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What should I watch? Advise me.

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What should I watch? Advise me.

I’m considering doing something I haven’t done in ages: watch a show.  Despite the foreboding prospect of making a 10, maybe 13 episode commitment, I think I might do it.  The following 10 shows have landed on my potential-viewing radar.  Please talk me into OR out of watching any of the following…

1

EUPHORIA

1-8

MOON KNIGHT

1-10

ONLY ,MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

1-9

OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH

1-11

RAISED BY WOLVES

1-12

SEVERANCE

1-13

SUCCESSION

1-14

TED LASSO

1-15

THE WHITE LOTUS

1-16

YELLOWJACKETS

The only stipulations – I don’t want to be bored.  I don’t want to be patronized.  And I want the story to make sense and its characters to act/react in a logical manner.  No coincidences, contrivances, or conveniences.

Have at it!

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30 responses

  1. Darren Duncan Avatar
    Darren Duncan

    Have you seen The Expanse? If not, I would recommend it before any other show.

    Reply
  2. Michael A. Burstein Avatar
    Michael A. Burstein

    I am really, really liking Severance. The premise intrigued me, the characters compelled me, and the story moved me along to want to know what’s next. I recommend it highly.

    Reply
  3. Jeff Beeler Avatar
    Jeff Beeler

    I would go with Moon Knight. It seems to be the most creative and well acted.

    Reply
  4. Lori Jensen Avatar
    Lori Jensen

    Reservation Dogs, indigenous teenagers in Oklahoma on Hulu. Acapulco on Apple, a man shares the story of his youth with his grandson. Both so good!

    Reply
    1. shinyhula Avatar
      shinyhula

      Yes! Reservation Dogs is hands down the best show ever! I loved Only Murders, Our Flag Means Death and I’m obsessed with Raised by Wolves, like I played the season 1 HBO online game just to suss out new clues. It took me a while to get watch Yellowjackets which I thought would be another Lost clone and instead I am freaked out by the horror and the amazing actors on the show. I’d add Arcane and Star Trek Prodigy to this list because Ella Purnell has a knack for choosing weirdly awesome shows. I loved Blade Runner Black Lotus even though the animation is like a CD rom game cut scene. Oh and of course Halo and Moon Knight are terrific and made me annoyed to wait a very long week between episodes.

      Reply
  5. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    Only Murders in the Building is hysterical. Excellent performances and a fun story.

    Reply
  6. car Avatar
    car

    Ted Lasso is as awesome as Jason Sudeikis. Funny, little heart wrenching. Football is life! Also, White Lotus. Sort of Caribbean Fawlty Towers.

    Reply
  7. Gustavo Camargo Avatar
    Gustavo Camargo

    You can also give a shot to SYSYPHUS: THE MYTH and I second Darren’s recommendation about the Expanse. Foundation is also a great recommendation 🙂

    From the list you posted I enjoyed very much Ted Lasso I loved the comedy tone, but also the darkness of some episodes, while exploring the nature of mental health as a common problem.

    Reply
  8. gforce Avatar
    gforce

    Well, Ted Lasso is a given, but that’s the only one I’ve seen. I’ve heard good things about Succession and Severance though.

    I think I’m burnt out on the whole superhero genre. And I haven’t even watched that many of the Marvel based series. I think there was some new Batman movie out recently, and I’m like MEH. If DVDs were still a thing I might consider it if I came across it in the bargain bin. Maybe it was a Spiderman movie now that I think about it, idk.

    Reply
  9. silvercloak Avatar
    silvercloak

    Such a tough pick though, that’s an array of well made shows. A majority for me would be ‘mood’ driven selections though.

    Without doubt the most unexpected of that batch is Ted Lasso. Most of them are what they say they are on paper however Ted Lasso is not a comedy about an American coaching football in England.
    This was such an unexpected delight with broad appeal it’s hard not to recommend, even though the genre it gets unfortunately pigeon holed to (sports dramedy?) would perhaps be considered quite niche.
    Conclusion: family and humanity, more intimate than analytical. Be prepared to laugh, cry and like the titular character learn a little about football if you didn’t already know.

    Raised by Wolves for me sits in a collection with Brave New World and Foundation, great work similarly tackling philosophical questions about human existence layered over how technology influences that. It’s a long degustation without the variety. Not boring, per se, it’s very clever and thought provoking, just long slow episodes and despite the somewhat crowded poster promoting it, most scenes have the actors feeling very isolated which is more a theatre production vibe than anything else.
    Conclusion: great, but somewhat draining. I’d rather watch Altered Carbon.

    Like everyone I’ve only seen 2 episodes of Moon Knight. It’s handling themes of mental illness and perception of justice – which makes it one of the Marvel outliers (the other is Legion – highly recommend btw) and interesting for that if nothing else. Not boring, only 6 episodes and so far at least it’s self-contained but I imagine it will veer more towards the successful Marvel formula by the end, which doesn’t discredit the job Oscar Issac is doing with the role, only that it’s early to give it a glowing review. On the upside, it’s short run and weekly delivery so it’s light on commitment right now.

    (running out of puff for keeping mini reviews mini lol)

    White Lotus and Only Murders in the Building are both engaging, for different reasons.

    White Lotus is incredibly quirky with a decent pinch of satire directed towards a certain segment of travellers and the vacation industry. I know people who’ve worked in hospitality love it, perhaps in a similar way to white collar workers loving The Office. Despite the intrigue, I haven’t finished the season yet, take that for what you will.

    Only Murders is the better of the two, I think, due in no small part to how fantastic Gomez, Martin and Short are. Despite the cast of White Lotus being high calibre, the Only Murders trio have a great chemistry which trumps that and lulls in the story are more than adequately covered by the leads. It’s not ground breaking, not every show can or should be, but it’s a pleasant twist on some common storytelling that marks it different.

    Haven’t seen the rest, though they’re all on my list as well. I want to recommend Raised by Wolves, because at my core I’m Sci-Fi/Fantasy #1, but I’d be choosing Only Murders or Ted Lasso from that list. Though I am deeply looking forward to Severance.

    Reply
  10. Tim G Avatar
    Tim G

    My Dad loves Succession, and I plan on watching Moon Knight. Not listed here, you should watch Star Trek Picard.

    Reply
  11. Scott Jann Avatar
    Scott Jann

    I’ve only seen Only Murders and Ted Lasso from your list and would recommend both! However, Darren is onto something, watch Expanse first.

    Reply
  12. Line Noise Avatar
    Line Noise

    I’ve only seen “Only Murders In The Building” and it was the best thing I watched last year. I don’t know how you, as a jaded writer and producer, will react to it, though. It’s a bit silly and there’s a little bit of plotblocking but I loved the characters. I’m a Steve Martin fan (“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” being one of my favourite films of all time!) and this is classic Steve Martin!

    “Severance” is in my queue. It has come highly recommended to me from people whose tastes I usually align with.

    One that’s not on your list is “Resident Alien”. I loved the first season. The second season isn’t as good but still strong. I like the character driven sci-fi/humour combination which might be up your alley. You’ll probably find it predicable, though. If you liked things like “Eureka”, “Warehouse 13”, “Haven”, etc then you’ll probably like this.

    I’m currently binging “Chuck” on Prime. I loved that show back when it first aired and I think I love it even more now!

    Reply
    1. Joseph Mallozzi Avatar
      Joseph Mallozzi

      Sorry. No Syfy shows.

      Reply
      1. Ponytail Avatar
        Ponytail

        Interesting little comment there Joe….

        Reply
        1. B Avatar
          B

          Most insidiously evil organization of all time, if you’ll recall.

          Reply
    2. Tam Dixon Avatar
      Tam Dixon

      Chuck was great!

      Reply
  13. Vernon McFadden Avatar
    Vernon McFadden

    Any of the MCU shows are good to view, and there are also new seasons of “old” classics if you’re into food (Top Chef, MasterChef Jr. and a new show called Next Level Chef). I’m a fan of anything Gordon Ramsay does. And don’t forget anything in the Star Trek Universe, from Discovery (S4 done) Picard (S2 streaming) and the new Strange New Worlds, which premieres on May 5th in the US (Canada is a bit different, but Paramount+ in the US). Amazon comes out with their pre-Hobbit Middle Earth series in November, as well as quite a few other shows and movies.

    Reply
  14. Peter R Avatar
    Peter R

    Joe, if you haven’t seen it already I would recommend Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and optionally later ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ the latter is based on Henry James’ ‘The Turn of The Screw’ both series are complete and satisfyingly self contained. Or the first season of ‘Resident Alien’.

    Reply
  15. Larry D Avatar
    Larry D

    Lasso. Especially given your qualifiers at the end. Haven’t seen Euphoria, Murders, Flag, Yellowjackets. Not that Expanse was on your options list, but I fell asleep during most episodes I tried to watch. Do please tell us what you opt for.

    Reply
  16. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    I haven’t seen any of those shows. You let me know if you find anything good, yes? I will recommend Drop Out on Hulu. It was fascinating how this woman conned high profile people (Bloomberg, Kissinger, and Shultz) and major pharmaceutical companies. 🤯

    Reply
  17. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    Oh and you seen Shanghai’s Covid lockdown? Crazy days…..

    Reply
  18. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    Here’s a link from a reporter in Shanghai:
    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1512713451587710977.html

    Reply
  19. Wesley Morrison Avatar
    Wesley Morrison

    “Raised by Wolves” is a love-it-or-hate-it show that’s oddly given me both reactions, so at least you know there’s something unique and risk-taking there.

    Not on the list, but if you can find it, try “Beforeigners,” especially the first season. A Norwegian sci-fi show with some of the best time-travel/culture-clash humor in years sprinkled throughout it’s more serious storylines.

    Reply
  20. Shane Calhoun Avatar
    Shane Calhoun

    Raised by wolves is a must see I Guarantee you’re gonna love it joe.

    Reply
  21. Tim K Avatar
    Tim K

    The whole list is decent, but my top choices would be Euphoria, then Severance.
    Enjoy 🙂

    Reply
  22. astrumporta Avatar
    astrumporta

    So asked for what NOT to watch, which I take as my assignment. I’ve seen six of the ten and loved them. But, knowing you, Joe, you might find Ted Lasso too boring and/or smarmy. You might find Euphoria too “even American teenagers can’t possibly be this messed up.” If you even care about American teenagers?? Both are super well done IMO, just maybe not your cup o’ tea. Prove me wrong!

    Reply
  23. Nathan Dionne Avatar
    Nathan Dionne

    I haven’t seen any of them, or even heard of most of them, but based on cast alone Only Murders sounds delightful.

    Reply
  24. Brian Avatar
    Brian

    Succession or possibly Yellowjackets

    Reply
  25. B Avatar
    B

    Of these, I’ve only seen Euphoria and Ted Lasso. Euphoria is incredibly boring, with unsympathetic, uninteresting teenage characters who think and talk about nothing but drugs and sex to a degree that doesn’t reflect my high school experience at all and hopefully not anyone else’s.

    Ted Lasso, on the other hand, is brilliant. It’s mostly optimistic but not without realistic bad behavior, makes you feel good about the human race without being preachy or corny, and is genuinely witty. It’s nice to be laughing, really laughing, every other scene.

    Shows not on this list that I highly recommend:

    Live-action: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Babylon 5, James Cameron’s Dark Angel (not related to Angel, but like fellow “Dark” show Dark Matter it has some anime/manga influences, as James Cameron was inspired by Battle Angel Alita), Dollhouse, Firefly, The Nevers. Although you previously said Doctor Who wasn’t your cup of tea, I think you might like the team group dynamic in its spinoff Torchwood.

    I would have recommended modern Battlestar Galactica (I call it, Buffy and Babylon 5 the Three Big Bs because they have a certain je-nais-se-quois out of all other shows), but unfortunately that one was on Syfy. But other than that, I would think it’s up your alley. I don’t know if Roger Cross’s previous show Continuum counts as a Syfy show for that purpose because although it was aired on Syfy in America, it originated on Canada’s Space channel, and it has similar themes to Dark Matter but on Earth.

    Animated: Gargoyles (just sublime), Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Dragon Prince, Infinity Train, Over the Garden Wall, Young Justice, RWBY (and yes, these are all definitely adult-oriented enough, especially Infinity Train, whose showrunner wrote a whole article about how animation as a medium isn’t just for kids, and Gargoyles). Steven Universe is aimed at somewhat younger audiences but still has nuances that are there for the adults to appreciate more fully.

    I hope this was of use to you!
    .

    Reply

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