New (ish) broadcast and streaming offerings

By Nate Bloom, Stars of David Contributing Columnist

Editor’s Note: Persons in bold are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of this column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in a faith other than Judaism — and do not identify with a faith other than Judaism as an adult. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish.

The pandemic, frankly, has made writing in advance hard. Series and original films are now often added to the TV/streaming schedule with short notice. I mention this to explain why many “things” that began in November are being mentioned in this column for the first time in December. The silver lining is that it is far easier now than it was, say, 10 years ago, to catch up with episodes of a series or to view a film way after its premiere.

The comedy/drama series “B Positive” began on CBS on Nov. 5 (8:30 p.m.). Drew (Thomas Middleditch) is a therapist and the newly divorced father of a 12-year-old daughter. He needs a kidney transplant and finds a match in Gina, a past acquaintance. Sara Rue, 41, co-stars as Julia, Drew’s ex-wife.

You might remember Rue as the star of the sitcom “Less than Perfect,” which ran for four years, ending in 2006. She was born Sara Schlackman (“Rue” is her mother’s maiden name).

Appearing in recurring roles are Bernie Kopell, 87, and Linda Lavin, 82. Both play residents of an assisted living facility where Gina works. Lavin plays Norma, a woman who lived a “big life” and came out as a lesbian after the death of her husband of many years. Lavin is most famous as the star of the ‘70s sitcom “Alice.”

Kopell is best known for playing Dr. Adam Bricker, the ship’s doctor, on the hit program “The Love Boat.” Lavin and Koppel had recurring roles in early seasons of “Mom,” the hit CBS sitcom. “Mom” begins its eighth season right after the “B Positive” premiere.

Both shows were created by Chuck Lorre, 68, the man behind a slew of hits, including “The Big Bang Theory” and “The Kominsky Method.”

About a week after the Israeli TV series, “Valley of Tears,” began airing in Israel (Oct. 15), HBO bought it and, on Nov. 2, they set it to begin streaming on Nov. 12. Two episodes of the 10-episode series are being shown each week.

“Valley,” the most expensive Israeli series ever made, is about the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Here’s the official summary: “It tells four emotional and highly personal stories of individuals swept away from their loved ones by the ravages of war, four parallel plotlines, intertwined together into one climactic battle.”

“Valley of Tears” was the name given to the Yom Kippur War battles in the Golan Heights, where 173 Israeli tanks stopped 1,200 Syrian tanks from reaching the Jordan River. “Valley” was co-written by Ron Leshem, 41. He also co-created “Euphoria,” an Israeli TV series that became, in its American version, a hit for HBO. Leshem served in Israeli military intelligence, and for three years, reported on events in the Golan and the West Bank for a leading Israeli paper.

Meanwhile, “Euphoria” on HBO is set to stream a special episode on Dec. 6. This acclaimed series about high school students was first streamed in June and July 2019. The show’s star actress, Zendaya (who won an Emmy for her performance), explained that, due to COVID-19, they couldn’t gather the whole cast together to film a second, 8-episode season. They decided to do two “bridge” special episodes to keep fans interested. The first special episode finds Rue (Zendaya), a recovering drug addict, coming home for Christmas shortly after she relapsed.

Appearing in regular roles are Maude Apatow, 22, as Lexi, Rue’s childhood best friend, and Eric Dane, 47, as Cal, the father of Nat, a (star) high school character. Dane’s mother is Jewish and he was a bar mitzvah.

On Dec. 11, Amazon Prime will begin streaming “I’m Your Woman,” an original film. It is a classy detective movie, with some humor. It stars Rachel Brosnahan. She also plays the title (Jewish) role in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” “Woman” was co-written by Jordan Horowitz, 40, and his wife, Julie Hart (not sure if she’s Jewish).

On Dec. 17, CBS All-Access will start streaming “The Stand,” a mini-series based on the Stephen King novel. Basic plot: most of the people in the world die in a pandemic and the ones left are psychically drawn to a religiously devout African-American woman or to an evil white man who may be the devil incarnate. Nat Wolff, 25, plays Lloyd Henreid, a petty criminal who becomes Mr. Evil’s smartest and most loyal lieutenant. Ezra Miller, 28, is also listed as a cast member, but for reasons unknown, his character’s name is not in advance credits.