2. The Kids are Alright - Very cute family comedy. Too much of the pilot episode was shown in the ads, so at first it's a little disappointing, but it picks up in the second episode. The cast work really well together, and it feels like a natural family dynamic. I love Michael Cudlitz - it's almost hard to recognize him because this role is very different than what I'm used to seeing him in, but it's also sort of the same (he does the strict, "don't mess with me" character perfectly - as he did in SouthLAnd). I don't know if the show is going to last very long because I don't ever hear anyone talking about it. Also, it's very hard to find it because when you say "The Kids are Alright" into the remote, it brings up the move The Kids are All Right. It's super annoying.
3. Manifest - What a stupid fucking show. I need to stop watching it, but I'm already sucked it! It's next-level bad. It suffers from bad dialogue, convenient story-telling, expected endings, plot holes, absolutely no nuance or depth, and terrible acting (except for the sister - I had to look up her name because I've never seen her before - Melissa Roxburgh. She has great screen presence.). I think it's going to end up being something about the Bermuda Triangle, but who knows? Every episode just gets dumber and dumber. It's super weird that they diverted the plane to Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY (which is where I grew up!). That airport used to be this tiny little military airport and now it's expanded so much. So weird to see it featured on a television show.
4. The Little Drummer Girl - I'm half-way through the mini-series, and it is THE definition of slow-burn story-telling. I hope it's worth it because it's really fucking boring to sit through. I think I had really high expectations because it's Park Chan-wook! Directing a televisions series! Why isn't EVERYONE talking about it? That's like a HUGE deal. That's why I think there will be a huge pay-off in the end - a reason that makes the whole thing worth watching. It's been compared to The Night Manager which I didn't like, so that's not really a great sign. Michael Shannon is usually wonderful, but he has a really thick (Israeli?) accent and I can barely understand what he's saying which is obviously detrimental. The girl who plays Charlie (the main character) reminds me of a grown-up version of Sally Draper (which is a good thing...I think?).
5. Mr. Inbetween - Not going to lie, I was really happy that this show is only 6 episodes and they are only ½ hour long episodes. I just have too much to watch, but I got through the first season of this really quickly. The plot has been done before, but there is something about this show that is really likeable. Like the scene where he tells his daughter that Santa isn’t real and Jesus probably isn’t, but unicorns are. There’s some super cute scenes where you don’t think about how horrible the main character is. It does a nice job of the “inbetween” aspect. I really liked the last episode and I’m happy that there is going to be a second season.
6. Escape at Dannemora - I think I've watched 2 episodes so far (maybe 3) and I'm not blown away by it. It's another really, really slow moving show. I feel like everything that happened so far could have been condensed into one really terrific episode. Instead, it's all dragged out for dramatic effect, and it just doesn't work. The acting is terrific, though. I didn't even recognize Patricia Arquette, she really embraces every aspect of the role. Benicio del Toro always sort of reminds me of Brad Pitt. I don't know why; it just feels like they took the same acting class. He always does these little subtle things that add depth or nuance to a character (like the fake smoking thing, that was a nice touch and a lesser actor wouldn't have made that work). I think the biggest reason that this show isn't working for me is that it's just too soon. This event, like, JUST happened. We, as a society, haven't been able to really dissect it or reflect on it yet.
7. The Romanoffs - I watched the first episode so far, and it felt like a movie. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's going to be hard for me to fit in the time to watch it if every episode is an hour and a half. I do like that each episode is with different characters and different actors. That's a cool idea to do about the infamous Romanoff family since there is so much confusion and mystery about who is actually part of the family. The first episode was ok - it's a story that's been told many times - racist, entitled white woman suddenly becomes less racist once she is saved by a non-white person. I did like the twist about the Faberge egg (and it made the ending delicious). I'm intrigued about the rest of the series, I'm just having trouble fitting it into my very busy tv schedule.
8. Single Parents - Super cute. It's a show that has gotten infinitely better with every episode so far, which is a great sign. At first, I was just like "meh", but now I actually look forward to each episode as something that is guaranteed to make me smile. The cast have great chemistry together, and I love how the relationships have already started to evolve - it all feels really natural. Also, the kids don't annoy me! They are in it just the right amount (and the twin girls are actually hilarious). It's definitely weird seeing Leighton Meester as an adult - especially during the episode where she was forced to hang out with the "mean" moms because it brought back all of the Gossip Girls memories, but she is surprisingly wonderful.
9. A Million Little Things - I wasn't really on board with this show at first. It's just really over-dramatic, sappy, and also extremely predictable (of course the cheating wife is pregnant!). There was just no subtlety or character development during the first few episodes, but now it's starting to grow on me, though. I think they just tried to tell too much story in the beginning instead of focusing on the characters, but it seems like they course corrected because now I really like almost all of the characters. They do a great job at getting you to relate to each of them, even if they do questionable things. The story-lines have still been a little predictable, but I'm interested in where it's all going to go. Also, a side-note, the one younger daughter looks like she's a Michalka sister but she's not related at all (at least from the info on IMDB) which is crazy to me because she even sounds like them when she sings! She could easily be their younger sister.
*This list has only 9 instead of the intended 12 because I have yet to watch Homecoming, Wanderlust, and The First. 12 new shows was incredibly ambitious...what was I thinking??
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