The year is off to a strong start with a lot of great TV premieres, including quite a few with Jewish stars and storylines.
From the return of an excellent Israeli spy drama, to that of our favorite fictional Jewish doctor, to a sweeping ode to Mel Brooks, here’s all the Jewish TV coming this January:
Jan 6: “Best Medicine” (Fox)
This adaptation of the British show “Doc Martin” stars Josh Charles as Dr. Martin Best, who leaves Boston to open up a private practice in the small East Coast fishing village where he vacationed as a child. While the premise doesn’t sound very Jewish (aside from, maybe, the Boston doctor thing?), Charles, whom we know as Will Gardner from “The Good Wife,” is Jewish, and, well, having another swoon-worthy Jewish actor playing a doctor on TV does feel notable.
Judaism rating: 0.25/4 couch potato latkes.
Jan 8: “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
Speaking of swoon-worthy Jewish doctors, Noah Wyle’s Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch is back for season two of “The Pitt.” Last year, he made us fall for him as the responsible and conscientious leader of a Pittsburgh ER. We all wept with him when he broke down and recited the Shema on the ER floor. I can’t wait to see what this season brings, though I am a bit worried about him, too. Take care of your mental health, Dr. Robby!
Jewish actress Alexandra Metz is also back this season as crowd favorite Dr. Yolanda Garcia.
Judaism rating: 2/4 couch potato latkes.
Jan 9: “Tehran” (Apple TV+)
At long last, agent Tamar Rabinyan is back in the Persian capital and on our screens with season 3 of the excellent Israeli spy thriller, a co-production of Apple TV+ and Kan 11. The third season, which stars Sasson Gabay (“Shtisel”) and Hugh Laurie (“House”), already aired in Israel to rave reviews, so it looks like we are in for a treat.
Judaism rating: 3/4 couch potato latkes.
Jan 11: “The 83rd Golden Globes” (CBS/Paramount+)
There are lots of great Jewish contenders for this year’s Golden Globes, including Noah Wyle, Adam Sandler (for his role in “Jay Kelly”) and Sarah Jessica Parker, who will be taking home the Carol Burnett Award. The very Jewish ping-pong period drama “Marty Supreme” is also nominated in several categories.
Judaism rating: 1/4 couch potato latkes.
Jan 19: “Judy Justice” Season 4 (Prime Video)
If you can never get enough of Judge Judy Sheindlin (and who can??), I’m happy to report that she’s coming back for another season of “Judy Justice” in just a few weeks. I can’t think of a better comfort show. (“Judy Justice” is similar to Sheindlin’s courtroom reality series “Judge Judy,” which ran for 25 years, until 2021.)
Judaism rating: 2/4 couch potato latkes.
Jan 22: “Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!” (HBO Max)
Mel Brooks turned 99 this year, and what better way to celebrate than with a two-episode special directed by Judd Apatow himself. The show’s title references Brooks’ and the late Carl Reiner’s famous bit, “The 2000 Year Old Man,” to which his son, the late Rob Reiner, also contributed a joke or two. Apatow calls the special “a deep Bob Dylan-esque dive” that goes into Brooks’ experience fighting in WWII and his rich, pivotal comedy career. I can’t wait.
Judaism rating: 3/4 couch potato latkes. It’s Mel Brooks!
Jan 27: “Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire” (PBS)
This beautiful, soulful documentary premieres on PBS just in time for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Director Oren Rudavsky talked to Kveller earlier this year about how he wanted the film to feel like a personal conversation with the Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize laureate, and it really does.
Judaism rating: 4/4 couch potato latkes.
Jan 27: “33 Photos From the Ghetto” (HBO Max)
This documentary was inspired by the recent discovery of 33 never-before-seen photos from the Warsaw Ghetto. The photos were taken by a 23-year-old Polish fireman, Zbigniew Leszek Grzywaczewski, who was sent in to fight the fires caused by the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The photos were discovered three years ago by his son on a previously undeveloped roll of film. The documentary follows that incredible discovery and the haunting nature of the photographs.
Judaism rating: 3/4 couch potato latkes.
Jan 28: “Shrinking” season (Apple TV+)
There’s nothing explicitly Jewish about this show about Jimmy Laird, a therapist dealing with the loss of his wife, but the show does feature iconic Jewish actors Jason Segel and Harrison Ford (who once told Adam Sandler that he was half Jewish, not a quarter, as the comedian’s original “Chanukah Song” mistakenly states) playing therapists. Plus, the show was co-created by Segel and Brett Goldstein, who are both Jewish, along with TV maven Bill Lawrence. Goldstein also guest stars as the drunk driver responsible for the accident that led to Jimmy’s wife’s death.
Judaism rating: 1/4 couch potato latkes.
Can we ask?
It’s important to us to keep the warm, joyfully Jewish community on Kveller accessible for all. Reader donations help us do just that. Can you spare a few to keep Kveller free? (We’ll love you forever.)
Lior Zaltzman is a senior writer at Kveller.
