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MATTHEW GILBERT

With some promising new shows on the horizon, TV has some spring in its step

Steven Yeun (left) and Young Mazino in "Beef," a Netflix comedy that also stars Ali Wong.NETFLIX/COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Since TV outlets are more productive than ever, we are heading into a spring season crammed with new shows. Amid the returns of “Succession,” “Barry,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Schmigadoon!,” and “The Afterparty,” we will see a full slate of newcomers. True to the season, potential is in the air.

UP HERE (Hulu)

Bless the hearts of those TV folks who continue to try to usher musical theater onto the small-ish screen. This musical rom-com is set in New York in the late 1990s, so we won’t have to squinch our eyes to read the texts between Lindsay (Mae Whitman) and Miguel (Carlos Valdez) as they maybe fall in love. They have devils and angels — singing and dancing devils and angels — pushing and pulling them into and out of their worst instincts. It’s from some of the people behind “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Hamilton,” and “Frozen.” (March 24)

Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham and Fionn Whitehead as Pip in "Great Expectations."Maya Mizuno/FX

GREAT EXPECTATIONS (FX)

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Perhaps you’ve heard of it? A fellow named Charles Dickens wrote it back in the Victorian era. Anyhow, this production, from “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight, gives us a dark, angsty version of the story of Pip, an orphan who navigates his way around city life, troubled romance, and a warped lady of means. Fionn Whitehead from “Dunkirk” and “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” stars as Pip, and the showy role of the demented Miss Havisham is played by Olivia Colman. (March 26)

BEEF (Netflix)

Has the world been waiting for a road-rage comedy? I’m thinking the answer is a big yes, even if the show is not set amid the utter derangement of a Boston traffic circle. Ali Wong and Steven Yuen star as strangers whose road-rage incident — he almost backs his truck into her car — triggers all kinds of twisted reactions across 10 half-hour episodes. Misdirected anger, thy name is traffic. (April 6)

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TRANSATLANTIC (Netflix)

This seven-episode limited series, which is based on Julie Orringer’s 2019 novel “The Flight Portfolio,” is from the creator of the extraordinary “Unorthodox,” Anna Winger. It’s a fictionalized version of the story of Varian Fry, an American journalist who in 1940 created an organization to help intellectuals, artists, and writers flee the Nazis and come to the United States. The international cast includes Cory Michael Smith, Gillian Jacobs, Corey Stoll, Jodhi May, and Amit Rahav. (April 7)

Kathryn Hahn (left) and Tanzyn Crawford in Hulu's "Tiny Beautiful Things." Jessica Brooks/HULU

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS (Hulu)

Based on the stories by Cheryl Strayed, this limited series — eight 30-minute episodes — will give us the always compelling Kathryn Hahn as an advice columnist whose life is falling apart. If the tagline is any indication, I’m gonna love this one: “Broken is a beautiful place to start.” (April 7)

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME (Apple TV+)

In this mystery thriller based on the novel by Laura Dave, a husband runs off during an embezzlement investigation, leaving his wife and their daughter to figure it all out. Yeah, nice. He’s played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, she’s played by Jennifer Garner, and the cast includes Garner’s “Alias” dad, Victor Garber. (April 14)

MRS. DAVIS (Peacock)

How do you solve a problem like Mrs. Davis? This sci-fi series is timely — like so many these days — as it takes on the dangers of artificial intelligence. Betty Gilpin stars as a nun from Reno who goes up against the titular all-powerful algorithm — yes, it’s named Mrs. Davis. On her journey, she runs into her ex-boyfriend (Jake McDorman), now a resistance leader. The co-creators are Damon Lindelof of “Lost” and Tara Hernandez of “Young Sheldon,” so it will at least be interesting. Also along for the ride: Margo Martindale and David Arquette. (April 20)

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DEAD RINGERS (Amazon)

Yup, it’s a twist on David Cronenberg’s 1988 thriller starring Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists. This time, Rachel Weisz plays the doctors, who share lovers and drugs as they ignore ethical and legal boundaries while performing procedures on infertile women. The limited series is six episodes of creepiness, madness, and straining to see how seamlessly they can give us two Weiszes in the same frame. (April 21)

SAINT X (Hulu)

Got more multiple timelines if you want ‘em. The adaptation of Alexis Schaitkin’s debut novel gives us the mysterious death of an American college student during a Caribbean vacation and her sister’s search for answers. The cast includes Alycia Debnam-Carey, West Duchovny, Josh Bonzie, and Betsy Brandt. (April 26)

CITADEL (Amazon)

Here’s a very big-budget sci-fi series that has already been renewed for a second season. It’s about the destruction of an independent global spy agency called Citadel and the agents — played by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden — who’ve had their memories erased. From the Russo brothers of “Avengers: Infinity War,” the action-filled series also features Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville. (April 28)

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Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson in "Fatal Attraction" on Paramount+.Monty Brinton/Paramount+

FATAL ATTRACTION (Paramount+)

She’s still not gonna be ignored . . . It’s time to revisit the story from the 1987 movie starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, but this time with more contemporary ideas about women, coercion, and accountability and with more time to explore them. The cast is strong, with Lizzy Caplan as the woman having an affair with Joshua Jackson and Amanda Peet as his wife. (April 30)

TOM JONES (PBS)

“Masterpiece” is bringing us a new adaptation of the Henry Fielding novel. The four-parter is from Gwyneth Hughes of 2018′s “Vanity Fair,” who has called the novel “the mother of all romcoms.” Solly McLeod stars as the lovable — and very sexually active — Tom, and the cast includes Hannah Waddingham from “Ted Lasso” as the not-so-nice Lady Bellaston. (April 30)

QUEEN CHARLOTTE: A BRIDGERTON STORY (Netflix)

You didn’t think the hugely popular “Bridgerton” wasn’t going to spawn a litter of spinoffs, did you? Here’s the first, a prequel about the rise to power of the young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) and her marriage to King George (Corey Mylchreest). Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh, and Ruth Gemmell from the mothership will make appearances as Queen Charlotte, Lady Danbury, and Lady Violet Bridgerton respectively. (May 4)

BUPKIS (Peacock)

Former “Saturday Night Live” dude Pete Davidson returns to TV in this comedy about . . . himself, or a fictionalized version of himself. But here’s what you really need to know about the eight-episode show: Edie Falco plays his mother and Joe Pesci returns to acting to play his grandfather. Guest stars will include Charlie Day, Brad Garrett, Simon Rex, Ray Romano, and Kenan Thompson. (May 4)

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Rebecca Ferguson and David Oyelowo in "Silo," premiering May 5.Apple TV+

SILO (Apple TV+)

This sci-fi series is based on the novels of Hugh Howey, and it checks a number of plot boxes. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic future, it gives us the remaining 10,000 people living in a silo beneath the ground, and it features a conspiracy and a murder mystery. From “Justified” creator Graham Yost, it stars Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Common, Harriet Walter, Rashida Jones, and David Oyelowo. (May 5)

FUBAR (Netflix)

The old blockbuster big shots — Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Al Pacino — have all come to TV. Now it’s actor-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s turn, with this eight-episode action spy series. He’s a CIA agent about to retire who, of course, has to do one big last job. In a twist, he and his daughter (Monica Barbaro) discover that the other is also a CIA operative. Cast members include Jay Baruchel, Gabriel Luna, and Adam Pally. What does “FUBAR” stand for? Google is your friend. (May 25)


Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him @MatthewGilbert.