A Listicle on Shows I've Watched Recently

I like watching stuff. Sometimes its hard to find the good stuff to watch from the bad stuff. Movies are a self-contained thing and you can usually tell real quick if it's gonna be "your thing" or not. Shows? Sometimes you have to give it three or four episodes to make that decision.

Anyways, here's a review of shows that I'm either caught up on, rewatching, or in the middle of watching a season of.

An illustration of the main characters of Widow's Bay all above a creepy island, feeling like a Stephen King novel cover
Widow's Bay on AppleTV

Widow's Bay, Season 1

Dang y'all. I'm digging this. I figured I would because I dig Matthew Rhys and Stephen Root and horror shows but I wasn't ready for this. It has a fascinating tone that walks both horror and comedy without being too horrific or too goofy. You never know if you're gonna be shocked or laughing and that tension is deftly handled in the writing, directing, and acting. And the acting. My goodness. I love Stephen Root. I've been on Team Root since I first saw him in Office Space. I go out of my way to see him (or listen to him as he's also a phenomenal voice actor) and when I say this is some of his strongest and most nuanced performances, I say that with no hyperbole.


The title card of Chopped Castaways. It has the logo and next to it a person in some island gear is opening a basket.
Chopped: Castaways on Food Network

Chopped: Castaways, Season 1

It ain't all prestige television over here - sometimes you need the junk. The spouse and I are longtime Chopped fans and were curious by this. It's... okay. We keep mentally comparing it to Alton Brown's Cutthroat Kitchen which, if you haven't watched, is absolute bonkers in the design of the challenges. As challenging as they are - they always feel measured to ensure they are doable. Punishing? Yes. Incredibly difficult? Yes. But something not insurmountable. That isn't the same with this show. Contestants are given physically stressful challenges or just poorly worded riddles and expected to figure it out. Since they sometimes feel insurmountable you don't laugh at a chef full of hubris being laid low, like with Cutthroat, you feel bad as this struggling chef just can't do the impossible. Still, we keep going back because we don't have another cooking show we're actively watching. Your miles may vary.

In a comic book made real life action pose, The Spider is a 30s mystery man all in black with white goggles, resembling Spider-Man's design
Spider-Noir on Amazon

Spider-Noir, Season 1

I gotta say, I'm having fun with this. I love me Brendan Gleeson and Nic Cage and both are having fun in their level of lack of hinge in these roles. It's also a love letter to the noir genre and while the story sometimes doesn't punch as hard as you might hope, I keep finding myself surprised. It adds a third-dimension to Nic Cage's character from the Spiderverse films and it fleshes out an interesting world that fits that character and does justice to the original comic. We're two episodes away from finishing this season and still dig it. Amazon gave you the option to watch in color or black and white. I have no idea who would watch this in color.

The words "For All Mankind" over a Martian horizon with an astronaut in a spacesuit looking over the horizon on some vehicle
For All Mankind on Apple TV

For All Mankind, Season 5

I'm learning I'm a sucker for alternate histories involving space. Between this and the Lady Astronaut book series by Mary Robinette Kowal, this microgenre is catnip for me. For the uninitiated, For All Mankind starts with the simple posit of "what if the Soviets made it to the moon first" and runs with it. In this alternate world, the space race intensifies instead of petering out. Through the previous four seasons that span between the late 60s to the 2000s, we see the two super powers (and others) race to the moon and then to Mars. In this, we have a unified world with a fully functioning Mars Colony in 2012. When I compare it to the other seasons I wouldn't say its the strongest season - but please remember that this genre feels designed exactly for me. So I'll keep coming as they keep making it. I haven't been able to start the spin off show, Star City, which is the same story but told from the Soviet side, but I'm excited to make the time.

A woman floating in space, as if responding to an explosion. Shattered glass follows here. In the background looms some celestial body. The words "Amazon presents The Expanse" are also there
The Expanse on Amazon

The Expanse, All Seasons

I'm currently in my second or third rewatch of The Expanse. I love this freaking show. Its so damn good and rewatches are rewarding. If you like space - at all - you need this show in your life. I've also read the entire damn book series and this rewatch has prompted my first reread of the series. This is one of my favorite shows of all time.

Behind a heavy duty door, we see Dan Steven's gorgeous blue eyes looking through a reinforced glass section, he looks troubled.
The Terror on AMC+

The Terror: The Devil in Silver, Season 3

I was a big fan of The Terror season 1. I wouldn't say I'm an apologist for season 2, but I appreciated it. Season 3 is possibly the strongest season. I am biased, though. It stars my boy, Dan Stevens. It's also written by Victor LaValle, and I absolutely adore his writing. He knows how to write horror that sticks to your bones as you leave. This show also has CCH Pounder, Aasif Manvi, and Steven Root and swiftly builds a mythology that feels harrowing with its familiarity. I don't want to give too much away but if you walk away with anything, assuming you dig horror - give this one a try.

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