Though life is a lot more normal now, thankfully there’s still plenty of TV time. Oh who am I kidding, there’s always TV time! (Plus my newish WiFi extender and Amazon Firestick made it much easier to watch streaming stuff on my television.) Here’s another annotated rundown of shows I’ve checked out in recent months.
LOVED
White Lotus (HBO) I am a big fan of Mike White’s work and he hit the bullseye yet again. Part Fantasy Island, part Fawlty Towers, we followed separate stories of delightfully unlikeable and/or damaged people. There was such sharp, devastatingly funny writing delivered by tremendous performances across the board. (Alexandra Daddario, I love you.) The show often made me wonderfully uncomfortable. And the true genius was the contrast of all that tension and dysfunction in an amazingly gorgeous and peaceful Hawaiian setting.
Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+) I was excited about the cast — Cecily Strong, Keegan Michael-Key, Fred Armisen, etc. —but I was hesitant. Here was a show about a troubled couple suddenly trapped in a never-ending musical. And musicals are not my thing. But reading an article where director Barry Sonnenfeld said he didn’t like musicals either inspired me to give it a shot! Am so glad I did because I was totally charmed by this joyous, very funny series, liked it more and more as it went along, and then they totally stuck the landing. Kristin Chenoweth’s show-stopping number may be the TV highlight of the year.
2020 Summer Olympics (NBC) Didn’t have quite the star power of previous Games (no Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Bob Costas, and yeah I’m looking at you Simone Biles) but skateboarding was a cool addition and I do love watching all the odd competitions at odd hours. Note to future me: I didn’t make a typo; despite the Olympics being delayed till 2021 they still called it 2020, go figure.
NYC Epicenters 9/11 –> 2021.5 (HBO) Spike Lee’s first-person interviews brought me right back to the heart of the pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, and then all the way to September 2001, leaving no stone unturned. He revealed himself to be a superb interviewer, knowing when to hang back and let someone tell their story, knowing when to prod a little, when to comfort, and when to lighten the mood. He famously deleted, under pressure, exposure to planned-implosion theorists. (Really, Spike?) But he snuck in someone on a United flight crew saying they were pretty sure flight 93 was shot out of the sky. Chilling.
Muhammad Ali (PBS) Ken Burns’ latest documentary series, with assistance from daughter Sarah, didn’t pull any punches. A fascinating, heroic, infuriating, and depressing life arc that is ultimately celebratory.
Reservation Dogs (Hulu) It was Taika Waititi’s name in the credits that convinced me to check out this series, which I think in the ’90s would’ve been labeled a dramedy. But the terrific young Indigenous actors and the compelling Oklahoma reservation setting is what kept me tuned in. Let’s give co-creator Sterlin Harjo credit for the gentle humor, heartache, and occasional bursts of real sweetness here.
LIKED A LOT
Midnight Diner (Netflix) Thanks to my friend Carol for recommending this charming Japanese series, of which there are currently three seasons available in the U.S. I like to have something to watch late at night, and a show about a Tokyo diner only open midnight to 7 a.m. fit the bill perfectly. There are regulars and sometimes the stories are about them, but often a new character is introduced to drive the plot. I love that the series is inclusive without forcing the issue; sex workers and different gender identities are treated with total respect and normalcy. “Master,” who runs the place, doesn’t have a lot to say, but he quietly influences his customers to do the right thing. Usually.
Beef House (Adult Swim) I missed the original run of this latest Tim & Eric series so watched what I could for free online, and liked it enough to rent a couple of episodes on Amazon. In a sitcom format, five weirdo men, including Tim and relatively straitlaced Eric, live together in the house of Eric and his wife, portrayed by (bonus points here) Jamie-Lynn “Meadow Soprano” Sigler. This series is more crude than Tim & Eric’s recent offerings but does regain some of that early raw spirit.
McCartney 3, 2, 1 (Hulu) Between this and the new book of lyrics he’s been promoting, I hope we don’t suffer from Macca burnout by the time the Peter Jackson thing arrives imminently. Nevertheless, this was charming, fairly informational even for devoted fans, and easily digested. Going in I expected more from Rick Rubin besides smiling, nodding, saying “cool!”, and futzing with masking tape. But I’d guess the fact that McCartney knew about Rubin’s track record allowed Paul to speak more knowledgeably about music than we would’ve in a, oh let’s say, puffball piece with James Corden. My real great hope here is that McCartney hires Rubin to produce a very-late-era classic.
Normal People (Hulu) My cousin Steve recommended two shows but this was the only one I could watch for free. (The other was some French FBI thing?) For a while there, I couldn’t avoid Irish author Sally Rooney. She had a short story in the New Yorker that I liked but did not love. A book of hers was reviewed in Entertainment Weekly (which I think comes out quarterly and I forget why I receive it for free). And this one-season series is based on one of her books. There was a similarity to the short fiction I’d read — bookish girl gets laid a lot — so I wondered if it’s semi-autobiography (or wishful autobiography?) that Rooney keeps writing over and over. Regardless, the mismatched but actually maybe pretty well-matched lovers, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, are excellent, plus they do it a lot if you like that sort of thing, and you know that you do. And it’s a pretty realistic portrayal of the person who only blossoms after reaching college (or whatever they call it in Ireland), the shifting dynamics of a multi-year relationship, crippling self-doubt and depression, etc. And did I mention they really go at it quite a bit?
LIKED
Scenes From a Marriage (HBO) I’ll pretty much watch anything with Oscar Isaac in it, and he and Jessica Chastain are terrific in this remake of an Ingmar Bergman thingmar. It is indeed very well made. But, as I made clear in my review of Marriage Story, I don’t really enjoy watching couples YELL AT EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME!!!
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) I was thrilled when they announced that Steve Martin and Martin Short, two of my absolute all-time favorites, would be again working together, this time on a series. And Serena Gomez had handled deadpan comedy admirably in A Rainy Day in New York (which I still think you should watch). Indeed, I thought this started very strongly — cleverly written and performed by both the leads and several humorous cameos. But as the series wore on, the writing seemed more interested in the convoluted mystery (not why most of us were watching, I’d imagine) and less in the comedy.
KIND OF LIKED, KIND OF DIDN’T
The Story of Late Night (CNN) I loved the subject matter and appreciated many of the interviewees (my man Dave skipped it but was well-represented by staffers), but these CNN documentaries are so flimsy! Ken and Sarah Burns probably tune in just to laugh derisively.
The Premise (Hulu) B.J. Novak was humorous enough on The Office and his The Book With No Pictures is a hilarious storytime favorite, but it wasn’t until his Fresh Air interview that I decided to watch this series. (Point, full-court-press promotion.) Well, anthology series are famously hit-or-miss, but the hit ratio wasn’t quite strong enough, and ultimately this felt like a poor man’s Black Mirror.
DIDN’T LIKE
Lisey’s Story (Apple TV+) If any of you tell my girlfriend Julianne Moore that I didn’t like this show, I will find you and I will kill you. It had seemed Too Big To Fail: J.J. Abrams presents a Steven King adaptation starring Moore and Clive Owen. And yet it failed big. Now, I am not a Steven King guy, but a lot of the overly complicated fantasy stuff here seemed just plain stupid. I felt bad for the very talented Joan Allen, who literally stays catatonic for most of the series. And the level of violence here, met with extreme bloodlust, left a bad taste in my mouth. Julianne Moore is, of course, amazingly good and has never looked better and deserves an Emmy or whatever they give to these streamy things.
TWO AND DONE
Kevin Can F**k Himself (AMC) Clever concept (happy sitcom character often steps into the dark reality of her character’s situation), piss-poor execution.
ONE AND DONE
Small Town News (HBO) I was intrigued by a documentary series about a tiny TV station, but this was not at all compelling and felt like Tiger King Lite. A rare misfire from HBO!
American Rust (Showtime) It’s certainly no Mare of Easttown, the obvious comparison. Plus it looked, um, what I want to call “Showtime cheap.”
BAILED AFTER 7 MINUTES
Dummy (Roku) A sex doll comes to life and bonds with its owner’s girlfriend… I wasn’t sure if this was an actual show on an 8th-rate streaming service, or a second Moderna shot fever dream. My darling Anna Kendrick, you deserve so much better. And Donal Logue, I think it’s high time for a Knights of Prosperity reboot.
YES, I STILL WATCH THE SIMPSONS
I daresay it’s another halfway-decent season!
THANKS AND GOODBYE
The final season of Atypical was its weakest, but they came up with the solid ending this sweet, smart series deserved. I only thank Brooklyn Nine-Nine for putting itself out of its misery. Absurdly trying to address Black Lives Matter and police reform showed just how lightweight this series always was.
LOOKING FORWARD TO
Winter Olympics less than a year after the Summer Games — wow, thanks, global pandemic! The aforementioned Peter Jackson thing. Plus… are we having fun yet? No we are not, but we most likely will when the Party Down reboot arrives with most of the original cast.
SHOWS I USED TO WATCH AND IN MANY CASES STILL DO
Links to Edition I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, and XX.
Jack Silbert, curator