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.

Money Isn't Everything

Took the month of January off from these sort of blogs but any more, I will try to make them monthly affairs going forwards. Anyways, a look at stuff I've been watching recently.

And Just Like That: It's been an undeniably divisive return for the ladies of New York (minus Samantha) but at least it's been discussion worthy to a point. With Charlotte mostly relegated to comedy mishaps and stuff involving her children, it's been Carrie and Miranda getting the dramatic stuff with mixed results. Carrie's  had hip problems, apartment problems, neighbour problems and finding the right place to scatter Big's ashes. She's also gained a solo podcast and a new love interest. Miranda also gained a new love interest in Che, thus breaking up her marriage to Steve and losing a bit of her former self. I'm all for Miranda discovering herself but Che was the wrong character to do this with. At least Seema proved to be a strong addition to the series. Will it gets seconds? Who knows.

Batwoman: Ah, this season has been surprisingly strong for the most part. What hasn't worked in my opinion has been Ryan's family, especially Marquis, who is a very poor version of this show's attempt of a Joker baddie while Jada still hasn't really clicked as character either. What has clicked was the Poison Ivy arc (short as it was and convenient in exiting Renee Montoya) along with the sisterly bond between Mary and Alice and Luke finally syncing with his Batwing suit. Even the Ryan and Sophie pairing, despite being a tad contrived has worked better than expected. Hopefully these last two episodes can end the season on a good note.

Dexter: New Blood: I think this show has managed to strike a record for coming up with a finale more polarising and controversial than the original one it did. To me, that's crazy because what we got in 2013 was a terrible way to end the show while we got in 2022 while not entirely perfect, at least made more thematic sense. Harrison being the one to kill his own father after Dexter's whole web of lies came crashing down felt oddly right. This limited series didn't fully recapture the heights of the original series glory days but it definitely made up for it's original ending.

Pam And Tommy: Is there anyone not watching this limited series? Last week Hulu/Disney+ dropped the first three episodes and it made for some interesting viewing. Needless to say both Lily James and Sebastian Stan absolutely nail it as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee and they're ably supported by Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman and Taylor Schilling. These episodes provide quite the education into the title characters turbulent relationship as well as the role that Ran Gauthier played in their sex tape being leaked. Lily James herself has completely disappeared into the role and the 90's soundtrack, I just love. As for Tommy's talking penis in the second episode. Um. 

The Gilded Age: Julian Fellowes is a writer who found his comfort zone a long time ago and has never stepped out of it since. That might sound harsh but can you tell me if it's untrue? Fortunately for Fellowes, his comfort zone continues to be very much appreciated and while this show feels too familiar and comparisons to Downton Abbey are completely justified, the first two episodes were enjoyable. It's beautifully shot, the cast are excellent with Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon being obvious standouts. There's even a closeted gay love story in between fabulous costumes, old versus new money discoveries and a young female protagonist in Marion trying to make her way in an ever changing world. It's also performed well enough to quickly earn itself a second season.

• Nyle DiMarco will play a graduate student in the upcoming reboot of Queer As Folk.
• National Treasure for Disney+ has found it's lead star in Catherine Zeta Jones.
• The CW have ordered pilots for Gotham Knights, The Winchesters, Walker: Independence and a female led Zorro reboot.
• Aubrey Plaza, Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hollander, Adam DiMarco and Haley Lu Richardson will make up the main cast of the second season of The White Lotus with Jennifer Coolidge also returning.
• Murray Bartlett will be appearing in both The Last Of Us and the second season of Only Murders In The Building.
• Legends Of Tomorrow has added Donald Faison as a fame hungry mystery character for it's seventh season finale. If the show gets picked up for an eighth season, the character will likely be a regular.
• The L Word: Generation Q has been renewed for a third season by Showtime.
• Euphoria has also been renewed for a third season by HBO. The show is currently having a record ratings boost.
• The second season of Bridgerton will be released on Netflix from March 25th.
• Arielle Kebbel will appear in an upcoming arc of 911 as a character named Lucy. 
• Moon Knight will premiere on Disney+ from March 30th.
• The Lords Of The Rings: The Power Of The Rings will premiere on Amazon from September 2nd.