Unstruck TV: Under the Radar Series to Fill Gaps in Fall Viewing

While Hollywood writers are back at work, media companies have suspended negotiations with striking actors over a new contract. Even if talks resume and a settlement were to happen soon, however, it would likely be early 2024 before the two dozen or so dramas and comedies that normally premiere in the fall make it back onto screens.

As luck would have it, though, the era of peak streaming provides a nearly limitless array of series to watch. Below are a handful of new or recent lesser-known shows, many of them from outside the United States, on smaller streaming platforms (and one over-the-air network) that can help viewers fill in gaps in their viewing schedules while waiting for homegrown favorites to return. One bonus: None of the shows below are produced by companies against whom Hollywood’s unions are or were striking this year. Unless noted, all the streamers below offer seven-day free trials before subscription charges begin.

Drama

The Beach Hotel (Viaplay): The Swedish drama, whose second season premiered Sept. 28, revolves around two families who run rival hotels in a seaside town. After a mysterious death ratcheted up hostilities between the two families in season one, season two brings new challenges to both clans — along with more murders. (Viaplay subscriptions are $5.99 monthly or $49.99. It’s available on most connected TVs and streaming devices and via iOS and Android apps.)

Little Bird (PBS): The acclaimed Canadian drama premiered Oct. 12 on the public broadcaster, which operates under a separate contract with industry unions than the one SAG-AFTRA is currently striking. Little Bird follows the title character, Behzig Little Bird, who was adopted into a Jewish family at age 5 and stripped of her Indigenous identity. As an adult seeking to find the family she lost, she discovers she was part of a generation of children taken by the Canadian government under a policy that later became known as the Sixties Scoop. PBS also has the second seasons of Hotel Portofino and Masterpiece dramas World on Fire and Annika premiering Oct. 15.

Pagan Peak (Topic): An adaptation of Bron (The Bridge) set on the border between Germany and Austria. Like the original series, it’s set in motion by the discovery of a dead body on the boundary between the two countries. The first two seasons are available now, with season three debuting Oct. 26. (Topic is available through most big streaming devices and on Amazon Channels; subscriptions are $5.99 per month or $59.99 annually.)

Paris Police 1905 (MHz Choice): A follow-up to the well-regarded Paris Police 1900, the crime drama opens on Christmas Eve 1904 and takes police Inspector Antoine Jouin (Jérémie Laheurte) into the city’s secret underbelly — a forest on the outskirts of the city where people go to fulfill their darkest desires. It premieres in November. (MHz Choice, like the other services above, is available via most major streaming devices; it’s $7.99 per month or $89.99 annually.)

The Sea Beyond (MHz Choice): The hit Italian series — think HBO’s Oz, but with juveniles — centers on the young inmates at a detention center overlooking the Gulf of Naples. The show’s first season (a fourth is now filming) makes its debut on the service on Oct. 17.

Spiral (Topic): The long-running, critically acclaimed French police drama, which first gained a stateside following on Netflix more than a decade ago, is once again available to U.S. viewers. The first season is streaming now, with an English-dubbed version set to debut Oct. 26. Season two follows in November.

Comedy

Avoidance (Britbox): Romesh Ranganathan, who also co-created the series, stars as Jonathan, a guy so averse to conflict that he can barely process it when his partner (justifiably) sends him packing. The show then follows Jonathan as he tries to break free of his inertia, for the sake of his young son (Kieran Logendra) and the sanity of those closest to him. (Britbox is on the big smart TV and streaming devices and runs $8.99 per month or $89.99 for an annual subscription.)

SisterS (IFC/AMC+): Barry star Sarah Goldberg and Susan Stanley created and star in this dark comedy about a Canadian woman (Goldberg) who, after her mother dies, goes to Ireland in search of the father she’s never met and also finds a previously unknown half-sister (Stanley). The Hollywood Reporter critic Daniel Fienberg said when the show premiered that while its satire could be sharper, “if you just watch it as a vehicle for showcasing the versatility of its stars, there are more than enough pleasures to fill the swift time.” (AMC Networks is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios and streamers in labor negotiations. AMC+ plans start at $4.99 per month.)

Nonfiction

The American Buffalo (PBS): Ken Burns’ latest documentary traces the history of the buffalo in North America — spanning some 10,000 years — along with its significance to Indigenous people, its near-extinction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the efforts since then to revive the population. The two-part, four-hour film airs Oct. 16 and 17. PBS also has two more Independent Lens films on tap for fall: Three Chaplains (Nov. 6), about Muslim chaplains in the U.S. military, and A Town Called Victoria (Nov. 13), about the aftermath of the burning of a mosque in Texas.

G.O.A.T. (MasterClass): This original series from the instructional video hub offers short(ish) lessons on specific subjects from some of the leading practitioners in their fields. You can learn how to make a perfect grilled cheese with chef Nancy Silverton, get pickleball tips from top-ranked payer Anna Leigh Waters and delve into sand sculptures with artists Melineige Beauregard and Chris Guinto. (MasterClass plans begin at $10 per month with a “30-day satisfaction guarantee”; the service is available online or via Roku and Xfinity devices.)

The Most Remote Restaurant in the World (Viaplay): The Michelin-starred restaurant Koks was already remote, located in the Faroe Islands between Norway and Iceland. Then Chef Poul Andrias Ziska and his team decided to relocate to the even harder-to-get-to village of Ilimanaq in Greenland. The documentary, which premieres Oct. 31, follows the journey and the obstacles Ziska and Co. face leading up to the opening in the new location.