I like shows about people. These aren’t quite as easy to come by in some ways because they tend to be about people at their worst or struggling with things. It’s one of the reasons I do like watching HGTV because you get to see a range of people looking for the next step in their lives through homes based on the place they’re in within their own life. Netflix revived Queer Eye a great way that really got to look at people and their lives in a good way and I get a lot of it through Parts Unknown as well. So I was really glad to find over the Valentines’ holiday that Netflix brought out Dating Around. They’re six episodes clocking in at about twenty-five minutes each that focus on one person going through five dates on different nights but blended together. Each of them offers up a fascinating look at dating itself, the types of people in the world that you may not always get to see in this kind of situation, and just how they deal with the whole blind date situation. There’s a lot to love with each of them and I’m hoping not just for more season but for follow-up looks to see where some of them end up long term.
This week had me digging into new shows where I thoroughly enjoyed Doom Patrol on DC Universe while quite enjoying the slow build that was the first episode of Umbrella Academy. I find it hard to binge and review a show like that quickly and full series reviews weeks after it aired just feels out of place. It’s a quirky show to be sure and I hope it comes together in a tighter way as it’s simply stylish right now and needs a bit more meat.
While we had some sitcoms come back this week, it was still a skip week for a lot of my dramas and that allowed me to binge a bit more Netflix. I started watching Big Mouth finally since it has a lot of comedians I like in it and it’s fun in that kind of awful way that I expect from them. I also spent a good part of the week background-watching One Day at a Time as I burned through all three seasons. It’s a very fun traditional sitcom in just about all ways but it knows how to hit its marks and builds for a full season story and feeling in a good way that a lot don’t. I also got to dig into more of my love of foreign crime dramas with a few more episodes of Bordertown and The Break with their second seasons. I’m taking my time going through them so that I can just enjoy the experience, especially Bordertown since it has two-episode arcs within the larger hole.
This week did have a lot of fun stuff with Home Town clicking well for me on HGTV as did the latest Windy City Rehab as I love watching how she deals with situations in a more “authentic” way compared to the more packaged shows. The usual sitcoms worked well enough with the newest Goldbergs and Schooled but sadly no Modern Family or Brooklyn 99 this week. I’m Sorry continues to make me laugh at very inappropriate things.
But wrapping up the week with the latest episode of You’re the Worst continues to do me in. This show is going down paths I expected but the connections with these characters really drives things home and I hope it ends as darkly positive as it keeps seeming like it will. If it does, this will be a masterclass series in character work and acting as a whole.
