Actors Miku Martineau, Sam Braun and Kyle Clark underwent intensive rowing training in freezing conditions in British Columbia for the new Netflix series Crew Girl.
The series premieres Sept. 10 on the streaming service Netflix, following 16-year-old single sculls rower Teagan Tao, played by Martineau. After a family scandal capsizes her future, Teagan moves to the East Coast with her mother, played by Jessica Paré, to start over at Easton Prep. Finding no girls' rowing team, Teagan takes the helm of the school's dysfunctional boys' varsity crew as their coxswain, navigating rivals Josh Regis, played by Braun, and Cam Dillinger, played by Clark.
Preparing for the roles required grueling physical preparation, particularly for 21-year-old Martineau, who was simultaneously filming another movie project. Speaking in a joint interview with E! News presenter Erin Lim Rhodes, Martineau described juggling her work schedule to train on weekends. "I was doing night shoots all week, but then on the weekend it was my only free time, so I would have to get up to do rowing training on a lake," Martineau said, adding that she "had no complaints" because the workouts allowed her to learn a new sport.
Filming in British Columbia brought additional challenges as autumnal weather set in. Braun recalled an October filming day that was exceptionally cold and foggy while cast members waited in leotards for camera drones to be positioned. Rain arrived during the shoot, forcing the cast and crew to hide body warming packets inside their rowing costumes on the open water. Martineau confessed she wore "like 15" heat packets, while Braun noted that crew members kept blankets stored in the back of the boat.
Beyond physical endurance, the actors focused on mastering rowing technique for the screen. "I wish people could see maybe a little bit more of the behind the scenes of not just learning how to row, but mixing in rowing with the technicalities of filming it," Martineau said. "Because it's another ball game - making sure everything is done safe and properly and also the use of cameras with the boats. It's a very technical thing." Martineau added that as a former athlete, she wanted the sport represented accurately, noting that the onscreen rowers are also learning to become skilled rowers within the story.
True Crime and Documentary Premieres
The fall television lineup features several true crime and non-fiction documentary projects. Oxygen debuts the two-hour documentary The Hooters Murders: Deadly Shift on Sept. 7, examining a series of murders between 2001 and 2010 involving young women associated with the restaurant chain. On the same date, Investigation Discovery premieres O.J. Unseen: Exploitation of Evil, a four-part series featuring unreleased footage from Juiced, an unreleased hidden-camera prank show starring O.J. Simpson that was derailed by an internal saboteur before broadcast.
Investigation Discovery also releases Toxic on Sept. 15, hosted by Elizabeth Chambers, which investigates intimate partner violence and domestic abuse through first-hand accounts from survivors and family members. On Sept. 13, TNT premieres High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam, starring Joel Kinnaman as CIA officer John Nixon during his interrogations of captured Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, played by Waleed Zuaiter, following the December 2003 capture.
MGM+ brings the 1970s psychological thriller American Hostage on Sept. 20, detailing the true story of Indianapolis radio reporter Fred Heckman, who was forced into live broadcasts by hostage-taker Tony Kiritsis. Meanwhile, Netflix releases Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on Sept. 17, dramatizing how a New England family's daughter and her maid escaped household cruelty before a series of unsolved murders.
Scripted Drama and Mystery Series Returns
Scripted dramas return with new mystery narratives across multiple networks. Apple TV launches police drama Last Seen on Sept. 9, starring Patrick Brammall as Ian Ridley, a former police detective turned dispatcher who receives a distress call from a teenager he suspects is his daughter Maggie, who disappeared 11 years earlier. Apple TV also returns with season six of Slow Horses on Sept. 16, starring Gary Oldman as MI5 Slough House department head Jackson Lamb as spy Diana Taverner embroils the team in a game of retaliation.
Hulu debuts season two of Made in Korea on Sept. 9, following Deputy Director of the Korean CIA Baek Kitae as he expands regional drug operations while former prosecutor Jang Geonyoung seeks revenge nine years after being framed. On Sept. 16, Prime Video releases Neagley, a spinoff of the Reacher series starring Maria Sten as Chicago private investigator Frances Neagley, a former military protege of Jack Reacher, played by Alan Ritchson, investigating the suspicious death of a friend.
Starz premieres season two of Outlander: Blood of My Blood on Sept. 18, following Henry Beauchamp, played by Jeremy Irvine, separated from Julia, played by Hermione Corfield, at the standing stones of Craigh na Dun, while Brian Fraser, played by Jamie Roy, and Ellen MacKenzie, played by Harriet Slater, navigate the 1715 Jacobite Rising. NBC debuts Line of Fire on Sept. 21, starring Peter Krause in a drama about a law enforcement family targeted by an assassin after a U.S. Marshal dies in the line of duty. Additionally, ABC returns with season two of R.J. Decker starring Scott Speedman on Sept. 15, while BritBox debuts Agatha Christie's Tommy & Tuppence on Sept. 15.
Comedy and Unscripted Series
Comedy series and unscripted formats fill out the autumn screen calendar. Peacock launches season two of workplace comedy The Paper on Sept. 9, following journalists Ned, Mare and Esmeralda after winning the Ohio Journalism Awards as Ned targets a local private club. FX debuts The Drop: A Snowfall Saga on Sept. 8, starring Gail Bean as Wanda Bell and Isaiah John as Leon Simmons in 1990s Los Angeles amid the rise of West Coast rap.
Paramount+ premieres season three of Colin From Accounts on Sept. 10, following Gordon and Ashley navigating personal challenges alongside their dog Colin. Paramount+ also releases animated video game homage Golden Axe on Sept. 16, featuring Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead fighting Death Adder alongside novice adventurer Hampton Squib. On Sept. 18, Paramount+ brings back crime drama MobLand for season two, following street fixer Harry Da Souza and the Harrigan family.
Netflix streams sports interview comedy Kevin Hart's Cold as Balls on Sept. 20, featuring host Kevin Hart interviewing athletes in ice tubs. HGTV launches new episodes of Retta's Scariest House in America on Sept. 18, featuring 20 property tours of paranormal and unusual houses across the United States.
Reality Television and Talk Show Premieres
Reality television franchises return with fresh seasons in September. Bravo debuts a new season of The Real Housewives of New York City on Sept. 8, followed by season seven of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City on Sept. 16. The Salt Lake City cast features returning members Lisa Barlow, Mary Cosby, Heather Gay, Angie Katsanevas, Meredith Marks, Bronwyn Newport and Whitney Rose, alongside friends Britani Bateman and Ashley Quai, with cast trips to San Francisco and Hawaii.
Hulu premieres season two of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Sept. 10, tracking the #MomTok group as Taylor returns from The Bachelorette and Whitney makes her Broadway debut in New York City. NBC and Peacock debut competition series The Traitors: New Blood on Sept. 17, hosted by Alan Cumming in the Scottish Highlands with 22 everyday Americans selected from over 80,000 applicants.
ABC debuts season 35 of Dancing With the Stars on Sept. 15, featuring celebrity contestants Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins competing for the Mirrorball Trophy. NBC launches season 30 of The Voice on Sept. 21, adding new coaches Riley Green and Queen Latifah alongside returning coaches Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson.
HBO debuts eight-part music documentary series Jay-Z in 8 on Sept. 18, featuring JAY-Z and record producer Rick Rubin reflecting on 30 years since album Reasonable Doubt, including songs "99 Problems," "Brooklyn's Finest" and "4:44." Meanwhile, daytime talk show The Jennifer Hudson Show kicks off season five on Sept. 14 with host Jennifer Hudson welcoming guests Tom Cruise, Doja Cat and Jamie Foxx.
