# Series you've recently watched, are now watching or have given up on **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [July 9, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108 "2021-07-09T17:50:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 435
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8688 "2026-04-10T12:51:28Z")
We watched ep.1 of ‘The Miniature Wife’ on Peacock last night-- a new show that has been heavily advertised. Speaking of Matthew Macfadyen of Succession, of which both actor and show have recently been mentioned here, he plays the husband to Elizabeth Banks, the titular tiny wife. I expected something kind of light and funny, ‘turn off your brain’ sitcom-style entertainment-- ‘Honey, I Shrunk _You_’, more or less. The ads made it seem like a light comedy. What we got was not exactly that. For one, the episodes are 40-45 minutes long, which is the typical length of hour-long TV dramas (after commercials are added). Ep.1 barely featured her in her shrunken form-- just as a framing device of her already shrunk at the beginning, then a “Two Weeks Earlier” title card, then (not funny) bickering between her and her husband for most of the first episode, until we get back to her getting small at the end of ep.1. There are elements of comedy, and maybe it’ll get more into ‘Honey, I Shrunk _You_’ zany shenanigans now that she’s shrunk, but it seems like it’s going to have more drama than I expected. Not necessarily bad, just not what I went in expecting. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8689 "2026-04-10T13:05:37Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > > [@jsc1953](#): > > > > And no one in real life uses that much profanity. > > That’s my main gripe about “Shrinking”, the Apple series with Harrison Ford and others. A funny show at times, but we’ve really gotten tired of it, and the constant profanity is part of it. I guess I live in a different world than you. If someone asked me about the cursing level of the show, I would tell them nothing about it stands out. I can’t remember ever noting anything about the cursing in that show. It certainly doesn’t seem unusually high. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8690 "2026-04-10T13:09:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@jsc1953](#): > > > > And no one in real life uses that much profanity. > > Ever watch _Welcome to Wrexham_? The Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson drops multiple f-bombs per sentence on a regular basis, to the point where sometimes the show counts them. And he’s a _nice_ guy. Whenever I put an Army uniform on all my punctuation, adverbs, adjectives and half the nouns and verbs were replaced with variations of the word fuck. And I didn’t stand out. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8691 "2026-04-10T13:59:51Z")
I finished the doc I mentioned up thread, Trust Me: The False Prophet. I really enjoyed and recommend it to anyone that likes these types of long form docs. And, especially if you liked Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey. As I said in my previous post, this doc is essentially a follow up to that one. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8692 "2026-04-10T14:30:41Z")
Perhaps it’s the context….I spent my entire working career at Fortune 500 companies and I can count the F-bombs I heard in business meetings on one hand. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8693 "2026-04-10T14:44:49Z")
I’ve always avoided swearing at work or among strangers, but my social interactions with people I know contain the same level of profanity used among the close knit group in _Shrinking_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8694 "2026-04-10T16:22:54Z")
The amount swearing on Apple TV’s _The Imperfect Women_ shocks me with the frequency of dropping the f-bomb. If it was a college fraternity or a navy ship, I’d understand. But these are upper-crust socialite women who just happen to swear like frat-boys and sailors. It’s jarring because they do it constantly, in private and in large social settings. Seems like lazy, sloppy writing more than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8695 "2026-04-10T16:47:03Z")
Succession is inspired by the Murdoch and Fox News was an infamously vulgar workplace during the Ailes years with vulgarity and overt sexual assault being fairly common. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8696 "2026-04-10T18:42:03Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > And no one in real life uses that much profanity. I knew a couple of guys that came back from a tour or two in the military where “fuck” and “motherfuck” were the only adjectives, adverbs, etc that were used. “That mf car uses too much MF gas, it gets F expensive to do the MF fill-ups all the MF time” ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8697 "2026-04-10T19:30:07Z")
Speaking fluent Samuel L. Jackson. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8698 "2026-04-10T19:31:05Z")
**Dead Loch** was amazing, I loved both seasons. For those that don’t know, the writers/creators are the Kate’s from The [Katering Show](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZFXeozdia12APH8n9xsVNhd5qallmrz2&si=-pivblLF0SPyqEpr) and [Get Krack!in](https://youtu.be/sHPrWGOn1iI?si=7apK4C4G-0F3-UoR), which have the same style humor and are also hilarious watches. For similar dark offbeat comedy, we just finished **The Decameron** on Netflix, with some amazing comedic performances. The Black Plague couldn’t be merrier! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8699 "2026-04-10T19:47:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I knew a couple of guys that came back from a tour or two in the military where “fuck” and “motherfuck” were the only adjectives, adverbs, etc that were used. “That mf car uses too much MF gas, it gets F expensive to do the MF fill-ups all the MF time” Ah, the good old days when I had one vocabulary for work and another for home. I only remember one slip-up when I was trying to secure a load on top of the car and thought the kids’ windows were closed. I think “fucking piece of shit” was the culprit. I glanced down and my son was studiously staring straight ahead, eyes very wide. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8700 "2026-04-10T19:52:40Z")
Similarly, the language we used in college dorms was laced with profanity but then once we returned home for the holidays, we cleaned up our speech. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8701 "2026-04-10T20:04:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Similarly, the language we used in college dorms was laced with profanity but then once we returned home for the holidays, we cleaned up our speech. Yeah, I think this is a genuine generation gap. Older Americans (as opposed to say Australians) are either more genteel and less vulgar generally depending on class or are primed to code-shift into or out of it for specific interactions (i.e. “locker-room talk”). Younger people IME of any gender are far, far more casual about swearing and simply don’t bother code-shifting much anymore. Whether you consider that an unfortunate coarsening of society or not, it seems to be a pretty significant shift. I don’t swear to excess, but personally I’m pretty okay with it as a GenX who was raised in a household that did say ‘fuck!’ when you stubbed a toe 🙂. ETA: Pretty similar to the rise of tattoos as a normative part of general culture, instead of being mostly limited to sailors, bikers and cartoon thugs. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8702 "2026-04-10T22:56:59Z")
Thanks for the heads up, those shows are now on the watch list. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8703 "2026-04-11T02:07:11Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Yeah, I think this is a genuine generation gap. Older Americans (as opposed to say Australians) are either more genteel and less vulgar generally depending on class or are primed to code-shift into or out of it for specific interactions (i.e. “locker-room talk”). Younger people IME of any gender are far, far more casual about swearing and simply don’t bother code-shifting much anymore. That’s a very gentle way of saying “You guys are old.” I was trying to figure out how to say it. 😂 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8704 "2026-04-11T02:54:20Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The new series of **Taskmaster** has begun. Contestants are Amy Gledhill, Armando Iannucci, Joanna Page, Joel Dommett, and Kumail Nanjiani (he’s so famous!). Available on YouTube, though not for me apparently. I just watched the first episode. I warmed up to Joanna faster than I thought I would. I’ve never heard of her before this, but she reminds me a lot of Diane Wiest. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8705 "2026-04-11T04:55:46Z")
Nowadays, I seldom go to bed before 03:00, and I sleep only three or four hours a night. I’m so sick of wasting time watching commercial-laden TV, I now depend mostly on the Internet to get my favorite shows when they’re not on PBS. The current crop includes _ **Midsomer Murders** _, _ **George Gently** _, and _ **Doc Martin** _. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8706 "2026-04-11T07:00:44Z")
Joanna Page is best known in the UK for sitcom _Gavin and Stacey_ (she’s Stacey…not Gavin), but if you’re from the US you’re more likely to have seen her in _Love Actually_ as Martin Freeman’s love interest (she plays the other nude scene double). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2026, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108/8707 "2026-04-11T10:52:23Z")
I saw that when I looked her up. I’ve never seen Love Actually and reading her IMDB page was the first time I’d heard of Gavin and Stacey. I did see that she was on Would I Lie To You in 2010 (and I think I may have seen her in clips of that) so I figured she had already made a name for herself by then. Also, how enthusiastically the audience responds when Greg introduces each person can be a giveaway to how well known they are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108.md?page=434) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-youve-recently-watched-are-now-watching-or-have-given-up-on/946108.md?page=436)