I caught the first episode of Paradise (Hulu) which aired as a tease on network and it was entertaining enough though I’m somewhat dubious they can keep the intrigue. Also happy to dive back into the not ‘good’ but fun Wild Cards (CW). The first episode of Watson (CBS) was a little too bland but very House mystery illness of the week.

And in the finishing categories, I somehow stuck with the series that I described as a medical show crafted by AI, Brilliant Minds (NBC). Finally got around to the second season of The Old Man (Fx) which honestly wasn’t as good as the first (it has since been cancelled). Fellow Travelers from my temp Paramount+ subscription was very well done but a tough watch and maybe a stitch long. And the series finale of 911: Lonestar (Fox) which was Ryan Murphy ridiculous but maybe I have a soft spot for Rob Lowe.

Now that I’ve finished my best tv of 2024 list I’m trying to do a little movie catchup to get to that list. But still enjoy dabbling in some regular shows.

• Yellowjackets (Show) Season Premiere, Sunday 2/16, 9pm – This won’t be done until April so I may need to come back to my Paramount+ subscription after a month or so.
• White Lotus (HBO) Season Premiere, Sunday 2/16, 9pm – I didn’t looove this show as much as others but it has definitely been well done and another stellar cast to check out.
• A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story (Brit) Series Premiere, Monday 2/17 – Based on a true story of a nightclub manager whose life unraveled after getting involved with an abusive race car driver.
• Death in Paradise (Brit) Season Premiere, Wednesday 2/19 – I’ve been catching this when it hits PBS but I may have lost track of it when I moved to Hulu TV.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop (CW) Series Premiere, Wednesday 2/19, 9pm – Brother/sister detective team with their chief of police dad, with Leighton Meester at least worth a look.
• Reacher (Am) Season Premiere, Thursday 2/20 – Sure I’ll take another round of this, it’s pretty mindless.
• Zero Day (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 2/20 – Lies and conspiracy bringing Robert De Niro to the small screen along with Jesse Plemons and Lizzy Caplan so yes taking a look.
• Suits LA (NBC) Series Premiere, Sunday 2/23, 9pm – With the delayed popularity of Suits they had to capitalize on it, I thought the original started fun but then I tired of it.
• Grosse Point Garden Society (NBC) Series Premiere, Sunday 2/23, 10pm – The preview had kind of a Desperate Housewives murder and secrets kind of vibe.

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, please check your local listings.

I feel like I’ve been watching a lot of heavy fare so I decided to dabble in some half hours. Colin From Accounts was a cute meet-cute and took advantage of the tail end of my Paramount+ account. Then I caught How To Die Alone on Hulu which was a sweet turn your life around comedy. I’ve also dabbled with the not great Doc and am giving Going Dutch and Shifting Gears a couple of episodes to see if they get a little more funny. And the Hollywood Squares reboot which was kind of old school sweet but not enough to bring me back.

• Paradise (Hulu) Series Premiere, Tuesday 1/28 – A shocking murder in an exclusive community with some good names like Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden.
• Mythic Quest (App+) Season Premiere, Wednesday 1/29 – This series is a gem and will be tuning back in to apple for this and a few other catch-up things.
• Mo (Net) Season Premiere, Thursday 1/30 – It’s been a few years since the first season of this came out but I remember being engaged in the Palestinian family in Texas.
• Wild Cards (CW) Season Premiere, Wednesday 2/5 – I dig a good con show and this fluffy con artist helps a cop redeem himself show is entertaining enough.
• Apple Cider Vinegar (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 2/6 – Kaitlyn Dever looks like a liar touting healthy habits for curing ‘cancer’.
• Clean Slate (Am) Series Premiere, Thursday 2/6 – George Wallace plays an old school car wash owner whose trans daughter shows up played by Laverne Cox.
• Fallen (SundN) Series Premiere, Thursday 2/6 – Based on a book series a girl is sent to a mysterious facility and dives into the battle of good vs evil.

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, please check your local listings.

I’ve been ticking my way through some series that one person or another noted as top including faves Evil (Para+) which wrapped up nicely and creepily and Shrinking which still gets me (I took advantage of a free Apple TV+ weekend). I also liked the first season of The Gentlemen (Net) as a light but kind of brutal intro into English society and the drug trade. And eventually warmed to Korean A Shop for Killers (Hulu) though the choppy flashbacks were on the distracting side. I also caught No Good Deed (Net) which had heard wasn’t great but I enjoyed Dead to Me so much that I figured it should be fun enough, which I guess it was.

• With Love, Meghan (Net) Series Premiere, Wednesday 1/15 – I’m not royally obsessed but I’m a little intrigued by this one, honestly when she was just a Markle she was doing lifestyle stuff so this isn’t a weird flex.
• Harley Quinn (Max) Season Premiere, Thursday 1/16 – I’m not a huge fan of animated stuff but this very adult version is pretty amusing.
• Severence (App+) Season Premiere, Friday 1/17 – I’ll have to pick Apple back up to catch this once they’re all out in March.
• The Couple Next Door (Starz) Series Premiere, Friday 1/17 – When the burbs bring you a maybe too close relationship with your neighbors.
• Prime Target (App+) Series Premiere, Wednesday 1/22 – A thriller series about a math whiz caught in a world of danger and conspiracy.
• Carl Weber’s The Family Business: New Orleans (BET+) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/23 – This spinoff brings you a family with a secret life.
• Watson (CBS) Series Premiere, Sunday 1/26, 9pm – Morris Chestnut stars as Holmes’s former partner focusing on the mystery of medical disorders.

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, please check your local listings.

After a variety of New Year’s Eve televised programs, we start to re-kick off some shows. I’ve been looking to play a little catch-up on streaming. Polished off InkMaster and Frasier on Paramount+, both are entertaining enough. Then What We Do in the Shadows (Fx/Hulu) in its final season, that show was always good for some amusing moments. I tuned in to the latest season of The Accused (Fox/Hulu) which has great leads but the anthology of crimes leaves me wanting more.

• Missing You (Net) Series Premiere, Wednesday 1/1 – A detective matches with her missing fiance based on a Harlan Coben novel.
• Conspirators (AllBlk) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/2 – A group of friends runs into an old friend, leading to secrets tied to a local politician they’re working for.
• Lockerbie: A Search for Truth (Pea) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/2 – A search for justice after the death of a doctor’s daughter in the bombing of Pan Am flight.
• Animal Control (Fox) Season Premiere, Thursday 1/2, 9pm – This show is an amusing enough workplace comedy.
• Going Dutch (Fox) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/2, 9pm – Denis Leary plays a Colonel banished to the Netherlands in an army base that doesn’t do a lot of army.
• Will Trent (ABC) Season Premiere, Tuesday 1/7, 8pm – This show works in that quirky protagonist detective procedural.
• Doc (Fox) Series Premiere, Tuesday 1/7, 9pm – Molly Parker who is always likable stars as a doctor who forgets 8 years of her life and tries to pick up the pieces.
• Shifting Gears (ABC) Series Premiere, Wednesday 1/8, 8pm – Tim Allen is back in a new comedy that we can assume is of similar sensibilities, this time Kat Dennings plays his estranged daughter who moves home with her kids.
• American Primeval (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/9 – A mother and son fleeing their past in the American West.
• On Call (Am) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/9 – A rookie and veteran officer go on patrol in Long Beach and this drama tells their tales with a mix of footage a la cinema verite.
• The Pitt (Max) Series Premiere, Thursday 1/9 – Frontline workers in a Pittsburgh hospital with Noah Wyle getting his Dr groove back.

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, please check your local listings.

Well, we’re wrapping up the year and things are starting to slow down. Other than holiday specials of course. I’m doing some catch-up on people’s best TV lists. I figure I get about a month or so to sample what I’ve missed before I make my own list. One of those faves was the just completed Somebody, Somewhere on HBO. I have also kept making progress on my HBO backlog with Insecure which was an amusing/engaging journey of Black friends in LA.

I’m tempted to try out the Dexter: Original Sin prequel while I have Paramount+ but not sure I’ll stick around that long after InkMaster and Evil. I can always return but I want to hop over to Apple and maybe Peacock.

• What We Do in the Shadows (FX) Series Finale, Monday 12/16, 10pm – Though this show might not hit my top ten it has been consistently funny, and sorry to see it go.
• Laid (Pea) Series Premiere, Thursday 12/19 – A woman’s former lovers are dying and she tries to figure out what’s up in this rom-com?
• Protection (Brit) Series Premiere, Sunday 12/29 – A witness protection officer tries to get the the bottom of a security breach and her own personal entanglements.

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, please check your local listings.

I blew through A Man on the Inside (Net) mostly due to my back being tweaked but it was sweet and engaging. I also wrapped up Cross (Amazon) which I thought was ok, most of the cast was good but I couldn’t quite get into the season’s big bad or the dual storylines. Cruel Intentions (Amazon) was kind of a waste of a remake, it was too similar (with some noted updates) but didn’t recapture or bring anything fresh, though it was totally watchable if that’s up your alley. A few more things before we drop off for the holidays.

• Black Doves (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 12/5 – Spies, assassins, and vengeance, Keria Knightly helms this British Political Drama
• White Lies (SundN) Series Premiere, Thursday 12/5 – An investigative journalist digs under the pretty veneer of Cape Town, South Africa.
• Paris Has Fallen (Hulu) Series Premiere, Friday 12/6 – Based on the film, trying to stop a terrorist attack and not sure who can be trusted.
• The Sticky (Am) Series Premiere, Friday 12/6 – Margo Martindale heads a cast in a ‘fast-paced dark comedy’ based on the true story of a maple syrup heist.
• Somebody Somewhere (HBO) Series Finale, Sunday 12/8, 10:30 pm – This show is such a sweet and funny charmer, it’s been on my best lists and I’m sad to see it go.
• Ink Master (Para+) Season Finale, Wednesday 12/11 – I don’t know how I missed that a new season of this had started?! but they’re getting ready to wrap it up. I guess it’s time for me to get P+ and play a little catch-up on this and Evil which I’ve been meaning to do the last season, too bad Yellowjackets isn’t out until Feb.
• Queer Eye (Net) Season Premiere, Wednesday 12/11 – They’re back and Jeremiah Brent takes over for Bobby Berk as the person who does a shit ton of actual work in addition to emotional work.
• No Good Deed (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 12/12 – Three different families in a race to buy a 1920s Spanish-style home, with a good cast including Ray Romano, Lisa Kudrow, and Linda Cardellini from the maker of Dead to Me.
• Paris & Nicole: The Encore (Pea) Series Premiere, Thursday 12/12 – I have to say I found the original Simple Life quite funny and sweet so hoping these elder statesmen of reality can recapture some of that fun.
• The Bookie (Max) Season Premiere, Thursday 12/12 – I wasn’t totally enthralled with the first season of this but I stuck with it, for whatever that’s worth.
• Dexter: Orginal Sin (Para+) Series Premiere, Friday 12/13 – I did enjoy the beginnings of the original Dexter, I missed the return of that show but I might tune in to the prequel since I’m going to be revisiting Paramount+.

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, please check your local listings.

I muddled my way through Joan on the CW, for a jewelry heist show this was kind of a slog (for some reason I can’t quit a 6 part series it seems so short). I also finished the not-amazing The Penguin on Max, the highlight of this was Cristin Milioti, it was designed to be a series to bridge from the last Batman to the next so I won’t necessarily expect anymore here. I cranked through the too-quick 6-episode second season of The Diplomat, it may be ridiculous but it has me on the edge of my seat. I also finished up Wrestlers which I started last year and this docu take on small circuit wrestlers was sweet and intriguing but didn’t totally hold my interest.

A few new things on the horizon plus of course the Thanksgiving Day parade and the Dog Show and probably some football. And then I guess it’s officially the Christmas season.

• Maternal (Acorn) Series Premiere, Monday 11/18 – I don’t know that I need to revisit post-pandemic but this is set as three doctors return from maternity leave.
• Interior Chinatown (Hulu) Series Premiere, Tuesday 11/19 – I read this very oddly formatted book and am curious how they’ll approach it as a series focusing a background extra on a show set in Chinatown.
• Night Court (NBC) Season Premiere, Tuesday 11/19, 8:30pm – This show was amusing enough with the daughter of the original Judge Stone taking control of the court.
• Cruel Intentions (Am) Series Premiere, Thursday 11/21 – I dug the original version of this campy fun flick and am cautiously optimistic the series might be a treat.
• Man on the Inside (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 11/21 – Ted Danson back in a series by the creator of The Good Place yes please.
• Get Millie Black (HBO) Series Premiere, Monday 11/25, 9pm – Ex-Scotland Yard detective returns to Kingston to work missing persons cases.
• The Madness (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 11/28 – A media pundit gets framed for murder after stumbling upon a dead body.
• The Agency (Show) Series Premiere, Sunday 11/1 – An espionage political thriller.
• Children Ruin Everything (CW) Season Premiere, Friday 11/29, 9pm – Another funny enough show of parents and things going awry.

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, please check your local listings.

I finished up the latest seasons of Lincoln Lawyer and Only Murders in the Building both of which were relatively consistent with what you’d expect, I still enjoy the latter more than the former based on cast charm alone. I also did Agatah All Along which was an imperfect but really interesting addition to the MCU universe. I’m looking forward to a few of these upcoming shows and yes there’s election coverage.

• Inspector Ellis (Acorn) Series Premiere, Monday 11/4 – Three-part detective drama with a ‘tenacious’ copy who is dropped into a ‘failing’ investigation.
• St Dennis Medical (NBC) Series Premiere, Tuesday 11/12 – A mockumentary this one set at a hospital led by Allison Tollman, I like to give comedies a shot.
• Bad Sisters (App+) Season Premiere, Wednesday 11/13 – I liked the wrap-up of the first season so much I’m almost sad they’re trying again.
• Cross (Am) Series Premiere, Thursday 11/14 – Aldis Hodge stars as the James Patterson character in our latest book series adaptation, a detective and forensic psychologist looks into the minds of murderers.
• The Day of the Jackal (Pea) Series Premiere, Thursday 11/14 – An assassin played by Eddie Redmayne faces a British Intelligence officer played by Lashana Lynch in this latest adaptation.
• The Creep Tapes (Shud) Series Premiere, Friday 11/15 – A serial killer invites documentarians to record his life and maybe it’s not a good idea.
• The Landman (Para+) Series Premiere, Sunday 11/17 – Taylor Sheridan’s latest stars Billy Bob Thornton and John Hamm among others based on the podcast “Boomtown,” sure.
• Dune Prophecy (HBO) Series Premiere, Sunday 11/17, 9pm – I haven’t watched the latest Dune movie I’m not sure I’m up for a prequel.

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, please check your local listings.

I tried a few new network shows, NCIS Origins, I’m not an NCIS watcher so this early story might resonate more for others but it had a solid character and story, kind of gave Reacher vibes, not sure I’ll stick with it but might try one more. Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage was pretty generic, again I didn’t watch Young Sheldon so those who did might dig it more. Also generic was Happy’s Place but it could be a comfort show that way Reba was in its day.

I finished up Nobody Wants This and the latest season of Heartstopper, both binge-able series of half hours. And excited that Veronica + Seth (aka the characters that I originally knew Kristin Bell and Adam Brody from) will be back for another season. I don’t know why my fave actors aren’t always in something cute.

• What We Do In The Shadows (Fx) Season Premiere, Monday 10/21 – This is sadly the final season but always happy to have these ridiculous vampires around getting into one fix or another.
• Beauty in Black (Net) Series Premiere, Thursday 10/24 – The latest Tyler Perry about a stripper and a cosmetic dynasty family.
• Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Am) Series Premiere, Thursday 10/24 – A tv version of the video game I’ve never heard of, sure.
• Before (App+) Series Premiere, Friday 10/25 – A psychological thriller with Billy Crystal as a child psychiatrist who encounters a troubled boy, good cast.
• The Marlow Murder Club (PBS) Series Premiere, Sunday 10/27, 9pm – Adapted from the bestselling novels looking into I can only assume murders.
• Somebody Somewhere (HBO) Season Premiere, Sunday 10/27, 10:30pm – I love this sweet series and am excited for a new season of the characters’ evolution or lack thereof.
• Wizards Beyond Waverly Place (Dis) Series Premiere, Tueday 10/29, 8pm – One of the characters of the original gets pulled back into wizarding, I don’t know I never watched this.
• The Diplomat (Net) Season Premiere, Thursday 10/31 – I tore through this Kerri Russell series and glad to see her back and dealing with the impossible personal and professional relations.

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, please check your local listings.