Burned By Paris

It's been a while since I've done one of these but again, a look at most of the recent things I've watched over the past few weeks.

Bridgerton: I enjoyed the first half of the third season and the second half had a lot to live up to. Did it manage to do so? I'd say it actually did as the remaining four episodes not only had Penelope and Colin go full steam ahead with their nuptials along with the very public reveal of Penelope being Lady Whistledown. I do feel the Whistledown was almost too easily resolved with the Queen but the Polin love story worked overall. Other highlights in the second half included Francesca's continued expansion as a character as well as tapping into Benedict's bisexuality. Bring on the next season.

Interview With The Vampire: I'm not sure if releasing the second season during the summer was a wise idea on AMC's part but on the other hand, how fucking good was this season overall? The big flashback episode with Daniel was amazing as was Claudia's death and the deconstruction of Louis and Armand's relationship. While I do think that Lestat could've been reintroduced into the main action quicker, when he did return, it was a much welcome jolt to this season. Santiago made for such a horrible baddie that his comeuppance was truly satisfying and yes, Daniel became a vampire. Great stuff overall.

The Bear: Yes, I watched the third season in two days. While not as good as the first two seasons (I found the opener very sluggish), there was still a lot to recommend. Specifically episodes such as Napkins and Ice Chips, both of which are likely Emmy contenders next year. The guest stars being utilised pretty, especially the likes of Will Poulter and Olivia Colman in the finale but I do feel that Carmy as a character hasn't progressed and some of his scenes with both Sydney and Richie often felt repetitive this season. Not to mention the neverending threat of the restaurant getting closed down. Other than that, it's still worth watching.

The Boys: Season 4 of this superhero show certainly got more political than ever before and to the point where the type of people who often missed the point of Homelander as a character, realised they were the very people being lampooned. Anyways we got two new supes with Firecracker and Sister Sage being strong additions, A-Train showing character growth with The Deep and Black Noir II doing the exact opposite. Homelander got worse, Ashley freaked out more, Ryan flip flopped as did Victoria Newman. As for the good guys, Butcher hallucinated a former comrade, Frenchie briefly had a boyfriend, Kimiko spoke her first word, MM had massive anxiety, Hughie got traumatised repeatedly and Annie had to deal with rivals wrecking her life and her powers being on the fritz. Oh and characters from Gen V popped up. Certainly wasn't a boring season. 

The Jetty: Ah, Jenna Coleman. It's been a while since we last had her on our screen and this four part BBC detective series served as a reminder of how compelling an actor she can be. Ember Manning turned out to be a complicated character, navigating her relationships between her mother and daughter while also trying to resolve a case from her teenage years. I'll admit the flashbacks were a bit confusing to begin with and the podcaster had some heavy handed dialogue in parts but as a series, I thought it got stronger in the second half with a surprise twist that worked well. Could it come back for a second series? I don't see why not.

• Luke Thompson fans rejoice. Netflix have announced that Benedict and Sophie will be the love story of the fourth season of Bridgerton in 2026.
• The Boys fifth and final season is currently being written and will be released on Amazon in 2026. Season 2 of Gen V will premiere in 2025.
• Interview With The Vampire Season 2 will air on BBC2 from August 1st at 9pm. AMC have renewed the show for a third season.
• The fate of Chucky currently remains in flux. An announcement on its future should be soon.
• Filming for the third season of House Of The Dragon's third season has been rumoured for later this year.
• Welcome To Derry will air on HBO as well being streamed on Max as will Dune: Prophecy.
• Kim Cattrall has confirmed she will not be returning for the third season of And Just Like That. However, Mehcad Brooks, Jonathan Cake and Logan Marshall-Green will recur in the new season.
• Maura Tierney has joined the cast of Law And Order.
• Grey's Anatomy will add a new gay male character for it's upcoming twenty first season.
• Tatiana Maslany and Cory Michael Smith will lead the horror comedy series, Nightbeast for Amazon.
• Julia has been cancelled after two seasons by Max.