While we wait and wait and wait for the full release of the Epstein list, here’s a list of the shows I’ve checked out in the past several months.
LOVED
Say Nothing (Hulu) I learned an awful lot about Ireland’s “The Troubles” and the history of the IRA from this very well-rendered limited series, much of it seen via sisters Dolours and Marian Price. The disappearance of Jean McConville and subsequent investigation serves as a harrowing and damning framing device.
Leonardo da VInci (PBS) I love non-fiction, sue me! The great Ken Burns came through yet again with this two-part documentary. I learned so much about the life of da Vinci. Fascinating! Bonus points for including Benicio del Toro and Isabella Rossellini’s sister Ingrid, a historian, as talking heads, even if I missed having Peter Coyote as narrator.
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO) Hey, what do you know, another two-part documentary. Paul Reubens knowing he was dying while director Matt Wolf didn’t know adds a whole other layer to this profile. Paul’s interruptions of the filmmaking process are amusing but we can see how they frustrate Wolf. Still, we manage to get a detailed look at Reuben’s creative growth, his wild ambition, his careful guarding of his private life, and it all falling apart.
The Rehearsal (HBO) Airline safety didn’t seem like the obvious second-season topic for this high-concept comedy reality show. Yet, I am willing to follow Nathan Fielder wherever he wants to explore. Along the way, he also takes clever, awkward, very funny looks at dating skills, TV singing competitions, Sully Sullenberger, and more. And it all built up to an excellent finale.
Adolescence (Netflix) This one is fiction but felt real, and is a unique piece of television. We begin with a 13-year-old suburban British boy being arrested for murder. I won’t say more as the 4 episodes are best to just be experienced. It is very harsh viewing but extremely well-done and riveting. Stephen Graham, who I first saw as Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire (and soon will see as Springsteen’s dad), gives a harrowing, heart-wrenching performance as the dad in this series he also co-wrote.
LIKED A LOT
English Teacher (Hulu) It’s no AP Bio but I’m happy to have another smart school-based sitcom. Show creator Brian Jordan Alvarez stars as the titular high school teacher who is gay; normally I wouldn’t mention that fact but the show pretty much revolves around it. It’s all done with a light touch and a lot of warmth, with a very strong cast of fellow teachers and school staff.
Hotel Room (YouTube) Craving David Lynch content, I sought out these three episodes which orginally aired on HBO on January 8, 1993. (I was busy that night?) The concept: Each episode is a stand-alone story set in the same hotel room, in different eras. Lynch directed the first and third episodes, the first stars his old pal Harry Dean Stanton, and music throughout is by Angelo Badalamenti. The series hits its dark, Lynchian stride in episode 3, “Blackout,” starring Crispin Glover and Alicia Witt as a young couple visiting New York City to see a medical specialist. It’s a shame they didn’t get to make more episodes, but a decent consolation is the similar-ish HBO series Room 104 from the Duplass brothers, which ran 2017–20.
LIKED
Zero Day (Netflix) With Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Joan Allen, Angela Bassett, etc., the hope must’ve been for a prestige high-tech thriller (in which former President De Niro, who may be suffering from cognitive issues, is pulled back in to handle a widespread cyber attack). Yet only the last two of the six episodes were genuinely exciting.
Disclaimer (Apple+) This is the sexiest thing I’ve seen on TV since Normal People; and it’s cool to see a de-aged “young” Kevin Kline (don’t worry, he’s not in the sex scenes). Cate Blanchett does strong work as a successful journalist whose personal and professional lives becomes upturned by a revelation from the past. Sounds pretty good and it is, but, you know, could have been better.
Bloodline (Netflix) Finally got around to this decade-old series with an outstanding cast: Kyle Chandler, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Chloe Sevigny, an absolutely sinister Ben Mendelson, etc. Strong sense of place in the Florida Keys and some compelling family intrigue, but this was so unrelentingly dark that it started to seem silly, and I did not move on to season two.
DIDN’T LIKE
The Penguin (HBO) Colin Farrell does a decent impression of James Gandolfini. Unfortunately, this felt like The Sopranos Lite.
ONE AND DONE
Your Friends & Neighbors (Apple+) The return of my man Jon Hamm! I thought I’d keep watching but I didn’t. I did watch the entire 1 hour, 44 minutes of The Thief Who Came To Dinner, a fairly decent 1973 Ryan O’Neal/Jacqueline Bissett flick with a similar plot.
DELETED AFTER 34 MINUTES
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce (ESPN) The former Eagles center with the more famous bro’s stab at being a late-night host seemed good-natured enough, and my boy Jon “Delocated” Glaser was behind the scenes, but this was just not for me.
YES, I STILL WATCH THE SIMPSONS
Even though it’s no South Park.
THANKS AND GOODBYE
The Night Court reboot had a bumpy start, became a guilty pleasure, and had some genuinely funny episodes in its three-year run. I’m sorry they had to end on a cliffhanger. Unstable was everything you’d want in a smart workplace comedy; shame on Netflix for cancelling it after two seasons.
LOOKING FORWARD TO
Because this list is a month late, I’ve already started two shows I’ve really been looking forward to: The Pitt and The Studio. But what I’m incredibly excited about is the return of one of my all-time favorite shows, King of the Hill.
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, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, and XXVIII.
Jack Silbert, curator