Winter 2020-2021 TV Watching. I haven’t written down which TV shows I’ve been watching in a while. I think the last one was in the Spring of 2020. Some of these could even be the same ones with new seasons. I put the years the shows started on this list just for my own amusement. Some I’ve been watching for a long time.
Barry (2018) – I started this one this year. It’s Bill Hader as a hitman who is trying to go straight after joining an acting class in Los Angeles. It’s sort of a fish out of water story with dark humor and violence thrown in. There is a couple of short seasons of it.
Big Sky (2020) – This one is a drama about a couple of female private eyes working in Montana and trying to track down some missing girls caught up in a human trafficking ring. It’s solid if not spectacular.
The Black List (2013) – We’re in season eight of this one and I don’t like it as much as I once did. It’s an FBI procedural that has gotten a little stale to me. It’s still good enough to watch but I don’t rush to check it out. I’m a few episodes behind right now but I’ll catch up eventually.
Cobra Kai (2018) – Now on Netflix with it’s third season everybody binge watched this show last year but I’ve been taking my time with it. As a continuation (decades later) of the “Karate Kid” movie. It’s fun and a little goofy. I’ve got one more episode of it that I’ll probably watch soon.
Community – (2009) – This is a rewatch for me as I watched it live when it first ran. Six seasons (three long and three short) about the goofy goings on at a Community College. A lot of fun irreverent comedy that has a lot of imagination and pop culture spoofs in it. I’m enjoying it the second time around.
Cougar Town (2009) – This is another rewatch. An ensemble comedy with Courtney Cox in it as a forty something (more of a high schooler) looking for love in the second act of her life. At least that was the plot of the first season. Then if became about the everyday lives of the ensemble cast having fun, drinking wine, and doing goofy stuff. An enjoyable show.
Death in Paradise (2011) – I discovered this one only a couple of years ago but we got a new season this January. It’s a British cop show so there are only eight episodes a season. It’s a light hearted cop show that take place in the Caribbean. It’s full of beaches, sunshine, and warmth. I like to watch it in the winter to forget about the cold. Other than that it’s a pleasant and easy going detective show. We get a murder a week and that murder gets solved.
The Equalizer (2021) – A new show based the 1980s show of the same name with Queen Latifa as the Equalizer. It’s fun. She’s a super ex-CIA agent with lots of training and connections who helps innocent people out of jams when they get caught up with criminals. Solid.
FBI (2018) – The NYC field office of the FBI takes on all the big cases of the day. Bad guys do something bad and then the FBI tracks them down. You know the drill.
Flack (2019) – Here is one it took me all year to watch six episodes of. It’s a show that takes place in London that’s about the women who work in a PR firm putting out the public relations fires that their clients start. Our main character is an American played by Anna Paquin and she’s almost as out of control as her clients. I guess this one is a dramedy.
The Flight Attendant (2020) – Kaley Couco stars as an international’s flight attendant who gets caught up in a murder and conspiracy. I found this one a lot of fun mostly because of Couco. She was charming and interesting. I’d call this one a thriller with a lot of humor in it. Humor that Couco pulled off well.
Ground Floor (2013) – Another rewatch from years ago. It only had two short seasons. About 24 episodes total but I remember them fondly so I wanted to check them out again. It’s a sort of Romeo and Juliet sitcom with the female character working on the ground floor in the IT department and the male character working on the top floor as a hedge fund guy. Will their romance be successful or doomed? Either way there are laughs along the way.
Magnum P.I. (2018) – The new version of Magnum is a straight up action show. It moves fast and has plenty of conflict. It’s fun popcorn TV.
Mr. Mayor (2021) – A new comedy staring Ted Danson as the Mayor of Los Angeles. I really didn’t have a lot of hope for this one but it surprised me. The first couple of episodes were okay but after that it really picked up. It’s a fast paced and clever sitcom where the jokes keep flying. I enjoy this one now.
PEN15 (2019) – This one stars two adult actresses playing their early teen counterparts. All there other kids in school are actual kids so it’s a weird concept. There is a lot of dark and awkward teenage girl humor but it’s well done. You’d better be okay with uncomfortable moments watching this one.
Resident Alien (2021) – I read some of the comic books that this one is based on and like the comics better. The show is okay but there is a lot more comedy in the show. The comic is more of a detective story. The plot involves a space alien who crashed on Earth and now has to blend in until he is rescued.
The Rookie (2018) – A Nathan Fillion police procedural that I’ve been watching for three seasons now. I don’t have much more to say about it other than I like it.
Seal Team (2017) – You could call this a Seal Team procedural. It’s a military action oriented show with lots of behind the scenes drama too midway season four and I’m still watching.
The Simpsons (1989) – Yes, it’s season 32 of the Simpsons and I’m still watching it. I was around for season one and I don’t see any reason to stop watching now.
The Stand (2020) – A new adaptation of the epic Stephen King book. I like the way they told the story a little bit out of order. They showed some of the beginning of the book, then got into the middle of the book, and then flashed back to the beginning as needed. It was a decent adaptation.
Superstore (2015) – In it’s sixth and last season I think this one is a little underrated. At least I never see it mentioned online as anyone’s favorite but I really like it. I’ll be sad to see it go.
The Unicorn (2019) – We’re in the second season of this sitcom staring the guy who played the main villain in “Justified.” He’s a recent widower back on the dating scene. Somehow that makes him a unicorn. I find it amusing but not hilarious.
Utopia (2013) – I started watching the 2020 Amazon Prime version of this show but then bailed on it. After that I found out that this original British show existed and it has much better reviews. I watched the first six episode season and liked it. It’s a show about some people who get caught up in a vast and deadly conspiracy. It’s pretty violent and scary. Fun stuff.
Woke (2020) – A show about a cartoonist in San Francisco. Sometimes his art supplies talk to him. I think the main concept is supposed to be that he is a black man making a generic middle of the road popular cartoon when he get’s “Woke” and then wants to make a more socially relevant cartoon. That derails his career. To me it seems to be about the struggles of a cartoonist or creative person in general and the woke part is a bit of a sideline. Either way I enjoyed it.
Young Sheldon (2017) – The Big Bang Theory prequel continues and it continues to be a well done family sitcom.
Your Honor (2020) – A Brian Cranston vehicle where he plays a judge who’s son gets in trouble with the law and a gangster. The judge tries to protect his sone but it doesn’t go well. I still have a couple more episodes to watch but, though well done, this show is no pick-me-up. It can be a tough watch.