📺 You are my rainbow gel pen...
in a sea of blue and black writing utensils.
Hi kids, what’s for dinner? The Season 1 finale of Severance comes out tomorrow. If you aren’t already watching it, you definitely should be.
In today’s edition:
Gary Oldman playing a spy again
Yet another period drama
Hunting giant pythons
UGIS and AIM
— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen
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Where we each choose a recent-ish show to review and feature.
If you like the same shows as your dad, try… Slow Horses
Keywords:Â spy thriller, British, MI5
Watch if you like:Â Killing Eve, The Americans, Misfits
Jess’s Rating: B-
What do spies do all day? What about the spies that are really bad at being spies? That’s the set-up for Slow Horses — we follow a group of MI5 members that have royally screwed up and been relegated to a department known as Slough House. They’re not bad enough to let go, but they’re not good enough to be given anything besides grunt work that the James Bonds of MI5 don’t want to do.
This could have been the setup for a workplace sitcom; instead, the show leans into mystery and suspense as the members of Slough House become embroiled in a politically-charged kidnapping plot.
Slow Horses has proven so far to be both funny and gripping. And in the role of Lamb, the overseer of Slough House, Gary Oldman is a standout. This show isn’t overhauling conventional spy-thriller tropes, rather, the draw here is the quirky and charming misfit gang. With only two episodes out so far, it’s not totally blowing me away yet, but I’m optimistic that this one will be a solid watch if you’re looking for something new.
Length:Â ~45-min runtime, 2 episodes out so far with new ones on Fridays
Watch on:Â Apple TV+
If you have a Bridgerton hangover or love a BBC miniseries, try… Sanditon
Keywords:Â period romance, Austen, drama
Watch if you like:Â Poldark, Bridgerton, Anne with an E
Jenni’s Rating: B
Ok, fine, so I’ve been on a period drama kick for the last two weeks. Bridgerton S2 left me jonesing for a more satisfying regency-era series, and Sanditon was my answer.
Based on an unfinished Jane Austen manuscript, Sanditon tracks the romantic exploits of a seaside town’s young ladies and gentlemen through the lens of newcomer (and Elizabeth Bennet-esque heroine), Charlotte Heywood. The first season could be described as borderline too soapy, but the twists, heartbreaking misunderstandings, and longing glances have enough substance behind them to keep me invested. Not to mention, Theo James as Sidney Parker is brooding and attentive but restrained in all the ways Anthony in Bridgerton should’ve been.
I had some doubts after an iffy first episode in Season 2, but by the second, I was fully re-hooked and ready for more Austen tropes and well-crafted tension.
Length: 1-hr runtime, 2 seasons / 11 episodes out so far, with new ones every Sunday.
Watch on:Â Masterpiece PBS / Amazon Prime
Where we highlight a show that’s premiering soon that we think looks like it will be worth a watch.
Killing It
Keywords:Â comedy, rags to riches, big snakes
Watch if you like:Â Brooklyn Nine Nine, Bust Down, New Girl
Availability: Full season (10 half-hour episodes) available on April 14 on Peacock
The creators of Brooklyn Nine-Nine are back with a new show, and it stars The Pontiac Bandit (ok, Craig Robinson). Killing It is the story of a security guard living in Miami who dreams about making it big and has lots of oddball entrepreneurial ideas. Unfortunately, he has no money to fund those ideas. He happens to call an Uber driven by a woman who hunts and kills invasive pythons for money, and he sees a way to finally achieve his dreams.
The first episode of Killing It was released by Peacock on April 1 and the rest of the first season drops on April 14. I checked out the first episode and thought it was delightfully easy to watch and it had a few good laughs. Is it the next Brooklyn Nine-Nine? Doubtful. But I’m always looking for a good new sitcom to watch in-between my rewatching of the classics, and this will fit that bill.
— Jess
Where we highlight shows that have long-since ended or been canceled, and are well-worth digging back up.
PEN15 (2019-2021)
Keywords:Â cringe comedy, heartwarming, 2000s nostalgia
Watch if you like:Â Sex Education, Broad City, Freaks and Geeks, Big Mouth
Jenni’s Rating: A+
PEN15 aims to depict middle school as it actually was, in all its awkward glory. No rose colored glasses, just…really nerdy ones paired with braces and bad haircuts.
The show’s creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle (both nearly 30) play 13-year-old versions of themselves among a supporting cast of real middle-school aged actors. This gimmick is unsettling for all of 10 seconds before you’re totally immersed in their early aughts world, and can’t imagine it any other way.
It’s impossible for me to overstate just how good this show is. Konkle and Erskine’s window into 7th grade is heartfelt and nostalgic, all at once smart and sad and hilarious. I’ll admit, parts can be a little uncomfortable to watch — and feel like being forced to relive a particularly embarrassing memory — but those moments serve to let us viewers experience all the other emotions of the show as intensely as intended. Middle school was intense! My boyfriend can’t sit through an episode, but he also thinks The Office is too awkward to watch, so take that as you will.
This series is something incredibly special. I miss it dearly and can’t wait to watch it again as soon as I get out of my current period-drama chokehold.
— Jenni
Length:Â 2 seasons / 28 episodes
Watch on:Â Hulu
Your shows, returned:
A Black Lady Sketch Show, Season 3: Premieres April 8 on HBO/HBO Max
Elite, Season 5: Available April 8 on Netflix
iCarly (the revival), Season 2: Available April 8 on Paramount+
Woke, Season 2: Available April 8 on Hulu
Upcoming new releases:
Tokyo Vice: Premieres April 7 on HBO Max
Hard Cell: Available April 12 on Netflix
Our Great National Parks: Available April 13 on Netflix
The Garcias: Premieres April 14 on HBO Max
The Kardashians: Premieres April 14 on Hulu
Killing It: Available April 14 on Peacock