Good Shows to Watch: The Latest (Page 21)
Like a less intense and somewhat grayer BoJack Horseman, Animals follows anthropomorphic animals in New York City as they mull over everything from heartache to existential dread. It sounds bleak, but there’s a lightness to it thanks to the improvisational nature of the series. Instead of a script, creatorsPhil Matarese and Mike Luciano, who also […]
It’s rare for true crime documentaries to take on open, ongoing cases, so Taken Together is commendable for having the courage to do that, at least. But overall, this three-part docuseries about the unfortunate abduction of young cousins Elizabeth and Lyric fails to relay the facts of its case in a meaningful or respectful way. […]
Despite featuring a sharp script and solid performances, Party Down struggled to rake in views when it premiered in 2009, and sadly had to quit after just two seasons in. But since then, its small cast had gone on to become TV luminaries and its sardonic humor garnered newfound appreciation among the younger crowd. Even […]
At its core, The Trust is everything you expect from American reality TV, complete with several highly irritating contestants and drama that just never hits as hard as it tries to. So it’s good that the central game mechanics are simple yet designed to have the players sow as much discord among themselves as possible. […]
If you’re not familiar with the Ashley Madison scandal like me, then this series—at least initially—comes as a highly addictive watch. Of course you’ll want to know how a dating site promoting infidelity was created, used by millions, and eventually hacked. Who wouldn’t? But the intrigue quickly fades once you realize it’s coming from the […]
Unlike Lovesick, which rightfully changed its name from Scrotal Recall, Schitt’s Creek is still called Schitt’s Creek many seasons in. After flying under the radar for a while, the sitcom about a wealthy, Arrested-Development-style family coping with the sudden loss of their fortune is starting to get the attention it deserves. Warm and witty writing, […]
This cold Finnish series is about a successful detective who moves to a small town seeking calm. But once he settles in a town on the border with Russia, a series of murders ensue. Because Finnish TV is alien to most of us, the way this detective story is told is so unique. It’s bleak […]
This miniseries is based on a Margret Atwood novel and was also produced by her. The script was written by Canadian filmmaker extraordinaire Sarah Polley (Stories We Tell). Grace is a poor but bright Irish immigrant in Upper Canada who is accused and convicted of a double murder. 15 years into her life sentence, a […]
There’s a strong moral focus to Dee & Friends in Oz that helps keep it from being just a distraction for young children. The series logically continues the theme of outsiders learning to overcome their insecurities and courses this lesson through “Dorothy” herself—with much less peril and wicked witches involved, of course. But the show […]
The Perfect Couple is an uneven show. Some parts of it work, particularly the dramatic exchanges between members of the rich but strained Winbury family and the performances of its great actors. But most of it falls apart. The scenes where characters in the interrogation room provide information on the main characters aren’t just unhelpful, […]
Despite reportedly having a hundred-million budget, Those About to Die looks laughably cheap. From the CGI backdrops that take us to 10 different locations in the first 20 minutes to the inconsistent costumes, poor lighting, and cheesy narration, almost everything about the show is off-putting. Even the brief presence of Sir Anthony Hopkins can’t save […]
The first season of this abrasive crime drama has four episodes, expect to watch them all in one take. The second season became even bigger than the first after being endorsed by none other than Drake, who pushed for it to go on after it was cancelled. Set amidst the drug-dealing, cut-throat gangs of Hackney, […]
Buddy comedies, especially those that pair up total opposites, are almost guaranteed to be fun at the beginning, just from the surprise factor of having these personalities clash. But a show needs more than that to sustain interest, and The Brothers Sun just doesn’t fill out its characters enough beyond their respective archetypes within the […]
Claire Foy (The Crown), Damian Lewis (Homeland), and Mark Rylance (Dunkirk) star in this highly-acclaimed period drama about the rise of Thomas Cromwell as he goes from being the son of a blacksmith to becoming an important figure in British history. The miniseries is made up of only six parts, despite being based on two […]
This excellent British detective drama is from Sally Wainwright, writer and creator of Happy Valley. It premiered back in 2011 and now has five seasons to dive into for an extended binge. Rachel Bailey and Janet Scott are two murder-unit detectives in Manchester, England. The show is as much about their cases as it is […]
Terriers is a fun take on the detective genre that lasted only one season and has been developing into a cult classic. An ex-cop and his best friend start an unlicensed private investigator operation in L.A, pretty much just to help out friends. If that sounds irresponsible, wait until you meet these two. It’s difficult […]
This is an easy and funny Canadian TV show about a Korean store owner in Toronto. He completely lacks awareness of modern gender, sexual orientation, and race issues – yet his good nature redeems him. In the first episode he is confronted for saying something homophobic, but replies by pretending he has an ongoing 15% […]
Keir Gilchrist who you may know from the movie It’s Kind of a Funny Story plays Sam, an 18-year-old on the autistic spectrum trying to navigate the “typical” aspects of a teenager’s life: dating, independence, friendships, etc. Perhaps people dealing with autism can better attest to this, but the show feels genuine and realistic. Don’t […]
As a heist story, The Big Cigar is a fast-paced caper that’s easy on the eyes. It’s slickly edited and richly designed, and the actors turn in exciting performances that make you want to tune in. But as a biopic of a complex man, The Big Cigar is confounding at best and frustrating at worst. […]
This comedy is about a different kind of substance abuse counselor: a cranky, sassy music-critic turned AA facilitator called Sam Loudermilk. The show is as much a comedy as it is a heartfelt look at people trying to put their addictions behind them. A soundtrack by Canadian artist Andy Shauf sets the perfect mood for […]
As a sort of cooking-themed game show, Wildcard Kitchen doesn’t have enough to it by way of game mechanics and strategy to make it truly engaging. The cards that each chef is dealt hold all the power, which does make the show more similar to simply watching people gamble, but it also means the players […]
Every episode of Better Off Ted starts with a satirical commercial from Veridian Dynamics, a multinational that does just about anything: biotech, weaponry, food, clothes, furniture. A soothing, soulless voice narrates the ad as happy, empty stock footage fills the screen: they can get you anything you please as long as it pleases them more. […]
This comedy-drama is about a British family that moves from England to Corfu, Greece, in hopes of a better life. At first the cultural shocks and mishaps are hilarious, but The Durells quickly becomes a heartfelt drama centered around the mother, who has to push through a lack of money, new responsibilities and a sense […]
There is nothing in this Netflix docuseries about the disappearance of the ARA San Juan that you can’t read or watch anywhere else on the internet. The case itself is interesting, brimming with political controversy and engineering lessons to be learned, but the series’ narrative structure and editing are so formulaic and dull that they […]
This six-part BBC crime drama is about two detectives who try to solve cold murder cases. In the first season, they try to solve the murder of a young man from the 70s who left a diary full of seemingly unconnected names. Like most BBC mysteries, it’s grounded, believable, and consistent. Still, the second and […]
This is a funny sketch comedy show set in an imaginary small town called Burnistoun. The characters include Kelly McGlade, the town’s answer to Beyoncé, and The Burnistoun Butcher, the town’s serial killer who’s always angry with the media because they keep confusing him with the actual butcher. Most of the characters are played by […]
A hilarious British sitcom about 24-year-old Tracey Gorden, a shop assistant living in a housing estate in London with unusual friends and an even more unusual family. A bit messed up by a very religious upbringing, she navigates adulthood and trying to untangle herself from the unexciting life her neighbourhood offers (mainly by trying to […]
With a title as generic as Bandidos, the series is set up exactly how you’d expect: a charming group of antiheroes and weirdos somehow coming together and pulling off improbable schemes while cracking jokes and flirting with each other. There’s a reason this formula works, of course, and the show’s charismatic cast helps greatly in […]
Fun, wholesome, and relatable, Haikyu!! celebrates the highs and lows of high school volleyball. The show starts off focused on two freshmen volleyball players from opposing middle school teams, who have to learn teamwork in order to be accepted into their high school club. While the team might initially come across as self-conscious, over-the-top, highly […]
Actor Chris O’Dowd had a special childhood growing up in rural Ireland. So he wrote, created, and starred in this sitcom based on his experiences. He plays his childhood imaginary friend. Moone Boy is a funny and easy show, winner of an Emmy for Best Comedy in 2013 when it first aired. The setting in […]
This Canadian slice-of-life comedy is about six women who live in Montreal in a series of 10- to 15-minute capsules about relationships, sexuality, LGBTQ+ culture, and sometimes, love of Grey’s Anatomy. The pool is diverse in terms of orientation: lesbian, bisexual, and questioning. They all intersect in interesting ways but each episode is focused on […]
From the Oscar-nominated cinematographer of City of God, this is a Brazilian Netflix TV show that I can only describe as a smarter Hunger Games. In a dystopian society, the majority of the planet’s population lives in extreme poverty while a select 3% (hence the title) live in a heaven-like world called “The Offshore”. Every […]
Watch out for Ezekiel in this show, he will steal your heart. And also please sit through the first episode. Yes, it’s long, but if you get The Get Down, it is one of the best shows on Netflix. Created by Baz Luhrmann and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, it narrates the rise of […]
As has become increasingly common among Disney-Marvel projects, there’s plenty of culture and character at the heart of Echo—that all gets flattened by the franchise’s usual action-thriller formula. In its first two episodes watched for this review, the miniseries doesn’t develop the titular hero as much as she deserves, but it does sketch out the […]
On paper, A Man in Full looks like it could be the next Succession or, at the very least, Yellowstone. It gives us a look into Atlanta’s ultra-wealthy, primarily through the eyes of the tycoon Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels). The show is headlined by stars like Diane Lane and Lucy Liu, helmed by acclaimed director […]
Bosch returned recently for a fifth season, with a sixth one confirmed. It’s a sleeper hit that you may not have heard of, but with time should get the coverage it deserves. Titus Welliver (Lost, Sons of Anarchy, Argo) plays an L.A.P.D. homicide detective who is on trial for using questionable methods during a fatal […]
