This week: Tom Holland’s psychological drama, the Tony Awards, and ‘Never Have I Ever’ returns
1. Far from the franchise world, Tom Holland stars in a 1979-set limited series as a man who may be connected to a shooting in New York City. Called “The Crowded Room,” the dark drama from Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind,” “The Da Vinci Code”) is due Friday on Apple TV+. As Holland’s Danny is questioned by Amanda Seyfried’s detective, the strange psychological details of his life story and the people in it unfold. Based on Daniel Keyes’s 1981 book “The Minds of Billy Milligan,” it costars Emmy Rossum, Laila Robins, Jason Isaacs, and Christopher Abbott.
2. A darkly comic thriller, “Based on a True Story” takes on our obsession with true-crime TV shows and podcasts. As Kaley Cuoco says in the trailer, “No one ever went broke betting on America’s obsession with murder.” HBO and Netflix, so crowded with true crime, have certainly seen the wisdom in her comment. Cuoco and Chris Messina star as a Los Angeles couple who, “Only Murders in the Building”-like, try to catch a killer while making a podcast about it. “Based on a True Story” premieres Thursday on Peacock.
3. On Sunday night, “The 76th Annual Tony Awards” will proceed, despite the Writers Guild of America strike. Word is that the show, hosted for a second time by Ariana DeBose, will be unscripted, with performances from nominated shows but no scripted banter. The musical “Some Like It Hot,” based on the Billy Wilder movie, is leading the nominations, with 13, including best musical. The live event will start at 8 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+.
4. The sweet teen comedy-drama “Never Have I Ever” returns to Netflix on Thursday for its fourth and final season. With wisdom, humor, and poignance, it has charted the ups and downs of the precocious, awkward Devi Vishwakumar’s high school career in the years after her father died. The casting is excellent, notably Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi and Poorna Jagannathan as her mother. Co-created by Mindy Kaling, the show is leaving at the exact right moment, before it gets stale.