, 54, plays Helen. Helen is described on IMDb as a “star” character, but there isn’t any other info out there about Helen. Shor has many theater, film and TV credits (mostly short-lived series), but I can’t point to a credit most have watched.
Shor’s father was Jewish and her mother was not. She’s not religious. Her parents divorced when Shor was 7 and part of each year she lived with her father in Ferndale, Michigan. She’s a University of Michigan grad.