I’ve been streaming a lot of media lately. My regular fall shows are on break so I’ve been able to take in a binge or two. I’ll try to regularly do an updated post, but since this is the first, it might be a lot.
Television
My fall goals were to watch some shows. They’re all wrapped up for now and I’m incredibly sad and I’m probably going to spend my coins to download the shows so I can watch them again and again.
Queen Sugar (OWN)- the show started off and stayed beautiful the entire season. Family drama, but real multi-dimensional characters and enough of a cliffhanger to leave me waiting for next season.
Atlanta (FX) – I can’t say enough about how fantastic this show was. I tried to not have expectations of it being my everything, but it was in fact my everything. I want to go back and watch it again and again because it was funny and deep and downright silly in some parts and Paperboi is just fantastic.
Insecure (HBO) – Honestly I wasn’t instantly in love like I thought it would be. I was a faithful watcher and liked the characters and story lines enough. But in the middle of the season everything got better. It got good. It was like “oooooh girl” good. And the last two episodes were amazing so I’m extra happy it got picked up for another season.
This Is Us (NBC) – tears every week. OMG It’s so good! IT’S SO GOOD. Fortunately they do not have a short season so that will carry me through the winter and spring. Sterling and Milo need awards.
Better Things (FX) – VOX tried to convince me that “sad comedy” is a new genre, and it is, but I prefer “short drama”. Better Things was a decent show, but a comedy it was not. It was down right sad. But Lenny Kravitz is in an episode. I won’t watch S2.
New (to me) TV
Search Party (TBS) – Alia Shawat learns that a girl she went to college with is missing and becomes obsessed with trying to find her and getting her friends to help. TBS has every episode of the first season on demand and they’re encouraging you to binge watch even though the show comes on every Monday. It’s good enough. Millennials are terrible, selfish people, but so are every other age of human beings. There are apparently no more rules to cable TV and you can cuss and have very bizarre sex scenes and nobody cares. I watched all of S1 and it’s been renewed for S2 but it’s went really dark so I don’t know if I’m going to keep up with it.
Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon) – OMG. Y’all. So I knew of this show but I was like “meh I’ll get to it” and I finally did and I am in love. It’s a 30 minute comedy but not ha ha funny it’s just…it’s a comedy. Anyway, Rodriguo is a bizarre conductor that has recently taken over Maestro at the New York Symphony. Hailey is an apprising oboe player who wants to be in the symphony. There’s lots of symphony drama and hijinks and classical music. It’s amazing. I’m about to rewatch all 3 seasons.
Chewing Gum (Netflix) – It’s a raunchy quirky comedy about a 24 year old virgin who’s a first generation Nigerian-Brit living in a low-income housing building. She’s incredibly naive about sex and learns all kinds of things from the community. S2 will be out super soon.
Master of None (Netflix) – Because I was harassed on Facebook for watching Chewing Gum when I was supposed to be watching this, I finally started watching this. It’s very very good. But I’m taking my time with it because I don’t want to have to wait a long time for season 2. Aziz is damn good. And he’s not as Tom from Parks & Rec as I thought he was going to be. It’s all about relationships and navigating them and the Parents episode is <kisses fingertips>
Black Mirror (Netflix) – Holy hell. It’s like if Twilight Zone was filmed now. In the UK. And focused on technology. It’s British so there’s only like four episodes a season.
Movies
We haven’t seen many of them. I’ve seen Moonlight and talked about how fantastic it was already.
Black Mass – It’s available on HBO and it is not good. Firstly Johnny Depp just looks weird and I get that it’s based on a true story but still. He looks weird. I understand that Boston is full of corruption since the beginning of time or whatever so every Boston mob movie gets compared to The Departed. Nothing is that good. But this wasn’t even as good as The Town. The FBI is soooooo stupid. The criminals are not smarter. Benedict Cumberbatch was pointless. Just not good.
Dr. Strange – I only watched it because it’s my duty to watch all Marvel movies to understand Infinity Wars when it happens. He’s douchier than Tony Stark with less personality so his accident doesn’t make me care about him and his montage rise to power was too simple. TOO SIMPLE. Bro you just got here, how are you better than the people that have been here for years. Maybe I just don’t like Benedict. Also they grossly underused Benjamin Bratt. HIGHEST CRIME.
And I never saw Don’t Think Twice, but it’s available to rent or buy now.
Podcasts
The Bright Sessions – it’s back! I have to adjust to listening in real time but there’s a new episode like every two weeks so it’s not a terrible wait. Plus the cast is great about tweeting back at me.
Terrible, Thanks For Asking – this lady has been through horrible life experiences and brings a lighter view on dealing with them. Instead of just saying you are “fine” she says that sometimes you should tell the truth. “Terrible, thanks for asking.”
Audiobooks
I checked out Big Magic audiobook from the library (Lauren did a post on how that works) and figured if I couldn’t listen to an audiobook then at least I could go back and read the hardback I actually own. It wasn’t too redundant from the podcast but I was upset that I couldn’t highlight or earmark the quotes.
In The Queue
Community (NBC/Yahoo) – Yes I’ve seen it but I’m rewatching. Because it’s brilliant. Every time.
Westworld (HBO) – HBO has done a remake of a 70s sci-fi where humans take out their aggression by killing these robots in an old western town. Except the robots don’t know they’re robots. And James Marsden’s beautiful self is in it. The season is over so now I don’t have to wait for real life days to go by before the next episode.
The Receipts (Podcast) – Four black British girls get together and talk life.
The Handsome Rambler (Podcast) – Hannibal Burress interviews people WHAT!
La La Land (Movie) – I don’t know how many times they are going to put Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in movies together, but I am going to keep seeing them.
Fences (Movie) – Obviosuly.
Hidden Figures (Movie) – OBVIOUSLY.
I’m off this week. ALL THE MEDIA.
i am so overwhelmed but definitely need to see fences and hidden figures, and finally watch this is us, mozart, and gum. and listen to hannibal.
I read this the day you wrote it bc I saw you that day but it was on my phone. And no real blog reading since then.
So I have finished Search Party and the end made it all worth it. I'm tempted to listen to Queen Sugar (the book) bc it's on Hoopla but I just got like four library books and I want to check out that Terrible podcast so we'll see.