We Ended The World Again

It's been a while since I've done this and well, a few news shows have emerged and I've dropped at least one as well. 

911: This season really has been hitting it's stride and with five episodes left to go, the ending of episode 13 with the 911 building being taken hostage was a pretty impressive cliffhanger. I also liked that it tied back into Maddie's co-worker who had been attacked in the previous episode. Speaking of Maddie, it's nice to see the show progressing her relationship with Howie (who's also reconnecting with his half brother) while Bobby, Athena and Hen have all had roles in the storyline with Michael (is the show going to kill him off?) while Buck and Eddie could do with a little more, storyline wise.

Love, Victor: I have really enjoyed this lovely, feel good series and given the cliffhanger where Victor finally came out to his parents, I am so glad that it's been renewed for a second season. The build towards Victor accepting himself along with that wonderful episode that actually featured Simon and Bram has been gripping to watch. I love Benji as well as a love interest for Victor and the show's supporting cast really do compliment the series. I'll definitely be watching next season.

The Good Place: Okay, I'm not sure what's going on with E4 because for the last two weeks there has been no new episodes airing. I'm unsure if they've dropped the series, and if they have, I'll have to watch the rest of it online. Anyways, the episodes I had seen though largely involved Trevor doing his best to sabotage Michael's work getting the group to work together as well as some brilliant scenes with Janet and Gen. This season has been good so far and I definitely want to see how the rest of it plays out.

The Politician: Going into the second season of this show, there are two sadly alarming things I've noticed about this one. There's the fact that this seems to be the least hyped Ryan Murphy show probably since The New Normal and that the LGBT content is probably the worst since arguably Nip/Tuck. Other than that, the second season has been mostly entertaining, even if Dede is a far more sympathetic political candidate than Payton has been during the course of this whole series. As for the double pregnancy story with Astrid and Alice - yeah, we could've done without that. 

The Umbrella Academy: The second season launched on Netflix less than a fortnight ago and it's been quite a wild ride so far. The first four episodes separated the siblings into the 1960's, they all built new lives and then Five had to go and spoil it all because there's another apocalypse. On the other hand, the new setting has worked a treat and all the new characters like Lila, Sissy, Ray and Elliot have all added well to the series. As for the romance with Vanya and Sissy, didn't we all see that one coming?

• Although The Flight Attendant has yet to debut on HBO Max, lead actor Kaley Cuoco has hinted that the show will get a second season. 
• Will Smith will have a producer on an upcoming gritty reboot of Fresh Prince Of Bel Air.
• Sirens has been cancelled after three seasons on Freeform.
• Shows like The Good Doctor and Grey's Anatomy will tackle the coronavirus in upcoming episodes.
• High Fidelity has been cancelled after a season on Hulu.
• CSI: Vegas - a continuation of the original series has been ordered for CBS.
• Adria Adjona has joined the cast of the upcoming Rogue One TV series for Disney+
• Shawn Ashmore will be playing Lamplighter in the upcoming second season of The Boys. The show has also been renewed for a third season.
• Olivia Swann will return as a regular for the sixth season of Legends Of Tomorrow.
• Sarah Paulson will direct for the upcoming American Horror Stories spin off. American Horror Story itself is set to film it's tenth season (theme to be revealed) towards the end of the year.

Santa Muerte Is Coming

Another TV Jumble, another catch up on some of the biggest shows I've been watching over the last few weeks.

911: This show really has been swinging out some really strong material into it's third season. The most recent two episodes delved into a chapter of Athena's past previously unexplored while Henrietta caused a devastating accident. Some genuinely powerhouse performances from both Angela Bassett and Aisha Hinds in these episodes while this season has also explored the reckless actions of both Eddie and Maddie in different areas of their personal lives and careers.

Derry Girls: I'm not sure when RTE1 plan to air the second series but I will try and catch it before Channel 4 get around to the third one. The last episode of the first season had a talent show and more importantly revealed that Claire was a "wee lesbian". I think the show did a good job of handling the story with Erin being initially horrified by her friend's reveal before taking to her defense. I definitely want to see where the show goes with Claire from here on in.

Love, Victor: If you're a fan of Love, Simon then this streaming series spin-off is definitely the worthy successor to it. We're back in Creekwood High and this time, it's Victor Salazar (Michael Cimino) coming to terms with his sexuality, getting involved with Mia while also wanting to be with Benji as well. It's a sweet, feel good series with a likeable cast and lead man and the continuity to a certain movie definitely works in the show's favour.

Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels: Now I loved the original series and reviewed all three seasons of it, so I was looking forward to this sequel series but two episodes in, I hate to admit it, but it's leaving me a little bit cold so far. On the plus side, Natalie Dormer is doing a good job as the main baddie, Magda and the latter's various disguises but Tiago needs to be a bit more dynamic as a lead character and the pacing needs to seriously pick up.

The Good Place: It's taken E4 an age to actually air the third season and with the show long since finished it's run in the US, better late than never. Last time we saw them - we had Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani and Jason all on Earth, essentially getting the chance to have a do over with Michael nudging them along. The opening episode was a little slow but it was a nice enough reintroduction to the gang and it'll be interesting to see if Michael's experiment will succeed.

The Politician: I'm going to start the second season of this show very soon but the last three episodes of the first season were pretty strong. The two part assassination plot felt like a finale while the actual finale felt more like an opening episode for the next season. I'm not sad to see some of the characters leave (Dusty won't be missed) or to see the main action in New York and I'm already on Team Dede and Hadassah than I am Team Payton and his inexplicably growing list of supporters.

- Jeremy Pope will play a love interest for MJ Rodriguez's Blanca in the upcoming third season of Pose.
- HBO have cancelled Run after one season.
- The upcoming fourth season of Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina on Netflix will be the show's last season. A potential fifth season would've featured a crossover with Riverdale.
- Stargirl has been renewed for a second season but will air on the CW instead of DC Universe.
- Lucifer's fifth season will see Tom Ellis playing Michael as well as the title character.
- HBO Max have commissioned a spin-off streaming series for The Batman that will focus on the GCPD. More on that in a later blog.
- Amazon have renewed Hanna for a third season.
- Lucy Liu has been cast in ABC pilot, Fka Bossy.
- The Crown has been renewed for a sixth and final season.
- Lee Daniels will helm a reboot of The Wonder Years, focusing on a black family for ABC.

The Monsters Are Gone For Now

It's been over a month since my last TV Jumble Blog, so here's a look at some of the stuff I've been watching over the last while.

Catch-22: This miniseries came to a satisfying conclusion as Yossarian's repeated attempts to get out of service saw him hiding out briefly in an Italian village before he finally managed to get one over on his superiors. The show has been a good vehicle for actor Christopher Abbott, who definitely should land some bigger roles after this one and while George Clooney wasn't quite as utilised as the adverts would've implied, he had some decent moments as the somewhat antagonist of the piece.

Jessica Jones: The MCU Netflix has finally come to an end and the last few episodes of this show were certainly a mixed bag. I do think Foolkiller was a decent choice for a main baddie but he was mostly in the shadow of Trish, who felt like she was largely character assassinated for her main plot this season. A part of me would've loved a fourth season of this show (same with Daredevil) but given the sluggishness in parts, perhaps it's a good thing that the Netflix era of Marvel shows have now come to an end. At least Disney+ will have the sense not to have too many episodes for their upcoming shows.

Orange Is The New Black: Watching the seventh and final season, it feels right that the show is ending. The first seven episodes seems to be a good mixture of stories with Piper adjusting to the outside world, Taystee getting her fight back, a change in leadership in the prison, Alex and Daya running their own hustles in Litchfield Max, Aleida getting sent back to prison, the ICE storyline involving Blanca and Maritza and the dementia plotline with Red. There's certainly plenty of interesting plots at the moment and I can't wait to see what the remaining six episodes will do to conclude the series.

Pennyworth: If Krypton was a prequel idea too far, then this show will either be a frustration or an intrigue for you or very likely, both. The first five episodes have seen Alfred Pennyworth (lead actor Jack Bannon doing his best Michael Caine impression) working with both Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane, a few shadowy agencies looming in the background, a love interest dead and the old guard somewhat discarded but not totally gone. Paloma Faith hams it up a bit as Bet Sykes but she's arguably the best thing about the show that's fine but far from remarkable, though like Gotham it's penchant for gory violence is something to behold at times.

Stranger Things: I have absolutely loved the third season of this show and the more I think on it, the more I think it might be the show's best one yet. The second half was brilliant with it's individual team and even better when said teams banded together to save Hawkins yet again. It also had a much welcomed departure for Billy (even though this season did humanise him a little more) and perhaps Hopper. Nope, I don't believe Hopper is properly gone at all but damn if that letter scene with Eleven wasn't a teary moment. Then there's Robin, who was the best new character of the season, had a fabulous rapport with Steve and one of the best coming out scenes seen on recent television.  I'm assuming it's be 2021 before we get the fourth season of the show at the earliest.

Swamp Thing: It's a shame that this show has come to an end because the last few episodes really did up the ante big time with the main characters. I was hoping that maybe HBO Max would step in to save the series but it seems like this really was a one and done kind of show and that's a big shame. The cast had great chemistry, the horror element was fantastic and I would've liked to have seen Alec Holland go up against the Rot in a big way and even seen a formation of Justice League Dark. Alas, these things won't happen now.

The Good Place: I've really enjoyed the second season and after the events of this finale, I'm hoping that yet again, E4 don't wait too long to air the third season of the show. Sending the characters back to Earth is certainly an interesting move, even if the focus has initially been on Eleanor and her failed attempts to better herself as a person. I have also enjoyed the evolution of Michael and Janet's characters, the introduction of Hydrogen, the Tahani/Jason/Janet triangle and even Chidi making the odd assertive move here and there.

- Both Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford will be departing Legends Of Tomorrow midway through it's fifth season. Ramona Young will also be leaving the series.
- Krypton has been cancelled after two seasons by SyFy and the station won't be going ahead with their plans for a Lobo spin-off.
- Disney+ will be doing shows for She Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight as well as the five shows they previously announced.
- Mitch Pileggi has joined the cast of American Horror Story: 1984
- The third season of American Crime Story, entitled Impeachment will air in September 2020 on FX and will focus on the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal with Sarah Paulson,  Beanie Feldstein, and Annaleigh Ashford announced as main cast members.
- The 100 will end with seven seasons on the CW.
- Now Apocalypse has been cancelled after one season on Starz.
- Viola Davis will play Michelle Obama for Showtime's First Ladies show.
- The L Word: Generation Q will premiere in December on Showtime while the NBC streaming service will air the reboot of Queer As Folk.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar has joined the pilot for FOX series, Other People's Houses.

Damnit Janet

A look into some of the more recent shows I've been watching.

Catch-22: Two thirds into this enjoyable mini-series and the tension has certainly been ramped up as we've seen a few characters fall in love, while others have died and Yossarian's ever desperate attempts to go home have been usurped at every turn and that's in spite of his own attempts to play the system at it's own game. With two episodes left to go, I'm hoping this series can end on a high note and that we see Christopher Abbott in more high profile gigs as he's been great in this miniseries.

Jessica Jones: A few episodes of slightly plodding along and we're finally getting a little into the good stuff. While Sallinger isn't quite as effective as Kilgrave, he has managed to make himself into a credible enough threat with his attacks on Erik and Dorothy, resulting in the latter's death. The last few episodes have also ironed things out a little with Jessica and Trish, brought Malcolm and Hogarth a little into the main story as well as given us some snarky one liners from Gillian but I do wonder if this final season shouldn't have been a bit shortened as well, episode wise.

Stranger Things: It's 1985 and we're back in Hawkins for this show's third year and having watched the first four episodes, I am loving this season. Let's see - Robin is a great addition to the season and her scenes with Steve, Dustin and Erica are a delight, Billy is now a credible antagonist given that the Mind Flayer has possessed him, Eleven and Max's friendship is great, Will, Lucas and Mike work well together even if Will feels like he's being left behind, we've had some great scenes with Joyce and Hopper, the new locations are great and even the Nancy/Jonathan scenes are improving a little bit. The only thing the remaining episodes need to do is bring all the main characters and stories together and we're good.

Swamp Thing: It's still a massive shame that this show got cancelled, but at least the series is slacking off though. The last two episodes really have highlighted what an absolute bastard Avery truly is as a character that the team up of Maria and Lucilia should've been a bit more obvious in retrospect. I've also liked the brief reprise of Alec Holland and his battle to save Abby from the Rot while getting a pretty good origin story for the Blue Devil to boot. I'm really hoping this show might get a second chance somewhere else. Hint, hint, HBO.

The Good Place: An episode solely focused on Michael and Janet was always going to be a highlight for me and this one did not disappoint. It was nice to get an origin story on how Michael stole a Janet from the Good Place and the disastrous effects of her lying. I also quite liked that the show hasn't forgotten her relationship with Jason and how she really feels about him and Tahani while Chidi and Eleanor had amusing side roles in this episode. Overall, I'm enjoying the second season to the show quite a lot.

- Both Colin Donnell and Josh Segarra will return for Arrow's final season while Katherine McNamara has been upgraded to a regular.
- Olivia Swann will be a regular for Legends Of Tomorrow's fifth season, due to air in 2020 on the CW. Astra will serve as the main antagonist for the next season.
- Jonathan Bailey, Phoebe Dynevor, Julie Andrews are some of the names attached to Shonda Rhimes Bridgerton adaptation for Netflix due in 2020.
- Euphoria has been renewed for a second season by HBO. UK viewers will be able to see the series on SkyAtlantic next month.
- The Walking Dead are casting a love interest from the comics that may also result in the return of Maggie.
- How To Get Away With Murder's sixth season will be it's last.
- Pose has been renewed for a third season.
- JA Bayona will direct the first two episodes of Amazon's upcoming Lord Of The Rings series.
- Katherine Heigl will star in Netflix series Firefly Lane as well as appearing in the final season of Suits.
- Carrie Ann Moss has joined the second season of Tell Me A Story. Both Paul Wesley and Danielle Campbell will return to the show as different characters.

Into The Swamp We Go

Last blog of the month and a look at some of the other shows I've been watching.

Catch-22: The latest adaptation of Joseph Heller's classic novel had it's run on Hulu over a month ago but so far, Channel 4 have aired the first two episodes of this six part series and it's been rather enjoyable. Christopher Abbott has been a good take on Yossarian, a man desperate to get out of his missions while backed up with the likes of George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, Hugh Laurie and Lewis Pullman in various roles. The pacing has been decent enough with a few of the novel's more sexist material toned down a little bit for this current take. It'll be interesting to see how the remaining four episodes for this miniseries play out.

Jessica Jones: We're into final season territory and this really does mark the end of Netflix's era with Marvel property but there's always Disney+ for your next Marvel streaming fix in the next couple of months. The first four episodes of this show's third season still suffers from slow pacing and the most frustrating character transition for Trish as well as Malcolm seeming a bit aimless in his new job but on the other hand, both Jessica and Hogarth are getting love interests, Erik is one of the better male additions to the show with his unique ability and I'm hoping the Foolkiller main baddie will be a lot better than what we got last season. Saying that though, pick up the pace, show.

Swamp Thing: Following the announcement of the show's cancellation after it's first episode, I did wonder if I should've bothered continuing with the show. Right now, I'm glad I have as the main cast have been great and along with our titular creature the show has managed to introduce the likes of Jason Woodrue, Madame Xanadu, Blue Devil and Phantom Stranger with relative ease while upping the main mystery, making the supporting characters interesting enough, using flashbacks wisely and building the connection between Abby and Alec rather well. It's just a shame that once the remaining five episodes have aired, that's our lot with this one.

The Good Place: Recently it was confirmed that this show's upcoming fourth season will be it's last one. I however, have only just begun to watch the second season on E4 and the game has certainly been changed up a bit with Michael forced to work with the four people he has enjoyed torturing in order to save himself from a worse fate than death. I do like that the show didn't waste too much in having Eleanor and company figure out again what was happening to them while Vicky managed to usurp Michael for power over the Bad Place. It'll be fun to see how this grudging alliance with Michael and Eleanor/Tahani/Chidi/Jason over the remaining episodes of the season.

- Lucifer has been renewed for a fifth and final season for Netflix.
- Pop have picked up One Day At A Time for a fourth season, following Netflix's cancellation of the show.
- Scream's third season, which has six episodes will air for three nights in double bills on VH1 from July 8th. It also has the title of Resurrection.
- Lena Headey will lead upcoming Showtime series, Rita, playing the title character.
- Current episode for CW DC show are Arrow with 10 episodes, The Flash with 22 episodes, Supergirl with 20 episodes, Legends Of Tomorrow with 15 episodes and Batwoman for 13 episodes for now.
- CBS All Access's The Stand reboot could feature Whoopi Goldberg, James Marsden and Amber Heard.
- Jennifer Morrison has a recurring role in This Is Us upcoming fourth season.
- The CW will be recasting The Lost Boys although Medalion Rahimi and Dakota Shapiro will remain on board.
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has signed up for upcoming FX pilot, Gone Hollywood.
- Michael Gladis, Lorenza Izzo, Adam Rodriguez, Thomas Kretschmann, Dominic Sherwood and Ethan Peck have all signed up for Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels.

Children Behave

Last blog for the month of February and a look into some of the show I've been recently catching up on as well.

Arrow: 150th episodes are not as big a deal as other monumental episodes but they're still a good mark for a show to make and for this show, we were treated to a documentary style adventure with so many returning faces that it easily made this episode the best of the season. Actually the last few episodes have been pretty great with Stanley popping up and proving to be a chilling serial killer while the flashforwards revealed the most obvious outcome for Maya as well as confirming that William is in fact gay. Then there was Curtis's low key departure and Fauxcide Squad with the Ghost Initiative, both of which are decent-ish development.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: The remaining five episodes (including Christmas) certainly elevated the first season. I'm so glad that this has been a successful reboot and it's great that we've got more to look forward to when the remaining nine episodes drop in April. While it was a little too convenient to break up Sabrina and Harvey, I did like both Roz and Susie's own growing prominence in the supernatural stories while Madam Satan's reveal was also delightfully creepy. As for the Christmas episode - it might not have advanced many stories but it's definitely one of the better festive episodes I've watched over the last few months.

Daredevil: While the show has now been sadly cancelled, I am really glad that I bothered to watch the third season. Having Fisk back second time around as a baddie worked surprisingly well as did the Bullseye storyline and the backstories for both Karen and Sister Maggie. The last few scenes of the finale felt like a set up for a potential fourth season which we're probably unlikely to see now but at least we got three seasons and while the Marvel Netflix era is coming to an end, this was the show that started a fun journey.

Supergirl: A mixed bag of episodes here. On one hand, Nia's Dreamer storyline and her budding romance with Brainy is actually the strongest components of the recent stories we've had while everything else has fallen rather flat. We're back to the uninspired Children of Liberty story, Alex's memory wipe of Kara being Supergirl is annoying and the less said about the chemistry free on and off pairing of James and Lena the better to be honest. Right now, the show seriously needs to get itself together. Hopefully Lex's imminent arrival and Manchester Black's return will help turn things around.

The Flash: While the season is still better than another CW show I could mention, I'm already losing interest in the Cicada plot. Plot wise, it greatly hasn't advanced anything and it's feeling like a holding pattern for Nora's unwise alliance with Eobard to inevitably go bad as well. There has been some nice moments though with the gang, even if Barry himself has felt a little short served at times and some of the beats with Nora have felt a little repetitive. With some major cast changes rumoured to be happening though, things should hopefully pick up for the remainder of the season.

The Good Place: I absolutely loved the first season of this wonderful show and the last two episodes have certainly made me want to catch up with the second and third seasons pretty soon. I guess the twist surrounding Michael maybe should've been obvious in retrospect but it was a rather nice game changing moment as Eleanor realised exactly what was going on before things were shifted once again. I am going to make the effort to play catch up sooner rather than later, unless E4 starting the next season pretty soon. Overall though, while I was a little late in the game with this show, I am glad I did get into it nonetheless.

The Umbrella Academy: Recently released and already renewed for a second season, I've never read a single issue of Gerard Way's comic book series, but after watching the first four episodes, it's clearly something I should look into. While the series itself isn't exactly subverting any superhero tropes as such, the main seven characters (including dead Ben) are certainly a dynamic and messed up bunch of people with the likes of Klaus, Allison, Diego, Luther, Vanya and the Boy all managing to maintain interest while an apocalypse is looming in the background. Overall, it's a fun series and I've got another six episodes to savour over the next few weeks.

- Tyler Posey, Dakata Shapiro, Kiele Sanchez and Medalion Rahimi will star in the CW's adaptation of The Lost Boys. The pilot begins films next month.
- Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends Of Tomorrow and Black Lightning all have been renewed for further seasons.
- Netflix have (unsurprisingly) confirmed that both The Punisher and Jessica Jones have been cancelled.
- Jussie Smollett has been suspended from the last two episodes of Empire's fifth season.
- Natalie Dormer and Nathan Lane have joined the cast of Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels for Showtime.
- Cameron Monaghan will rejoin Shameless for it's tenth season.
- Robin Lord Taylor has bagged a recurring role in the second season of You while Cory Michael Smith will be a regular in the US version of Utopia.
- Joshua Orpin has joined the cast of Titans as Superboy for it's second season. The show will also be adding Deathstroke, Rose and Jericho as well.
- Stephen Fry is rumoured to be guest starring in an episode of Doctor Who's twelfth series, due to air on BBC1 in 2020.
- Brooklyn Nine Nine has been renewed for a seventh season on NBC.

Dark Baptism, Anyone?

While not my first blog of the year, this is the first TV Jumble one and in here, I'm catching on something recently cancelled, two reboots that are polar opposites in terms of quality and more DC stuff.

Arrow: It only just came back this week and what an episode. While I still think the whole Emiko storyline is something that should've been done a few seasons ago, I already think she's a rather good addition to the series and her scenes with Rene and Oliver were pretty good in this one. I also like that the show didn't waste time in having her and Oliver meet each other and the continued flash forwards, now with Rene as Mayor of the Glades are still interesting along with Diggle and Lyla reviving the Ghost Initiative in order to give Diaz some relevance in the second half of this season. Oh and the Olicity scenes being kept to a bit of a minimum didn't hurt things either.

Charmed: I've not exactly been complimentary about this series on my Twitter account for months but I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go on E4. What can I say - so far, not so good. The main cast lack chemistry, the effects look even cheaper than the original series, none of the monsters of the week have really stood out and Mel sounds like an embarrassing Tumblr meme every time she has anything to say while Macy and Maggie feel rather bland as characters as does Whitelighter, Harry. The original series wasn't always amazing in terms of writing but it had a certain charm that so far this reboot is lacking in spades.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: On the other hand, this reboot is near perfection. Unlike the CW's attempt with Charmed, this feels like a modern reboot that can tackle social issues, deliver on the monsters, give us excellent characters like Ambrose and Madam Satan, have an overall compelling arc with the Dark Lord himself while giving us compelling new takes on Sabrina, Salem, Zelda, Hilda and Harvey along with other great characters like Susie, Roz, the Weird Sisters and the High Priest as well. I'm six episodes into this series and it's been an absolute revelation to watch. Every once in a while you get a reboot that genuinely justifies its existences and offers something interesting and this is it. The writers of a certain other reboot could do with taking some notes here.

Daredevil: I know the show has been recently cancelled (and as I'm typing this, it seems The Punisher has followed suit) but I owed it to myself to catch up with the third and final season and so far, I like it. Yeah, the pace is still a bit slow and I really wish Matt would actually get back into costume, but with Fisk and Poindexter/Bullseye/FakeDevil proving to be excellent baddies and Foggy and Karen getting some decent screen time along with the welcomed addition of Sister Maggie, I'm already enjoying this season a little more than the previous one. Such a shame it had to end though.

Supergirl: Argh, the show really had to go there, didn't they? Not only do they seem determined to make Haley come across as a poor man's version of Amanda Waller but now we've got the ridiculous plot of having Alex's memories of her sister being Supergirl erased along with Lena and Jimmy getting back together. On the plus side - I'm loving the slow build up with Brainy and Nia's blossoming romance and the latter's imminent Dreamer destiny along with J'onn setting up his own detective agency. Not to mention having a breather from Agent Liberty isn't a bad thing either.

The Flash: A modest return of episodes this month that truth be told, really haven't done a lot to advance the Cicada storyline and although I do like the character, I honestly don't know where else they can go with this character for the remainder of the season, not to mention that Nora hasn't been that great either and neither has Sherloque. On the otherhand, most of Caitlin, Cisco and Ralph's scenes have been fun, Barry/Iris have had their moments and Cecile's increased screentime in light of Joe's absence has worked as well. It's just the Cicada storyline feels like it needs to come to an end now.

The Good Place: I'm still on the first season but after next week, I'll have watched it all and if E4 take their time airing Seasons 2 and 3, I might just watch it online. Every week, I've found myself enjoying this charming series more and more and the more the show expands on it's mythology ("real" Eleanor, the Bad and Neutral Places, rebooting Janet, etc) along with the further developments of our Eleanor, Michael, Chidi, Tahani and Jason, the more I find myself falling in love with this show.  Plus if the Bad Place really does serve Hawaiian pizza, it can be all that bad, right?

- Meagan Tandy, Camrus Johnson and Nicole Kang have been cast respectively as Sophie Moore, Luke Fox and Mary Hamilton for the CW's upcoming Batwoman series.
- The CW have also commissioned pilots for The Lost Boys, Jane The Novella, Nancy Drew and Kathy Keene.
- Arrow will be doing a Birds Of Prey themed episode with Black Siren playing a prominent role.
- Criminal Minds will end with a 10 episode fifteenth season.
- Game Of Thrones final season will air on HBO from April 14th and SkyAtlantic the day after. Episodes 1 & 2 will be 60 minutes each while episodes 3-6 will be 80 minutes each.
- Along with a Picard spin-off, Star Trek fans can also look forward to a spin-off focused on Michelle Yeoh's character from Star Trek: Discovery.
- Christopher Meloni has joined the cast of The Handmaid's Tale for the show's third season.
- Kate Winslet will star in upcoming HBO miniseries, Mare Of Easttown.
- Netflix will adapt American Son with Kerry Washington resuming her role from the Broadway production.
- Black Lightning's second season will introduce  Hosea Chanchez  as magical threat, Shakedown.

Christmas Cheer

My last blog for 2018 and a catch up of some of the programmes I've been watching over the last few weeks.

911: I've really enjoyed this show and it's reassuring to see that it's not fallen into the dreaded difficult second season syndrome some great shows have often become victim of. In the space of the last few episodes we've seen growing relationships between Bobby/Athena and Maddie/Chimney, a wonderful flashback episode for Hen, Buck rediscovering himself and moving on from Abby and more on Eddie's failed marriage along with the usual plethora of some rather crazy emergencies to boot. With the show due back in March and the arrival of Maddie's violent ex-husband, things certainly won't be boring in the latter half of this show's second year.

Arrow: Prior to the big crossover event, there was a mixed bag of episodes here. On one hand, this Oliver in prison storyline lasted far too long for it's own good but on the other hand, we finally saw Diaz get some just desserts, Stanley revealed himself to be a pyscho (and future problem for Oliver) and of course, Talia re-emerged as both a help and a hindrance to Oliver as well. There was also some fan service Olicity scenes for a certain segment of fans to enjoy, Diggle making a dangerous deal, more flash forwards which introduced Maya/Blackstar while the current day revealed that Oliver's half sister, Emiko is actually the new Green Arrow. The half sibling thing feels a little too late in the day for a show currently into it's seventh season but Emiko does seem promising as a character though.

Supergirl: Maybe I'm being harsh here but this is shaping up to be one of the worst seasons for the show. I don't have an issue with the show being political. It can work at times but the writing surrounding the issues it's trying to convey has been handled so poorly, it's often taking me out of the show. Agent Liberty has been one of the dullest villains going and the less said about Jimmy/Lena, the better to be honest. On the other hand, Manchester Black is a far more interesting and ruthless character, the show's handling of Nia's Dreamer future has been done rather nicely and there's still the Russian Supergirl plot in the latter half along with Lex Luthor being added into the mix to hopefully turn the season around.

The Flash: Overall, the first half of the show's fifth season has been pretty strong. Cicada is still a rather decent antagonist and the flashbacks expanding on his relationship with his niece do give him a bit of sympathy (only a bit) while the use of Rag Doll in one episode really makes me hope the character resurfaces again. The 100th episode while good, didn't feel quite as eventful as it should've done but the reveal of Nora working (unwittingly) with Reverse Flash was a decent twist and it's also nice to get more Barry/Iris scenes and Caitlin resuming her Killer Frost persona. I'm still finding Sherloque a little hit and miss and both Cisco and Ralph need a bit more to do.

The Good Place: Yeah, I'm about two seasons behind on this much discussed show but E4 finally bagged the rights to the show (currently on it's third season on NBC, renewed for a fourth year) and having watched the first three episodes, I get the hype. The show is forking brilliant with Kristen Bell giving a stellar performance as the wrongly brought to heaven, Eleanor and the supporting cast with the likes of Ted Danson and Jameela Jamil are rather good too. It's a lovely, feel good show and while I have a lot to catch up with, I'm definitely glad I finally tuned in though.

- James Mackay is the latest regular to exit the current season of Dynasty, though his character may return later in the season.
- Daredevil has also been cancelled by Netflix after three seasons. Don't be shocked when Jessica Jones and The Punisher are axed next.
- On the other hand, Netflix have renewed Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina for both third and fourth seasons. The second season will premiere in April 2019.
- The BBC's next Agatha Christie adaptation will be Death Comes As The End with Gwyneth Hughes taking over writing duties from Sarah Phelps.
- BBC3 will air a UK version of Drag Race next year. RuPaul will be a part of this version too.
- Bravo are planning a reboot of Queer As Folk with Russell T. Davies signed on as an executive producer.
- Titans second season will take the originally intended final episode from it's first season and retool as it's opening episode. The show will return in 2020.
- Beverly Hills 90210 is being revived again but this time with the original cast, though several members already appeared in the first reboot.
- Villanelle will battle with conscience in the upcoming second season of Killing Eve.
- Elementary will end with it's upcoming seventh season.