1. Homecoming - Absolutely blew me away. My expectations were pretty high - considering how much I loved the first season of Mr. Robot and I adore Julia Roberts. It's stylized just like Mr. Robot - the quick editing, the anxiety inducing music, the character introduction and development, etc. and in my personal opinion, this style is groundbreaking for television. I hate to call Julia Roberts under-rated, but I think people rate her more for her "celebrity" than for her acting, but she is a fantastic actress - consistently great. I love Sam Esmail - he's relatively young (compared to his counterparts), but he has a really strong vision and voice. He's also from Jersey! (I've now succumbed to the fact that I can no longer call myself a New Yorker, so I have to support my Jersey people). He's also creating a very talented support system (similar to JJ Abrams - who still uses actors from his Felicity days). I love seeing Bobby Cannavale (he was also in Mr. Robot) and Jeremy Allen White (he's my favorite character, Lip, on Shameless along with Esmail's wife, Emmy Rossum). I hope he's in more of Esmail's stuff (or in just more in general, he's great). Anyway, if you liked the first season of Mr. Robot you will like this, guaranteed. But I hope it doesn't go the way of the rest of Mr. Robot because that show went down fast (it should have been a mini-series or maybe just 2 seasons max).
2. Narcos: Mexico - I don't have the fondest memories of Mexico from when I was a kid (we lived very close the Mexican border), and this is set during the same time (early 80s), so I have to sort of disconnect a little bit from the story. But, overall it's a very good show. I prefer the regular Narcos, over this, but I do love Michael Pena so much - I will watch anything he is in. I stopped myself from looking up what happens to his character (it's all based on true stuff) and I'm glad that I stayed mostly in the dark. It blows my mind that during the regular Narcos I was convinced that Dermot Mulroney was the narrator (but he wasn't) and then I thought for sure that it was him again in this (and it's not! You can look up who it is, but it might spoil it a little bit because that's what I did, and then I figured out how the story will play out). Oh and speaking of Dermot, he's briefly in Homecoming in scenes with Julia Roberts and it made me so happy (big fan of My Best Friend's Wedding. BIG FAN.). I'm really interested in how season two will play out (trying realllllly hard not to look it up...).
3. The Boys - So. Dark. But. So. Much. Fun. I love Karl Urban - and this is the perfect role for him. I wasn't so sure about the rest of the cast (mostly newcomers...and Chase Crawford lol), but they all grew on me. It's a great plot - turning the whole superhero phenomenon on its ass and making them "the bad guys" is really brilliant. There are some really inappropriate moments that I find HILARIOUS (the dolphin scene is going to go down in History as one of the funniest inappropriate scenes of all-time). There's a lot of modern "woke" tropes used, but also flipped on its ass - like the "Me Too" movement, the responsibility of the media and journalism, and abuse of power. There is a really good camaraderie among "the boys" - they don't really like each other, but they rely on each other. Also, the best part of the whole thing??? ELISABETH freakin' SHOE. I can't even explain to you how much I love her. I had Adventures in Babysitting on VHS and I used to watch it over and over and over again. At the time, I thought I wanted to be Chris, but when I grew up I realized that I had a super huge crush on her (probably my first crush, at least that I can remember). Anyway, I'm so happy that she's in this. It's nice to see her in something substantial (and I still have a super huge crush on her).
4. Russian Doll - I wasn't really looking forward to watching this - I kind of hate the whole repetitive storyline (I was never a fan of Groundhog Day. SUE ME!). But! This show is absolutely wonderful. It's so funny, and weird, and unexpected, and dark, and hopeful. I just loved watching every second - even the repetitive stuff. It's so nice to see Natasha Lyonne starring in something (I know she's in Orange is the New Black - and she is awesome in it, but there are like 40 other actors on that show). Slums of Beverly Hills had a profound effect on me when I was a teenager. Lyonne is wonderful and hilarious in this show (but I wouldn't really call it Emmy worthy, I think Lyonne is just like this in real life. I feel like this part was written with her in mind? I'm not sure, but that's my theory. Otherwise, it's some brilliant casting decision.). The show has a really interesting and surprising narrative that I don't think anyone will expect. Plus, the episodes are really short so it's very easy to binge.
5. Good Omens - This wasn't even on my list of things to watch, but everyone seemed to be talking about it, and David Tennant is always a reason to watch a show. Also, I'm like really late to the Neil Gaiman party. I didn't realize how many stories he has written (that were turned into movies that I love), I recently read "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" (it's beautiful) as my first introduction into his writing. I have "American Gods" on my list next (I like the show, but I don't love it...). Anyway, his stories have a lot of religious themes, but not in a preachy way - more like a mythological, fantasy way and I am definitely here for it. Good Omens is really good, but it's not as great as some were making it out to be. The banter between Tennant and Michael Sheen is really fun, but I did get a little bored during some episodes. I also felt like it became a little repetitive - like, get on with the story please.
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