We just finished a show on PBS called River. A UK police detective (Stellen Skaarsgaard – he emigrated in his teens) has some issues with seeing people who aren’t there. His partner (Nicola Walker) is killed, and the show (6 episodes) is about him solving that crime. Different twists and blind alleys make the investigation interesting, and you’re always guessing. It ended on the perfect note. Damn. Nicola Walker is a great actor. Others include Lesley Manville and Michael Molony. Good cast. Good show.
Speaking of cringe comedy, I just watched season 2 of Chad, released 2 years and 8 months after the end of season 1 because of studio shenanigans. Season 1 was great, season 2 was great. Sadly there is probably no chance of a season 3, and 2 ended on a major cliffhanger, but you should give it a try anyway. Free on Roku.
I watched the first episode and I found it more weird than interesting. The music and the washed-out colours were kind of distracting.
I saw that a few years ago. Skarsgard and Walker were excellent.
The show gave me an enduring, inescapable earworm, though.
Yeah, I knew it was an older show, but it’s the first time it came up on my radar. Excellent show, but, oh that earworm.
Glad to hear it. We enjoyed the original Bosch and also Legacy. I had no idea the new season dropped.
I just finished up S2 of Love on the Spectrum US. The second season was even better than the first.
Going to re-watch Friday Night Lights with Inna. It’s on Netflix, but…
… the buffering is driving me crazy, and
… apparently the Netflix version, from S3-onward, contain the truncated NBC episodes and not the full DirectTV episodes
So I pulled out the DVD’s and we are going to watch it that way.
Also, we are watching S4 of True Detective. Have only watched the first episode but I like it so far.
If anyone wants to keep track of their favourite shows and when new episodes drop, I recommend TVCalendar. You add in your shows and it does the rest. It will also periodically release a list of upcoming new releases to help inform you of what might otherwise slip under your radar.
It is mostly for American and UK series, but it does branch out internationally, and there’s certainly no limit on which streaming service or network it draws from.
It’s manually updated by its owner, I figure it’s a one-person operation, so occasionally there are errors on expected release dates, e.g. they’re out for a subscription service but not available on free-to-air yet, things like that, but 90% of the time it does a fine job.
Ditto on True Detective. Has vibes of both the excellent first season and John Carpenter’s The Thing.
but … but … but That’s every detective show. The clues point toward this person until they don’t. They make the decision they can with the evidence they have and when it doesn’t pan out, they move on. I’m not sure what it is you were looking for? A show has to set their formula before they break it.
I liked Castle and if you didn’t, obviously that’s fine. I liked Castle until the last few seasons and the leads wouldn’t be on the same set. In shows like this, I watch for the characters I like. The crime will be different every time so my question is will I like watching those characters solve it. If yes, I watch it.
I don’t know if you watched Elementary, which I thought was great, but your formula works for that show as well. Switch out family drama for Holmes and Watson drama and it’s the same. I liked watching those characters and what they did with Holmes, which I thought was better than Sherlock overall.
I also don’t understand the love for the same character she seems to play.
I haven’t paid attention to the Emmy’s in years but as I like The Newsroom and not the other two, I’m fine with that! Sorry.
I also got sick of watching terrible people do terrible things and get away with it. I don’t mind a flawed hero. I don’t mind a anti hero a la Venom or Deadpool to some extent. In my escapism, though, I don’t need to be reminded of headlines.
I’m torn on this. Grimm was a great show and built upon each season. Although, maybe it does meet your criteria in that most episodes are stand alone but there is a bigger story in the background until later seasons, when it comes to the front.
Thanks for the discussion!
I’m leery of shows that go all in on establishing the weirdness but forget to write a story….looking at you, Lost. And Goliath season 3.
But I like what I’ve seen so far thru episode 2, so I’ll give it a shot.
I’m enjoying Hidden on Acorn. Acting is phenomenal, set design and music are outstanding. The action can be pretty intense at times but those moments are well spaced. The actors speak Welsh about half the time but with subtitles it really doesn’t matter. Finished season 1, now in season 2 but it’s now my favorite show.
Did you catch that the research station had a DVD copy of The Thing on its shelf? It made me laugh.
And one of the men at the station is named Clark.
Just finishing Fool Me Once on Hulu. Based on a Harlen Coben book. It’s a whodunnit about a former military pilot whose husband and sister have both been murdered. Decently entertaining and some great acting from the secondary parts, but the hero is a little grating. Didn’t care for the ending but maybe you will.
Missed that but it is indeed amusing.
Thanks! This will be a big help especially now when the new seasons are starting at odd times because of the strike. I DVR most of my shows so I’m always worried that I’m going to miss when they start up again.
Here’s another useful resource:
(I’ve been using it at least since it was the 2022 list.)