What to watch this week: Fallout, Baby Reindeer, Parasyte: The Grey and more

It's not a bad week for new shows to watch. There are several new series to check out this week (April 12-19) on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, MAX, and other streamers.

We highlighted five new shows, shared information about them, and offered our recommendation to watch or pass. Let's get the list started with Parasyte: The Grey!

Parasyte: The Grey (Netflix)

Out of South Korea, Parasyte: The Grey is now available on Netflix.

Parasyte is an old body snatcher's plot. Strange alien larvae have landed on Earth and invaded humans through their ears. From there, they take over the body and eat more people to continue to survive. Even more strangely, the aliens can transform their host's head into a crazy tentacled creature that can kill humans, throw cars, or fly.

In the case of one woman, the alien was cut off mid-body takeover, so she is half-human, half-alien and fights against the aliens. Parasyte has quite a bit of action, a very small amount of mystery, and a lot of alien octopus heads. It's not terrible, but not as good as what is currently out there.

Verdict: Pass

Anthracite (Netflix)

All episodes are available for this European crime drama, Anthracite.

Anthracite has a few different plot lines in this crime drama set in the French mountains. There is a missing journalist and his daughter, an internet crime investigator, who is trying to find him. There is a parolee trying to rebuild his life, but his ex-accomplices are making it hard for him to shut it down. There is a cult that may or may not still be active.

Though the show is a little offbeat and can have a sense of humor, the show is a pretty basic crime drama. There are some twists and some turns, but nothing you won't guess. Not a bad show to pass the time, but you can find better crime dramas.

Verdict: Pass

Fallout (Amazon Prime Video)

The latest video game turned TV series, Fallout, stars Walton Goggins (The Righteous Gemstones) and Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets). The show is created and produced by Jonathan Nolan (Westworld) who also directs the first three episodes.

The story starts in the 1950s when a nuclear apocalypse has just occurred. More than 200 years later, we follow several storylines that converge. Goggins is what is called a Ghoul. Ghouls don't die and heal fast. He is looking for a doctor, and he'll receive a large reward if he turns him over.

Purnell's character, Lucy, is with a group called Vault Dwellers. Rich people bought residences in underground, radiation-proof vaults (ala Silo). Purnell's vault is overrun by surface dwellers who kidnap her father. She leaves the vault to go look for him. The key to finding him is the doctor.

Maximus is part of an organization called the Brotherhood that employs Halo-like knights who wear armored exoskeletons. Maximus is a knight's squire. They are also tasked with finding the doctor.

Fallout is funny and fast-paced with ridiculous, cartoon-like violence. Goggins plays his cowboy persona who has deadly aim and no conscience whatsoever. There is an underlying mystery that the Vaults are hiding something. And, of course, we want to know what is so special about the doctor. If you start Fallout, you are guaranteed to finish it within 48 hours.

Verdict: Watch

Baby Reindeer (Netflix)

Created and written by Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer is now streaming on Netflix. It was billed as a British version of You, and it consists of seven, 30-minute episodes.

The story is semi-autobiographical for Gadd and tells the story of a bartender/comedian who is being stalked by a customer. The show starts out funny and a little dark, like You, as Gadd gets himself into this situation with the woman and slowly starts to understand how difficult it will be remove himself from the situation. Then, the story takes an extremely dark turn.

As she is a serial stalker, she knows how to skirt the law, while still getting underneath Gadd's skin. She leaves hundreds of emails and voicemails a day and starts to disrupt his career as well as the career of his family.

This show is well done and shows the toll a stalker can take on an individual. Conversely, it also shows how Gadd's character has mixed feelings about the stalker. Maybe he likes the attention, or maybe he supported it.

In the end, this show is not funny at all. It does not have a happy ending, and it shows some of the darkest parts of humanity.

Verdict: Watch at your own risk

The Sympathizer (MAX)

Staring Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh (who did not show up in the premiere), The Sympathizer is the HBO show to watch this week. MAX only released the first episode of the series this week, so you're not too far behind.

Downey Jr. may have more makeup and prosthetics than his performance in Oppenheimer. In the series, he plays a CIA agent runner during the Vietnam War. He recruits a pupil, who is actually a communist sympathizer and is channeling information to the communist Vietnamese. The show starts with the last days of Saigon and how Downey and his agent try to get a general out of Vietnam and into America.

Despite its sensitive subject matter, the show is very funny. We assume that the show will start to show how Downey's agent turns on him and becomes a communist spy in America. We don't really know where the show is headed, but it seems like it is going to be pretty good.

Verdict: Watch

Other shows to watch right now

• The Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (Hulu). All episodes streaming.
• Halo (Paramount+). All Episodes streaming.
• Formula 1: Drive To Survive (Netflix). You don't have to like the sport to like the show.
• The Tourist (Netflix). All episodes streaming.
• The Gentlemen (Netflix). All episodes streaming.
• The Regime (MAX). The Chancellor is overthrown....and then rethroned.
• Shogun (Hulu). All out war has to start soon.
• Invincible (Amazon Prime Video). All episodes streaming
• Girls on the Bus (MAX). It is hard to believe that there are four more episodes to go. They need recapture the energy from the original episodes to get this back on track.
• 3 Body Problem (Netflix). All episodes streaming.
• Ark (Paramount+). All episodes streaming.
• Manhunt (Apple TV+). One more episode to go. This has been a pretty good ride.
• Constellation (Apple TV+). All episodes streaming.
• Sugar (Apple TV+). Probably the best thing on television right now.
• Crooks (Netflix). This show gets more crazy and better and better every episode.
• Beacon 23 (MGM+). More to learn each week.
• Ripley (Netflix). All episodes.
• Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+). For Trekkies.