I knocked off Veep through a free window into some HBO shows, and while it was mostly a hoot I wish the finale could have been both dramatically satisfying and a little less depressing. I also knocked off two adaptations Little Fires Everywhere which I thought lacked the nuance of the book and Normal People which minus a few tweaks in tone mostly mirrored the book which I never quite loved. And the latest season of Sex Education which I’m still enjoying. Queer Eye returns this week as well as a special Family Feud celebrity old vs new cast (ABC, 5/31). I’m also looking forward to Agents of SHIELD which returns for its final season, though it’s been uneven I’ve enjoyed the journey and will give another run at Ramy.
In other tv news, HBO Max is now a thing, kicking off on May 27, but what’s the difference between HBO GO (included with HBO), HBO NOW (standalone streaming and apparently comes with access to HBO Max at launch at no additional charge) and HBO Max? Well Max seems to give you all of HBO plus more including some original series and stuff from WarnerMedia and maybe more? How that ends up shaking out in the long run time will tell I suppose. But until then you’re note a few new originals, most of which seem to yet have any advanced critical review as of yet.
- Barkskins (NGC) Series Premiere, Monday 5/25, 9pm – No advanced word on this drama series based on the Annie Proulx novel, a look at the mysterious massacre of settlers in the 1690s New France in Quebec.
- Ghosts (HBOM) Series Premiere, Wednesday 5/27 – A comedic take on a group of former inhabitants haunting a country mansion.
- Home (HBOM) Series Premiere, Wednesday 5/27 – A comedy that follows a family and the refugee who escapes in their car.
- Love Life (HBOM) Series Premiere, Wednesday 5/27 – Anna Kendrick stars in at least part of this comedic anthology series looks at the journey from first to last love, so far not a lot of positivity.
- Stath Lets Flats (HBOM) Series Premiere, Wednesday 5/27 – A comedy where a rubbish lettings agent aims to take over the family business.
- Trigonometry (HBOM) Series Premiere, Wednesday 5/27 – Three people in a complicated relationship.
- Central Park (App+) Series Premiere, Friday 5/29 – Animated release from one of the Bob’s Burgers peeps, and with cast including Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, and Stanley Tucci about a family that cares for and lives in the park and their foe a hotel heiress, getting some early good buzz.
- Space Force (Net) Series Premiere, Friday 5/29 – Following the latest launch 5/27 hopefully that puts you in the mood to watch Steve Carell as a serious military man who swaps his dreams of running the Air Force for running the Space Force, good pedigree but time will tell.
- Quiz (AMC) Series Premiere, Sunday 5/31, 9pm – Early good word on this three-part drama series about the people who tried to cheat their way through the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
- Maxxx (Hulu) Series Premiere, Tuesday 6/2 – A comedy about a former boy band star trying to make a comeback, might have some laughs.
- In My Skin (Hulu) Series Premiere, Thursday 6/4 – Welsh coming-of-age dark comedy about a teen girl who hides her troubled home life, might be worth a look.
- McCallum (Ova) Series Premiere, Friday 6/5 – Motorcycling forensic pathologist, not sure if this is worth finding Ovation or not.
- Trackers (Cin) Series Premiere, Friday 6/5 – Six episode crime drama set in South Africa finds a low-level analyst uncovering a conspiracy.
- I May Destroy You (HBO) Series Premiere, Sunday 6/7, 10:30pm – After an up-and-coming writer is assaulted at a nightclub she reconsiders parts of her life.
More streaming
- Can You Hear Me? (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 6/4 – Canadian drama about three friends grappling with life.
- El Presidente (Am) Series Premiere, Friday 6/5 – A Mexican true crime series inspired by the 2015 Fifa corruption scandal.
Returning streaming: Ramy (Hulu, 5/29), Somebody Feed Pil (Net, 5/29), Baki (Net, 6/4), Queer Eye (Net, 6/5)
The procrastinator lists mostly scripted items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.
