There is simply too much stuff to watch these days! So tell us what you’re watching, and why it’s worth our time (or not).
What episodic stuff are you bingeing, and why should we watch it?
Me, I am loving French dramedy Call My Agent! (pictured; streaming on Netflix globally except in Austria, Spain, Germany, and Portugal, for some reason), set in a Paris talent agency. It’s a brilliant skewering of celebrity culture — lots of famous actors play heightened versions of themselves — and movie fandom. An English-language adaptation, called Ten Percent (a direct translation of the French title, Dix pour cent, just debuted on Amazon Prime in the UK and BBC America in the US, and I am looking forward to bingeing that as soon as I’ve done with its progenitor show.
I am also enjoying Season 2 of Bridgerton (on Netflix globally) — it’s just beautiful people in beautiful clothes falling in love — and Japanese reality show Old Enough! (on Netflix US/UK), in which very small children are sent on their first errands, like to buy groceries or collect dry-cleaning; it’s incredibly adorable. I’ve just finished Marvel’s Moon Knight (Disney+ globally); Oscar Isaac in a dual role is terrific.
Next up for me, which I expect to at least be able to wallow in geekitude with: the brand-new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the latest season of Star Trek: Discovery (both on Paramount+ in the US; the network launches in the UK on June 22nd). Also very much looking forward to Season 2 of crime dramedy Only Murders in the Building (debuting June 28th on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK).
Your turn…
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I’ve kinda gone cold on Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is great so far! One of the things I really like is that all the characters feel like the writers and actors have already figured them out, so they feel fully realized. (Probably easier since Pike, Number One, and Spock started out on Discovery, but the wholly-new characters are great too.)
(Also, just in case you haven’t checked it out for some reason, do NOT skip Star Trek: Lower Decks!)
I was actually on the verge of canceling Netflix before realizing that they had not, in fact, canceled The Last Kingdom as I had assumed (because Netflix cancels everything good after two seasons.) In fact, there’s a 3rd and 4th season I haven’t seen yet! It’s based on Bernard Cornwell’s excellent historical fiction novels, and while the show takes some liberties, it’s very good on the whole. And my understanding is that the lead is pretty female-gaze friendly.
I haven’t followed Trek in a while but just dove into Strange New Worlds and am loving it so far.
The Last Kingdom actually ended up with five seasons total. I haven’t seen S5 yet, but I don’t remember seeing any tooth-gnashing about it falling apart at the end, so I’m hopeful!
Oh, right, I miscounted. I’ve seen the first 3 seasons and just started watching the 4th. Supposedly a feature film-length sequel is also in development at Netflix.
I’ve gushed to you about this before, but I found Arcane on Netflix utterly compelling. It’s only 9 episodes of 40 minutes each, eminently bingeable. At its heart, it’s the tale of two sisters — what binds them together, what tears them apart, the found families they make and unmake. Some have compared the story’s arc to Greek tragedy, and I don’t think that’s much of a stretch. It’s some of the best visual storytelling I’ve seen in a long time.
It’s got: gorgeous animation, akin to the painterly-yet-dynamic style of Into the Spider-Verse; fascinating world-building with a terrific steampunk aesthetic; excellent performances by the voice cast (with Hailee Steinfeld absolutely compelling in her role); an incredibly evocative soundtrack, including heavy hitters like Sting (that I’ve been been playing on Spotify for WEEKS); a gut-punching plot that surprises at many turns; a smart exploration of class and politics; and, most importantly, a story that feels organically driven by the decisions of richly complicated characters. It’s apparently based on a video game, but you’d never know it; it’s so self-contained and well-written that no prior knowledge is required (I certainly didn’t have any). Honestly, given the usual track record of video game adaptations, this one has no business being as good as it is. It’s just a fantastic show, period.
I’m also a couple of episodes into Heartstopper, also on Netflix, and so far it’s a really cute and endearing YA story about a British gay high school romance. It feels like a warm hug. :-)
Pachinko on Apple TV is a fantastic Korean intergenerational epic — gorgeously filmed and beautifully acted. (Best way to watch it, in my opinion, is in the original Korean, with subtitles on — Korean and Japanese, often spoken interchangeably, are displayed in two different colors.)
And for the ultimate warm-hug show, do check out Ted Lasso, about which much good stuff has already been written, all of it true. :-)
Up next, hopefully, is Our Flag Means Death on HBO. I’ve heard so much good stuff about it.
LOVED Call My Agent!, Bridgerton, Moon Knight, and Only Murders in the Building. Can’t wait for whichever new seasons are coming.
Oh, yes, I forgot to mention Our Flag Means Death! It’s great. Though I actually saw someone on Twitter saying that everyone (understandably) gushing about the queer romance aspects of the show inadvertently downplay the show’s primary focus, which is being funny as hell.
Definitely a second for Ted Lasso. First season was stronger than the first, but they’re both real good.
For me, I’m getting through season two of Undone on Amazon Prime right now, and absolutely delighted to be doing so. I loved season one, which came out in 2019, and was really bummed when I thought that was it. But then all the sudden a second season I didn’t know they were making showed up on Prime just like two weeks ago, and it’s still really good! Got Bob Odenkirk, for everyone who’s realized how amazing he is from Better Call Saul (or the really fun Nobody), awesome rotoscoped animation. Great story centered on the oldest daughter in their family, Alma (female protagonist, yeah!),cool timey-wimey stuff, questionably reliable narrator, terrific performances. Just love it to pieces. And both seasons are 8 episodes that are ~30 minutes long, so extremely bingeable. I so desperately want more people to see how awesome this show is!
While you’re on Amazon Prime, The Tick was also extremely good and bingeable. I know MaryAnn loves superhero stuff, and this is super fun Superhero stuff that’s not your usual MCU/DC fare.
Update: I’ve now finished Heartstopper, and can confirm: it’s a really good binge-watch. The teenage cast is absolutely wonderful, and the characters are so achingly endearing and so deep in their feelings I just want to scoop them all up and protect them from the world.
It’s a really sweet show. And in these cruel, hateful times, it feels like a bit of hope and resistance. I imagine it will be a lifeline for a lot of LGBTQ teens trying to navigate their high school years.
I’ve been watching The West Wing again and trying to remember a time when it didn’t feel like science fiction. If I watch enough episodes in a row, sometimes I believe that politicians like Josiah Bartlet still exist in the world.
I dont binge anything. I think. I’ll watch one ep a night of a show until i finish a season. thats not binging right? binging is watching a whole season in a day or two or three, right?
i only watch one tv show at any given time. Right now its Grantchester on Prime. quaint little detective / English love story show. I like it. season 3 right now.
I think one ep a night counts as bingeing when, in the past, we had to wait a week, at least, between eps.
Just finished Station Eleven on the advice of a colleague. Lovely little post-apocalyptic show about a deadly flu pandemic that destroys civilization and the importance of art. Endlessly surprising…could never predict where the story was going.
Been catching up on Better Call Saul, great as ever.
Next up is the latest season of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, and checking out Strange New Worlds.
Still waiting for news of renewal for Our Flag Means Death…
Station Eleven is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in years.
Our Flag… is definitely high on my watchlist.