“What should I be watching?”
Here are my picks for the best new scripted series that premiered in August, in order of bestness.
• “GET SHORTY” (Epix) — This Davey Holmes (“Shameless”) adaptation of the Elmore Leonard classic about a hit man with Hollywood ambitions draws you in from the opening credits, and doesn’t release its hold until the closing ones. Lots of fine performances, with Chris O’Dowd’s Miles Daly first among equals. Others include his partner in the burial business, Sean Bridgers’ Louis, and Lidia Porto’s boss-of-bosses, Amara. Ray Romano as a has-been producer, and Megan Stevenson as his cutthroat overseer round out a remarkable cast.
• “THE TICK” (Amazon Prime) — Hello world, the Tick is back after a 16-year absence, and his timing couldn’t be more perfect. Starring Peter Serafinowicz as a deeply earnest, deeply blue — literally, he’s blue — superhero, and his sidekick, Arthur Everest (Griffin Newman), “The Tick” is both a sendup of our current superhero overload, and an abiding, joyous affirmation of it.
• “BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW” (IFC) — In an apparent bid to prove that women really are funnier than men, this all-female comedy sketch show largely succeeds, and then succeeds some more. Herein include sketches about dry shampoo, a girls night out, zombie children and someone named Nicole. The Toronto-based performers are Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen. They are, to a woman, hilarious, and so is their show.