A couple of years back I was in a pretty dark place toward the end of 2016. Christmas certainly wasn’t helping and I found my way out of the darkness by immersing myself in more of it. That was when I really got into a range of Scandi-noir style series on Netflix. One that really made a huge impression was not Scandi-noir but the start of the Beglium original works with La Treve, which Netflix brought out as The Break. It was a fascinating series whose opening totally stole the True Detective opening but forged a really exciting path as it told its tale. The show finished, nothing else was said for a few years, and tracking services listed it as ended.
Which made its second season sudden arrival on Netflix such a delight as it was like an important old friend that said, “Hey, I’m still here. We got this.” I’m only a couple of episodes into it so far but it’s an engaging push forward, shifting the narrative ahead three years with a lot of changes but the same cast and issues that have evolved. It’s exciting and engaging and I can’t wait to sneak in a few more episodes this week.
I also finished off Russian Doll after writing last week’s piece and I adore the hell out of the show and hope that Natasha Lyonne get work a second season just as well or whatever projects come next. Finishing that off let me jump into another series that I adored the first season of with Bordertown. This one took a bit more to reconnect with but as it focuses on two-episode arcs exploring crime and issues along the Finnish/Russian border there’s no shortage of tales to tell. And what a difference from hearing about a border not my own for awhile.
This past week proved hard to keep up with shows I watch with others as my kids were either working or sick, so I didn’t get too deep into our shared shows. I did give up on one show and started into Krypton‘s back half of the first season on my own and I continue to enjoy the heck out of the series. It’s a fun little Elseworlds kind of project in my view as it plays with intriguing characters and settings with a weak but workable political/religious angle.
Minor catching up on shows like Riverdale and The Flash was fun and I’m glad to be finally all caught up on Sabrina after taking in the winter special. Sitcoms were light this week though I had fun with the very simple American Housewife that shouldn’t work as well as it does for me but it hits a kind of weirdness about it with its loudness and energy I don’t see in most other sitcoms I watch. I’m Sorry was another solid effort involving more problems of getting older and both Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon delighted. Getting a regular dose of Wallace Shawn makes every week better.
On the flip side, the latest installment of You’re the Worst is really making my tense and edgy as we get hints of what’s to come for the finale and its setting off all kinds of internal memories of my own that ratchets it up a lot.
I did delve into a few Parts Unknown this week when not pulled in other directions and had a real blast looking at Shanghai through his experience as well as Brazil, which wasn’t what I expected at all.
My HGTV craving was also well-met this week as Home Town just makes me grin and be wistful for that kind of small town experience and simplicity. But I also adored the sprawling project on Windy City Rehab this week that dealt with a home in the Ukranian Village with all of its history. I also checked out Property Brothers but it felt a bit unmemorable for some reason.
