Blundering Up A Deathstorm

Usual thing, it's been a while but here are some shows I've watched in the meantime.

911: Season 5 has been ticking over rather nicely as a season with the last few episodes adding some new recruits to the station with Lucy and Jonah, Buck's relationship with Taylor revealing more on her own past and the much needed returns of both Maddie and Howie along with Eddie dealing with his past traumas. As usual, there's some way cases along the way and heartwarming moments from various characters. 

Bridgerton: Season 1 of this glossy period piece was appointment television and one of the biggest boosts for Netflix and Season 2 managed to do it all over again. I thought the show  might have trouble topping the Daphne/Simon story but the Anthony/Kate (and Edwina, breaking from book lore) managed to be even more compelling while the consequences of Lady Whistledown's getting on Queen Charlotte's nerves definitely came to a head during an incredible confrontation between Penelope and Eloise.Other highlights included Benedict getting high as a kite, the flashbacks for Papa Bridgerton, Newton the dog and of course, Lady Featherington trying to outsmart Jack throughout the season. Needless to say, I'll definitely be watching the next season.

Derry Girls: Four episodes into the third and final series of this gem of a show and it's been some of the best comedy in the last decade. While creator Lisa McGee is definitely right to end the show on a high instead of overextending it's natural life span, I am going to miss these characters and I know, there's three episodes left to go but still. So far, this series we've had the girls and James pass their GSCEs along with talent shows, train journeys and clearing out the wrong house. Not to mention sublime guest appearances from the likes of Liam Neeson, Damien Molony, Amy Huberman, Sinead Keenan and Conleth Hill. I'm confident the finale will absolutely stick the landing. 

Killing Eve: What an absolute train wreck of a final season this turned out to be. If you thought that Game Of Thrones ended on a bad note, then this one surpassed it. This whole season was little more than an absolute snorefest and I had a horrible feeling the moment the show decided to go there with Eve and Villanelle, something would undercut it. Needless to say it did and in a rather spectacularly bad way. Both Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer tried their best but not even their talents alone could say this season from ending the show on a needlessly unpleasant note.

Moon Knight: On to the sixth Disney+ MCU show and I have to be honest, this one was something of a mixed bag for me. While Oscar Isaac does a great job as Steven Grant/Mr Knight and Marc Spector/Moon Knight (and very briefly, Jake Lockley), the pacing for this show felt somewhat sluggish in parts and it really took a while for things to properly get going. Still, we got a good villain with Ethan Hawke's Arthur Darrow, Kayla's transformation into Scarlet Scarab was nicely handled and I'm all for more horror and supernatural elements in the MCU.

The Flash: Quick note: I'll see out the remaining episodes of this season but after that, I am done with this series. I've been trying my best but I've genuinely gotten to the point where I can no longer watch this show. It's become far too much of a chore to sit through and it desperately needs to end now, regardless of it's ratings on the CW. The Deathstorm arc was mostly a mess,, Frost's death had no real impact and the time sickness story with Iris has been dragging out for far too long. The only plus has been brief returns of Sue, Ronnie and Eddie in recent episodes. 

• Max Greenfield, Gabourey Sidibe, Nico Greetham, Bella Thorne and Dominique Jackson are some of the actors appearing in the second season of American Horror Stories.
• American Horror Story's eleventh season has been rumoured to have some filming in New York, a first for the series.
• House Of The Dragon will premiere on HBO from August 21st and on SkyAtlantic the next day.
• Jack Ryan will end after four seasons on Amazon.
• Filming for the seventh season of Outlander has begun while the sixth season has recently finished airing on Starz.
• And Just Like That has been renewed for a second season.
• The Nancy Drew spin off, Tom Swift will premiere on the CW from May 31st.
• Maisie Williams will star in the upcoming Apple show, The New Look.
• Julia has been renewed for a second season by HBO Max.
• Jason Isaacs and Lior Raz have joined Apple anthology series, The Crowded Room.

Finding Religion, Then Losing It

As I head towards the end of the month, a look at some of the shows I watched recently.

911: Seven episodes into this current season and it's been one of the strongest we've had so far. In the space of these episodes, we've had a chaotic blackout, an old enemy of Athena's taking her son captive, Buck settling  into a relationship with Taylor, Eddie ending a relationship as well as a temporary exits for Maddie and Chinmey with Ravi also getting more screen time and a prison riot to boot. Oh and some zoo animals on the loose.

Batwoman: Although a fourth season has yet to be confirmed, it's safe to say one will come. As for the last few episodes of the season that just aired, they were decent enough. Marquis might not have been a convincing Joker successor but it does seem like he'll be around next season for him and Ryan to actual'y build a family dynamic along with Jada. Ryan basically got her family, friends and a girlfriend in Sophie while Alice might get some form of redemption or not. It really could go either way.

Killing Eve: A part me is definitely glad this is the last season because half way in, I'm finding myself increasingly bored with it. I know the main plot seems to be about taking down the Twelve but even with that in mind, it just feels rudderless. Villanelle's religious awakening hasn't added to much and Eve's pursuit of Helene has been mildly entertaining at best. Hopefully the second half of the season can get inject a bit more excitement into it.

Pam And Tommy: Overall I did enjoy this limited series and there's no denying that Lily James, Sebastian Stan and Seth Rogen all did a fantastic job in their respective roles. The second half of the series did explore the fallout of the sex tape pretty well along with the Pam and Tommy relationship beginning to fall part, not to mention Rand's own epiphany of sorts. I hope this series does bag a few Emmy nods for itself.

The Flash: The more the CW keep renewing this show, the more I'm reminded that it's best days are definitely behind it. Armageddon wad a decent crossover event and the Bart/Nora episode was entertaining but the last two episodes were back to the mediocrity of the last two seasons. It's been obvious for a while that the show has been running on fumes and I'm somewhat tempted to drop the show if it doesn't pick itself back up.

The Gilded Age: It took me a while to get into this show but for now, I'm glad I stuck with it. While it doesn't quite have the same excitement factor that another show from Julian Fellowes had in it's heyday or even a certain Netflix counterpart, the second half of the season did move things along a bit. We learned more about the characters, saw new relationships develop and bloom and while the gay storyline is absolutely horrible to watch, at least everything seems to have mostly improved, so I'll tune into the next season.

• The Teen Wolf movie for Paramount+ will lead into a new spin off called Wolf Pack. Most of the original cast members are back for the movie.
• The second season of Only Murders In The Building will premiere on Hulu from June 28th.
• The final series of Derry Girls will air on Channel 4 from April.
• Star Trek: Picard will end after three seasons. Paul Wesley has been cast Captain Kirk for Strange New Worlds.
• And Just Like That has been renewed for a second season.
• The second season of The Flight Attendant will premiere on HBO Max from April 21st and premiere on SkyMax from May.
• Riverdale  has been renewed for a seventh season.
• Charlotte Ritchie has joined the cast of You for it's fourth season, currently filming in the UK.
• Angela Bassett will appear in an upcoming episode of 911: Lone Star as Athena.
• Denis O'Hare will appear in the first episode of American Horror Stories. He's rumoured to be playing a character connected to a past season of the parent series.

Walking Away

It's been slightly longer since my last TV Jumble Blog, I've not watched as much as I wanted to during lockdown but here's some of what I've finished up with in the last while.

Batwoman: It's nice to see that for a show that started off so ropy that post Crisis, it really showed genuine improvement. In spite of the chaos ahead of the second season (another blog on that soon), the final four episodes for Kate Kane really upped the ante. We saw Alice and Mouse take over Arkham, the latter die, the birth of Hush, an introduction of sorts for Bruce Wayne, Mary added into the mix, Jacob continuing to be the absolute worst, a Sophie/Julia pairing and the hints of next season baddie, Safiyah. Oh and some decent material for Luke. Season 2 really will have an uphill battle on it's hand after the show managed to turn things around after such an unpromising start.

Killing Eve: Yes, I watched the whole of Season 3 and the general consensus would be that it was mostly an improvement on it's second season but still lacking on the greatness of the first year. There's a part of me that thinks that the fourth season should be it's last one as the show feels in danger of running out of steam. None of the new characters really made a great impression, except Dasha and she got a rather anticlimactic exit. The male characters except Konstantin are poorly written and Carolyn needs something more to work with. Eve and Villanelle both keep the show afloat and it does seem like the show will eventually cave into shippers desire but the stuff with the Twelve is losing me as well.

Supergirl: A mixed bag of episodes for a mixed bag of a season. On the plus side, at least Lena came to her sense and both her and Kara are on the same team once again, but the Leviathan storyline was mostly a bore, Acrata poorly used, the Kara/William rather dull and while I do enjoy Jon Cryer's Lex Luthor, next season might want to break away from the character but given the cliffhanger of this finale, that will obviously not be the case.  Perhaps the longer break will give the writers some better ideas.

The Flash: A widely uneven season with too much time of Iris being trapped in the Mirror universe and took long for Barry in figuring out that his wife was missing. On the other hand, though, Eva turned out to be a massive improvement in terms of baddies after the terrible use of Bloodwork in the show's first half. However given the real life situation, this finale really wasn't meant to be one but despite feeling rushed, it mostly works. Next season will have to quickly wrap up the Mirror Master storyline among other behind the scenes mayhem as well.

- Hartley Sawyer has been fired from The Flash and will not return for the show's upcoming seventh season. It has yet to be confirmed if his character will be written out or recast.
- Batwoman will have a major reboot of it's title character.
- American Horror Story's tenth season will now not air on FX until 2021. A spin off series, titled American Horror Stories will also debut next year.
- The second season of LA's Finest has been delayed.
- Evan Peters has joined the cast of WandaVision in an undisclosed role.
- It looks like Lucifer will get a sixth season on Netflix after all.
- The remaining seven episodes of Supernatural's final season will air in the autumn on the CW.
- UK viewers will be able to see Roswell: New Mexico on ITV2 from June 22nd.
- Maisie Richardson-Sellers will not be returning for the sixth season of Legends Of Tomorrow.
- Gal Gadot's Hedy Lamarr miniseries has now moved from Showtime to Apple.

Was the Throne Actually Worth It?

Basically, it's finale time for every single show that I'm discussing in this blog and for one show, it's a series finale that will leave a lasting impression.

911: The last five episodes have been mostly solid stories with more flashbacks for Bobby, an interesting take on Ocean's Eleven in one off-kilter episode and some tragedy for both Eddie and Buck in different ways. We did also see a brief separation between Maddie and Chimney before the finale brought them back together as well as a low key but sweet wedding for Bobby and Athena at the last minute. I'm not too sure what the third season will bring (aside from an upcoming spin-off with Rob Lowe) but I'll definitely be tuning in to find out.

Arrow: Season Seven has been as close to a return to the good old days as the show could do and while not everything worked (Emiko turned out to be a lacklustre baddie, got a rushed redemption and still died), this finale was still a strong note to end things on. We know that the Monitor has Oliver and soon Felicity in the not so distant future but next season will be building up towards Crisis On Infinite Earths and the CW's DC universe will come to the beginning of it's slow but sure ending of sorts. It's going to be one hell of a bumpy ride in the next few years.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: Whether these nine episodes that were just released Season 2 or the second half of the first season, I'm still confused but I'll admit, a few little bumps here and there aside, this was a solid enough return for the residents of Greendale nonetheless. The brief arrival of Lucifer in human form gave us more about Sabrina's origins in a manner that felt predictable but props to both Lilith and Zelda for getting their own way with ruling hell and the Church of Night. Getting Nick back next season should be interesting enough and it's nice that after several episodes of being at odds with them, Sabrina has her support system with Harvey, Roz and Theo.

Game Of Thrones: It's undeniable that the final season of this show has been controversial, has been rushed with only six episodes to tie up all the main threads and has made some questionable decisions with the actions of some of the main characters. Still though we've had some stunning battles with The Long Night and the polarising events of The Bells while The Last Of The Starks almost seemed like the calm between storms. The Iron Throne, while far from the worst series finale ever to befall a show is definitely a finale that should've been better and regardless of hints in prior seasons, I do think the show massively dropped the ball in it's depiction of Daenerys turning to the dark side and Jon being the one to stop. I won't go into the decision with Bran because it's still a terrible one but even though this season was a disappointment, it still pulled in record numbers, rating wise and I think we'll all be glued to the upcoming prequel series too.

Killing Eve: I hate to admit it but this show has suffered from difficult second album syndrome. The first season was consistently gripping from start to finish but this season despite some of it's best efforts has felt rather sluggish in parts. Having Villanelle and Eve working together in order to take down the tediously dull Aaron Peele wasn't quite as fun as it could've been, Carolyn and Konstantin's motives never seem to be clear, characters like Hugo and Niko add nothing to the show, Kenny was mopey and the last scene in the finale was a reverse of the previous finale but not quite as effective. Hopefully the third season due to film soon enough will get the show back on track.

Pose: Given how bad the ratings have been for BBC2, I'm slightly worried they won't air the second season or relegate it to a godawful timeslot and that's a shame. This show might be one of the most niche of television shows but it's still pretty great drama and the last two episodes of the first season were brilliant to watch. Predictable as it might have been, it was lovely to see Blanca win Mother Of The Year, to see Pray Tell get a new love interest and for Elektra to take a bit of a downfall before stylishly getting herself back up again. The Angel/Stan bits were less interesting but overall, I'll be back for seconds.

Supergirl: Without a doubt, the weakest season of the DC shows on the CW has ended and for the love of Zod, please let the writers be either a) fired or b) given a crash course in the nature of show, don't tell. The political backdrop was abysmally handled this season and with Agent Liberty being one of the dullest villains ever to grace any of these shows, I was disappointed that he wasn't killed off to be honest. On the other hand Brainy/Nia and Alex/Kelly are nice pairings, Lena FINALLY knows the truth about her best friend, Lex was a magnificent bastard in the finale, more Crisis stuff was hinted and we've got Leviathan to look forward to next season.

The Flash: Season Five has been pretty hit and miss in parts and the resolution to the arcs for Nora, Cicada (x2) and Eobard felt rather unsatisfying and the less said about Cisco's idiotic decision to remove his powers, the better tbh. Still though, at least we finally had Singh reveal that he knows about Barry being the Flash, more Crisis hints and a few cast departures as well. I am intrigued to see who will be the next main villain for the series and going by one scene, I think it's a safe bet that a significant person from Ralph's comic history will be appearing next season.

- Drew Van Acker will be guest appearing in the second season of Titans, playing Aqualad (Garth).
- Jessica Jones third and final season will stream on Netflix from June 14th while Orange Is The New Black's last one will be July 26th.
- The prequel series for Game Of Thrones has the title (for now) of Bloodmoon and has begun filming in Belfast.
- Empire's sixth season will be it's final season on with Jussie Smollett axed from the series.
- Amazon have the rights for Star Trek: Picard. A trailer for the series has been released.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar guest starred in the series finale of The Big Bang Theory.
- The Judoon will be returning for Series 12 of Doctor Who. There are also rumours of a musical episode for the series as well.
- Beverly Hills 90210 reboot is still on track to air in August on FOX despite losing showrunner and some writers.
- Criminal Minds fifteenth and final season will air on CBS in 2020 with only 10 episodes.
- Grey's Anatomy has been renewed for two more seasons while How To Get Away With Murder has been renewed for a sixth season.
- Humans has been cancelled by Channel 4 and AMC after three seasons.
- Gentlemen Jack has been renewed for a second season by BBC1 and HBO.

She's Back And Slightly Badder Than Ever - EDITED

Ah, it's been a few weeks of some interesting returns and picking up from where other shows have left off, so here's a roundup of some of the show I've been watching lately.

911: It's been several months since the first half of Season 2 but kicking things up a gear, I'm glad the latter half of the season will not overly hinge on the Doug storyline as it seems that after stabbing Chimney and terrorising Maddie, his story has been brought to a rather swift and deserved ending. Speaking of Chimney, I quite liked the flashback episode he got, even if elements of it felt a little similar to Hen's from earlier in the season. Still though, the second half of the season is looking good so far.

Arrow: This show can give and take in equal measures at times. Positives first - that Lost Canaries episode was freaking amazing and finally gave Laurel the justice she deserved, even if it came three seasons too late. Then there was meeting Diggle's stepfather, throwing in a sneaky Green Lantern reference and of course calming Mia down a little in the flashforwards. I still find her annoying but Emiko in the present is actually more annoying. As a big bad, she's kind of lacking and the show managed to waste a good actor like Adrian Paul like they did with Michael Emerson last season. Still though, it's on better form than two other CW DC shows at the moment.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: Confusion over whether these nine episodes are a second season or the second part of the first one aside, things are certainly getting more interesting here. I'm liking Sabrina's budding relationship with Nick and Adam's introduction is working as a way to slightly humanise Lilith a bit but at the same time, Blackwood is working my last nerve as an antagonist and while the show is giving us a more badass Hilda, both Zelda and Ambrose don't seem to be as well served so far. Other positive though have been the experimental episodes, the show's handling of Theo's transitioning, the Harvey/Roz romance and the use of Dorian Gray as well.

Game Of Thrones: The biggest show on television is back for it's final season of six episodes and the first two so far were surprisingly more quieter, slightly bloodless affairs. They were however not boring especially with the second episode having some truly beautiful character moments as our band of heroes and former villains are holed up in Winterfell awaiting a big battle with death itself. I have liked the questioning of Dany's leadership skills and now that a certain revelation is out of the bag, it's going to be interesting to see who ends up on that bloody throne in the next four weeks.

Killing Eve: It's back for a second season and while BBC1 are stupidly not airing it alongside BBCAmerica/AMC, RTE2 thankfully are. The first three episodes have shifted dynamics a little with Konstantin not actually being dead, Villanelle dealing with a new handler in Raymond, Eve getting more team members with Jess and Hugo, the arrival of a new assassin named the Ghost and Carolyn being as morally ambiguous as ever. The first episode felt a little sluggish but the second and third ones were made of stronger stuff. We do need to see Eve and Villanelle interact again and the sooner the show loses Niko the better.

Pose: I wish the ratings on BBC2 were better for the show than they actually are, but given it's unique premise and the fact that BBC2 waited too long to air it, I'm not surprised they're not so good. The show itself however is definitely going from strength to strength. I loved the confrontation scenes with Patty and Angel as the latter's involvement with Stan was exposed and the further backstories for Elektra and Blanca were handled perfectly. Then there was the death of Pray Tell's boyfriend in the last episode I watched, which was poignant. I can't wait to see how the last two episodes wraps up this first season.

Supergirl: I'm getting a sense of deja vu here. I mean, didn't we already have Supergirl framed for something someone else beforehand? It certainly feels like it and without Lex, who honestly gives a toss about Agent Liberty? He's just a lacklustre villain and with four episodes left, I really cannot wait to see the back of the guy. Next season really does need to reign some of the political slant and focus on some decent storytelling instead. On the other hand, I am loving Nia's journey into her heroic persona and the show is clearly setting up a pairing with Alex and Kelly which could be good to watch but right now, we need more of Lex and Russian Supergirl now.

The Flash: Okay, I'm getting bored of everything. I'm bored of the Eobard Thawne sitting in a cell and doing nothing. I'm bored of Nora as a character and I'm bored of Cicada. Right now, both Nora and Cicada need to leave the show and I really do mean that. On the other hand, we did get a little bit on Caitlin's family (including the rise of a new Icicle no doubt) and a quite glimpse of Godspeed, but even the latter could've been used better. Right now, I'm just bored but hopefully the next three episodes can finish up this whole arc on a decent note.

- Both Roswell: New Mexico and The 100 have been renewed for second and seventh seasons respectively by the CW.
- Santa Clarita Diet is the latest show to be dropped by Netflix after three seasons.
- Swamp Thing will be now 10 episodes instead of 13.
- Iain Glen has been cast as Bruce Wayne for the second season of Titans.
- Killing Eve's third season will be seen over by Suzanne Heathcote.
- Star Trek will be getting another animated spin-off to air on Nickelodeon.
- Shannen Doherty will reprise her role as Brenda Walsh in FOX's upcoming 90210 event series.
- In further shark jumping antics, Dynasty have replaced Nicollette Sheridan with Elizabeth Gillies as Alexis Carrington. Even by this show's standards, this is somewhat taking the piss.
- FOX have cancelled The Gifted after two seasons.
- Alex Landi has bagged a recurring role in the upcoming second season of Netflix's Insatiable.
- Emily Bett Rickards will be departing Arrow after it's seventh season.
- American Horror Story's ninth season has the subtitle of 1984 and will be influenced by the slasher genre.

Meeting Your Enemies Again

Yeah, it's been a few weeks since I've done one of these but here's a rundown of some of the programs I've watched since there. Finished up in a few cases too.

911: Since I last blogged about this show, I have finished up the first season and watched at least the first three episodes of the second season, due to SkyWitness being speedy with the latter. For a show that I initially thought was going to be tame by Ryan Murphy's standards, I've really grown to love this series. The Buck/Abby might have petered out but I've quite liked the Athena/Bobby one and so far, both Maddie and Eddie have turned out to be likeable new additions to the series. The earthquake two parter was also a series highlight as well.

Arrow: Four episodes into the show's seventh season and I am beyond bored of Oliver's prison storyline. It's been dull and cliched at every turn and Felicity has managed to become even more insufferable apart from Oliver than she was with him. The flash forwards with older versions of Roy, William, Dinah and Zoe have been thankfully good and the current splintered gang along with the new Green Arrow (totally a female character) have been better but what does it say when the weakest aspect of the show now revolves around the title character? On the other hand, props to the show for it's clear commitment in giving Black Siren an organic redemptive storyline and for her deadpan snarking as well.

Killing Eve: This has easily been the best UK show so far this year (sorry, Bodyguard fans) with both Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer giving it their all as Eve and Villanelle respectively and the last three episodes certainly upped the cat and mouse ante between the two as the latter went off script and killed her Konstantin for good measure. With the show renewed for a second season and a new showrunner (Call The Midwife's Emerald Fennell replacing Phoebe Waller-Bridge), I really do hope the show avoids the pitfalls of difficult second album syndrome after this rather superlative first outing.

Krypton: With the second season currently filming, E4 blitzed through the remaining episodes with a spate of double bills and I have to admit, the latter half of the season was mostly good. I like the set up for Doomsday for next season, hoping that we don't have to wait too long to see Adam Strange and thought that Colin Salmon did a pretty good job as Zod while Seg El, Nyssa and Lyta made for a strong team as well. Prequel wise, I still feel like this isn't a show that we particularly need but it's been somewhat better than expected, so I probably will give the second season a watch.

Supergirl: Four episodes into the fourth season so far and I've not been greatly impressed with what we've got here. In terms of the newbies, so far both Nia Nal and Manchester Black have been good but Agent Liberty, Mercy and Otis Graves have been extremely dire to watch. The show has never been subtle with it's political commentary but even in it's second season the writing for it never felt as sloppy as it has been this season. So far, nothing is especially gripping me this season. Hopefully it picks up before so far, it's as poor as Arrow has been.

The Flash: Somewhat better than Arrow and Supergirl at the moment but at the same time, not doing anything too compelling outside of focusing on Nora's relationships with Barry and Iris and giving us a bit of a sympathetic-ish backstory for metahuman serial killer, Cicada. So far the latter seems like a decent enough antagonist and I've not minded Ralph and Caitlin working together to find the latter's father but Cisco hasn't had much to really do and I'm not too keen on Sherloque as of yet. Other than that, it's still pretty solid stuff so far.

- Andy Bean and Derek Mears have been cast as Alec Holland and the title character alike for DC Universe's upcoming Swamp Thing TV series.
- Charmed has been picked up for a full season of 22 episodes. UK viewers will be able to see the show on E4 in 2019.
- Gotham's final season will now be 12 episodes and premiere on January 3rd 2019 for US viewers. Shane West will also be playing Bane.
- A Discovery Of Witches has been renewed for a second and third season by Sky1.
- John Barrowman will be returning to Arrow's seventh season.
- Orange Is The New Black will end with it's seventh season but Netflix are in talks to do a sequel series.
- Jeremy Irons will play an older Ozymandias in the upcoming Watchmen series for HBO. Jean Smart will also be co-starring in the series as an FBI agent.
- Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina are being sued by a Satanic Temple over copyright on using one of their images.
- Veronica Mars will be adding Patton Oswalt in a recurring role for it's upcoming revival on Hulu.
- Both Loki and Scarlett Witch will be getting series on Disney's upcoming streaming service.

Wedded Behind Bars Before Release

A few finales in this pile up of programmes that I have recently been watching.

911: I really did think, going by the premise of this show that this was going to be tamer by Ryan Murphy's usual OTT standards but I've been proven wrong and rightfully so. I mean the characters are more grounded compared to some of his other shows but the zaniness certainly hasn't been. Between the explorations of Bobby's alcoholism, meeting Hen's wife, Athena's collapsed marriage and the blossoming Buck/Abby relationship, we've also had plane crashes and a Valentine Day's episode that would've also worked on another show very well. I know the second season has just started on US television but I am savouring this first one and enjoying the hell out of it.

Jessica Jones: Finished the second season, still not interested in catching up with Luke Cage and Iron Fist but eagerly awaiting the third run of Daredevil. Oh right, my thoughts on Miss Jones's second run - eh, not bad. It's second season finale ended the Alissa storyline in a rather messy way while separating Jessica from both Trish and Malcolm while Jeri managed to get some sweet revenge on Inez but other than that, it was a little lacking. Hopefully the third season will get the show's groove back.

Killing Eve: The urge not to go on BBCiplayer and binge the hell out of the show, well it's been hard but I've taken the slower path and with two episodes left to watch, I really am not looking forward to ending it. This series has been one of my favourites this year with both Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh on sublime form as Villanelle and Eve. Both of them have been riveting to watch and now that both our main baddie and heroine are interacting more and more, the episodes have gotten more tense. I do worry that the show could be in danger of humanising Villanelle but then she goes and does something pretty evil and I'm oddly relieved by that. I guess she's just more fun to watch when she's evil.

Krypton: I'm still not gripped as such by this series but it's obviously doing something right because I'm still watching it. I mean, the female characters are certainly well drawn out and characterised - Nyssa being a particular favourite of mine and the hint of Adam being bisexual is a nice move away from comic canon (and odd, given Goyer's previous history with DaVinci's Demons and Constantine though). I guess though the uses of both Brainiac and Zod is probably the biggest draw - some great performances from Blake Ritson and Colin Salmon respectively but Seg El himself can sometimes lack a little. He's not bad but he needs to liven up a little more though.

Orange Is The New Black: Season 6 has not been the show's best season but nor has it been it's worse. There's no denying that it's taken a while to get used to the new set up and reduced roles of certain characters but the last few episodes certainly found it's groove. Carol and Barb turned out to be rather decent antagonists and their exits seemed fitting. A wise decision on the show's part not to overextend their storylines but at the same time, Badison needs to be the next departure as her character has been a massive drag on the new season along with the new guards and anything involving Aleida. Piper and Alex's prison wedding was rather sweet and I'm intrigued to see how the former (as well as Sophia) cope with being free. Taystee's storyline concluded the only way it could but I felt worse for poor Blanca and I liked that Maria wanted to atone for her past actions this season. Red and Gloria had their moments but not compared to previous seasons though and I liked the dynamic with Freda, Doggett and Suzanne. Overall, not a bad season. I will miss the series if next season is truly the last one.

- Shane West will be playing an old friend/upcoming enemy of Gordon's in Gotham's final season (rumoured March 2019). Rumoured that he might be this show's version of Bane.
- Brec Bassinger will be Stargirl for the upcoming DC Universe series of the same name.
- Crystal Reed will be Abby Arcane while Maria Sten will be Liz Tremayne for the upcoming Swamp Thing series.
- Wonder Woman movie writer, Allan Heinberg will be producing a female led Marvel TV series for ABC. Characters have yet to be revealed for the show.
- Marc Cherry will be doing a thriller series named Why Women Kill, focusing on three generations of women who don't react well to being cheated on by their spouses for CBS All Access.
- Robert Englund will be reprising his role as Freddy Krueger for the upcoming Halloween episode of The Goldbergs.
- Elizabeth Tulloch has been cast as Lois Lane for the upcoming Arrowverse crossover event, as well as Cassandra Jean Amell as Nora Fries and Jeremy Davies as Arkham doctor, John Deegan.
- Domhnall Gleeson will star in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's upcoming HBO series, Run.
- A major character will apparently die in Modern Family's tenth season.
- Melissa Joan Hart and Sean Astin have been cast in Netflix's multi cam family show, No Good Nick.