Matthew Rhys + Claire Danes’ cry face

I recently watched the three-part Brit Box mystery mini-series Towards Zero because it stars Matthew Rhys. As a boycotter of The Americans—I will never not blame it for stealing Justified’s thunder! I am a bitter Betty about it!—I’m not sure when Matthew Rhys became appointment viewing for me, but he has. Towards Zero is perfectly okay, mostly it just made me wish we got more of Rhys in HBO’s short-lived Perry Mason reboot. But now I have newer, better Matthew Rhys content to look forward to, as he is co-starring with Claire Danes in an upcoming Netflix series, The Beast In Me, which looks GREAT.

The series comes from Homeland co-creator Howard Gordon and is, shockingly, NOT based on a semi-trashy novel. (It’s also produced by Jodie Foster, and Conan O’Brien’s Conanco shingle, which also produced Lost. Conan: more ubiquitous than you thought.) The Beast In Me stars Claire Danes as a grieving mother and writer who becomes fascinated with her new neighbor, Nile (Rhys), who is believed to have killed his wife. Hunting Wives star Brittany Snow plays the missing/possibly dead wife. It looks tense with a side of real estate p-rn.

Netflix has lately been churning out some upper crust c-nt content like The Perfect Couple, Sirens, and Hunting Wives, most of which I find totally unwatchable. I know I’m in the minority on this, and I am not wasting my time trying to convince anyone that these shows are bad, even though they are, but The Beast In Me looks like the right mix of proper thrillery tension and campy entertainment. Maybe it’s just the Rhys-head in me, or it’s seeing Claire Danes make her cry face, an emotional trigger burnt into my core as a Nineties kid, but Beast is pushing the right buttons. Not overly serious, but also like some effort went into the writing.

The cast is also ridiculously stacked. Besides Danes, Rhys, and Snow, Beast stars Jonathan Banks, Natalie Morales, Bill Irwin, and Deirdre O’Connell, a murderer’s row of character actor That Guy/Gal talent. The Beast In Me drops on November 13, which is perfect timing, just as the weather starts turning bad and I’m looking for stuff to watch in earnest. And it’s a dash of Matthew Rhys right when I was jonesing for something new. And don’t be like “just watch The Americans”. I will never! Justified is my one true TV love!