Thoughts on 5 New TV Shows

1. Only Murders in the Building - Definitely the best new series I've seen in a while. I just love everything about it, but the best part is that each episode is better than the last. I'm 5 episodes in and all have been not only well-written, but also incredibly memorable in a very specific way. I really like how the mystery is unfolding with each episode focusing on a new "suspect" and then gives a cute little "twist" at the end (and OMG the suspect at the end of the third episode had me dying). The chemistry between the well established comedic duo, Martin Short and Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez is strangely perfect. You don't expect it to work, but the charisma between Short and Martin combined with the dry line delivery of Gomez is honestly brilliant. I like Selena Gomez a lot; she was great in The Dead Don't Die and seems like she doesn't take herself too seriously, but I've also seen her give an absolutely horrendous performance in Monte Carlo (that I watched for Cory Monteith and Cory Monteith only, I swear). There's also great gags that focus on the generational gap among them that are super cute and sometimes laugh out loud funny, but also not overdone. Actually, I think that's what makes the whole thing work - there is a perfect balance of everything. Also, I thought I would be turned off by the "True Crime" podcast aspect, but it's done well. I'm not really a fan - I don't like podcasts at all, actually, but I find the whole idea of obsessing over murders to be incredibly disrespectful to victims and their families (I don't think all of them are like this - but I was stuck listening to one at work that literally had the hosts describe their own outfit and tell each other how cute they looked, and then continued to talk about the mental state of a murderer in the same breath. It was the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard. I think it was called "My Favorite Murder", too, which is absolutely disgusting). Anyway, I can't wait to watch more episodes (I'm pacing myself but it's definitely an easy show to binge though, if that's how you prefer to watch things). 

2. The Mosquito Coast - Considering the track record of Apple TV+ series, I had really high expectations for this. Plus, that cast! Justin Theroux and Melissa George!! Wow (and they are both Alias alumni. LOVE IT)!! It's definitely the weakest of their shows, so far, but that's up against shows like For All Mankind, Mythic Quest, Dickinson, and Ted Lasso, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's still a strong show - it just isn't as consistent as those previously mentioned. I think my biggest issue is that it just gets a little too unbelievable. In real life, the whole family would have been dead multiple times, but instead they just kept getting extremely lucky and it became really frustrating to watch. But the story is really good, the acting is obviously great, and I actually gasped at some of the shots (the close-up of the eye with the fly and the reflection of the figure walking is absolutely stunning - like Breaking Bad level good). I'm also really intrigued as to where the story is going to go in season two - so overall, it's a successful show. 

3. Scenes From a Marriage - I still have one episode left of this miniseries, but I'm definitely not in love with it. So far, I only really liked one episode (the second one), and the rest have had some good moments but overall have been a drag to sit through. I wrote *so many* notes while watching each episode, but ultimately it's all saying the same thing: marriage is awful and dumb and why do people do this to themselves? The statistic given that the average marriage only lasts 8.2 years is mind-blowing (first, is it real? I'm too lazy to look it up. Second, I'm assuming it's a statistic for America? I don't remember if they clarified that). I think the biggest issue that I have with the series is that it does nothing new - it depicts marriage the same way so many other stories do, featuring two people who clearly do not belong together. And it's not in the "opposites attract" sort of way, instead it's that these two people have completely different values and expectations - with religion, sex, raising/having children, communication, etc. It doesn't make me interested in their relationship at all because it's just so obvious that they should get divorced. And, ultimately they should never have been married to begin with. I would rather see a marriage struggle between two people who actually belong together and have the story show me why it's still worth fighting for. It's so naïve to believe that it will be easy to spend your life with the same person just because you're...in love? Anyway, I could go into depth about all the details and dialogue that frustrate me, but again it just boils down to marriage being dumb and I don't want to keep repeating myself. Also, it's no surprise to me that I side with the male perspective because I usually do, but it's even more obvious with this - she's supposed to be awful...right? And not just because she cheats, but because she's a selfish, manipulative bitch (it's way too difficult to write women as powerful and ambitious and kind. I know, I know). I do love Jessica Chastain so much, though. She's incredible in this. And her and Oscar Isaac have clear chemistry that make them a very believable couple. I'm not a huge fan of Oscar Isaac - I'm not not a fan, though. I just don't see how he has such a big following (I put him in the same category as Adam Driver and Timothee Chalamet, as actors who are waaaay over-praised). They make the series seem more interesting than it is. But if they end up back together in the last episode, I'm going to be so pissed off. 

4. American Rust - Solid slow-burn drama series, with a fantastic cast, that nobody seems to be talking about? It's so oddly under the radar, overwhelmed by the popularity of Squid Game and Midnight Mass (literally the only two shows I see everyone talk about). Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney are incredible - and I feel like they have the vibe that Kate Winslet was going for in Mare of Easttown, but couldn't quite pull it off (sorry, I still don't get the overwhelming praise for her performance. It was so inconsistent!). It gets everything right about "small town America" while most shows attempting this fall into depressing clichés. I also like how the "mystery" is slowly unfolding - while it's still essentially "slow-burn", something important to the story happens with each episode so I don't feel like they are wasting time, but they are also not going to do some big "twist" ending. It's adding to the depth of the characters and the layers in the story, instead. Overall, I highly recommend it. 

5. The Wonder Years - I think, in theory, I should like this sitcom. But sadly, it just doesn't work for me. Sitcoms are really hard to make work nowadays - especially classic family oriented sitcoms (I think the only one I still watch is The Goldbergs, which is still pretty good although its concept is wearing thin). The original series is absolutely wonderful and I kind of new that a reboot would never be capable of capturing all the things that made the original so special. But, I think the biggest reason that this doesn't work is the timing of it - the whole "nostalgia" factor is missing. When the original aired it took place 20 years prior, but as a kid I could still relate to Kevin (as different as things were, many things were still the same), where as this reboot still takes place in 1968 - which feels like a different planet from modern day. I'm just not sure who the audience is? Because in 1988 - the audience was everyone (although in retrospect it's a mostly white audience), but I just can't see anyone under 50 connecting with this. And while it can still feel relevant when it comes to race relations - it's also extremely obvious in the way each episode seems set to "solve" things (oh look the black team and the white team played a game together. Racism is solved!). I do think it's smart to reimagine the series through the eyes of a black family during the same time period, it obviously offers a layer that wasn't there originally, but it's just lost all subtlety. I'm going to keep watching and hoping for improvement because I'm fully aware that sometimes it takes sitcoms a little while to find their footing and that could be the case for this.