Streaming: Twelve Shows To Watch Now.

By Erica and Karen

Spring is coming, and outdoors beckons, but one always needs a streaming fix at some point. Putting aside women’s basketball, which transfixed us for a while, here are some new (and older) shows to consider.

• The New Look. Apple TV+. The stories of Chanel and Dior’s WWII and post-war journeys could not be more different. Both lead characters are beautifully played by Juliette Binoche and Ben Mendelsohn, each of whom chooses a different path for survival. Though the stories are not new, they continue to provoke.

• Steve! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces. (Apple TV+). If you like Steve Martin, or standup, or just good stories, or smart people reflecting back, you will like this.

• Nolly. PBS. A four part series about a British woman pioneer of daytime TV, wonderfully acted by Helena Bonham Carter. It’s a tale that is all too familiar, and there seems like there’s probably more to the story, but engaging nonetheless.

• Tokyo Vice. Max. A young American wannabe journalist gets a job at a Tokyo newspaper, gets close to a member of the vice squad, and gets himself and others in terrible trouble as he seeks to undercover the Tokyo underworld. Complex, interesting, engaging and very well acted. Not something we found easy to binge, but satisfying one by one.

• 3 Body Problem. Netflix. An engrossing tale based on a splendid, complicated series of books of the same name. The Cultural Revolution, some brilliant and highly educated friends, their efforts to save the world, and more!

• Shogun, Hulu. We loved James Clavell book. It took us a little while to get into the series but now we are in! Possibly not entirely accurate from the perspective of Japanese history, but a rollicking story.

• Masters of the Air. AppleTV+. Steven Speilberg and Tom Hanks tell the story of some of the U.S. airmen who flew bombers in WWII. Riveting action scenes, especially if you are into flight, and moving relationships forged in tough circumstances.

• Designated Survivor, Netflix. An attack on the U.S. government leaves the unknown designated survivor as president. We watch as he faces with all kinds of domestic and geopolitical dramas. We watch another team work to discover the source of the attack. Completely realistic? No. But directionally right, and very entertaining.

There are some great documentaries to. be seen, too:

• If you haven’t seen Rustin, watch it now. A difficult but more hopeful time. Brilliantly acted.

• Menu-Plaisirs-Les Troigros. PBS. If you are a real foodie, you will love this (quite long—three hours!) documentary about this iconic French restaurant. If you are something a bit less, you will enjoy watching as much as you can. It’s more about the chefs, the creation of menus and patrons than about cooking, but the whole thing is just gorgeous. Take a look.

• God Save Texas. Max. Three episodes, three different directors, trying to get at what makes Texas tick, past, present and future. Mesmerizing, disturbing, important.

• The Many Lives of Martha Stewart. Max. Hulu. What can we say? She’s interesting, and has been for a long time.

We are very much looking forward to Season 2 of The Diplomat. (Netflix) All we know is 2024. And The Morning Show (Apple TV+) was renewed too.

One final note. We watched The Feud—Truman Capote and his famous expose about his Swans, the society women he loved and mocked. Too much Capote, and not enough about the swans—we were left with a feeling that they were not given their full due. (It just cannot be that women as accomplished and wealthy as these did nothing every day but drink lunch at La Cote Basque.) We’re told that the book on which the series is based—Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era, by Laurence Leamer—does tell their stories. Beautiful to watch, but we didn’t love it.