Ryan Murphy Brings His Hit Machine to Netflix with The Politician

It could be argued that Ryan Murphy has ruled the Fox airwaves since the debut of Nip/Tuck in 2003. Since then, even as prestige streaming shows have multiplied, nearly all of Murphy's projects, including Glee, the American Horror Story and American Crime Story franchises, 9-1-1, and Pose have run on Fox channels. After closing a $300 million 5-year deal with Netflix in 2018 — the richest in TV history — Murphy seems poised to dominate the streaming landscape as well. Murphy's first Netflix series drops today, and there are plenty more on the way.

SERIES PREMIERE: Ben Platt stars in the eight-episode comedy drama The Politician, in which he plays Payton Hobart, the ambitious and entitled teenage son of society mother Georgina (Gwyneth Paltrow) who aims to be president when he grows up, but first he's got his sights set on the title of student body president at his Santa Barbara high school. Murphy regular Jessica Lange joins Dylan McDermott, January Jones, Zoey Deutch, and Bette Middler in supporting roles. Watch the trailer | Read our pilot script review. Streaming on Netflix

SERIES FINALE: Following star Jeffrey Tambor's firing in 2018, Transparent's future was up in the air. Though Amazon promised the show would have "some version" of a fifth season, just what shape that would take was unclear.  Now we know. The series ends today with a feature length musical finale. Watch the trailer. Streaming on Amazon Prime

SEASON PREMIERE: Season 4 of American Housewife finds the Otto family coming to a a difficult conclusion… it's time to sell the minivan. 8:00 PM ET on ABC

SEASON PREMIERE: Returning  for Season 6 (much to Constance Wu's initial chagrin), Fresh Off the Boat opens with Louis and Eddie realizing it's time to give Evan "the talk." At the same time, Jessica and Honey learn the true meaning of being best friends. 8:30 PM ET on ABC
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Hard to believe, but Hawaii Five-0 begins its tenth season tonight, with the Five-O pursuing an assassin who is targeting mob bosses. And later, they must say goodbye to a member of the team. 8:00 PM ET on CBS

SEASON PREMIERE: The Reagans are also celebrating ten years. As this season of Blue Bloods begins, Frank (Tom Selleck) is trying to help his ex-partner, whose daughter has been arrested. Meanwhile, Erin squares off against an old nemesis in court. 10:00 PM ET on CBS

ALSO TONIGHT

• Magnum P.I. enters its second season with Magnum waiting to hear if Higgins will become his partner. 9:00 PM ET on CBS
• In the Shadow of the Moon brings Michael C. Hall (Dexter) back to the world of serial killers, only this time he working with a  police officer (Boyd Holbrook) to solve a string of killings that increasingly appear to involve a supernatural twist. Streaming on Netflix
• Van Helsing returns for its fourth season, as Vanessa Helsing, descendant of the famous vampire hunter, continues in the family business. As the season begins, Vanessa is pursuing an amulet that will allow her to return to her own world. 10:00 PM ET on SyFy

Mike Attebery is Senior Editor at Primetimer and the author of seven mystery thrillers. Follow him on Twitter at @mikeattebery.