What are you watching?
I’ve been in a TV slump lately. The only thing I’ve watched in weeks has been My Octopus Teacher which, while very good, required so little attention I was able to make a bracelet while watching it. Perhaps I watched too much TV during the pandemic–I dunno. But I’m having a hard time picking a show–my favorite way to watch–and bingeing it.
There are several shows I’ve been eagerly awaiting their next season, all of which will be available in the US soon. I’m looking forward to the final seasons of Keeping Faith and Line of Duty and I can’t wait for the next season of Unforgotten. I’m interested in seeing the films The Dry, The Courier, and The Green Knight this summer too.
In the meantime, what should I watch?
My husband introduced me to Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest. Both very different but both very fun and quirky.
And my go-to comfort show is Midsomer Murders.
This past winter was all about Australian and New Zealander entertainment….
Never heard of Mythic Quest. I’ll have to check that out. Thanks!
I’m on the 12th Season of Big Bang Theory and will have to find a new show to watch soon. I’d watched this one weekly while it was on TV but watching three or four episodes a night really changes how you experience the show, IMO. I’ve loved and have no doubt that I will watch it again at some point.
Wow! I can’t imagine watching twelve seasons of anything. I think the most seasons I’ve ever watched is probably the seven seasons of Buffy. If you combine them with the five seasons of Angel, that’s the most I’ve ever seen with the same, more or less, characters.
Big Bang is a great TV version of a “comfort read” for me. It’s one of those shows like Friends, or How I Met Your Mother that works because you enjoy the friend group so much. Bringing Amy in and upgrading Bernadette to a regular made it so much more fun. I love the girl group related episodes in particular.
I recommend Parks and Recreation. I had only seen some episodes, but have now watched S1 – I’m up to 5 right now and it is a real mood buster!! So great.
My kids loved that back in the day. We just tried Schitt’s Creek which I found a little hard to ge into but am willing to still keep watching.
Schitt’s Creek is hilarious! It helped get me through the pandemic. Love love love Parks and Rec too. Season two is when Parks and Rec really takes off.
I am too dour for most TV comedy….
I finally got the chance to watch The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix after having it on my “to watch” list for ages.
It’s actually very different than I imagined it to be (I read zero actual reviews and knew no spoilers going in, not even the the setup other than “girl plays chess in the 1960’s”) so it was a complete surprise to me. I’m so glad I went in blind although somehow I was expecting it to be a jet-set glamour type mini series and while the production values are excellent and there are some great, authentic costumes, it’s not about that at all.
It’s a completely character driven story that is bleak in some parts but ultimately uplifting. It kept me guessing on how “romance” in it would play out and I’d love to discuss the ways in which it is a “feminist” work with anyone else who has seen it.
I could do an analysis on the costume design and production design choices alone. Anya Taylor Joy has quickly become a actress to watch for me based on her varied performances in her (relatively) short career.
I know Dabney loved it as well and her recommendation is one of the ones that helped push it to the top of my to watch list.
Any other admirers of it?
So. Good.
I’ve only watched a bit of it, but think I’m really going to like BANG (from producers of THE FALL, which I loved and highly recommend if you haven’t seen it). I zipped through, and long for more, of NO OFFENSE – crime show with three women as main characters, a bit more humor than the shows you’ve listed, but each season has a central crime/mystery and darker undertones.
Non-crime show that may appeal on HBO, MADE FOR LOVE, odd, dark, funny. Crime/thriller show on HBO – FLIGHT ATTENDANT. And if you haven’t watched MARE OF EASTTOWN I highly recommend it.
If you can go with some SF with your mystery, ALTERED CARBON is noir set in far future space.
Oh and historical crime series (think SOPRANOS in early 20th century Britain), PEAKY BLINDERS.
I started Flight Attendant a while ago and never got past the first two episodes. I need to dig again.
That was us too. I couldn’t stand the voice in her head as hot as he is.
I loved the first season of Altered Carbon. One of the best shows I’ve seen in years.
Mare of Easttown was brilliant – I think Kate Winslet was a revelation in it.
An odd thing happened to me. I used to watch TV and Netflix often. I used it to de-stress from work and get some alone time. Then the pandemic hit, I was furloughed, and I immediately stopped watching TV. I didn’t mean to stop watching, but I realized I’d taken up sitting on the couch in the LR where my husband works remotely and I stay there pretty much all the time when I’m not walking, running errands, or doing chores. I read or listen to audiobooks while I play games on my tablet. So far I haven’t been tempted to return to TV watching.
It’s baseball season, so my first stop when I turn on the tv is the MLB Network, followed by ESPN and the other sports channels, looking for a baseball game (if it involves the Dodgers or the Astros, so much the better—but I’ll watch any major league teams play). I’ve also discovered that if you have a Roku tv or Roku stick, you can get the Mystery Science Theater 3000 channel, which is always a fun place to land. Roku also has a mystery channel and they air a lot of Midsomer Murders episodes. We have also watched the first two seasons of The Great Pottery Throw Down, but then one of our daughters was staying with us for a couple of weeks and she hadn’t seen the show and wanted to watch it from the beginning once she went back home, so we’ll probably start on Season 3 now she’s back at her place. I love watching the potters take a lump of clay and make the most exquisite things. Even the failures are interesting.
We’ve been really enjoying the CB Strike series adapted from the Robert Galbraith mysteries. Its really good quality and the tension between Strike and Robin is palpable. I hope it’s sloooowly heading to where I think it’s heading.
That’s on my list!
So so good