Thoughts on 5 New TV Shows

1. Pluribus - Loved it! It's basically Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but told in a new way. I waited to watch it until I could binge it because I had a feeling that I would want to, and I was right. I watched the whole thing in a week. I asked my husband if he wanted to watch it with me - I didn't know much about it so I just described it as a "show from the creator of Breaking Bad". He's never seen Breaking Bad (*Extreme Monica voice* I KNOW!!), so he declined. I started the first episode while he was in the room but working on a project, and about 1/2 way through, he stopped working on his project and was like "okay...I'm hooked, I'm watching this with you". He's more into the sci-fi aspect, and consistently commented about how boring all of the details are, but that's the part that I love. And it reminds me of Breaking Bad because that's what makes that show so good. He doesn't realize that the details are what's keeping him interested. When the character of Manousos is introduced and it's hinted that he's going to travel to New Mexico, my husband literally guffawed and was like "that's impossible! He'd have to cross the Darien Gap!" And I was like "it's a tv show, calm down" but then THEY SHOW HOW IMPOSSIBLE IT IS TO CROSS THE DARIEN GAP because that's just how Vince Gilligan's brain works - he does his research! Anyway, I like the story of this woman basically being alone on Earth and wanting to return it to normal, while the other "survivors" are complacent (some want to join the rest of their family in the hive mind, while others see it as a benefit). I think another detail I like is that out of the 13 "survivors" only 1 of them is a white American. White Americans absolutely believe they are the center of the world, but population-wise we are a minority. If 13 people survived out of the entire planet - most would be of Asian descent and culturally very different than us. I also feel like it feels realistic, I mean, obviously far-fetched, but this woman feels real and very much relatable. The part when she's singing "It's Getting Hot in Here" while in a hot spring and then she goes to the Georgia O'Keefe museum and takes a painting - that would be me. I just think it's really well done and I looked forward to each episode. Can't wait for season 2! 

2. The Copenhagen Test - This is a show that seems like it's up my alley - I love spy stuff! But, so far, I'm mostly confused. I'm 1/2 way through it, and I find myself not even paying attention and it's definitely a show that you need to pay attention to. But, it's just not interesting enough to actually pay attention to. I'm considering dropping it from my watch list, but, as you may know, that's always hard for me to do. The episodes are waaaaayyy too long, which is part of the problem. They feel like they are two hours long. I, for sure, thought I was almost through episode 4 and I still had 35 minutes left. LOL. Kill me! I do like this cast though - I'm rooting HARD for Melissa Barrera. Aside from the fact that she's really talented, I think she's been really mistreated by Hollywood. Simu Lui usually has charisma galore (but it's sadly lacking in this!). I don't know if I've seen Sinclair Daniel before, but she is ADORABLE. I'm hoping Adina Porter has a bigger role in the latter episodes because, so far, she's being under-utilized. There are a few intense scenes - like the bookstore scene (first of all, hilarious that they pick the book The Alchemist because I hated that book! LOL), but also, I was like..."wait...what the fuck is going on?". I think it would work better if we got to know the characters first before jumping right into this whole double-double agent thing. We only know this guy from one "past" scene in which they keep reinforcing that he's a "good guy", but we literally know nothing else about him - so I don't care what happens to him. I'll eventually finish the rest of the season, but if it doesn't pick up the pace and provide some clarity, I won't be watching a season 2 (if there even is a season 2, which is doubtful - I've never seen anyone talk about this show at all). 

3. PONIES - Another show that seems like it's *extremely my shit* - spy stuff set during the cold war! I do like this, so far, but I think the casting is a bit off. I've never been the biggest fan of Emilia Clarke (as an actress. She seems like a lovely person!). Surprisingly, I'm actually more impressed with her than with Haley Lu Richardson (and she's someone I usually like!). Clarke had to learn Russian for this - and she sounds very convincing and she looks like she belongs in this world. While Richardson seems a little too silly - like she's straight out of Gen Z (I think she might be older than that, but she's got the Gen Z look!). I think her character is supposed to be the comic relief (?) but she comes off as childish and obnoxious. But I like the look of it, and the music is great. And I'm fully invested in Clarke's character's plotline with going undercover by dating a dangerous KGB officer. I'm on the 5th episode (I think), and it has its ups and downs, but overall, I'm into it. I think it could be something great if they just figure out what to do with Richardson. I'm also interested in the deaths of their husbands - which I think will be a bigger plot point at some point. I could see this lasting several seasons, but I do think they need to kick the danger up a degree and be more like The Americans and less like a buddy comedy. 

4. I Love LA - Ummmm...this could be amazing or it could be like a Gen Z/Influencer version of Girls or Sex and the City (I hated Girls! Couldn't get past the first season! And I hated SatC, and yes, I watched the whole thing, unfortunately). But it's created by Rachel Sennott and I really like her even though she reminds me of someone I hate in real life (and I don't hate many people in real like - there's like 3 people total), but she also reminds me of another actress that I can't put my finger on (maybe Brittany Murphy?). I like the supporting cast too - Odessa A'Zion (aka Pamela Adlon's daughter) is really taking off, Josh Hutcherson is ADORABLE in this (I LOVE that her boyfriend is a like a normal nerdy guy who treats her well), and I would love for Leighton Meester to get another successful show (her movies were...not great. She's not a movie star and that's okay! But she's a tv queen when she finds the right roles!). I think I have two episodes left, but so far, so good! I am mostly enjoying it - there are definitely highlights, like the Elijah Wood cameo had me DYING (when they walk in on him watching The Simpsons and then he puts on the Smash Mouth song from Shrek. LOL. HILARIOUS!). There are definitely some lowlights - Ayo's cameo is pure torture. That accent. Rough. I was actually really enjoying the series up until the last episode I watched where things took a few left turns - they introduce a really interesting "bro" character who is actually a really supportive friend -he's also a religious nut, but I think that could have been an interesting character to explore. "I'm not gay, I'm Catholic!" LOL.  And then KILL HIM OFF very suddenly. And I hate that Maia suddenly questions her relationship because her boss makes a dumb comment about him not being good enough. He's actually TOO GOOD for her. And then she suddenly turns into a jealous lying biATCH towards him. I hope they don't keep going down that road because I'll probably stop watching. It is a lot of influencer drama/ tik-tok generation stupidity, but there's something oddly entertaining about it - it has an Entourage vibe that I enjoy. 

5. Wonder Man - This is cute! I knew nothing about the character, so it was a bit unexpected. I like that it's really just a story of someone who wants to be an actor, but is forced into the role of a super hero (or villain? I'm not sure how his story proceeds). I always thought the whole Mandarin thing in Iron Man was a bit dumb, but I liked how they really turned this character around and formed a really interesting character. Also, I love Yahya. He's SO good in this. It's also really funny - like how he gets fired from American Horror Story and Ben Kingsley's "gotta go, Uncle Vanya" made me spit my drink out. Josh Gad's episode is HILARIOUS and definitely a standout of the series. And I love how they show how the whole "superheroes can't be actors" thing started (basically because they are uninsurable). But my favorite part is the nod to The O.C. - with Yahya looking out the window and then you hear the first notes of "California" play - I WAS SCREAMING. The reference will go over a lot of people's heads, but that scene was MADE FOR DORKS LIKE ME!! Anyway, I can't wait to see more of this character in the MCU! They are slowly reeling me back in!