how television rules my life…
Well we’re wrapping up the season and other than yet another Netflix International release, Selection Day an Indian coming of age story, there’s not much new to note. I have been felled by a somewhat traditional Christmas cold so I’ve been tuning into streaming. Lot of Mindy Project with a dash of Big Love, Homecoming, Downton Abbey, and Casual.
I wrapped up The Kominsky Method which was enjoyable based on our two leads, and based on end of year wrap ups floating around started Homecoming and Big Mouth. The holidays should offer some downtime for backlog and perhaps an actual movie.
Returning streaming: Marvel’s Runaways (Hulu, Fri).
The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.
Ok I really need to figure out what to do about the glut of Netflix series that keep launching. I mostly plan to ignore them unless someone tells me what to watch, which means I don’t usually have any advance info on some of these listed below. Alas should still be pretty quiet until the new year. Time to start looking at best of lists!
Returning streaming: Wanted (Net, Thursday), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, special ep (Net, Friday), Cuckoo (Net, Friday), Fuller House (Net, Friday), The Travelers (Net, Friday)
I wrapped up Rectify this week, which I keep recommending to people with a caveat that it’s slow and can be more bitter than sweet but beautifully poignant. I also wrapped Sabrina which I wanted to like more than I did, good moments but suffered like many Netflix shows by not grabbing quite enough over the spread of episodes. I also went back and picked up the first ep of Dirty John and it was a pass for me, I couldn’t get on board with any of the characters/angles, for a better ‘relationship goes bad’ I’d go back to You which just wrapped on Life. Mrs. Maisel also returns this week and while it wasn’t my fave Palladino series there was much to like and I’m curious how the second season will go.
This week is pretty light but yet again this week there are a handful of new Netflix shows (for amusement check out SNL’s take) none of which I can easily find info on, the good thing about streaming is I can wait for critics to point me to what’s worth watching: Hero Mask (Mon), Bad Blood (Fri), Dogs of Berlin (Fri), Pine Gap (Fri), Plan Coeur (Fri).
Well a long weekend and a discount code got me onboard with Hulu. And of course rather than immediately dropping into Handmaid’s Tale I did a little Mindy Project and Casual. Sometimes you just have to balance out the drama of Fortitude, Patriot, Downton Abbey, Big Love, Rectify, and even Sabrina with a little comedy. I’m about to wrap a couple of those up so should have a little room over the next holiday for a couple more good ones plus catching The Little Drummer Girl which I’ve yet to dive into. And this week a few more series with very little word which mostly seems to mean for streaming that they’re global imports that we’re not paying much attention to.
Returning streaming: F is For Family (Net, Friday)
The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.
I finally wrapped up Ozark, which lost a little bit of its living on the edge charm for me. And though I’m not done with my backlog I decided that starting a half hour show with Kominsky Method could slot right in and the first two episodes show promise. Along with some serious Thanksgiving downtime will look to sample Little Drummer Girl and Dirty John below.
Streaming: The Last Kingdom (Netflix, Monday), The Bureau (SunN, Wed), No Activity (CBSAA, Thursday), Frontier (Net, Fri).
The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.
Before starting in on Patriot I felt like I needed to knock off a few other streaming options. I wrapped up Goliath and while I like the characters the second season just got ridiculous and still relatively difficult to follow as a seasonal case and while I should call it a day I just need to wrap up Fortitude. And I think I need to give some fresh eyes to the remaining Ozark oh wait and I still have some Sabrina, that hit a bit of a lag midway but still some good stuff in there.
Streaming returns: Narcos (Net, Friday).
The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.
No early buzz to point to a yes or no on the new findings but I am cautiously optimistic for a new season of odd Patriot.
Returning streaming: The Great British Baking Show (Net, Friday), Patriot (Am, Friday).
The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted are typically PST.
Most of the dust has settled and very few shows were picked up by me, let’s see what I’m still looking at.
Tuesday
I do find The Conners a much fresher take than the previous Roseanne incarnation and while I’m a little less enthusiastic about the update to a new wildcard partner on Lethal Weapon, the new dude has potential but the stories and characterization seem light and knowing Wayans is bowing out after this season leaves a low enthusiasm. I’ve also dropped This is Us because the few things I thought were well done were far outweighed by my disdain for most of the characters and plotting.
Wednesday
It’s not quite a good show but so far I like the characters enough to see if they can be something like the new Cougartown with kids.
Thursday
The favorite laugers have returned and I’ll also give Murphy Brown one more shot but while I like the cast and the idea of their slant on news today it’s just not quite hitting the mark for me. I still need to catch Legacies on CW but having passed on previous incarnations am assuming that will also get a pass but who knows it could be a gem of a young supernaturals option.
Friday
No promises on keeping Kids but as a pairing with the predictable but mildly entertaining Last Man, it’ll get another viewing. And I still find Speechless fresh but I’m dropping Fresh Off the Boat which is hitting the repetitive character archetype point Modern Family did for me after a few seasons. I also couldn’t get on board with Midnight, Texas for a second season but it was a fun summer show last year.
Sunday
And here’s to my night of hope, while God is a little too schmaltzy it scratches the Kevin Probably Saves the World itch, and Tea Leoni gives me hope that politics can be challenging but people are trying to do the right thing.
And a we’ve got some continued fun in cable with: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS), Ink Master (Spike), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Fxx), You (Life), Z Nation (Syfy)
What are you watching?
Well the gas is easing off of new scripted series. Which is good because I’ve just about caught up to eliminating almost everything new. I’ve been ignoring my streaming shows (Ozark, Rectify, Fortitude, Goliath, Big Love, Downton Abbey) but did manage to take a first stab at Sabrina which isn’t amazing but is definitely a fun dark spin on comic.
Returning streaming: Startup (Crack, Thursday)
The procrastinator lists items that may not be on your regular season pass, though notation does not imply recommendation. Times noted as appropriate are typically PST.