Fill your Handmaid’s Tale void with Alias Grace

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, November 3, and Saturday, November 4. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Alias Grace (Netflix, Friday): The Emmy-winning Handmaid’s Tale may not even be the most impressive Margaret Atwood adaptation this year. The A.V. Club’s Gwen Ihnat was one of the many critics bowled over by this new Netflix miniseries, bolstered significantly by director Mary Harron’s artistic vision and writer-producer Sarah Polley’s storytelling. Where Handmaid’s looks ahead at a possible future, Alias Grace looks backward to 1840s Canada, in which young Irish immigrant Grace (Sarah Gadon) gets caught up in a scandalous domestic murder. Alias Grace takes its time to speculate on Grace’s actual level of involvement in the incident, but you’ll be so entranced that you’ll want this slow burn to last even longer. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya will be there for you with episodic reviews.

Regular coverage

Stranger Things (Netflix)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW, Friday, 8 p.m.)
Marvel’s Inhumans (ABC, Friday, 9 p.m.)
Jane The Virgin (The CW, Friday, 9 p.m.)
Z Nation (Syfy, Friday, 9 p.m.)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, Saturday, 11:30 p.m.)

Wild card

The Big Family Cooking Showdown (Netflix): If you’re a fan of The Great British Baking Show, give Netflix’s latest BBC import a try to gear up for the biggest cooking (and eating) season of the year. As the name implies, The Big Family Cooking Showdown pits two families against each other to create a family dinner. Since that’s what cooking mostly amounts to for many of us (over fancy pastries or delicate amuse-bouches), and the BBC already has a history of delightful cooking shows, this series will be one to watch while working on your holiday menus.