📺 It's like watching Picasso sing
Hey. So, we’ve been using TV as more of an escape than usual. Here’s all the stuff we watched this week in case you’re in the same boat.
In today’s edition:
The Wilds
Hacks
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Fringe
— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen
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Where we each choose a recent-ish show to review and feature every week.
If you wanted to watch Yellowjackets but don’t have Showtime, try… The Wilds
Keywords: plane crash, mystery, teen drama
Watch if you like: The 100, Cruel Summer, Lost, Yellowjackets
Jess’s Rating: A
It’s easy to compare The Wilds to Lost, because it’s a show about a plane crashing under mysterious circumstances. And it’s easy to compare it to Yellowjackets, because it’s a show about a plane crash involving a gaggle of teen girls. If you can’t stomach another plane crash show, then I can’t relate, because the data suggests that it’s my favorite genre.
I would say that this series is more comparable to Yellowjackets than to Lost because there is a large focus on the young women and their backstories — the drama comes in part from the fact that they’re stranded in a deserted place, but mostly ensues due to the mercurial nature of teenage girls. But while Yellowjackets focuses on the underlying cruelty of the girls and what they might be capable of, The Wilds takes a lighter tone and targets an external source as the sinister force.
The mystery of the plane crash is what hooked me from the first episode, but the character-driven storytelling is what kept me invested. I love a show about surviving against the odds, but even more than that, I love a show that depicts the ups and downs of being a young woman without reducing its characters to stereotypes. If you liked the mysteries of Lost, but also like a well-written teen drama, then you’ll enjoy this one.
Length: 1-hr runtime, 2 seasons / 18 episodes
Watch on: Amazon Prime
If you like well-written characters and stand-up, try… Hacks
Keywords: sharp, comedy drama, showbiz
Watch if you like: Difficult People, Broad City, BoJack Horseman
Jenni’s Rating: B+
In this comedy about comedy, Jean Smart plays Deborah Vance, a waning stand-up legend in Las Vegas who begrudgingly hires 20-something TV writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) to help modernize her routine. It’s a partnership of convenience — spun up by their agent (Paul W. Downs) — which neither party is thrilled to be part of. In fact, Ava only takes the gig after being “cancelled” for a rude tweet and left with no other options.
Though created by writers of Broad City and centered around the world of comedy, this show is not a quirky laugh factory. It’s funny, but not often laugh out loud funny. With the help of Ava and Deborah’s generationally different perspectives, Hacks digs into two different philosophies of comedy and seeks to find the middle ground.
The only reason I’m giving this a B+ rather than something in the “A” range is that I haven’t quite made up my mind about Season 2 yet and am holding my breath to see how certain plot points play out. The show is really fun to watch, the acting is all top-notch, and even though the characters are cynical and downright unlikeable at times, their chemistry and devotion to their craft is frankly intoxicating.
Length: 30-min runtime, 2 seasons / 15 episodes out with new ones every Thursday
Watch on: HBO Max
Where we feature a show that you may have been tempted to check out, but we’re here to tell you…it might not be worth it. 🤷♀️
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Keywords: romance, sci-fi, drama
Watch if you like: Outlander, Age of Adelaide, Doctor Who
Jenni’s Rating: D+
Another miniseries adapted from a bestselling novel! Surprise, surprise. Our time traveler, Henry (Theo James), has a genetic disorder that causes him to disappear spontaneously from the present to visit various points of his past and future. The process is jarring, and often dangerous, as he always arrives from the journey naked and disoriented. Somewhere/time in his unorthodox chronology, he meets his soulmate, Clare (Rose Leslie), whom he is then drawn to at various points in her life — often wrenched away from present-day Clare only to find himself visiting her at 8 or 10 or 16 years of age.
The premise (as many critics have pointed out) has a bit of an ick factor re: grooming, but that’s more the fault of the source material than the series itself. Show runner Stephen Moffat (Sherlock and Doctor Who) has done his best to confront and mitigate this “ick” head on where possible, but it is unfortunately fairly central to the plot. Putting criticism for the book aside, after the first two episodes, I find The Time Traveler’s Wife series extremely mediocre. There are parts that feel strange and unnecessary (i.e. lazily shot ‘talking heads’ that don’t actually lend anything new to the plot or emotional landscape) and the tone is all over the place. A mixture of witty, whimsical, earnest, and dark worked really well when Moffat was running Doctor Who, and it seems like he’s trying to find the right balance for that combination again, but with less success. It’s kind of a shame that this much talent in one production can’t save the story from itself. I’ll watch at least one more episode to see if it settles into any sort of satisfying groove, but right now, it’s a definite “meh” from me.
— Jenni
Length: 50-min runtime, 1 season / 2 episodes out so far with new ones on Sundays
Watch on: HBO Max
Where we highlight shows that have long-since ended or been canceled, that are well-worth digging back up.
Fringe (2008-2013)
Keywords: sci-fi, supernatural, crime drama
Watch if you like: The X-Files, Travelers, Orphan Black
Jess’s Rating: A
Fringe was created by JJ Abrams but flew largely under the radar compared to his mega-hit, Lost. I would argue that it’s better.
This supernatural drama series follows a genius con-artist (Joshua Jackson) and his scientist father (John Noble), along with a straight-laced FBI agent (Anna Torv) as they team up to solve crimes. They use “fringe” science to investigate unusual crimes that have a paranormal element: a flight where every passenger is turned into goo, a man who is found dead with an extra head, an invisible murderer who steals human pigmentation, and so on.
The paranormal crimes from the first couple of seasons are interesting, but those seasons play it safe. When the show starts to really embrace its weirdness (and its sci-fi-ness), and strays from the crime-of-the-week format, that’s when it gets really good. The plots become complicated, so don’t expect to multi-task while watching, but it’s worth it in the end. The season-spanning arcs conclude masterfully, unlike other shows (cough cough Lost).
— Jess
Length: 45-min runtime, 5 seasons / 100 episodes
Watch on: HBO Max / Freevee
Your shows, returned:
Stranger Things, Season 4 Part 1: Released May 27 on Netflix
America’s Got Talent, Season 17: Premieres May 31 on Fox (episodes released the next day on Hulu & Peacock)
The Orville, Season 3: Premieres June 2 on Hulu
Upcoming new releases:
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Premieres May 27 on Disney+
Shoresy: Premieres May 27 on Hulu
Pistol: Released May 31 on Hulu
Tom Swift: Premieres May 31 on The CW
This is Going to Hurt: Premieres June 2 on AMC+/Sundance Now