What new series are you watching? *No Spoilers, Please*

[Aerides]

Treated myself to Netflix for the first time ever and am currently hooked on Stranger Things (great in Season 1, slower in Season 2 so far) and ****'s Creek. The Crown is next. Will I keep Netflix longer than a month or two? I doubt it. The selection isn't that large--little else interests me. I was hoping they'd have a selection, say, of older classic movies.

Old movies is definitely not their thing. The main stuff is their original programming (which is often quite good), and other shows/some movies. Still, if you don't think you'll use it, you can always drop and re-up later, like every time the Crown seasons get added.

 

[Lsbcal]

We watched The Mayor of Casterbridge on Acorn. Thomas Hardy wrote this classic book. An oldie but it was very good and as a period piece it does not suffer from being filmed in 1978.

 

[target2019]

Servant on AppleTV.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8068860/

Not for the kiddies.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

DW & I recently finished seasons 1&2 of The Morning Show on Apple TV+. We both enjoyed it, and are hoping that there will be a third season. The show deals with the "Me Too" movement and related workplace issues, and does it in what I thought was a nuanced and thought-provoking way. Billy Crudup earned an Emmy for his role as a network chief, and he deserved it. The entire cast is quite good.

We've just started Succession on HBO Max, and that has sucked us in immediately (we're 2 episodes into Season 1). An aging media mogul is trying to hang on to his role as CEO of the company he's built, while his eminently unqualified adult children jockey for position to take over the firm. One of the summations of the show I saw before we started watching it was "An incredibly well-written show about truly terrible people". That sums it up really well so far.

 

[CincyDave]

Kept seeing Joe Pickett advertised on the Spectrum channel guide, so decided to give it a try. It was very good. Only 10 episodes, so binged it in a few days.

 

[Jenna]

Boston Legal---Old series -watching on Amazon free with comercials

 

[rk911]

Old movies is definitely not their thing...

Turner Classic Movies!

 

[Qs Laptop]

Boston Legal---Old series -watching on Amazon free with comercials

Started out so well and devolved into silliness.

 

[folivier]

IMO the silliness is what made it stand out from other law series. Mad cow was hilarious.

 

[Lsbcal]

Have been watching Dogs on Netflex. I enjoyed the episode about the lab that was owned by an Italian family who run a restaurant on Lake Como. This is as much about the people as the dog. Also liked the one about the Syrian refugee in Germany trying to get his dog in Syria united with him.

 

[rk911]

we just finished both seasons of The Hot Zone (HBOMAX). good stories but like most Hollywood docudramas these have more drama than facts. still, entertaining.

also finished the first 7-eps of Station 11 (HBOMAX). one word sums it up: weird. three more to go.

 

[friar1610]

“The Larkins” on Acorn. Dramedy set in late 1950s rural England. A bit corny. The patriarch of the family reminds me a bit of Ted Lasso as he is such a genuinely nice guy always trying to do the right thing.

 

[JoeWras]

also finished the first 7-eps of Station 11 (HBOMAX). one word sums it up: weird. three more to go.

Station Eleven is different, for sure! It is refreshing to see a different formula for the pandemic story. I nearly gave up after episode 2, though. I did not like that episode. I'm glad I powered through it.

For those wondering, here's a bit of information. Yes, it is a post pandemic story. Very little time is spent on pandemic mechanics. This is not Contagion or Andromeda Strain. It is 100% the inverse of Andromeda Strain.

It veers more into Omega Man, I am Legend or Lord of the Flies territory, maybe most like Lord of the Flies because there is no zombie nonsense like the other mentioned movies.

It explores the topic of what would mankind do if you get a 99.99% kill rate pandemic with an R-naught of 10000 (fantasy - this is not Covid). How do the remaining people organize? And hey, what if one group organized as a bunch of artists, because, you know, humanity needs the arts to make us human.

The strength of the series is in the very complex characters. You have to pay attention. This is not a background noise story. Also, the characters are shown in parallel sometimes 3, 5 or 20 years apart. In some cases, their different-age versions may even interact in a fantasy kind of way.

The child actor for the main protagonist character (adult played by Mackenzie Davis) is really good.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

Station Eleven is different, for sure! It is refreshing to see a different formula for the pandemic story. I nearly gave up after episode 2, though. I did not like that episode. I'm glad I powered through it.

For those wondering, here's a bit of information. Yes, it is a post pandemic story. Very little time is spent on pandemic mechanics. This is not Contagion or Andromeda Strain. It is 100% the inverse of Andromeda Strain.

It explores the topic of what would mankind do if you get a 99.99% kill rate pandemic with an R-naught of 10000 (fantasy - this is not Covid). How do the remaining people organize? And hey, what if one group organized as a bunch of artists, because, you know, humanity needs the arts to make us human.

The strength of the series is in the very complex characters. You have to pay attention. This is not a background noise story. Also, the characters are shown in parallel sometimes 3, 5 or 20 years apart. In some cases, their different-age versions may even interact in a fantasy kind of way.

The child actor for the main protagonist character (adult played by Mackenzie Davis) is really good.

Agreed! It’s definitely a show you have to pay attention to. I also almost gave up but I’m glad I didn’t. It’s one of the few shows I look forward to seeing the next episode. I usually only watch shows that have a whole season available because I lose interest easily.
It’s based on the book of the same name that was written in 2014, so pre Covid.

 

[braumeister]

That's interesting. I didn't know they made a series of it.
I remember reading the book when it came out, and definitely thought it was extremely weird. Couldn't stop reading though!

 

[JoeWras]

Agreed! It’s definitely a show you have to pay attention to. I also almost gave up but I’m glad I didn’t. It’s one of the few shows I look forward to seeing the next episode. I usually only watch shows that have a whole season available because I lose interest easily.
It’s based on the book of the same name that was written in 2014, so pre Covid.

That's interesting. I didn't know they made a series of it.
I remember reading the book when it came out, and definitely thought it was extremely weird. Couldn't stop reading though!

Yes. When the COVID pandemic started, DW was extremely agitated. I didn't understand. We were not aligned.

Only in the last few weeks did she admit to me she read the book and the events in her book influenced her perspective. She actually got me to watch the HBOMAX series! As COVID played out, she realized it would be different than the book. Now I understand her concern! (COVID reality: R-naught less than 7, kill rate less than 2%. Book: R-naught literally off the charts <maybe 1000+>, kill rate higher than 99%.)

Anyway, it is a good story and the HBO series is worth a look. Stick with it. Each episode is very different.

 

[explanade]

It's officially a Max original, not HBO.

It's good but obviously got the pandemic wrong. Something that kills that efficiently and quickly would not spread that far, much less wipe out the civilized world.

However, the main focus is about the characters, how they adjust to the new reality.

 

[JoeWras]

It's officially a Max original, not HBO.

It's good but obviously got the pandemic wrong. Something that kills that efficiently and quickly would not spread that far, much less wipe out the civilized world.

However, the main focus is about the characters, how they adjust to the new reality.

So parts of the first season were filmed Jan to Mar of 2020. Then paused for the pandemic. So basically the series played out without the Covid experience. Overall I think this is good because it comes across as fantasy and doesn't give nightmares.


Earlier I said their "flu" has an R-naught of 10000 and kill rate over 99%. I wasn't joking. Basically, everyone gets it within a week or two. Given our current understanding of viruses, this is impossible.


So, watch the story and enjoy the story and characters. This is not a science study. "Andromeda Strain" is there for a more technical look at a 99% kill rate bug, and is one of my top 25 favorite movies on my personal list.

 

[Luvtoride]

Just finished “The Girl from Oslo” on Netflix.
It was a riveting story about 3 young people kidnapped in the Sinai and held captive by Isis. This is Israeli made by probably the same producers as Fauda (several of the same actors) with English dubbed. 10 episodes and although there was a satisfactory ending, it definitely is set up for a 2nd season.
Very good show except the title is awful which doesn’t give much clue about the real content of the show.

 

[stephenson]

Season 2 of Beforeigners is on HBO Max.

Very original.

 

[harllee]

Just watched the first show of Around the World in 80 days on PBS Masterpiece. I think it is going to be a fun adventure series. It will be on for 8 weeks.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Just watched the first show of Around the World in 80 days on PBS Masterpiece. I think it is going to be a fun adventure series. It will be on for 8 weeks.

I thought it was fun, too, but it won’t be true to the Jules Verne novel I expect.

 

[Badger]

Just watched the first show of Around the World in 80 days on PBS Masterpiece. I think it is going to be a fun adventure series. It will be on for 8 weeks.

Fun show. One of my favorite stories. I recall my first exposure to the story when reading the Classic Illustrated version as a preteen and the comic was 15 cents. Then the movie with David Niven and Cantinflas. I'm looking forward to this new series.



Cheers!

 

[MichaelB]

Season 2 of Beforeigners is on HBO Max.

Very original.

Thanks for the heads up. I watched S1 and hope this season is just as good.

 

[KCGeezer]

Ok, I must be getting old. This is Spinal Tap is on Turner Classic Movies tonight. It wasn’t that long ago was it?