📺 Suits 2.0 and the next Peaky Blinders
Reviews of Suits LA (NBC/Peacock), Grosse Point Garden Society (NBC/Peacock), Cassandra (Netflix), and A Thousand Blows (Hulu/Disney+).
Welcome back. We were sad to hear about the passing of both Michelle Trachtenberg and Gene Hackman this week. From Buffy to Gossip Girl to Ice Princess, Trachtenberg was a defining presence for so many millennial fans, while Hackman was a Hollywood legend with an unforgettable career. Two very different actors, but both left a lasting mark. 🕊️
In today’s edition:
Weekly Watchlist
Suits LA (NBC/Peacock)
Grosse Point Garden Society (NBC/Peacock)
Cassandra (Netflix)
A Thousand Blows (Hulu/Disney+)
— Jenni Cullen and Jess Spoll
First time reading? Subscribe to receive Double Take weekly.
Below is a selection of new shows and movies premiering this week on streaming. Our unabridged list of March releases will be published on Saturday and available for premium subscribers.
Running Point (Season 1) — A reformed party girl (Kate Hudson) is unexpectedly put in charge of her family's pro basketball team in this new comedy from Mindy Kaling.
Watch on Netflix: February 27 (all 10 episodes)Toxic Town (Limited Series) — This gripping drama follows three mothers as they fight for justice in the infamous Corby toxic waste case, one of the UK's most significant environmental scandals, dubbed "the British Erin Brockovich."
Watch on Netflix: February 27 (4 episodes)Last Breath (Movie) — In this dramatized true story, deep-sea divers (Simu Liu and Woody Harrelson) battle the raging elements to rescue a crewmate who’s trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface.
Watch in Theaters: February 28Oscars (Live Event) — The biggest night in Hollywood is here! Expect red carpet glam, emotional speeches, and viral moments as the Academy Awards crown the best in film.
Watch on Hulu: March 2 at 7pm ETDaredevil: Born Again (Season 1) — Charlie Cox is back as Matt Murdock in this long-awaited revival, bringing the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen into a new era of crime-fighting and lawyering.
Watch on Disney+: March 4 (2 of 9 episodes, then weekly)
Our thoughts on brand new streaming content, and where you can watch.
Suits LA
Keywords: legal drama, spin-off
Watch if you like: Suits, Pearson, The Lincoln Lawyer
Jess’s Rating: D
It’s no wonder Suits got the spinoff treatment almost a decade later, considering how wildly popular it became when it hit Netflix in 2023. But Suits LA—which ditches every lead character from the original and drops us into a brand-new firm with no real connection to Pearson Hardman—feels less like a worthy expansion and more like a watered-down imitation.
Unlike the original Suits, the success of which was mainly due to its charismatic leads Harvey Specter and Mike Ross, this spinoff features an entirely new cast of characters with no direct ties to the original firm. The pilot introduces Ted Black (Stephen Amell), a former federal prosecutor turned entertainment lawyer, but he lacks the effortless charm and commanding presence that made Harvey such a compelling lead. The rest of the ensemble doesn’t fare much better, and the chemistry between them is so far nonexistent. Instead of the rapid-fire, quotable dialogue that made Suits addictive, we get stilted exchanges that sound like actors reading lines off a cue card.
Of course, it’s only the first episode, and plenty of shows take time to find their rhythm. Maybe later episodes will bring more energy, sharper writing, or even a semblance of chemistry between the characters. But based on the pilot, this spinoff isn’t just missing the original’s star power—it’s missing its spark.
— Jess
Length: 45-min runtime, 1 season / 1 of 10 episodes available, new on Sundays
Watch on: NBC / Peacock
Grosse Pointe Garden Society
Keywords: drama, murder, soapy
Watch if you like: Pretty Little Liars, Good Girls, Desperate Housewives
Jenni’s Rating: C+
From creators Jenna Bans (Good Girls) and Bill Krebs, Grosse Pointe Garden Society is a new drama that blends the soapy intrigue of a wealthy suburban community with a touch of deadly suspense. Set in affluent Grosse Pointe, Michigan, the show follows four members of a garden club in the six months leading up to a mysterious murder.
Every good murder mystery needs a solid ensemble, and this core cast is delivering so far. We have the young high school English teacher (AnnaSophia Robb) who dreams of bigger things, her best friend (Ben Rappaport), a landscaper and newly single dad still reeling from his wife’s affair, a meticulous real estate agent (Aja Naomi King) whose pristine image is beginning to crack, and a wealthy socialite-turned-romance novelist (Melissa Fumero) who is forced to join the Garden Club to serve a court-ordered community service. As this foursome grows closer, their personal struggles and secrets begin to unravel, culminating in a murder coverup on the night of the Garden Society’s annual black-tie gala.
A glossy, campy spin on a now-familiar formula, the series has “fun murder mystery romp” potential. Though the first episode feels a little uneven, the unfolding clues and character drama are intriguing enough to keep me watching—for now. That said, the show’s timeline feels a bit disorienting, even this early on. Leaning heavily on flashbacks, it teases secrets, shifting dynamics, and what are sure to be slow-burn reveals, but the frequent jumps between past and present and further past sometimes muddy the forward momentum of the narrative.
Still, Grosse Pointe Garden Society has all the elements of an addictive, twist-filled drama—it just hasn’t fully bloomed yet. Whether it will flourish or wilt remains to be seen, but for now, I’ll call it a lukewarm start with potential.
— Jenni
Length: 1 season / 1 of 13 episodes available, new on Sundays
Watch on: NBC / Peacock
Cassandra
Keywords: thriller, techno-horror, German
Watch if you like: Black Mirror, Red Rose, M3gan
Jess’s Rating: B-
Netflix’s German thriller Cassandra starts with a promising setup: a family moves into a smart home controlled by an old-school AI that might not have their best interests at heart. If that premise sounds familiar, that’s because it is. We’ve seen the “creepy AI assistant” trope plenty of times before (Black Mirror, Smart House, M3GAN, 2001: A Space Odyssey), and Cassandra doesn’t do much to set itself apart.
The show follows a German family as they settle into their new house and unknowingly awaken Cassandra, an AI system from the ‘70s that’s been lying dormant. From the start, it’s plainly obvious that Cassandra is more than just a helpful assistant, and the show tries to build tension around her growing influence on the family as she alienates the mother and grows closer to the father and children. The problem is that it never really gets past the surface level. There’s an undercurrent of commentary about how women are easily dismissed as crazy or unstable, even when they’re clearly being mistreated, but instead of really digging into that, the show stays on autopilot. The family’s choices often feel forced to serve the plot rather than developing organically, and Cassandra’s motivations—while initially intriguing—become repetitive fast.
Visually, the show leans into a retro-futuristic aesthetic that makes it stand out, and there are flashes of dark humor that work. But instead of fully committing to psychological tension or deeper themes about technology and control, it plays things safe. There’s a better, sharper version of this story out there (honestly, several versions). Cassandra isn’t bad—it’s just not offering anything new.
— Jess
Length: 45-min runtime, Limited Series / 6 episodes
Watch on: Netflix
A Thousand Blows
Keywords: historical drama, boxing, Victorian era
Watch if you like: Peaky Blinders, The Artful Dodger, Warrior
Jenni’s Rating: B+
From Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, A Thousand Blows is a new historical drama that delivers a brutal, atmospheric dive into the world of bare-knuckle boxing in 1880s London. But to call it just a show about boxing would be a mistake. While the fight sequences are undeniably visceral—blood-soaked, bone-crunching, and immersive—the series is about far more than what happens in the ring. It’s a story of underdogs and survival in a rapidly industrializing city.
The show explores all kinds of brutality: the exploitation of the poor by the powerful, the oppression of women by men, the cruelty inflicted on children by those meant to protect them, and the crushing weight of colonialism. Set in the melting pot of London’s East End, the first season follows a richly varied ensemble of characters navigating a world where every choice carries a cost. Among them are the Forty Elephants, an all-female crime syndicate entangled in the dangerous world of illegal sports betting; Sugar Goodson, the self-declared emperor of the East End desperate to hold on to his reputation; and Hezekiah and Alec, two Jamaican brothers striving to carve out a future in an unforgiving city. This diversity of perspectives could feel chaotic or messy in the wrong hands, but it all blends together well under the watchful eye of Knight.
While the show’s narrative ambition mostly pays off, its pacing isn’t always as steady. The pilot is rock solid, propelling the story forward with ease, but the middle episodes lose some of their shine and momentum. Fortunately, by the finale, I was right back in the ring. With its high-stakes storytelling, richly drawn world, and pulse-pounding action, A Thousand Blows has all the makings of a great historical saga. The show has already secured a second season, and if it can build on the promise of its opening, this could be Knight’s most gripping work yet.
— Jenni
Length: 60-min runtime, 1 season / 6 episodes
Watch on: Hulu
If you liked reading this, click the ❤️ button on this post so that more people can discover us on Substack :)
Yikes, I def won't check out Suits LA now
Two shows I was interested in that I thought might bring me back to watching some network TV. Two badly rated shows proving to me why I don’t watch network tv. 😁