June Binges Part 3: Not Suitable for Work & Widow's Bay

Looking for a comedy as your next binge? Well I've got a somewhat classic sitcom that has its pros and cons and then a delicious horror comedy that is currently a critical darling. Pick your poison!

Not Suitable for Work: Created by Mindy Kaling, this is a very Kaling show about a group of twentysomething college graduates who are pursuing their dreams in New York City. AJ and Abby (Ella Hunt and Avantika Vandanapu) are best friends with very different ambitions - AJ is excited to be a high-powered investment banker, while Abby is pursuing a career as a celebrity stylist. Across the hall from them live three men - Davis, Josh, and Kel. Davis is a finance bro who happens to work with AJ at the exact same bank and on the exact same team - what are the odds?! Josh is a rich nepo baby with journalistic ideals who is trying to "make it on his own" with a job as a PA for a famous news anchor, but he certainly did not get that job without a little name-dropping. And Kel is a medical student who actually wants to be an actor...that's gonna be quite the pivot.

Over the course of nine episodes, you will follow the career drama and romantic entanglements of these five people, and while some of it is very fun and engaging, some of it definitely has a yikes, #MeToo factor that had me shaking my head. It's very clear that this show is being written by a bunch of TV people who haven't actually held a job in finance or most other industries, so their depictions of the workplace tend to be painted with a rather broad, stereotypical brush. And the romance plots are classically Austenian (there is actually a lot of discussion of Jane Austen's novels at one point, in typical Kaling fashion), where there's a supposedly handsome and perfect suitor, but of course, he's not the right one.

This show is frothy and bingeable, and the actors are very likable. There are plot twists galore, and it's a mindless romp if you want to unplug your brain for a weekend afternoon. Also, NYC has never looked more beautiful - the final two episodes set in Christmas in the city captured all of my favorite places and made me so happy. But if you're looking for substance over style, move on. There's nothing to see here.

Widow's Bay: If you're looking for both style and substance (and are not a scaredy-cat) start bingeing this show immediately. I had no idea what I was getting into when I began, but two days later I was watching the finale and telling everyone that this was the best show in the world. Created by Katie Dippold, this is the story of a quiet New England island called Widow's Bay, and its mayor, Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), who is desperately trying to sell this place to tourists and help the town prosper. Unfortunately, he has no help from the locals, a bunch of dour and pessimistic folk who also believe in ghost stories and think the island is a haunted and miserable place that no one can escape. Naturally, Tom thinks all these people are ridiculous, but then...creepy things start happening. And before long, even this skeptic has to acknowledge that maybe all those ghost stories had some truth to them after all.  

Is this show scary? Sure. But is it also absolutely hilarious? My God, yes. After all, it did start out as a spec script for Parks & Recreation - Leslie Knope would absolutely adore this show. Rhys' face is comic perfection, veering from disdain to confusion to horror to miserable acceptance in the space of a minute. The supporting cast, featuring comic geniuses like Jeff Hiller, Dale Dickey, and Stephen Root are all people you will recognize from TV comedies over the years, and they are a murderer's row of talent in this show. Kate O'Flynn in particular, is amazing as Patricia, Tom's assistant who really wants to help him with his agenda but also has her own horror story from when she was a teenage girl on the island; watching her shine in the Episode 8 finale was delightful.

I never knew horror comedy was a genre I would be able to watch on TV - I assumed it was restricted to a few movies a year. The writing is incandescent, the performances are brilliant, the production design and cinematography is atmospheric and creepy - it's really firing on all cylinders. This show has been an absolute revelation; I ate it all up and am ready for seconds. More please!

June Binges Part 2: Off Campus & The Other Bennet Sister

I watched two romance series this month - they both couldn't be more different, but each was swoon-worthy in its own way. Do you prefer your smut to be sexy or Victorian? Either way, I've got you covered!

Off Campus: Created by Louisa Levy, based on the series of hockey romances by Elle Kennedy, this is a sexy show that has a naked butt within two minutes of its runtime. Don't say you weren't warned. Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli star as Hannah and Garrett, two college students who are taking a philosophy class together but otherwise have nothing in common. Garrett is the captain of the hockey team who already knows he wants to go pro, while Hannah is a music major who is struggling to make ends meet and doesn't give a shit about hockey. Obviously, the two of them don't get along, until...they very much do.

This show has all your classic tropes - you've got enemies to lovers and a little Hitch inspiration with Garrett trying to coach Hanah on how to win over Justin (Josh Heuston), the guy she has a massive crush on. The sex scenes are gloriously steamy, and I have never been more grateful to Shonda Rhimes for bringing Bridgerton to our TV screens and thereby ushering in this whole era of streaming romance series. But more importantly, this show has so much emotional heft and heart. Both Hannah and Garrett have extremely dark pasts and will have to confront a LOT of psychological baggage over the course of eight episodes. They make the classic mistake of trying to solve everything through their relationship, but the show cleverly showcases how your partner can't be your only emotional support in life; both of them end up turning to their best friends for additional guidance (played excellently by Mika Abdalla, Antonio Cipriano, Stephen Kalyn, and Jalen Thomas Brooks - a supporting cast that gets up to all manner of shenanigans of their own over the course of the series). And despite the heavy themes that are being discussed, the show never gets too bogged down, miraculously maintaining a breezy and funny tone that kept me smiling throughout the entire series.

The final episode has an epic cliffhanger and I simply cannot wait for Season 2. I have spent a lot of time this past week watching Instagram reels about this show, reading interviews with the incredible costume designer (Charlene Akuamoah, a true genius), and becoming obsessed with the soundtrack, listening to multiple featured songs on repeat like a besotted teenager. This show is a frothy and fantastic delight and it's exactly the kind of escapism I crave when the real world gets to be too much. If you're currently a single lady who is fed up of the dating apps (or a happily married one who is still in need of some diversion), put your phone down and pull up this show. Just revel in these hot, heterosexual men for a while. Yes, they initially seem like douchey hockey jocks, but my god they end up having hidden depths and being feminist AF. It's enough to classify this show as a fantasy rather than a romance, but for eight hours, just let yourself be transported!

The Other Bennet Sister: Written by Sarah Quintrell and Maddie Dai, based on the 2020 novel by Janice Hadlow, this is a beguiling piece of fan fiction about the life of Mary Bennet, the awkward and plain sister in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, who is merely treated as a joke and a weirdo in that novel. In this story, however, she has a robust and rich interior life, and we get a thorough psychological understanding of this much-ignored woman who still deserves just as much happiness as her sisters.

Ella Bruccoleri plays Mary, and she is perfectly cast, managing to be both nondescript and captivating as the script demands. The first few episodes give us the events of Pride & Prejudice from Mary's perspective, including a thwarted attempt at wooing Mr. Collins. However, as her sisters are all married off while Mary remains the old maid, her prospects seem terribly bleak, and it is unclear what will become of our heroine - is she doomed to a life of genteel poverty? Thankfully, she has relations who can take her in, and what follows is a wonderful tale, with parallels to Austen's other heroines who encounter multiple suitors with varying complications. 

The show is a bit of a slow burn, and of course, it is very Regency, but it's still delightful to see Mary get a little lustful when she sees a man rolling up his sleeves and giving her a flash of forearm. Her suitors are charmingly played by Donal Finn and Laurie Robertson, while Indira Varma and Richard Coyle are lovely as her aunt and uncle who offer all the love and support she could never seem to get from her odious mother (played irritatingly well by Ruth Jones). Even though I knew what was going to happen, the final episode melted my heart, and I was so proud of Mary, who had learned to become a strong, independent woman, brimming with self-confidence. In its way, this is yet another feminist romance, but it will still satisfy the itch of any Austen lover who is looking for a new way to enjoy their favorite tale of love and marriage.

June Binges Part 1: The Boroughs & Spider-Noir

Another month is flying by, and there's still so much new TV to watch! I recently had surgery, and unfortunately, I've been using all my recovery time to nap instead of bingeing and blogging as I anticipated. But, I am now on the mend, which means it's time for me to finally tell you about all these epic shows you should be watching. Let's dive right in.

The Boroughs: Created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (with an executive producer assist from Stranger Things' Duffer Brothers), this is a very bizarre and fun show about a group of older folk in a retirement community in the middle of nowhere who discover that maybe something rather sinister is going on. Something sinister that may involve...aliens? 

Frankly, that's about all I want to tell you about the plot. There are only eight episodes, and you'll have to figure out how things unfold from there. The cast boasts people like Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters, and Denis O'Hare, who are all people I have been watching for long enough that I was a little startled to realize that they are now old enough to be playing retirees. But these are all impeccably excellent thespians and man are they having fun. Older actors rarely get the chance to showcase their chops like this, and at one point I realized this show felt like The Goonies but for sixty-somethings. It has that crazy Spielbergian vibe of a group of people going on an adventure, and something weird and wonderful is afoot, and they're gonna band together to solve the mystery despite all the obstacles in their way.

The sci-fi element means that this show is probably not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but the plot is compelling, the actors are brilliant, and it's just so unique and unusual that I was riveted throughout. It's a quick and dirty binge that should keep you enthralled for the entirety of its runtime, so give it a shot. There's a lot of fun lurking in those boroughs!

Spider-Noir: Developed by Oren Uziel, this show is set in the 1930s New York in an alternate universe where Spider-Man is the alter ego of a world-weary hard-boiled detective named Ben Reilly. Who is played by Nicolas Cage. What more do you need?!

My husband and I watched this show in black and white as God intended. There is also a color version available for heathens; we did watch a few minutes of that version and begrudgingly accepted that it was still shot in an old-timey technicolor kind of way that still made it feel retro. But, come on. The show is called Spider-NOIR, what are you even doing if you watch it in color? The cinematography and production design is truly out of this world and it's an immersive and dazzling experience if it's been a while since you last watched a classic movie.

Cage is hamming it up brilliantly in this role, complete with a Cagney/Bogart-esque accent that is cleverly explained in the script. Karen Ruiz is wonderful as his weary secretary, Janet, while Lamorne Morris is his trusty friend and journalist, Robbie. There's a mystery involving a sudden rash of folks with superpowers who are taking over Manhattan and committing crimes, and of course, our hero has a tragic backstory and doesn't ever want to don his spider costume again but will eventually have to. There's some romance, beautifully choreographed action set pieces, and a whole lot of humor. It's an absolute vibe from start to finish, and even if you're not a superhero person, you should watch this show if you're simply a cinema person who wants to indulge in this world for a little while.

June Movies Part 1: Backrooms & Power Ballad

I headed to the movies this weekend and watched one Gen Z blockbuster horror film that everyone's talking about and one sweet, melancholy Irish movie that almost no one is talking about. I enjoyed both, but for very different reasons.

Backrooms: Written by Will Soodik and directed by the 20-year-old (!) Kane Parsons, based on YouTube videos he started creating in 2022, this movie is extremely wild and twisty and slightly impossible to explain. But my god it's a vibe, and I vibed hard with it. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Clark, an angry divorced man who aspires to be an architect but instead owns a struggling discount furniture store. After his wife kicked him out, he has been living in the store, and has noticed the electricity is behaving erratically, with power surges and losses at all hours. One night, he goes down to the basement to investigate why the lights are off, and he sees something shimmering on one of the walls. When he approaches, he discovers he can walk through this wall, and into the titular "backrooms." 

This is where all kudos goes to Danny Vermette, the incredible production designer, without whom, this film would be nothing. The backrooms are a weird and eerie, slightly-off maze of interconnected rooms that just keep getting stranger and stranger as Clark wanders through them. The score and sound design by Edo Van Breemen and Parsons also deserve a lot of kudos because we get the constant hum of the overhead fluorescent lighting as an accompaniment, but then the sudden footsteps, or sudden silence that signifies only bad things could happen next. Honestly, the sound design scared the crap out of me more effectively than the appearance of actual monsters.

Yes, there are monsters lurking in these rooms, and yes, things will get a little bloody towards the end, but the majority of the time, you are just wandering through this insane world, trying to figure out what's going on, and having a mild panic attack for 110 minutes. Ejiofor is excellent as our protagonist who is also a little despicable, while Renate Reinsve is an excellent audience surrogate, playing Clark's therapist, Mary, who has her own intricate back story that will unfold over the course of the film. It's all very layered and complex, like the backrooms themselves, and there are so many interpretations you could come up with as you watch this film. The main thing though, is that you have to see it. It's a wild ride, and I joyously went along for it.

Power Ballad: Directed by John Carney, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Peter McDonald, this is a classic Carney piece about the conflict between artists who make music because they love it and the record labels and big stars who make music because of capitalism. Paul Rudd stars as Rick Power, a former rockstar who settled down in Ireland 15 years ago after he married an Irish woman and had a daughter. Giving up on his rock dreams, he now sings for a wedding band. It's not glamorous work, and he misses being able to play his own songs instead of the usual comfort fare required at a wedding. 

At one wedding, however, Rick meets a famous singer, Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas who is not playing a character too far from reality, but still acted the hell out of this part, much to my surprise). Danny was formerly in a boy band but is now trying to strike out on his own, and he's trying to write songs for his upcoming album. He and Rick have an all-night jam session once the wedding festivities conclude and joyously make music together, riffing on each other's work, and enjoying a very creative collaboration that leave both in admiration of each other. What could go wrong?

Rick goes back to his life, and Danny goes back to his, and then six months later, Rick hears a song playing at the mall. He instantly recognizes it as "How to Write a Song Without You" a song that he has been noodling on for years, and that he had shared with Danny during their collaborative night. Well, Danny was able to add a bridge, produce the hell out of it, and now has a #1 single on his hands, with no songwriting credit to Rick whatsoever. What follows is a story that made my husband nervous, because he thought the tone of the film was going to become very dark and insane. But I knew the most I could expect from a Carney movie was a little melancholy and a lot of soul. There's a fair amount of comedy, because how could you not when you have Rudd at the helm, but he does a great job playing this slightly sad sack musician, who isn't quite living his dreams and just wants recognition for finally writing the hit song he has been chasing for so many years. 

It's a beautiful story about creativity and collaboration and credit, all topics that are so dicey and controversial when it comes to making music and art, and it's deftly told and distilled with that traditional Carney whimsy and Irish flair. I loved this movie and it made me tear up at various points. And not for nothing, "How to Write a Song Without You" is a certified banger - I hope it starts climbing up the charts, because nothing makes me happier than when a movie about a hit song actually generates a hit song. It's such a difficult task, and initially, when I heard the song in the movie, I didn't think it was that great, but by the time you hear it twenty times, in multiple contexts, with different production values, you really do learn to appreciate the art and craft of songwriting. It's a beautiful musicology lesson and movie all wrapped up in one.

May Movies Part 2: The Sheep Detectives, I Love Boosters, Obsession

What are you looking for this weekend? A breezy British murder mystery solved by a flock of sheep? An absurdist tale about end-stage capitalism and greed in the Bay Area? Or a supernatural horror thriller about the dangers of making your wishes come true? Yup, this post is really covering all the bases!

The Sheep Detectives: I was so excited for this movie and it absolutely did not disappoint. Written by Craig Mazin (adapted from the novel Three Bags Full by Leonia Swann) and directed by Kyle Balda, this movie stars Hugh Jackman for about ten minutes as a shepherd named George who lives a seemingly idyllic life in a gorgeous little English village until he ends up...murdered. Every night, he would read murder mysteries to his flock as a bedtime ritual, and turns out, these animals could fully understand him. One of them, Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), is the smartest and always figured out who the killer was in those nighttime stories. Well now she had to put all her deductive reasoning to the test to examine clues and study the cast of motley human characters who all may have had their own reasons to kill the beloved shepherd.

The mystery is very cleverly plotted, and I can honestly say that the revelation of the killer was extremely satisfying. The script hits all the mystery tropes, and there are lots of shadowy and mysterious characters who show up, while we have Nicholas Braun as the hapless British police officer who has never had to deal with a murder in this village before and therefore will need plenty of coaching from the sheep to get this case solved. The animation is perfect, lending a lot of character and sass to the sheep (otherwise famously expressionless animals) with excellent voice casting from the likes of Bryan Cranston, Chris O'Dowd, Regina Hall, Rhys Darby, Brett Goldstein, Bella Ramsey, and Patrick Stewart. The live-action cast also features stalwarts like Emma Thompson, Hong Chau, Molly Gordon, and Nicholas Galitzine, who certainly do not disappoint. This movie was everything I wanted and expected it to be. No notes.

I Love Boosters: Written and directed by Boots Riley, this movie is certainly everything I expected it to be, i.e. weird and wacky. Keke Palmer stars as Corvette, the leader of the Velvet Gang (also consisting of Naomi Ackie and Taylour Paige, and later, Poppy Liu) who shoplift designer clothes exclusively from a high-end chain called Metro Designers that is owned by a high-strung designer named Christie Smith (Demi Moore). Christie is incensed at the amount of money she is losing because these boosters keep stealing her clothes, and most of the film consists of the juxtaposition of the bougie life led by Christie and her insanely expensive fashions alongside the very colorful but chaotic lives of the boosters who are struggling to make ends meet.

Aesthetically, this movie is a veritable rainbow of delights. The whole plot about how Christie's stores operate was wildly inventive and fun, and costume designer Shirley Kurata has done miraculous work from start to finish with every single outfit Keke Palmer and the rest of the cast sport in this movie - give the woman an Oscar immediately. But, in classic Boots Riley fashion, the third act of the movie leaps wildly into the absurdist abyss, pushing its metaphor of labor exploitation and capitalist evil to the umpteenth degree and featuring a lot of sci-fi and fantasy elements that imply a great deal of weed was consumed in the making of this film. If you're familiar with Riley's previous film, Sorry to Bother You, none of this will surprise you in the least, but if this is your first foray into his work? Settle in, you're in for a very bumpy ride.

Obsession: Yes, I gave in to the hype and headed to the theater to watch this film to ensure it continues to break box office records. Written and directed by Curry Barker, this is a classic horror movie about a man named Bear (Michael Johnston) who has a crush on a girl named Nikki (Inde Navarette) but is afraid to tell her or do anything about it. When he buys a magic object called the One Wish Willow, he expects it to just be a novelty toy, but makes a wish anyway. Obviously, he wishes that Nikki loved him more than anything else in the world. And obviously, that wish comes true in rather horrifying fashion.

What follows is a creepy and hilarious tale about how horrible it is when your dreams come true. At first, we have the honeymoon period where Bear and Nikki are deliciously in love and happy. But gradually, it becomes clear that Nikki might be a tad...unwell. She is behaving strangely, getting way more clingy, and eventually, starts to lose her mind if Bear leaves her for any period of time. Things keep escalating and getting more frightening, and eventually more bloody. 

Did this movie telegraph most of its jump scares from miles away? Yes. But was it still awesome to watch this in a crowded theater and scream and laugh alongside the rest of the audience? Hell yes. Horror movies are such a fun genre to highlight the collective spirit of movie watching, so if you only have the time and money to see one movie in theaters this month, this should probably be the movie you pick. The performances are brilliant (Inde Navarette in particular is getting a lot of love for her insanely eerie and incredible work - what she can do with her face and voice is simply a marvel), the script is entertaining, and it is endlessly compelling from beginning to end. The hype is real.

May Binges Part 2: Rooster, Margo's Got Money Troubles, DTF St. Louis

I have been watching several shows week-to-week in the past months, but now they're all available to you for one big, glorious binge. Each of these shows have been weird and wonderful in their own unique way, so I'm excited for you to get started on these and tell me what you think!

Rooster: Created by Matt Tarses and Bill Lawrence (of Ted Lasso and Shrinking fame), this is a show about an author named Greg Russo (Steve Carell), who writes popular mystery paperbacks with a swashbuckling protagonist named Rooster. His daughter, Katie (Charly Clive), is an Art History professor at a New England liberal arts college, and she is married to a Russian history professor, Archie (Phil Dunster). When Archie sleeps with a graduate student, Sunny (Lauren Tsai), naturally the marriage is on the rocks, and Greg shows up on campus to check in on his daughter. He then has to step in to help her after events spiral and she unleashes some of her righteous anger on Archie. The President of the College, Walter (John C. McGinley), is a fan of Greg's work and agrees to protect Katie's job if Greg will remain on campus and teach a creative writing seminar for a semester. And thus begins a semester of hi-jinks.

Yes, this is a comedy, but there's obviously a lot of high-stakes drama at play. I certainly found it very hard to understand why Katie wouldn't just dump her loser husband, particularly as Sunny is pregnant with his child, and I also found it hard to understand why Sunny was keeping the baby and holding out for a life with Archie. It's the British accent, I guess, it keeps those American women intrigued. The acting from every single person in this cast is stellar, and the tone is always so light, and breezy, and wonderful. There are great jokes in every episode (my husband and I still yell "Cop Hawk" at each other on occasion) and every character is enormously idiosyncratic, but like all of Bill Lawrence's other shows, there is a ton of heart that keeps you feeling warm and cozy. Steve Carell is always a delight to watch, and this show is no exception, so give it a shot. It's an excellent diversion.

Margo's Got Money Troubles: Speaking of actors who are always a delight to watch, you can never go wrong with a show that stars Elle Fanning. Here she stars as the titular Margo Millet, a twenty-year-old college student who has an affair with her English professor, gets pregnant (what's with all these college students being impregnated by married professors?), and decides to keep the baby (what's with everyone refusing to get an abortion?). Naturally, that decision leads to the titular Money Problems. Her mother, Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer), was also a single mom, who knows how hard it is, and therefore thinks this is a terrible decision. She is also not great with babies and is too busy trying to lock down her relationship with Kenny (Greg Kinnear), a religious youth minister who has a very rarefied idea of who Shyanne is. All of that will come to bear over the course of the series.

Meanwhile, Margo lives with three other roommates, two of whom move out because living with a baby is unbearable, but the other, Susie (Thaddea Graham), is a supportive babysitter who wants to help Margo win at life. Unfortunately, they still need to make that extra rent money, which is when Margo's father, Jinx (Nick Offerman), fortuitously shows up and moves in with them. Jinx is extremely supportive and great with babies, but he is exorcising demons of his own, all of which will also come to bear over the course of the series. 

Created by David E. Kelley, based on Rufi Thorpe's excellent 2024 novel, I cannot recommend this show highly enough. I haven't even gotten to the central conceit of the show, which is that Margo's solution to her Money Problems, is to start an OnlyFans account. The evolution of her work on that platform is truly wondrous to behold. In fact, while I loved the show, I would certainly exhort people to read the novel, because I remember being utterly captivated by its creativity and ingenuity when depicting Margo's OnlyFans work and how she learns to build a fanbase and create more engaging content. This show is brimming with excellent actors, has a unique and compelling narrative, and it will be one of the best things you watch all year. Get to it.

DTF St. Louis: This show is definitely one of the best things I have watched this year, but oh man, it's so hard to explain it to people. Written and directed by Steven Conrad, settle in for seven episodes of the most bizarre murder mystery you've ever seen. 

The story centers on Floyd and Clark (David Harbour and Jason Bateman), two men who start off as colleagues, and then become best friends, and then...things get complicated. At the start of the series, we know Floyd is dead, in suspicious circumstances, and two detectives, Donogue Homer and Jodie Plumb (Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday) are tasked with the investigation. The clues immediately point to Clark as the murderer - he was present at the scene of the crime, and after looking through his cell phone records, it becomes apparent he was having an affair with Carol (Linda Cardellini), Floyd's wife. But things aren't quite so cut and dried, and as these detectives investigate further, they unearth all manner of bewildering shenanigans afoot in this quiet suburb.

I won't discuss matters further - you have to let this show gloriously unfurl its wild petals around you and engulf you in its bizarre tone and sexual complications. A terrible thing has happened to Floyd, and every character is harboring some deep, dark secrets, but this is also a very dark comedy and an ode to male friendship. It's hard to keep track of time in this show, with the myriad flashbacks and revising conversations and scenes from different perspectives once we get a new piece of information. I don't know that I would have enjoyed watching this on a weekly basis - a binge was the perfect way to keep everything straight in my head and really indulge in the brilliant storytelling. If this was a book, I would have stayed up all night reading it, so get ready for an epic binge to finish up this show. All of the actors are at the top of their game, and you will not be disappointed.

May Binges Part 1: Big Mistakes, Beef, The Miniature Wife

Yes, I'm still desperately trying to catch up on all the new TV - truly a losing battle. But I've binged more shows and now it's your turn to binge them too!

Beef: I ordinarily don't do season-to-season reviews, but given that this is shaping up to be an anthology series and this season was extraordinarily good, I'll just go ahead and tell you to watch it, shall I? Created by Lee Sung Jin, this season felt much more chaotic and epic in scope than the first, now featuring two warring couples whose lives get intertwined in increasingly dangerous ways. Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan star as Joshua and Lindsay, a couple who help manage a fancy country club in California, but are trying to save up for their dream of running their own bed and breakfast. They used to be a cool couple, but now they are approaching midlife, their marriage is getting fractious, and it seems clear that thigns are goign downhill fast. Contrast this with the young couple Ashley and Austin (Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton) who work at the country club. They are young and naive, desperate to start their lives together but constantly set back by financial pressures. Will any of these couples succeed? Or will everything fall apart spectacularly? Watch to find out!

Over the course of eight episodes (much tighter than the first season's ten!), this season takes you on an emotional rollercoaster and you can never predict from one minute to the next who is going to be blackmailing whom, and when there might accidentally be a murder or two. Youn Yuh-jung also stars as Chairwoman Park, the Korean billionaire who becomes the new owner of the country club, and as she gets more involved in all the drama, things escalate to an absurd and exciting degree. Just let this show unfold before your eyeballs - make sure you set aside enough time to do so, because you're not going to be able to stop once you get started.

The Miniature Wife: Created by Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner (based on a short story by Manuel Gonzalez), this show stars Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen as Lindy and Les, a couple that have been married for a very long time. The spark is fading from their marriage, and they mostly just tensely quote their couples therapist's aphorisms at each other in arguments. Lindy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose career has now stalled after she moved to St. Louis to support Les's dream of working on cutting-edge research that could potentially earn him a Nobel Prize. That research involves the ability to shrink food so it could be transported more easily and then regrown when it arrives at the desired location. As the title of the show might have suggested, there is an accident and Lindy accidentally gets shrunk down to six inches tall. And Les, who hasn't yet figured out the formula to grow the shrunken objects back to their original size, has his work cut out for him.

I would watch this show a little bit at a time and frankly, it got to be a bit of a slog. Ten episodes long, 40+ minutes each, it was a bit too bloated. It would have been much better as a zippy half-hour comedy, but unfortunately, the writers meander through the story of this couple's chaotic marriage in far too much detail, giving us all the backstory about every single slight that led them to this precipice. In the present day, there's also a lot of unnecessary drama with supporting characters who don't really need to be there. The show covers a lot of good ground about how marriages require constant work, and also the nature of parenting, as both Les and Lindy have very different relationships with their teenage daughter Lulu (Sofia Rosinsky). But apart from the fun production design and camerawork to take us into Lindy's tiny world, this show struggles to be particularly engaging. I love these actors, and I watched all of it, but the whole time I found myself wishing they were doing something else.

Big Mistakes: Created by Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott, now here's a zippy half hour comedy that gets in and out in eight episodes. Levy and Taylor Ortega star as Nicky and Morgan, siblings who accidentally get on the wrong side of some Turkish crime bosses and are blackmailed into helping out with bizarre criminal enterprises. Meanwhile, their mother, Linda (Laurie Metcalf), is busy with their sister, Natalie (Abby Quinn), planning a campaign to run for mayor of their New Jersey town, so both women are too consumed with those logistics to notice the chaos Nicky and Morgan have descended into. 

Given how short and sweet the show is, I'll refrain from more details so you can let all the surprises wash over you. Suffice to say, Levy and Ortega are a great comic duo and watching Levy's face contort as he finds himself in impossible situations was my favorite part of the whole show. Nicky and Morgan are stereotypical adult siblings who have lost touch and have all these misconceptions about each other, but over the course of the show, they will start to learn and grow from each other, in both good ways and bad. I will warn you, the ending does have a cliffhanger, and Netflix hasn't picked this up for a second season yet, but I think the first season stands on its own two feet perfectly well and kept me very entertained on an otherwise boring weekend. It's charming and breezy, and sometimes that's all you can ask for.