A Tale Of Two Psychopaths

As usual, it's been a while since I've done one of these but a look into some of the shows I've watched over the last few weeks.

And Just Like That: Talk about having cancellation creep up on you. It's pretty obvious that Michael Patrick King and his three leads thought they had more time but HBO thought otherwise. These last few episodes saw Carrie ditch Aidan and almost get with the English writer while coming out with an ending for her book. Miranda and Steve found out they were going to be grandparents and Charlotte and Harry started having sex again. If this show hasnt wasted most of its time giving audiences everything they didn't want from a sequel series, we'd probably be getting a fourth season. Live and learn.

Dexter: Resurrection: On to a sequel series that gave audiences exactly, how fucking good did this show turn out to be? It's like the writers managed to recapture the heights of the original show's first four seasons. There's so much to praise here, but the Dexter/Harrison dynamic was what it needed to be for both characters and Leon Prater turned out to be one of the best season Big Bads we've had on the show. Add Dexter bumping off fellow serial killers, an expected but affecting exit for Angel and this season just hit all the right spots. 

Only Murders In The Building: With previous seasons, I'd usually wait until the finale and binge watch the lot but I decided to go weekly this season instead. Four episodes in and you've got Charles, Oliver and Mabel trying to solve their former doorman's death, along with a mob hit and coming to the realisation that being mainstream podcasters can get you censored. Throw in Logan Lerman, Christopher Waltz and Renee Zellweger as a trio of scheming billionaires and it's a good start so far.

The Girlfriend: Ah, another glossy thriller with a female protagonist who's a psychopath. Actually this time, it's two of them with both Olivia Cooke and Robin Wright giving it their all. The former as unhinged estate agent, Cherry and the latter as the equally unbalanced Laura. The object of their psychopathy - the rather dull Daniel, played by Laurie Davidson. He's Cherry's new boyfriend and Laura's son with incest vibes between the two. Throughout the six episodes both Cherry and Laura up the ante in their crazy pursuit of Daniel but only one could come out on top. It does lag in the middle but it's enjoyable enough.

Wednesday: Season 2 of a show where the writing isn't that different to an episode of Riverdale. I snark but in fact, I do enjoy this show. This second season was neither better nor worse than the first season. Jenna Ortega still ruled the roost as Wednesday Addams but the season expanded her family, brought back other characters, wasted a plot on Enid that amounted to very little overall and was a bit hit and miss with new cast members like Steve Buscemi, Billie Piper and Joanna Lumley. The show might have overplayed it's use of Lady Gaga as well. With all that said, I'll still watch Season 3. 

- Kit Harrington will star in an upcoming adaptation of A Tale Of Two Cities for BBC/MGM+.

- HBO will air A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms from January 2026 with the third season of House Of The Dragon likely to air next summer.

- Wonder Man will be split into two parts when it's released on Disney+ in December. Marvel Zombies premieres from September 24th.

- Daredevil: Born Again has been renewed for a third season. It's second season will premiere on Disney+ early 2026.

- The upcoming fourth season of The White Lotus will be set in France. Will likely premiere in 2027 on HBO.

- There are plans for further seasons of House Of Guinness for Netflix. The first season premieres September 25th.

- Paramount+ have cancelled Dexter: Original Sin but it does seem that Dexter: Resurrection will get a second season.

- Despite wrapping up this week, Amazon announced that The Summer I Turned Pretty will get a wrap up movie.

- Jessica Chastain and Ben Stiller will star in upcoming Apple TV+ limited series, The Off Weeks.

- Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue will air on BBC1 from September 28th.

- Pamela Anderson will executive produce a TV adaptation of Barb Wire.

- Hacks will end with a fifth season for HBO Max.

- The fourth season of The Witcher will be released on Netflix from October 30th.

Nevermore, The Gays Are Trying To Kill Me

Well, nearly all the shows I'm covering have some rather murderous gay content as I'm doing my last TV Jumble Blog for 2022. There will be a year overview blog on New Year's Eve though.

Chucky: If ever there was a movie horror franchise that proved it could be as successful as a TV series, it was certainly this one. The first season turned out to be an unexpected delight with Jake, Devon and Lexy making for a strong group of protagonists. Transferring them into a religious school and giving them characters like Father Bryce, Nadine and Sisters Catherine and Ruth along with Dr Mixter and a few different versions of Chucky certainly made the season into exciting television. It wasn't just them though. Tiffany became more unhinged as her fixation on Nica intensified, the returns of Glen and Glenda were delightful to watch and even Andy and Kyle had their moments as did Caroline finally embracing her dark side. This season started with Halloween and ended on a Christmas note and with any luck, a third season will be announced fairly soon.

Interview With The Vampire: Speaking of movies that made a successful television transfer, the first season of this Southern Gothic classic certainly hit all the right notes. The absolute perfect castings of Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid and Bailey Bass as Louis, Lestat and Claudia to the highs and lows of the trio's turbulent relationship in the seven episode first run was gripping to watch from start to finish. Not to be outdone was the present day interview itself between both Louis and Daniel as the two of them managed to get under each others skin while the reveal of Armand and his relationship with Louis was a fantastic way to set up the second season. Easily one of the best vampire shows we've had since True Blood and pretty damn gay as hell too.

The White Lotus: HBO have certainly been living the high life these last few months. Not only did House Of The Dragon blow up the way they hoped it, but the second season of this show (formerly intended as a one off series) gained a somewhat bigger audience than before. Audiences might have loved the events of Hawaii in the first season but moving the action to Sicily and the slew of new characters along with a returning Tanya definitely did the show the world of good for round two. We had dysfunctional couples such as Ethan/Harper and Cameron/Daphne, a generational look at womanisers with Bert, Dom and Albie, a flustered assistant in Portia, the scheming duo of Mia and Lucia, hotel manager Valentina, Jack the rent boy and some killer gays to boot. This season was a joy to watch from start to finish and I can't wait to see where creator Mike White takes things next season.

Wednesday: Netflix might be a bit too cancel happy for their own good these days but that doesn't mean there aren't shows they really want people to get behind. This delightful take on Wednesday Addams certainly felt like Riverdale met Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina but a captivating lead performance from Jenna Ortega, a decent group of supporting characters along with Christina Ricci as a strong enough baddie and this show was rather enjoyable to watch. I mean there's definitely room for some improvements (notably the CGI) but I definitely feel like Netflix have a hit on their hands with this one so I expect it'll be renewed fairly soon.

• HBO have renewed Industry for a third season. The show also airs on BBC2 for UK and Irish viewers.
• HBO however have cancelled the likes of Westworld and The Nevers as well as removing them from their service.
• House Of The Dragon will begin filming it's second season in March 2023.
• The White Lotus third season will take place in Asia and will explore the theme of death.
• Netflix have cancelled shows such as Warrior Nun, Blockbuster and The Bastard Son And The Devil Himself.
• Mayfair Witches, starring Alexandra Daddario will premiere on AMC from January 8th. It is a spin off of Interview With The Vampire.
• Queer As Folk US reboot has been cancelled after one season.
• Paramount+ have renewed Tulsa King for a second season.
• Billy Magnussen, Jessica Hynes, Isaac Powell and Lolly Adefope are among the cast for Sam Mendes HBO superhero movie themed series, The Franchise.
• The Last Of Us premieres on HBO from January 15th and the next day on SkyAtlantic.
• Henry Cavill will star and executive produce a Warhammer 40, 000 series for Amazon. 
• The Never Game, starring Justin Hartley has been ordered to series by CBS.
• Showtime have renewed Yellowjackets for a third season. The second season will premiere on March 24th.