TV Reviews: Summer 2019
I cut the cord in July, downsized with an Apple tv, signed up for Youtube TV so I can get live & DVR for just the channels I was watching regularly. Still have Hulu, Netflix and HBO. I'm still on FUNemployment. Trying to keep the "Fun" by binging on some excellent TV (some new and some just new to me).
Fleabag (Amazon Prime) - I binged Season 1 and 2. I don't relate to her at all but I couldn't stop watching. The seamless way she speaks the truth to camera is fun and refreshing to see. Fleabag is a train-wreck but I was rooting for her the whole time to get something right. I loved her and her sisters' interactions. I know I'm really late to this game but I'm amazed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge's talent. I hope she wins an Emmy for Episode 1 - it was SO well done and I totally jumped on the bandwagon and bought the fleabag jumpsuit. Also, not only did she Create/Write/Star in Fleabag, but she also Created/Writes/Exec Produces Killing Eve which I got into before season 2 came out in April (also obsessed and recommend).
Euphoria (HBO) - If that is really what high school is like, I'm the most boring person to have ever lived. I didn't even have that amount of drinking/drugs/relationship drama in college! It reminds me a little bit of 13 Reasons Why with each episode getting into a characters backstory, a hint of the drug dealing drama from Brick, but shot inside a kaleidoscope of color. It is definitely an eye opening peek into Gen-Z culture that I enjoyed.
Exhibit A (Netflix) - True Crime series - each episode focuses on a type of evidence used in solving crimes but it shows the pros and cons of how it can be mis-used and some cases in which someone was convicted possibly wrongly based on the evidence. The way defense/prosecutors can manipulate findings to help their clients. I tend to get very frustrated when watching these series because in most of the stories, prosecutors are so set in getting a conviction they get a tunnel vision. They can't accept that their interpretations of the evidence isn't 100% correct and so most likely the real guilty party is going free.
The Boys (Amazon Prime) - A surprising dark take on the superhero obsession. I mean it's a very realistic take on how superheroes would end up being puppets to mega corps and definitely much more corrupt/self serving than what we're used to with Marvel etc. I love Karl Urban as The Butcher and the actor playing Hughie is a poor mans Bill Hader. I definitely recommend it.
Below Deck Mediterranean (Bravo through YoutubeTV)- started watching a few episodes here and there last year and now I'm totally invested this current season. I also just love seeing the locations. I've always wanted to do a Mediterranean cruise so this is just eye candy. They have all seasons on demand so I started back from Season 1 so I could understand why everyone thinks Hannah's the "villain". So many love triangles, crazy guests, unqualified workers.. it's a good workplace drama. I've been working on a cross stitch project and this is fun to binge when I want to multitask.
Real World: Atlanta (Facebook Watch) - ugh I can't stop watching this series no matter how many format changes they make. This season so far has definitely been very divisive on "the issues" (Racism, Immigration, Homophobia, Body Confidence, Women's rights, Toxic Masculinity) but I feel like only a few of the discussions were eye opening. The ones they got wrong just acted like a point to further divide people and didn't offer helpful solutions. It feels better that episodes are only 30min long but man they are overloaded with graphics and selfie videos. Makes me feel old. Switching over to The Challenge - I need my MTV drama to be fueled by competition and not just forced social commentary.
Another Life (Netflix) - I loved Battlestar Galactica and I got a lot of push from Netflix for this one. Katiee Sackhoff plays the badass captain of a ship in outer space that has to figure out why an alien ship landed on earth. I feel bad she's typecast and I do like the space drama but it's borrowing so much from Alien/Prometheus that I ended up regretting getting invested.
Those are what's new. This doesn't include the new seasons of shows I was already invested in like Handmaids Tale, Glow, Stranger Things etc. That's a lot of hours of TV.. maybe I should work in it..
Fleabag (Amazon Prime) - I binged Season 1 and 2. I don't relate to her at all but I couldn't stop watching. The seamless way she speaks the truth to camera is fun and refreshing to see. Fleabag is a train-wreck but I was rooting for her the whole time to get something right. I loved her and her sisters' interactions. I know I'm really late to this game but I'm amazed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge's talent. I hope she wins an Emmy for Episode 1 - it was SO well done and I totally jumped on the bandwagon and bought the fleabag jumpsuit. Also, not only did she Create/Write/Star in Fleabag, but she also Created/Writes/Exec Produces Killing Eve which I got into before season 2 came out in April (also obsessed and recommend).
Euphoria (HBO) - If that is really what high school is like, I'm the most boring person to have ever lived. I didn't even have that amount of drinking/drugs/relationship drama in college! It reminds me a little bit of 13 Reasons Why with each episode getting into a characters backstory, a hint of the drug dealing drama from Brick, but shot inside a kaleidoscope of color. It is definitely an eye opening peek into Gen-Z culture that I enjoyed.
Exhibit A (Netflix) - True Crime series - each episode focuses on a type of evidence used in solving crimes but it shows the pros and cons of how it can be mis-used and some cases in which someone was convicted possibly wrongly based on the evidence. The way defense/prosecutors can manipulate findings to help their clients. I tend to get very frustrated when watching these series because in most of the stories, prosecutors are so set in getting a conviction they get a tunnel vision. They can't accept that their interpretations of the evidence isn't 100% correct and so most likely the real guilty party is going free.
The Boys (Amazon Prime) - A surprising dark take on the superhero obsession. I mean it's a very realistic take on how superheroes would end up being puppets to mega corps and definitely much more corrupt/self serving than what we're used to with Marvel etc. I love Karl Urban as The Butcher and the actor playing Hughie is a poor mans Bill Hader. I definitely recommend it.
Below Deck Mediterranean (Bravo through YoutubeTV)- started watching a few episodes here and there last year and now I'm totally invested this current season. I also just love seeing the locations. I've always wanted to do a Mediterranean cruise so this is just eye candy. They have all seasons on demand so I started back from Season 1 so I could understand why everyone thinks Hannah's the "villain". So many love triangles, crazy guests, unqualified workers.. it's a good workplace drama. I've been working on a cross stitch project and this is fun to binge when I want to multitask.
Real World: Atlanta (Facebook Watch) - ugh I can't stop watching this series no matter how many format changes they make. This season so far has definitely been very divisive on "the issues" (Racism, Immigration, Homophobia, Body Confidence, Women's rights, Toxic Masculinity) but I feel like only a few of the discussions were eye opening. The ones they got wrong just acted like a point to further divide people and didn't offer helpful solutions. It feels better that episodes are only 30min long but man they are overloaded with graphics and selfie videos. Makes me feel old. Switching over to The Challenge - I need my MTV drama to be fueled by competition and not just forced social commentary.
Another Life (Netflix) - I loved Battlestar Galactica and I got a lot of push from Netflix for this one. Katiee Sackhoff plays the badass captain of a ship in outer space that has to figure out why an alien ship landed on earth. I feel bad she's typecast and I do like the space drama but it's borrowing so much from Alien/Prometheus that I ended up regretting getting invested.
Those are what's new. This doesn't include the new seasons of shows I was already invested in like Handmaids Tale, Glow, Stranger Things etc. That's a lot of hours of TV.. maybe I should work in it..
