What TV series do you like?

[Metalcat]

So should I be patient or is it like The Expanse, one of those litmus test shows that certain personality types love and others find tedious??

I really liked the first two seasons, but I dropped out during the third.  I found I couldn't keep the characters straight anymore likely because I watched the first two seasons back to back, but had to wait for the third.  And I totally agree on dubbing -- I watched it with subtitles.  I liked it a lot from the start, though, so it may just not be a good fit.

Thank you for this.

That helps me, if I'm supposed to like it early on, then it looks like I'm just not going to ever really love it the way people who rave about it do.

I didn't like Ozark for a good long time nor did I love Peaky Blinders for any of the first season. But both grew as I came to really know the complex characters and see their evolutions and exchanges over time.

I'm really, really a character fan, not a plot fan. In fact, I never remember much about the plot of any show I love, but I will distinctly remember how I felt about different characters and who I felt invested in.

I'm definitely impressed with Dark, it's phenomenally well done, I just can't see myself ever caring about a single character aside from the deaf girl, and so far she's only been in one episode.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

So should I be patient or is it like The Expanse, one of those litmus test shows that certain personality types love and others find tedious??

I really liked the first two seasons, but I dropped out during the third.  I found I couldn't keep the characters straight anymore likely because I watched the first two seasons back to back, but had to wait for the third.  And I totally agree on dubbing -- I watched it with subtitles.  I liked it a lot from the start, though, so it may just not be a good fit.

Thank you for this.

That helps me, if I'm supposed to like it early on, then it looks like I'm just not going to ever really love it the way people who rave about it do.

I didn't like Ozark for a good long time nor did I love Peaky Blinders for any of the first season. But both grew as I came to really know the complex characters and see their evolutions and exchanges over time.

I'm really, really a character fan, not a plot fan. In fact, I never remember much about the plot of any show I love, but I will distinctly remember how I felt about different characters and who I felt invested in.

I'm definitely impressed with Dark, it's phenomenally well done, I just can't see myself ever caring about a single character aside from the deaf girl, and so far she's only been in one episode.

That makes a lot of sense. I am the opposite... Hugely plot driven. I couldn't name a single character from Dark now, but I would get excited to talk to someone about what happened.

[iris lily]

I barely remember plots. Love characters.

I just finished Killing Eve which had a vague plot about assassins assassinating, and then later chasing and killing off the evil “The Twelve.” Much of it did not make sense in the last two seasons, clearly they were flogging that successful show to keep it going..

But the Villianelle girl and other key characters were cool.

There were wonderful roles for women in this show, women of all ages.

 

[Metalcat]

I barely remember plots. Love characters.

I just finished Killing Eve which had a vague plot about assassins assassinating, and then later chasing and killing off the evil “The Twelve.” Much of it did not make sense in the last two seasons, clearly they were flogging that successful show to keep it going..

But the Villianelle girl and other key characters were cool.

There were wonderful roles for women in this show, women of all ages.

Lol, yeah, I recently rewatched the first season and it was like watching it for the first time because I had absolutely no memory of what actually happened in the show, just vivid impression of the fantastic characters and dynamics.

[wenchsenior]

The first season of The Tourist was ridiculous suspense thriller fun.

So, Season 1 was super fun, left on a cliffhanger, resolved immediately in opener of season 2. Unfortunately, S2 went straight to painfully stupid land, so we bailed after 3 episodes. Doesn't really matter, you can watch S1 and the opening scene or two of S2 and be good.

[wenchsenior]

This looks so silly, but I hope it's fun b/c

1) my interest in European history started with a brief obsession with Jane Grey when I was about 15 and the fact that she's currently trendy fills me with nostalgia; and 2) it looks like this will feed my age-inappropriate crush on Edward Bluemel.

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=my+lady+jane&&mid=F697D47E620EAF1039D6F697D47E620EAF1039D6&&FORM=VRDGAR

This was a very silly, but surprisingly enjoyable, show...sort of tonally Princess Bride-ish with lots more sex and sex jokes. Some direct homages to TPB and other older movies (Crocodile Dundee, Pride & Prejudice, etc.).  Not entirely successful...needed another polish or two on the script, but still diverting enough if you can get on board with the tone.  Unfortunately, some major plot points were left for a second season and the show was just cancelled, but the first season storyline was mostly wrapped up as a standalone single season.

The main interest for me watching this (and also watching the recent Hit Man on Netflix) set me off on musing about how rare and 'lightning in a bottle' is the phenomenon of smoking hot sexual chemistry on screen, and how compelling it is when you find it, esp these days when sex and eroticism is much less common in movies than when I was a young-un.

Most actor pairings IMO fall into the vast middle of the bell curve (AKA "it's fine... I don't mind watching these people make out, but I don't feel compelled to see more of it") with a small number falling into the "do not want" end (wanting to look away) and an equally small number creating a magnetic voyeurism that derails my interest in following plot (aka "every time they are in proximity I want them to leap upon each other").

It's so mysterious what creates the hot pairings. Some actors seem more adept at it in general, meaning they create it with multiple other actors (see the peak of Madeleine Stowe's career in the 80s and 90s) but more often it is very particular to certain pairings or particular roles. Good example has been this recent run of Glen Powell pairings:  Glen Powell + Sydney Seeney = 'fine, doesn't make me want to avert my eyes'; vs + Daisy Edgar-Jones = 'good but not great'; vs + Adria Arjona = 'HOT LIKE FIRE!'

Onscreen chemistry is independent of whether I personally find the actors hot (occasionally there are actors that I find off-putting in most roles that are hot in particular pairings, much to my surprise).

My Lady Jane was powered almost entirely by that rare combustion between its leads, and it's a shame they are not going to capitalize on it further.  A little bit like a drug, I forget how good that shit is b/c I don't see it often. Then when I do see it, I'm reminded how great it is and feel irritable that I can't have it all the time.

[Warlord1986]

I paid for a month of Disney+ and watched Shogun with my parents last week. Really good production values, acting, and writing. Toranaga was my favorite character. <3

[jnw]

All caught up with Emily in Paris :) Working on season two of Star Trek Discovery. Also working on Evil.

[wenchsenior]

I paid for a month of Disney+ and watched Shogun with my parents last week. Really good production values, acting, and writing. Toranaga was my favorite character. <3

Best character in the novel and the old tv miniseries, too.

[GuitarStv]

Also working on Evil.

Evil is a fun show!

[Warlord1986]

I paid for a month of Disney+ and watched Shogun with my parents last week. Really good production values, acting, and writing. Toranaga was my favorite character. <3

Best character in the novel and the old tv miniseries, too.

I read the books some 20 years ago, and I remember he was pretty great. I need to reread them.

[Luke Warm]

I signed up for Disney+ so I could watch those two Beatles documentaries.

[Jade]

We've nearly finished Aussie series "Wakefield". It's set in a psychiatric hospital in the blue mountains in Sydney and we're really enjoying it. It's sensitive, deep and funny.

[evme]

I'm really enjoying "Undercover" on Netflix. It's a Belgian-Dutch co-production. A review on IMDb summed it up nicely:

It's like a trailer park version of the Sopranos fused with the "everything goes wrong all the time" storytelling of Breaking Bad. It's pretty fantastic.

[Archipelago]

Top 3 in no particular order:
Severance (season 2 coming soon)
Queen's Gambit
Avatar: The Last Airbender (this is a staple classic show for any household with children ages 10+, but it can also be watched in adulthood just fine)

Light watching:
Spongebob Squarepants
Antiques Roadshow

[Archipelago]

I paid for a month of Disney+ and watched Shogun with my parents last week. Really good production values, acting, and writing. Toranaga was my favorite character. <3

Shogun was very good, but not in the same tier as Breaking Bad, Sopranos and the standard TV classics IMO.

Toranaga was also my favorite character.

[mspym]

I paid for a month of Disney+ and watched Shogun with my parents last week. Really good production values, acting, and writing. Toranaga was my favorite character. <3

Also please note that according to Disney lawyers, this also binds you to arbitration for any disputes with any Disney entity, including if your wife dies of anaphylaxis in a Disney restaurant after repeatedly confirming her allergies.

[jnw]

I paid for a month of Disney+ and watched Shogun with my parents last week. Really good production values, acting, and writing. Toranaga was my favorite character. <3

Shogun was very good, but not in the same tier as Breaking Bad, Sopranos and the standard TV classics IMO.

Toranaga was also my favorite character.

Have you seen Game of Thrones?  I've read people comparing Shogun to GoT.   I loved Game of Thrones.  Working on House of the Dragon now.

[Fresh Bread]

Hinterland, the Welsh noir crime series. There's a flawed detective and miserable weather, as is the law. What I love about this series, and I giggle with delight every time, is the long pensive looks the characters give. The episodes are well over an hour long due to all the staring.

Also, one of my given names is very unusual and I've never heard anyone except my mum, who passed nearly 30 years ago, say it. She didn't have a Welsh accent but would put one on to say it. I absolutely screamed with delight when there was a character with that name and people were saying it with full Welsh accent.

[Luke Warm]

I signed up for Disney+ so I could watch those two Beatles documentaries.

That Beatles documentary that Peter Jackson did is a slog but interesting if you're interested in the songwriting process. I was under the impression that John and Paul had these concepts worked out and just needed to tweak the lyrics and melody. Not so much from what I saw. It's like they had a catch phrase and then created a song via stream of consciousness. George shows up with a few songs worked out. Ringo is along for the ride. Billy Preston was the catalyst they needed. They were definitely talented and witty but not what I expected. Lots of smoking.

[JGS1980]

Industry on Max. Read an article in the Atlantic about it. This topic has definitely been addressed before (Wall Street, Wolf of Wall Street, Boiler Room). That being said, I'm enjoying the character studies of the first season so far (3 episodes in). Greedy people suck, apparently. I won't judge, however, as I am on an internet forum specifically designed to make people rich.

JGS

[SaucyAussie]

Hinterland, the Welsh noir crime series. There's a flawed detective and miserable weather, as is the law. What I love about this series, and I giggle with delight every time, is the long pensive looks the characters give. The episodes are well over an hour long due to all the staring.

Also, one of my given names is very unusual and I've never heard anyone except my mum, who passed nearly 30 years ago, say it. She didn't have a Welsh accent but would put one on to say it. I absolutely screamed with delight when there was a character with that name and people were saying it with full Welsh accent.

Love Hinterland!  A bit like Shetland and Vera in that sometimes the landscape steals the scene.   A little darker perhaps.

Interesting tidbit - every scene is filmed in both Welsh and English so they can also produce a Welsh version of the show!

[Fresh Bread]

Hinterland, the Welsh noir crime series. There's a flawed detective and miserable weather, as is the law. What I love about this series, and I giggle with delight every time, is the long pensive looks the characters give. The episodes are well over an hour long due to all the staring.

Also, one of my given names is very unusual and I've never heard anyone except my mum, who passed nearly 30 years ago, say it. She didn't have a Welsh accent but would put one on to say it. I absolutely screamed with delight when there was a character with that name and people were saying it with full Welsh accent.

Love Hinterland!  A bit like Shetland and Vera in that sometimes the landscape steals the scene.   A little darker perhaps.

Interesting tidbit - every scene is filmed in both Welsh and English so they can also produce a Welsh version of the show!

I knew it was also available in Welsh and didn't know how they'd done that!

Edit: oh actually this explains the long stares with no dialogue!

Hidden, or Craith in Welsh, is another good Welsh crime series, a bit creepier though, and it's a mix of English & Welsh.

[Luke Warm]

So far the new Shogun is pretty good. I bet the book is excellent.

[brandon1827]

Wife and I started Kaos on Netflix this weekend. Very interesting take on the gods of Olympus

[Metalcat]

Wife and I started Kaos on Netflix this weekend. Very interesting take on the gods of Olympus

I love it so much so far. I'm hoping it stays as entertaining as it has been for the first 2 episodes.

[jnw]

Wife and I started Kaos on Netflix this weekend. Very interesting take on the gods of Olympus

Started watching that last night!  Love Jeff Goldblum.

[brandon1827]

It has gotten better and more intense as the episodes go on. We are down to the finale and will probably watch tonight

[Sandi_k]

It just dawned on me that we have Hulu as a subset of our Verizon-free Disney+ - we started watching Only Murders in the Building, and even grumpy DH is admitting that it's charming, and not what he expected.

;)

Any other Hulu recs?

[evme]

Any other Hulu recs?

Here's a few:

Reservation Dogs
Normal People
Justified
Under the Bridge
Feud: Bette and Joan
Snowfall
Fargo Season 1&2 (didn't like the others nearly as much)
A Murder at the End of the World
The Patient
The Bear
Mrs. America

[Sandi_k]

Any other Hulu recs?

Here's a few:

Reservation Dogs
Normal People
Justified
Under the Bridge
Feud: Bette and Joan
Snowfall
Fargo Season 1&2 (didn't like the others nearly as much)
A Murder at the End of the World
The Patient
The Bear
Mrs. America

Thank you! Gonna skip The Bear, as I don't need yelling in my living room. And we've seen Fargo, up through the last season. I'll keep an eye on the others!

[iris lily]

I am re-watching Deadwood after seeing it for the first time a dozen years ago.

Wow. The depth of character development, the context of development of the West that this production shows! The season 1 concluding episode was soooooo rich with passion, I have to step away from it for a bit and cleanse my tv involvement with one of today’s more mediocre shows.

I read that David Milch has Alzheimer’s and is noew in assisted living. He was brillint to write and produce Deadwood. He put out a biography a couple of years ago that I will get for winter reading.

[iris lily]

Any other Hulu recs?

Here's a few:

Reservation Dogs
Normal People
Justified
Under the Bridge
Feud: Bette and Joan
Snowfall
Fargo Season 1&2 (didn't like the others nearly as much)
A Murder at the End of the World
The Patient
The Bear
Mrs. America

Re: Mrs . America

This is about Phyllis Schlafly  of “Defeat the ERA” fame.

Back in those days I supported the ERA and lived 1200 miles from her. Never did I envision my future where I would bump up against her—willingly. Never.

Fast forward decades and I now live in St. Louis just across the river from her. Then she died but her “Eagle Forum” of conservative politics for women carried on. Then, the “Eagle Forum” had as their dinner speaker Rand Paul who was presenting an award to his mother. So I confess, as a Rand Paul fan I paid the conference registration fee of a couple hundred bucks as well as the same fee for DH and we went to that dinner.

If you had told me when I was 25 years old I would be paying $$$ to a Phyllis
Schlafly event, I would have said No Way.

To get back to the TV production, it’s pretty good. Phyllis had a great old stone house in Alton Illinois overlooking thr Mississippi river and it just recently sold. It was portrayed in the TV show nicely. Cate  Blanchett did a great job.

[Jade]

We just watched "the flatshare" on paramount plus in the UK. Excellent as was the book.

"Pure" is also very good, the main character has Pure O OCD and it is set in London.

[Fresh Bread]

Do not watch Suspect series 2. It's a British crime drama that starred James Nesbitt in series 1, which was watchable but not great. The second series has worse writing and acting. Special mention to Anne-Marie Duff for the worst acting I've ever seen on television.

The episodes are 23 mins so we plowed through all 8 to get it over with, but you don't find out who did it at the end! WTF! 

The streaming service we watched it on has no rating system and it's data will show we binged it so it must be brilliant. If there is a series 3 I'll just google it to find out who did it.

Edit to add highlights: random kissing between two women who are not lesbians halfway through where my husband asked "did a man write this?". Plus baddies with guns and a good guy with a gun - in the UK - eh???

[iris lily]

I stumbled into the hilarious TV show “ Getting On” from 2016. I don’t know where I was back in 2016 to not even have this on my radar. It’s available on prime. I watch the American version because I learned there is an English version that came first.

Oh my God, is hilarious of a geriatric hospital unit. Lori, Metcalf stars in it and other people you will recognize. I binge watched it in a few days.

And then, I learned the British version actors familiar to me, including Peter Capaldi. I am tucking this one away for  in a few months because I don’t want to spoil my memory of the American version, but I would expect the English version to be very very good .

I do like this phenomena of comedy produced in England coming over the pond and being replicated in America, assuming America can do a decent job. America did a decent job with “ The Office” ( tho Steve Carrell is no Ricky Gervase.) America made “veep “based on a political show with Peter Capaldi in England. The writers of “Succession” made it early shows in the UK.

Sometimes American copies are good, usually they’re not. But when they are good, it’s such a treat.

[Fresh Bread]

The Thick of It must be the Veep precursor. thanks for the reminder, I looked it up and it's on a streaming service I've got. I don't think I ever watched the whole thing because it was out in the dark pre-streaming days but I did love it.

[RWTL]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but we just started watching The Great on Hulu.  It might not be everyones cup of tea, but we've been enjoying it.

[Metalcat]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but we just started watching The Great on Hulu.  It might not be everyones cup of tea, but we've been enjoying it.

One of my absolute favourite shows. I really don't understand why it's never been more popular.

[midweststache]

We watched Monsieur Spade when it came out; it's now part of the AMC release on Netflix. HIGHLY recommend. Clive Own is great at embodying Sam Spade without trying to do a Bogie impression.

It's a beautiful show: the acting, the narrative, the pacing, the score, the cinematography. Worth the watch.

[iris lily]

The Thick of It must be the Veep precursor. thanks for the reminder, I looked it up and it's on a streaming service I've got. I don't think I ever watched the whole thing because it was out in the dark pre-streaming days but I did love it.

yes! The Thick of It was the model,foe Veep.

I watched The Thick of It several months ago, binging it. I cannot understand how Peter Capaldi can memorize that dialogue and deliver it at rapidfire pace. That must’ve been exhausting to shoot. It was so spot on hilarious, gut wrenchingly funny.

I read that one of the show runners quipped he ended the production because politicians were using it to make real life political decisions, ha ha

[RWTL]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but we just started watching The Great on Hulu.  It might not be everyones cup of tea, but we've been enjoying it.

One of my absolute favourite shows. I really don't understand why it's never been more popular.

I would think that some people would be turned off by the sexual situations, but to us it's all part of the comedy.

[Tyson]

Finished Kaos on Netflix which was a lot of fun.

Stared Kevin Can F*** Himself which is the crazy satire I never knew I needed.

[Metalcat]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but we just started watching The Great on Hulu.  It might not be everyones cup of tea, but we've been enjoying it.

One of my absolute favourite shows. I really don't understand why it's never been more popular.

I would think that some people would be turned off by the sexual situations, but to us it's all part of the comedy.

Sure, some people, but some of the most popular shows of all time have gratuitous sex and rape, like Game of Thrones and Outlander. At least the sex in The Great is mostly depicting people having a lot of consensual fun, and yes, is often very funny.

The first sex scene after the wonderfully naive poetic waxing from a virgin about what to expect about sex is absolutely brilliant.

I think that's a huge part of it not being more popular, much of the intelligent humour of the show is geared to really resonate with women.

[techwiz]

"Bad Monkey" staring Vince Vaughn, only watched the pilot, both DW and I enjoyed it so far.   

[RWTL]

"Bad Monkey" staring Vince Vaughn, only watched the pilot, both DW and I enjoyed it so far.

Yes!  We are caught up and love this show.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

I've started watching Westworld because I really like the concept and that style of show. I was enjoying it overall. Fell asleep one episode in not because it was bad, just I'm tired. What I saw was extremely brutal (sexual violence not just deaths). Don't know if I can handle it for too long if it's always this bad. Any thoughts?

[reeshau]

I've started watching Westworld because I really like the concept and that style of show. I was enjoying it overall. Fell asleep one episode in not because it was bad, just I'm tired. What I saw was extremely brutal (sexual violence not just deaths). Don't know if I can handle it for too long if it's always this bad. Any thoughts?

Westwood isn't always that brutal.  It gets more brutal.  Sweetwater was the newbie area--where you get off the train.  It got more dangerous / extreme as you leave that area.

I found the plot twists quite fascinating, and enjoyed the series.

[wenchsenior]

I've started watching Westworld because I really like the concept and that style of show. I was enjoying it overall. Fell asleep one episode in not because it was bad, just I'm tired. What I saw was extremely brutal (sexual violence not just deaths). Don't know if I can handle it for too long if it's always this bad. Any thoughts?

Westwood isn't always that brutal.  It gets more brutal.  Sweetwater was the newbie area--where you get off the train.  It got more dangerous / extreme as you leave that area.

I found the plot twists quite fascinating, and enjoyed the series.

It's a very brutal show; however, I found the first season really excellent and was bummed that  I watched alone b/c of the interesting topics raised + some great plot twists.  Second season good but not as good. Third season almost unwatchably terrible... I have no idea what happened...show runner or writer change? 

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

I've started watching Westworld because I really like the concept and that style of show. I was enjoying it overall. Fell asleep one episode in not because it was bad, just I'm tired. What I saw was extremely brutal (sexual violence not just deaths). Don't know if I can handle it for too long if it's always this bad. Any thoughts?

Westwood isn't always that brutal.  It gets more brutal.  Sweetwater was the newbie area--where you get off the train.  It got more dangerous / extreme as you leave that area.

I found the plot twists quite fascinating, and enjoyed the series.

Fair enough. The philosophical premise is very interesting to me, and I'll probably keep watching until it gets too much for me.