Netflix’s The Madness, Thanksgiving parade, and more new TV this week

It’s a week of plenty, and a week of not a ton. If you’re in the U.S., observing the Thanksgiving tradition of feasting and making a ton of food, you’re hunkering down to enjoy the bounty. But TV-wise, the new offerings this week are (predictably) a little lighter.

Beyond the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (which will be on, as you might expect, the bulk of Thanksgiving morning in many households), there are only two shows on our list for new premieres, both thrillers. If you’re not down for the Thanksgiving thriller-thon — well, there’s plenty of other options. Prepare for the end-of-year conversation by catching up on the best TV shows of the year, or tear open some offerings that you can plow through in a single long weekend. As with your Thanksgiving plate, the choice is yours.

Here are the best TV premieres to add to your calendar this week.

New shows on Netflix

The Madness

Genre: Thriller
Release date: Nov. 28, with all episodes
Showrunner/creator: Stephen Belber
Cast: Colman Domingo, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Gabrielle Graham, and more

Muncie Daniels (Colman Domingo) is just trying to get away from it all. He’s a media pundit who’s been a little too on lately, and is hoping some time away at a friend’s cabin can help rejuvenate him. Only then he stumbles upon the murder of a notorious white supremacist, and he becomes the prime suspect. Now he has to go out and prove his innocence — one way or another.

New shows on Paramount Plus

The Agency

Genre: Spy thriller
Release date: Nov. 29
Showrunner/creator: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jeffrey Wright, and more

Covert CIA agent Martian (Michael Fassbender) is finally recalled from deep cover and ordered to return to London Station. And it turns out life as himself — particularly as he reunites with a long-lost flame, a choice that sends his real identity on a collision course with his work — is much more complicated than he’s prepared for after being undercover for so long.

New shows on Peacock

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Genre: Live television parade
Release date: Nov. 28 at 8:30 a.m. EST

It’s Thanksgiving in the U.S.! You can watch the parade of choirs, bands, and our favorite characters as balloons as they march through New York City, starting bright and early on Thursday morning. It will be there at 8:30 a.m. EST (and just know everyone who is there lined up a lot earlier than that).

2024 National Dog Show

Genre: Parade of wonderful competing dogs
Release date: Nov. 28 at 12 p.m. EST

Technically, by the time we watch the dog show, the annual dog show is already over (it was two weekends before). And yet, our hearts alight anew every time we get to see a little wag of the tail, or a particularly cute beagle. In my eyes, all these dogs are winners, but I will also be watching accordingly.