Tag: television shows

Show Review: 1923 (2022)

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a man and horse in shadow; text: show review

GENERAL SPOILER WARNING

I really like Yellowstone, the modern Western show set in Montana that follows the lives of the Dutton family. It’s dark and action packed and political and romantic. Overall very enjoyable and one I definitely recommend! It’s since spawned two sequel series, 1883 and 1923. I haven’t seen 1883 yet – it’s on the list – but I started 1923 first because, you know, Harrison Ford! (And Helen Mirren! And Brandon Sklenar! And Julia Schlaepfer! And Aminah Nieves! So. Many. Amazing. Actors.) And I actually think I like it more than Yellowstone. I love the historical setting and I love the cinematography and I just love love love all the main characters. I love the storylines and the romances and the journeys. Just, yesssss. So good!

The first storyline of 1923 takes place both on the Dutton Ranch that we know from Yellowstone, only it’s just a house and fields at this point; a parallel storyline is set in a horrible boarding school where indigenous children are subjected to terrible abuse; and the third storyline starts in Kenya and travels all the way up to Italy. The Montana-based storyline centres around Jacob and Cara Dutton, the family leaders, and young Jack and Elizabeth Dutton, newly engaged; the school storyline follows young Teonna Rainwater, who is being held against her will and is desperately trying to escape and return to her family (her grandmother is likewise trying to get her out); and the third storyline follows Spencer Dutton and the woman he meets along the way, Alex, and their journey and love story.

All of the storylines are linked around the history of the land and the future of the Dutton Ranch and slowly converge in that direction. Obviously all the Duttons are ancestors of the Dutton family in Yellowstone; likewise, Teonna Rainwater is the ancestor of Chief Thomas Rainwater in that show. The scenes in this one set at the ranch largely concern Jacob, Cara and Jack’s issues with the surrounding ranches and farmers who are all in desperate need of grazing land (cattle versus sheep and how much and where they need to graze), as well as the ever looming encroachment of the city and modernity that threatens their way of life. There’s lots of scuffles and wild west ways and political debates and philosophical discussions. It’s very interesting and it’s intermingled with more domestic moments of love and family between Jacob and Cara, and Jack and Elizabeth.

Teonna’s storyline (at the beginning) deals with the abuse she suffers at the hands of two cruel nuns and a sadistic priest who torments not only the students, but the nuns. It’s just layers upon layers of darkness in the school and the storyline is very hard to watch, but Aminah Nieves is an absolutely phenomenal actress. It’s such a dark, horrible moment in US history and it needs to be told. [[SPOILER WARNING: Teonna isn’t in the school for long episode-wise – she fights her way out and makes her way to the ranch. Along the way she meets Hank, a shepherd who knows her father and helps her.]] The showrunners take a lot of care with the storyline and I can’t wait to see where Teonna goes next season!

Over in Kenya, Spencer Dutton is working as a hunter and dealing with the trauma he suffered fighting in WWI. His aunt Cara keeps sending him letters about the events in Montana and asking him to come home, but he doesn’t read them as he’s struggling too much with what happened in the war and the guilt he feels about everything. When he meets Alexandra (‘Alex’) things change for the better for him and they begin travelling together and embarking on a cross-country adventure that sees them thrown from one obstacle to another. I loved their romance. They’re just so utterly charming and endearing together. They’re pretty much committed from minute one and never stray from it for a second and I just *DRAMATIC SHIPPING SQUEALS*!! I seriously adore them. ROMANCE FANS, TRUST ME.

I’m so glad the show got renewed for a second season and I’m so excited to see next week’s season finale! LIKE ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT!!

Anyone else watched this one yet? Or plan to? (It’s on Paramount+!)

Show Review: Kin (2021)

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Text says 'Kin'; in the background are actors Charlie Cox, Aiden Gillen, Ciarán Hinds and Clare Dunne.

Kin is a must-see crime drama on RTÉ.

I remember watching Love/Hate years back – with Robert Sheehan and Aidan Gillen. I really enjoyed the first couple of seasons, although I don’t believe I ever actually finished it. A very good show, though! But when I heard that Kin was similar in style to Love/Hate, this time with Charlie Cox and Emmett J. Scanlan and Aidan Gillen and Maria Doyle Kennedy, I knew I would like it. And I really, really did! Charlie Cox has been a favourite actor of mine since Daredevil, Stardust and The Theory of Everything. I remember watching Emmett J. Scanlan years back on Hollyoaks, and I’ve always liked him! Charlie Cox is brilliant – as expected – but honestly the whole cast were so, so good. Clare Dunne, who plays Amanda, is a new to me actress, but I really loved her in this. She is astoundingly good.

Kin follows the dark dealings and struggles of the fictional Kinsella crime family, not unlike the Sopranos (The Sopranos) or the Gallaghers (Shameless). When Michael Kinsella, played by Charlie Cox, is released from prison for accidentally killing his girlfriend and the mother of his daughter Anna, he returns home to find that a lot has changed. In his eight years in prison, Anna has grown up, his brother Jimmy is married to his former fling Amanda, and raising his biological son Jamie as his own, and little has changed with the ‘family business’. Insisting that he needs a legal job in order to see his daughter, Michael opts out of returning to his former position as enforcer and takes a job at Amanda’s car dealership, which the family use as a front.

This lasts for exactly one episode until Eric, son of the family’s leader, Frank, attacks their rivals and sets off a chain of events that leaves Jamie, Michael’s biological son with Amanda, dead. Jimmy, his brother and the one who raised Jamie with Amanda, swears revenge and asks Michael to help. At first, Michael refuses, but he’s soon drawn back into his old life, desperate to avenge his son and help his brother, whilst trying to get custody of his daughter, who is curious but wary about the return of her father.

The action and suspense in the show were so good that I ended up watching the first, like, six episodes without stopping (and have since started a rewatch). Only the fact that it was three in the morning made me finally pause and finish up the show the next day. It’s that intense and spellbinding. The characters are all interesting and the storylines are so engrossing. The cinematography is gorgeous. Really, it has all the ingredients for a top tier drama and totally succeeds. It’s a show that’s about family more than anything else and I’m so excited to see where the series goes from here. The ending of season one was action packed and dramatic and I can only guess what else there is to come!

Has anyone else watched Kin? What’d you think?

Show Review: Superstore (2015)

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I love a lot of sitcoms: Friends, Schitt’s Creek, Raising Hope, Happy Endings, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, etc, so I’m always on the lookout for more good ones. One that I discovered in lockdown is Superstore. AND IT’S SO GOOD. There’s something truly special about this show, honestly. The plot follows a group of employees at an American superstore and the struggles they face trying to make ends meet and keep good humour in the face of tremendous odds. The plot lines focus on issues like immigration, minimum wage, health care, maternity leave, cost of college, and even the pandemic in the final season (which needs to be added to Netflix because I WANT TO SEE IT). But even when the topics are serious, the show takes a really wholesome, kind, honest stance on everything.

Like, I’m not sure there’s a nicer, kinder, sweeter character on television than Jonah Simms. Behold:

(gifs not mine; source.)

All of the characters are honestly great, though. Amy is so wonderful and inspiring and I JUST LOVE HER. Jonah and Amy’s relationship is straight up GOALS. Their first kiss is absolutely epic, too. Dina and Garrett are also a hilarious couple and their scenes are everything. Glenn, the manager at the start, is freaking hilarious and charming and so, so kind. Cheyenne and Bo always make me giggle. Mateo is so snarky and hilarious, too. It’s a show of simply likeable characters and you want good things for all of them.

Has anyone else watched this show? If you haven’t, you must!

Show Review: The Resident (2018)

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The Resident is the perfect show for romance lovers, although it definitely isn’t for the faint of heart! The drama and gritty depictions can be super intense!

The show follows a core series of doctors and nurses at the fictional Chastain Hospital. The show spends as much time on the behind-the-scenes drama as it does on the medical cases that follow each episode, but what I really like is how the cast isn’t so big that the stories are spread across a dozen people. There’s only a handful of central characters, however, the guest stars are frequently around for several episodes, so when a patient comes in, you get to see their storyline develop alongside the doctors and nurses, rather than just having new patients/cases every episode. Most medical shows I’ve watched only have the guest stars around for two episodes at most, so the fact that The Resident has the patients’ storylines get as much development as the doctors’ romances is a really great change in storytelling.

The show also spends a lot of time focusing on the ethical side of medicine and the cost of medical care in the US. Many of the plotlines revolve around this, actually, with the doctors in the show often butting heads with a system they feel isn’t fair to the patients.

There’s a few main characters, but so far (I’m two seasons in) there’s really only one super front and central couple, Nic and Conrad. I feel like they are the heart and soul of the show and I’ve been rooting for them since episode one. I don’t just mean they have engrossing storylines, I don’t just mean they have amazing build up and development, I mean: they are supportive of each other from minute one and I really appreciate that.

They start the show as exes who still have feelings for each other. Conrad is the kind of male lead we don’t get a lot of in television. He’s not a womaniser, he’s not a jerk to Nic, he’s not looking around for other love interests, there isn’t a love triangle. It’s actually so refreshing. He loves her and has personal issues that kept them from being more, but he works episode by episode to get her back. THIS IS THE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP WE NEED ON TELEVISION, DARN IT.

For those who like romance and medical dramas, this one is definitely worth checking out. I’m excited to see seasons three and four!

Show Review: Santa Clarita Diet (2017)

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I’m so bummed that this show didn’t get a fourth season. It really deserves one. Few pairings have made me laugh as much as Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore. Liv Hewson and Skyler Gisondo are such a good complement duo, too. For a show about a zombie, this show is so darn cheerful and sunny.

For anyone who hasn’t encountered this glorious horror-comedy, it’s a half-hour show that follows a California family after the mother becomes a zombie. \o/

Zombies in this universe are different than in The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later or Shaun of the Dead. Zombies in this still have their awareness and personality, they’re just alive and rotting away if they don’t eat. (It gets really, really gross, fair warning.) I’d say the zombies in this are most like the zombies in iZombie. But the comedy is probably more Shaun of the Dead, if we’re comparing zombie works.

Joel, the dad, is probably my favourite character. He’s desperate to be a good husband to his undead wife and his comedy is so perfectly timed by Timothy Olyphant. He had me laughing at pretty much every scene. Sheila, the wife, is wonderful. Drew Barrymore is an absolute gem and I love her so much. She’s been one of my favourite actresses since Ever After (BEST CINDERLLA, DON’T @ ME.) Abby and Eric, the younger characters, who are trying to figure out zombies and high school at the same time, are fantastic characters.

Honestly, for a show about zombies, this one is wholesome and lovely. The family aspect is so wonderful and they’re all easy to root for. The humour and jokes are top notch, and I especially love it for not being mean comedy. I like comedy that underscores being kind and supporting each other. Like Bob’s Burgers! Another excellent show, I might add.

Anyways, watch this one. Despite the fact that it was cancelled, it’s well worth a go and the three seasons we got are great!

Show Review: A Discovery of Witches (season two, 2021), Deadwind (2018), Little Fires Everywhere (2020)

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It’s been a week of new awesome shows and I thought I’d share my thoughts on some of them.

A Discovery of Witches season two is here at last! I absolutely adored season one and have been waiting impatiently for season two ever since finishing it. (My review of the show; my review of the book.) Season two sees Diana and Matthew time-travelling to 1590 where they find themselves involved with Christopher Marlow, Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare, Walter Raleigh and more! I’m absolutely in love with the costumes – and of course Diana and Matthew have more chemistry than I could have possibly imagined. Watch it!

Deadwind aka Karppi is a Finnish crime drama. I love Nordic noir and this one is another brilliant addition. (Although few compare to Zone Blanche and Øyevitne). This one follows recently widowed detective Sofia Karppi and her new partner Sakari Nurmi after they find a body on a planned building site. The investigation isn’t as gripping for me as Øyevitne and Zone Blanche, but what I love about this one is the focus on the characters and their lives and development. Karppi and Nurmi have such a great progression from hating each other to tolerating each other to becoming friends, and I can’t wait to see how season one wraps up!

Little Fires Everywhere is another one I’ve just started. I haven’t read the book it’s based on, but I will watch pretty much anything with Reese Witherspoon and/or Joshua Jackson! My favs! Unfortunately, I’m really struggling to like the characters in this one. At least the main characters. Their kids are all great, but the adults are just so frustrating! I feel like that’s the point, but it’s definitely a struggle not screaming at my television when they get annoying. That said, the plot is enthralling, so I’m watching on.

What’s everyone else watching?

Show Review: Truth Seekers (2020)

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Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are two of the most popular choices for comedians in my house. I have seen Paul so many times at this point that I can quote it backwards and forwards. (And yes, you should watch it!) So imagine my partner’s and my delight when Truth Seekers was announced. And it’s every bit as awesome as I’d hoped!

The eight episode first season follows Gus, an internet repair man and amateur ghost hunter, and Elton John, the newest hire at the company, as the pair wind up falling headfirst into the paranormal on their first call. Simon Pegg plays their boss Dave; there’s also Helen, Elton’s sister who suffers from agoraphobia, and Astrid, the girl with all the ghosts. Richard, Gus’ father, is played by Malcolm McDowell, and I loooooove his character. Oh my gosh, he’s a scene stealer and I’m so here for his character!

What I love about this show is that it’s simple, sweet and good fun. It’s classic Frost & Pegg, and I watched half of it before conceding that a break might be warranted so that I didn’t watch the entire series in one sitting. If you like ghosts, comedies and some wholesome spookiness, definitely check this one out!

Show Review: The Innocent Man | Nice Guy | 세상 어디에도 없는 착한 남자 (2012)

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Oh my gosh, The Innocent Man has me hooooooooked. If you like intense dramatic romances, this one is fantastic. I’m only about six episodes in, but I can’t stop! (It’s on Netflix as Nice Guy, if you’re looking!)

[I keep writing reviews for these shows before I’ve finished them but I just have a lot of EMOTIONS and OPINIONS so bear with me (and also there are some spoilers for the first six episodes herein, so if you don’t like spoilers, avoid until you’ve seen the show!).]

The main characters are Kang Ma-ru, Seo Eun-gi, Han Jae-hee, Kang Choco and Park Jae-gil. At the start, Kang Ma-ru’s madly in love with Han Jae-hee. They grew up together without money and have been together for years. There’s nothing Kang Ma-ru wouldn’t do for her. One night, after proving himself in medical school, he comes home to find his sister unconscious on the floor. Choco suffers from a long term illness and is constantly fainting and needing medical care. He’s in the process of bringing her to hospital when Jae-hee calls him, frantic. Torn between his sister and his girlfriend, he promises his sister that he’ll be right back, she only has to count to 500, and he runs to Jae-hee.

At a hotel, he finds Jae-hee sitting beside a dead body. They panic about what’s going to happen and in a spur of the moment decision, Ma-ru takes the fall. He’s kicked out of medical school and goes to prison, Choco’s health worsens, and Jae-hee ends up marrying a rich older man.

Five years later, Ma-ru’s jaded and furious. He’s on a flight when he encounters Seo Eun-gi, an heiress and step-daughter to Jae-hee. When Eun-gi faints onboard the plane, he uses his medical knowledge to save her life. In the process, he encounters Jae-hee once more.

Later, Jae-hee comes to his house and offers him compensation for taking the fall. Disgusted, Ma-ru returns the money but he gets caught in the crossfire between Jae-hee and Eun-gi, and is accused of blackmailing the family for money. So, that’s twice now that Jae-hee’s got him into trouble with the law.

I don’t know what to think about Jae-hee, honestly. She’s a really interesting and well developed character. Like, I cannot stand her in most of her scenes, but I do feel deep empathy for what her character experiences before the start of the show. She’s truly broken and terrified of going back to where she came from, so even though she’s manipulative and awful at times, she’s an interesting character and I hope she finds peace by the end. Also, her chemistry with Ma-ru is unreal and their scenes can be really heartbreaking.

Both of the women have great side relationships outside of Ma-ru and the love triangle, too. Eun-gi is close with Park Joon-ha, who’s been her friend all her life and fights for her within the company she runs, and always has her back. Jae-hee is close to Ahn Min-young, her husband’s secretary who’s secretly in love with her and helps her fight back against Eun-gi, who’s hated Jae-hee since her father kicked out her mother to make room for Jae-hee. There’s also Choco’s relationship with Park Jae-gil, Ma-ru’s best friend, who lives with them and supports Ma-ru through thick and thin. It’s a really splendid cast overall!

I really adore Ma-ru the most, though. He’s an amazing character. He’s such a good brother to Choco and he loves fiercely even though he’s been deeply hurt by Jae-hee’s actions. I love how his relationship with Eun-gi develops even as he’s battling Jae-hee and their tangled history. There’s so much intrigue and tension and looks. Seriously, this is a show that thrives on glares and side-long glances and I am here for it.

I can’t wait to see how it ends! Has anyone else seen it? If not, you totally should!

Show Review: Marriage Contract / 결혼계약 (2016)

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Oof. This one’s tough and beautiful.

Marriage Contract deals with two very tough situations: a son dealing with his mother’s illness and his desperation to find her a new liver; and a young mother, hiding from loan sharks after her deceased husband left her a massive amount of debt, who finds out that she has a brain tumour. The pair cross paths when Kang Hye-soo, the young mother, begins working at Han Ji-hoon’s restaurant. She overhears his plans to marry someone and pay for a liver, she offers herself and requests that he gives her enough money so that her daughter Eun-Seong will want for nothing. Not knowing the reasons why, Ji-hoon pays off the loan sharks, marries Hye-soo, and the pair begin to sort out plans for her giving her liver to his mother.

The more time they spend together, the closer they become, but that only makes things more difficult as Hye-soo doesn’t want to share what’s happening to her with anyone or ask for help. Her scenes are absolutely shattering. Ji-hoon’s mother’s storyline is also devastating; his father’s the absolute worst, though.

One of the best parts of this show, other than Hye-soo and Ji-hoon’s relationship, is their relationship with Eun-Seong. She doesn’t warm up to Ji-hoon at first, and is deeply protective of her mother, but soon the pair begin to bond and it’s clear they come to see each other as family. I loved how fatherly he was and how much he cared about both Hye-soo and Eun-Seong.

I’m not gonna lie, this show will make you cry. Constantly. Hye-soo’s pain is so real and all I wanted to do was reach into the screen and hug her. Ji-hoon is such a good son and caretaker and partner. He really grows over the course of the show and I loved his character progression. His dedication to his mother and now-wife are amazing. LOVE IT.

This show is truly wonderful and touches on some really rough topics. I definitely recommend giving it a chance!

Non-English Language Show Recs

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I’m a big fan of international television. Which is to say, I watch a lot of shows in a lot of different languages. As a teenager this meant watching videos in clips on YouTube, but with streaming being what it is, finding programmes from other countries is easier than ever. And that makes me so happy! Thank you, Netflix. King of Streaming. So, I’m randomly compiling a list for anyone looking for non-English language shows.

**This is by no means a full list, just what I’ve written up reviews for. **

  1. Le Bazar de la Charité [2019] french, romance, costume drama | ‎★‎★‎★‎★‎★ | that romance
  2. Zone Blanche [2017] french, noir, crime, fantasy | ‎★‎★‎★‎★½ | so spooky, so good
  3. Øyevitne [2014] norwegian, crime, lgbt+ | ★★★★★ | couldn’t relax, couldn’t look away
  4. Suspicious Partner [2017] korean, courtroom drama, romance | ★★★★½ | adorbs, fab, whoa
  5. When the Camellia Blooms [2019] korean, crime, mystery, romance | ★★★★ | awww romance and aaahhhh evil villain
  6. Crash Landing on You [2019] korean, drama, romance | ★★★★★ | THEIR LOVE LASTS FOREVAAAA
  7. Made in Heaven [2019] hindi, drama, romance | ★★★★ | right in the feels
  8. The K2 [2016] korean, action, romance | ★★★★★ | I will never get over this couple. NEVER.
  9. Because This Is My First Life [2017] korean, contemporary, romance | ★★★★ | d’aww, you guys
  10. When Heroes Fly [2018] hebrew, spanish | thriller, action | ★★★★ | non stop action like whoa
  11. Kurt Seyit ve Şura [2014] turkish, romance, costume drama | ★★★★★ | IT’S SO LUSH, EVERYTHING IS LUSH
  12. Élite [2018] spanish, drama, romance | ★★★★½ | everything about this is cray
  13. Don’t Dare to Dream [2016] korean, contemporary, romance | ★★★★★ | the storyline, the ending ♥♥
  14. Beautiful Gong Shim [2016] korean, contemporary, romance | ★★★★ | I want to draw hearts around them
  15. Il était une seconde fois [2018] french, science fiction, romance | ★★★★ | confusing in a great way

Writing up this post has also made me realise how many other shows I should write up reviews for! Seriously, there are so many amazing shows out there and I have so many in my queue, but alas, time.