Smart, ambitious, beautiful, well cast and superbly acted, “The New Look” streams its first three of 10 episodes today on Apple TV+. Subsequent installments arrive every Wednesday through April 3.
The title is derived from the fashions of Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn) that emerged in the years after World War II and were said to have offered a vision of exquisite beauty, opulence and creativity that shook off years of wartime death and deprivation.
“New Look” begins with a celebration of Dior at the Sorbonne, featuring its first fashion show in that university’s seven-century history. There, Dior is challenged by a student to explain how he survived the Nazi occupation of Paris and whether he ever collaborated with the enemy.
The question, or rather its complicated and nuanced response, inspires hours of flashbacks to life under the Germans’ heel and harrowing stories of resistance and submission, of bravery and evil.
During the war, Dior is one of many designers working for the fashion house of Lucien Lelong (John Malkovich). It’s an open, if undiscussed, secret that their customers were either Nazis or the wives of their collaborator friends. For most of this time, Dior is consumed with worry about his sister Catherine’s (Maisie Williams) dangerous work with the French Resistance.
Happily for viewers, “New Look” is not only about Dior and his ultimate triumph, but about Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche) and her cozy relationship with her country’s occupiers. Binoche is astounding here, reminding us that villains can be so much more compelling than saints.
In later episodes, look for Emily Mortimer as Chanel’s old friend Eva Colozzi, a British aristocrat married to a Fascist Italian count who becomes embroiled in Coco’s many schemes. Later still, Glenn Close arrives as American fashion editor Carmel Snow, a force in the industry who plays a major role in anointing Dior and popularizing his work.
Oppressed as much by his family as the Germans, Dior is often far too sensitive, reticent, emotionally tortured and creatively blocked to be entirely entertaining. That’s why creator, executive producer, writer and director Todd A. Kessler was so wise to devote more time on Chanel’s audacious treachery (and her reputation’s unraveling).
Curiously, every episode concludes with a 1940s song performed by contemporary artists. If this is a sop to younger viewers, I’m not sure if it works. I have a similar reaction to the opening theme to HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country.” But perhaps I’m not the audience for Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend.” And in the end, listening to Lana Del Rey get through Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” is a small price to pay for a series as rewarding as “The New Look.”
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A crash floods the wards on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— “Nature” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) looks for a Jurassic predator with the help of naturalist and filmmaker David Attenborough.
— Shared quarters on “Chicago Fire” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) celebrates the Eiffel tower.
— Greg’s cool teacher status becomes a problem on “Abbott Elementary” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— “FBI True” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14) looks back at the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham Baptist church.
— Officers argue over policing strategies on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— Harry endangers Asta in the third season premiere of “Resident Alien” (10 p.m., Syfy, USA, TV-14).
— Truman’s stabs at sobriety coincide with Babe’s health woes on “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
Centuries-old vampires (Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston) maintain a deeply romantic if totally remote relationship from locations as far-flung as abandoned Detroit warehouses to the fragrant bazaars of Tangiers in director Jim Jarmusch’s 2013 fantasy “Only Lovers Left Alive” (8 p.m., TMC).
SERIES NOTES
“The Price Is Right at Night” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “I Can See Your Voice” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Feeling hacked on “The Conners” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Love and death on “Not Dead Yet” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
“Let’s Make a Deal Primetime” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Anthony Anderson hosts “We Are Family” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Family Feud” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “Judge Steve Harvey” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Tyler Perry, Hilary Swank and Christina Tosi & Will Guidara on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Jake Tapper, Chelsea Peretti and Stephen Wilson Jr. visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
