What to Watch - TV Suggestions to Pass the Time
/Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes 47 seconds
If you are anything like me you are pretty done with all of this coronavirus crap. I’m not talking about the self-distancing or the isolation and quarantining, those are all things I do on a daily basis anyway and have for decades. No, what I am talking about is how it is utterly impossible to avoid Covid-19 in our culture right now.
For instance, if you are calling family and friends to check up on them the only thing you are really going to talk about is coronavirus. There is nothing but coronavirus on the cable news channels 24/7. Now that sports are gone I have come to realize that pre-coronavirus, if I weren’t watching a specific movie or streaming a show, I was mindlessly watching some ball game or other that I didn’t really give two shits about. The coronavirus has laid bare how much I consistently relied on televised sports to check out and numb myself from the world.
Hell, even these first few paragraphs are all about the fucking coronavirus! I am sick of it. I will happily stay in isolation for another ten years just as long as I don’t have to hear about why I am in isolation.
Which brings me to the topic of this piece…what stuff you should watch while in coronavirus lock down! In all seriousness, now is as good a time as any to dive into a major binge watch binge…I mean…what the hell else are you doing? So I thought I’d put together a list of shows I’ve seen and my brief opinions of them for you to utilize while in confinement.
The good news is that we are all stuck at home during a time in history when we have oceans of entertainment right at our finger tips. There’s Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney Plus and even Apple TV as well as all the cable channels and all of that.
Here is a brief rundown of what I have been watching recently…some of it good and some of it bad.
Ozark - 3 seasons (Netflix) - I really love Ozark. it is a moody, incredibly dark show that is strikingly well made and boasts two of the very best performances on television right now…Laura Linney and Jason Bateman. Bateman and Linney are joined by a superb supporting cast that consistently elevate their game to meet the stellar work of the show’s stars.
Westworld - 3 seasons (HBO)- I was all in on Westworld when it first came out. The show was intriguing, and well made and well acted. Season one was captivating, season two less so. Season three has just begun and I have no idea what the hell is going on. While the show still looks great, the story feels like the wheels are coming off the wagon.
The Plot Against America - Min-series (HBO) - This is a new mini-series on HBO based on the 2004 book of the same name by Phillip Roth. I read the book back when it came out and was duly unimpressed but I am a simpleton so maybe it was beyond me. The show has high production values but is just sort of “meh”. I really want to like it but find myself not being the least bit interested in what is going on.
Tiger King - Documentary mini-series (Netflix)- Ok…holy shit…what in the fuck kind of craziness is this Tiger King shit? This docu-series is fucking bananas. Just batshit crazy. I had resisted watching this just because everyone was talking about it and I am a bit of a contrarian…well…I was wrong. I had no idea how it would turn out…but I definitely wanted to see how it would turn out. If you want to get a taste of “real” America, go dive into the befouled, reality-show swamp that is Tiger King.
The Boys - 1 season (Amazon) - I’ve written about The Boys before…I am a huge fan. The perfect superhero story for these fucked up times. Dark, disturbing and relentlessly entertaining.
Watchmen - 1 season (HBO) - I watched the first episode of The Watchmen when it premiered last fall. I was put off by it and very disappointed. Part of the disappointment was that it was contrary to my experience with the source material. Then I stuck with the show…and it grew on me…and grew on me…and grew on me…and god damn if i don’t love it now. The show is extremely well-made and well-acted and never stoops to dumbing down its story to make it more digestible for rubes. A smart and very insightful show that I highly recommend and also recommend you stick with if you find it tough sledding early on.
The Hunters (Amazon) - Ok…so…Al Pacino made a tv show about hunting Nazis…sounds great right? What could possibly go wrong? Well…a lot. This show is an utter mess. Thematically, structurally and dramatically, it is a disaster area. Oddly enough considering the material, Pacino actually does terrific work in it, but the direction, writing and production are abysmal. I forced myself to watch this thing constantly hoping it would get better and it never did. In fact, it got worse. The final two episodes are so stupid and dreadful it made my stomach hurt. Skip this dog.
Mindhunter - 2 seasons (Netflix) - I’ve written about MIndhunter before, but thought I would add it again here. This show is a high-end, FBI crime show that is created by David Fincher. The show looks great and sets a seriously unnerving mood that is pretty delicious to indulge in. If you want to be a little freaked out and have your perspective on humanity changed for the worse…this is the show for you. It was definitely a show for me.
In terms of older shows that are worthwhile, some good news came out recently when HBO announced that it would make some of their programs available on their streaming service HBO NOW, free of charge…so definitely check that offer out while it lasts. Here are some of the HBO NOW shows available to binge if you haven’t already.
The Sopranos (7 seasons) - The Granddaddy of high end tv shows, The Sopranos is spectacularly good. A top-notch script is elevated by two of the very best tv performances of all time by James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.
The Wire (5 seasons) - The Wire is one of the smartest and best written shows of all time. While I had some issues with the acting of certain members of the cast who shall remain nameless, the story is compelling and masterfully put together.
Succession (2 seasons) - I was a late comer to the Succession band wagon but when I finally relented and watched I was surprised by how addicting I found the show to be. Brian Cox leads a stellar cast that brings to life the familial, business and political intrigue of a Murdoch-esque empire.
Barry (2 seasons) - Barry is currently my favorite comedy on tv. It is an hysterically dark look at the life of a nobody actor in Hollywood that boasts superb performances from both Bill Hader and Henry Winkler. Appointment viewing in my household.
Silicon Valley (6 season) - Silicon Valley is an acquired taste….but I acquired it. A comedy set in the tech world that eviscerates that industry’s pretensions with cutting precision. A solid cast makes for an uncomfortable but enjoyable watch.
Veep (7 seasons) - For the first six seasons Veep was absolute comedic perfection. Its final season was a bit of a let down, but that doesn’t stop it from being among the greatest comedies ever in the history of television. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss cements her spot on the female comedy Mount Rushmore with her performance as the hapless politician Selena Meyer, and she is joined by a sublime cast that are a joy to behold.
Here are some non-HBO NOW binge-worthy classic shows that are definitely worth checking out or revisiting as well…
Breaking Bad (Netflix) - Breaking Bad stands on the shoulders of The Sopranos and reaches for the stars. Anchored by a staggeringly fantastic performance by Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad is relentless in its pursuit of the dark truth of humanity. A brilliant and bad ass show that is deliciously satisfying from start to finish.
Game of Thrones (HBO) - Game of Thrones is not available with the aforementioned HBO NOW free pass…but if you have HBO you can dive back into the latest and greatest epic that concluded just last year (was it just last year? It feels like thirty years ago!). Game of Thrones stumbled a bit in its last two seasons, but it always had phenomenal production value, supreme acting and a compelling narrative. I admit I did not know what the hell was going on half the time but I got sucked into this show early on and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. If you are a fan of medieval nudity (which seemed quite similar to 1970’s nudity oddly enough) and violence, then this show is for you…it was certainly for me.
The Office (Netflix) - After Steve Carell left The Office it had a precipitous decline in quality, but for the 7 seasons he was there the show was an unabashed joyous pleasure. Taking the mockumentary genre to its apex, The Office had a stunning ensemble that never pushed too hard or went too big even when they were pushing hard and going big. The Office hilariously captured the banality and insanity of working in an office, and now with most offices closed you can watch it fueled by a melancholic nostalgia. A perfect comedy binge watch.
30 Rock (Hulu) - I was very late to the 30 Rock train…as the show went off the air in 2013 and I didn’t begin watching it until last year. It is striking how this top-notch, but middle of the road, comedy is, in hindsight, so edgy. If this show came along now the woke would bludgeon it to death in its crib. Sublime performances from show’s creator and star Tina Fey, as well as a deliriously brilliant performance from her co-star Alec Baldwin, make 30 Rock a solid choice if you want to zone out and laugh for a bit.
The Simpsons (Disney Plus) - Fox’s old animated war horse, The Simpsons, has been churning out stellar shows for over 30 years now…30 years! Now available on Disney Plus thanks to Mickey Mouse’s greed and insatiable appetite for power, The Simpsons are an always reliable, and often remarkable comedy choice in these dark days. The first two seasons were a little bumpy, but the show then hit its stride for a spectacular decade or more. In recent years it has lost quite a bit off its fastball, but it is still a worthy binge choice.
Here are some show combinations of shows that might compliment each other and make for a cool binge watching experience.
The Anti-Hero Binge: Start with The Sopranos then go to Breaking Bad and finish with Ozark.
The Drug Business Binge: Open with The Wire then Breaking Bad and finish with Ozark.
The Live Action, Mainstream Comedy Binge: The Office into 30 Rock and finish with Veep.
The Darker Comedy Binge: Veep to Silicon Valley to Barry.
The Simpsons Binge: Just watch every season of The Simpsons, that will keep you occupied.
The Superhero Antihero Binge: Watch The Watchmen and then The Boys.
In conclusion, it is looking like we are going to be in lock down for quite some time so you might have a chance to do all of these binge suggestions. As my tv viewing increases over the coming weeks I will add to this list and expand the binge suggestions.
Thanks for reading and stay safe and stay healthy.
©2020