August Binges Part 2: The Audacity & Furious

I haven't just been watching movies this month, I've also been bingeing a variety of shows and have some more recommendations for you. Interested in finding a New York serial killer? Or mocking the tech bros in Silicon Valley? Read on!

The Audacity: This show is on AMC+ and unlike other streaming services, the studio execs do not seem to have told the show's creator, Jonathan Glatzer, that he needs to dumb things down for the audience or account for them not paying attention because they're "second screening." So let that be a warning to you - pay attention to this show, because there's going to be a throwaway line in Episode 5 that comes back in Episode 8, or a shot that heralds some very important moment with absolutely no dialogue, and you will need to pay attention.

Billy Magnussen stars as Duncan Park, a tech bro who is scrambling to get more people interested in his latest venture, Hypergnosis, a company that appears to have a lot of data and is not afraid to wield it. Sarah Goldberg plays his therapist, JoAnne, a woman who is fed up with her rich Palo Alto clientele but is not above using all of the information they divulge during their sessions to engage in a spot of insider trading, while her husband, Gary (Paul Adelstein), a fellow therapist who mostly ministers unto the children of Palo Alto, remains oblivious. 

This show is ALL plot - apart from the financial crimes, we've got Anushka (Meaghan Rath), an ethicist who seems to be realizing nothing she does is very ethical, while her husband, Martin (Simon Helberg) is obsessed with "raising" an AI model while ignoring his troubled teenage daughter; Lili (Lucy Punch), Duncan's dissatisfied wife, who is having a lot of drama with the school board; a lot of teenage drama with all the children who are having to cope with social media, getting into Stanford, and all manner of angsty conundrums; Rob Corddry as Tom, the Deputy Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs who just need some tech company to help him sort through some data to help veterans in need; and Zach Gallifinakis as Carl, an angel investor who might be the answer to everyone's problems, but might just cause more problems of his own.

I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this show, but it gradually sucked me in, and by the end, I was thoroughly consumed by it. There's so much going on, and every episode keeps building until you can't quite imagine how this house of cards hasn't collapsed yet. It's fascinating and a wonderful takedown of these sanctimonious millionaires, so watch it if you want to mock the Zuckerbergs and Elons of the world. Lord knows we can't do anything else.

Furious: Created by Elizabeth Merriwether, this is a gripping and engaging show about a novice FBI agent and former NYPD homicide detective, Alice (Emmy Rossum) who finds herself investigating a string of murders that she suspects are all linked to the same person. Unusually, this serial killer is a woman, and as Alice starts to investigate, it becomes clear that the killer is a woman named Catherine Grace (Lola Petticrew) who has very good reasons to target the men that she has been killing all over New York City. Over the course of eight episodes, we are treated to a delicate game of cat-and-mouse, as well a deepening moral quandary about whether it's the killer or her victims who are truly the monsters.

This is a show that deals with extremely grim themes. Alice just got out of an abusive relationship with her ex, Marshall (Jake Lacy), who is an NYPD cop and is working on these homicides, so now Alice has to work with him (yes, he never got in trouble for domestic abuse because no one believed Alice. And he's a cop so...go figure). Thankfully, Alice does have her former NYPD partner, Danny (Scoot McNairy), by her side as the only cop who believes her and has got her back. Then we've got FBI Agent Nora Washington (Quincy Tyler Bernstine), a woman who has been investigating sex crimes and child abuse for years, which has understandably taken a toll and led her to become a jaded alcoholic. She might be my favorite character, because she has a wondrous range of facets to her character that get to shine over the course of the season.

Despite all the murder, abuse, pedophilia, and human trafficking, this is a shockingly funny show. The dialog is whip smart and unsurprisingly, all of these characters rely on making a lot of jokes to defuse the tension and horror of their day-to-day lives. No matter how dark each episode is, I often found myself chuckling through various parts of it. Of course, you will still have to watch some gory murders and watch a great deal of psychological suffering set to a tragic score, but I found this to be a thoroughly well-plotted and brilliantly acted treat. Every episode ends on a cliffhanger, which sucked when I was watching it week to week, but now you can just binge to your heart's content! And I can promise the finale is cathartic and perfect, with a wonderful resolution that will thoroughly satisfy you but also leave you ready for Season 2. Bring it on!