I started tutoring some university courses this semester, and while it’s great and I’m enjoying the work, it’s devastated my planned reading list for this year. Which, I have to confess, has kind of bummed me out. I really do love my little tree squares. *sad face*
However, while I may not have much time to read other than vocationally at present, I’m still making time for the cherished Idiot Box, that most based form of pleasurable distraction. With more content now than ever (perhaps, dare I say, too much), it’s all too easy to find something to chuck on in the background and power through each week.
Here’s a list of shows I found amusing and worthwhile this year thus far. Enjoy!
1883 (Paramount+)
Synopsis: “Follows the Dutton family on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of uncolonised America.”
Anyone who knows me well enough knows how much I enjoy Westerns. Put a few beers in me, and I won’t shut up about how good Cormac McCarthy and the Coen Brothers are. One of my favourite TV shows of the last few years has been Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western rancher drama Yellowstone, of which 1883 is a spin-off prequel series within the same fictional universe. Much of the show’s performances and narrative stakes remind me of other like-minded Western properties like Deadwood and the underrated Hell on Wheels, so if any of these ring a bell, then seek this one out.
The Silent Sea (Netflix)
Synopsis: “During a perilous 24-hour mission on the moon, space explorers try to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility steeped in classified secrets.”
After the world lost its collective shit last year over the anti-capitalism (and very much not anti-communism) death game phenomenon that was Squid Game, I started looking further afield for other interesting Korean media properties. Enter Netflix’s The Silent Sea, a well-acted, high concept, visually stunning series that explores the burning question that has motivated science fiction authors for centuries: What if moon water was alive and bad actually and tried to kill you?
Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
Synopsis: “Follows the story of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's relationship, going back to their whirlwind romance that started with them marrying after only knowing each other for 96 hours in 1995.”
Based on a famous Rolling Stone profile of the guy who stole that sex tape and leaked it to the world in the world’s most misunderstood case of cosmic karma, I had some reservations about this one. When we got about halfway through this special mini-series, my wife pointedly remarked, “Not sure if you can make a show about celebrity culture and exploitation while also profiting off said celebrity culture and exploitation.” She’s a beauty and a scholar, folks. Valid criticism aside, this is worth a watch purely for the hammy performances of Lily James and Sebastian Stan, who utterly disappear into their titular lead roles. Oh, and there’s a brief cameo from a talking penis. So, there’s that, too.
Euphoria (HBO)
Synopsis: “A look at life for a group of high school students as they grapple with issues of drugs, sex, and violence.”
I finally caved and watched the show that Twitter wouldn’t shut up about for eight weeks. And, look, it’s pretty great! Sure, it’s a bunch of steamy twenty-something actors pretending to be kids while doing things that kids generally don’t do, while also not talking, acting or behaving in any way like convincing teenagers in Real Life™, but it’s still a lot of fun. The direction is superb, with enough stylistic verve and attention to detail to successfully throwback to film school bro mentalities about intertexts, signatures, and influences. One episode in the show’s recent second season goes full meta and wholeheartedly commits to dizzying diegetic shifts that are a joy to watch. Highly recommended.
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)
Synopsis: “Follows a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work.”
As I mentioned in my previous Byte Size entry, I put off watching The Righteous Gemstones for far too long. However, finally getting the opportunity to watch Danny McBride’s pig-headed, cock-sure Jesse Gemstone—first-born son and presumptive heir to a rich televangelist media empire—on screen more than made up for that prior absence. The show’s outlandish hijinks, stupendous fits, and absurd plotlines make for highly entertaining viewing. I binged the first two seasons in a single week, and I regret nothing.
Reacher (Amazon Prime)
Synopsis: “Jack Reacher was arrested for murder, and now the police need his help.”
I haven’t read the Jack Reacher books by author Lee Child, but I was partial to the two Tom Cruise film entries—the titular 2012 film and its 2016 sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back—due to their very 90s VHS tough-guy action schtick. By all reports, Cruise is not a body fitting of Childs’ original description of Reacher’s imposing frame. This is where Amazon’s human man-mountain Alan Ritchson comes in. The dude is a total rig and a delightful character actor to boot. This makes Reacher, the series, a pulpy yet predictable action ride with enough laughs and wanton violence to easily warrant your attention.
Halo (Paramount+)
Synopsis: “Aliens threaten human existence in an epic 26th-century showdown.”
Okay, so this one isn’t *technically* finished, and I’ve only seen the first two episodes. Still, I grew up when gamer dudes were always harping on about the Halo franchise and the precious “lore” and all that jazz, so the inner sci-fi nerd in me was curious about finally checking out the TV series adaptation that’s been in development hell for the better part of fifteen years. The verdict? It’s cool (mostly). I gather they’ve made significant changes from the games, but honestly, I don’t care. Take off more helmets, I say. Viscerally kneecap more children in laser firefights. Whatever you’re doing is working so far.
Bust Down (Peacock)
Synopsis: “Four casino employees in a dead-end job in middle America attempt to find self-worth in their bad ideas.”
I sought this one out purely because I read somewhere that rapper Freddie Gibbs had a small part in the series. (He does, and he’s great.) It was a wise decision because what I stumbled on was essentially a hood version of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with wry black humour (that means two things) and side-splitting performances. Some one-liners in here made me furiously pause the show to stop wheezing and collect my sanity. Seriously funny shit, do seek it out.