📺 Gossip is the devil's telephone
Happy 20th edition of Double Take! In celebration, we are eschewing our standard picks of the week. The summer is always a slower time for new shows, so instead we are bringing you a listicle of nostalgic series to watch in these hot and humid months, in addition to our debut of “ask the audience”, where we feature feedback from you, our Double Take readers!
In today’s edition:
Ms. Marvel
Summer Picks
Stranger Things: Ask the Audience
— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen
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Our thoughts on brand new shows that we watched, and where you can watch them.
Ms. Marvel
Keywords: Marvel, teens, origin story
Watch if you like: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Hawkeye
Jess’s Rating: A-
I wouldn’t blame you for having Marvel series fatigue. But of the 7 that have been released in the last year or so, this one is easily in my top 2 (at least after watching the two episodes that are available so far). And you don’t need to have watched any Marvel movies to watch it ;)
Ms. Marvel is the origin story for Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teen from Jersey City who spends her time daydreaming about superheroes, when one day she finds that she has powers of her own. The tone is distinctly different from Marvel shows of the past. It’s like if you took a teen rom-com à la To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and turned the main character into a spunky Marvel heroine à la Kate Bishop from Hawkeye. The show incorporates animation throughout (much like my pick from last week, Heartstopper) — a style that I haven’t seen before from Marvel — and it works really well here.
The second episode sets up an intriguing mystery that made me want to watch episode 3 ASAP. But even if it didn’t have that hook, I’d still be charmed by this show. It’s warm, it’s funny, it’s not cheesy, and Iman Vellani is outstanding in the title role.
— Jess
Length: 1-hr runtime, 2 episodes out so far with new ones on Wednesdays
Watch on: Disney+
You know how Gilmore Girls is *the* perfect show for Fall? It’s exceptionally cozy and New Englandy and pairs perfectly with a sweater and cup of coffee. This section is for shows like that…but ones that pair well with flip-flops, freeze pops, and central air.
Here it is, a non-exhaustive list of TV shows that make me feel that “summer something.” No, they’re not all set in summer! No, I can’t fully explain why I think they fit in this category! They just do.
— Jenni
Dawson’s Creek (Watch on: Hulu/HBO Max)
90s coastal granddaughter vibes…teen love in a small town. A CLASSIC. Need I say more?Big Little Lies (Watch on: HBO Max)
The other coast. Pretty pretty Monterey featuring wide scenic shots and an excellent theme song. Big ocean, bigger secrets.Red Oaks (Watch on: Amazon Prime)
80s summer country club setting; like Dirty Dancing but funnier and with tennis.Veronica Mars (Watch on: Hulu)
Southern California, neo-noir, dark, sultry, spunky. You get it.Atlanta Season 2 (Watch on: Hulu)
Sun’s out, guns out…The Get Down (Watch on: Netflix)
New York City, hip hop, Baz Luhrmann… name a more summery trio, I’ll wait.Schitt’s Creek (Watch on: Hulu/Netflix)
Feel-good comedy about a once wealthy family settling into small town life after they lose their fortune? Smells like Summer.That One Hey Arnold Episode — Heat (Watch on: Hulu/Amazon Prime/Paramount+)
You know the one. Where everything is slooow and there’s only one bag of ice left and sno-cones are $18.Broad City (Watch on: Hulu)
Female friendship!! New York City!! Adventures!! Weird, sweet, and colorful.Grace and Frankie (Watch on: Netflix)
More female friendship (+45 years or so) in San Diego.Stranger Things Season 3 (Watch on: Hulu)
Retro mall hangs and the 4th of July meet Upside Down spooky stuff. Summer to a T.
Where we feature some of our readers’ hot takes on new shows & seasons. Look out for future opportunities to share your take!
Stranger Things (Season 4)
Vera Z: I love the intrigue and mystery of the first couple of seasons; now it just feels more like an action/adventure film than anything else. I also thought it was cuter when they were younger — a gang of middle schoolers solving mysteries is way more endearing.
Haley H: The writing is kinda making me want to die a little bit. I feel like they tried to have this big plot twist and it felt easy to guess. And the Winona Ryder / Murray / Hopper storyline was a big fat flop for me.
Carter M: It mostly suffers from having too many characters that they're unwilling to drop (or kill) e.g. Hopper, Jonathan, some of the kids who can't act that well. They take focus away from some of the actually good bread-and-butter scenes of Hawkins kids being nerdy and looking for clues. Also it's too scary!
Hannah B: The special effects were super overdone at times and so much of the magic feeling was not there. I don’t think anything will compare to the 1-2 seasons, they were so nostalgic and perfect, *chefs kiss*.
Your shows, returned:
Rutherford Falls, Season 2: Released June 16 on Peacock
Animal Kingdom, Season 6: Premieres June 19 on TNT
Love Island UK, Season 8: Premieres June 21 on Hulu
The Umbrella Academy, Season 3: Released June 22 on Netflix
Upcoming new releases:
The Old Man: Premieres June 16 on FX/Hulu
Players: Premieres June 16 on Paramount+
You Don’t Know Me: Released June 17 on Netflix
The Summer I Turned Pretty: Released June 17 on Amazon Prime
The Lake: Released June 17 on Amazon Prime
The Bear: Released June 23 on Hulu
The Gordita Chronicles: Premieres June 23 on HBO Max