Since December 2017 a lot has changed…. A LOT!
In terms of TV, looking at the shows I had on my list, many have ended (Halt and Catch Fire, Orphan Black, The Good Place, Game of Thrones, X Company, Mr Robot, Master of None, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Gypsy (really?), Blue Planet 2, Jane the Virgin, Imposters (I picked THAT?!) and Major Crimes.
Of the remaining ones, not sure how many are still huge faves.
The Handmaid’s Tale – still think it is a great show but the plot has meandered
Supergirl – still love it but there have been a few ups and downs in terms of quality.
Big Little Lies – should have stuck to one season. Even the addition of Meryl Streep and not a bad season per se just made you realise one was fine.
Marvellous Mrs Maisel – stil going strong and still excellent.
The Crown – absoloutely stil right up there. We are onto our second cast with Olivia Colman as QE2 and Imelda Staunton has already been announced as older Queen Elizabeth for seasons 5 and 6. Quality through and through.
Line of Duty – probably the best British cop show. Brilliantly written and acted.
Better Call Saul – good call on this as the latest season was an absolute masterpiece – Magnificent!
Fear the Walking Dead – limping on. FTWD got a shakeup and Kim Dickens got the boot. I still watch (given up on the original) but not top of my list
The Sinner – S2 was ok (Carrie Coon is great but the story was ho hum) and I’ve not got round to watching S3 wih Matt Bomer.
Wynonna Earp – against all odds it has survived! The production company ran out of money but eventually a deal was struck. Not sure the latest 4th season has worked as well for me. However still a good show.
Streaming Shows
The last 2 and half years has seen a huge boom in streaming – Netflix and Amazon video have been joined by Apple TV+, Disney+ and a whole host of others. BBC iPlayer is massive and I must admit, I watch more on more streamed and less and less live. However, not into that many of the Apple or Disney Programmes.
My favourite on Apple TV+ is probably Dickinson. A lively YA version of the life of Emily Dickinson with Hailee Steinfeld as the titular poet. Funny, weird, anachronistic but for me it worked.
Of their other shows, The Morning Show got the buzz – Jennifer Anniston’s return to TV, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and a great cast doing a morning TV drama that coincided with the MeToo and Weinstein scandals. Gugu Mbatha-Raw still improving everything she is in by 40%.
For All Mankind should have been my cup of tea – alternate reality space which imagines what if the Russians won the race to the moon. Some good things but a bit plodding, especially at the start.
Disney+ ‘s main show is the Star Wars spin off The Mandalorian. I am not a fan of the po-faced Star Wars movies and I felt I SHOULD watch this as I am alone in my Star Wars in difference it seems but this was a right load of rubbish! However the documentary on the making of Frozen 2 was fab!
New Favourites
I will be writing about a few of these at some point but top of my list
Killing Eve – S1 was utter genius, subsequent seasons less so but Sandra Oh and especially Jodie Comer as the assassin Villanelle are amazing.
Fleabag – Phoebe Waller-Bridge created Fleabag, then Killing Eve then Fleabag S2 which was basically perfect! Genius!
GLOW – Netflix’s unlikely hit about the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling is wonderful. Betty Gilpin is a total goddess! (UPDATE: after getting a S4 renewal, Netflix decided to cancel it due to COVID and wrestling not being great for social distancing. Grr!)
Wentworth – gritty Prisoner Cell Block H reboot that inexplicably still grips despite losing the best characters over and over. Bea! Frankie!
Evil – Robert and Michelle King followed up The Good Wife, The Good Fight and Braindead with this really good procedural about a lawyer teaming up with a priest to investigate supernatural oddities. Sort of X Files meets Braindead. The Kings do weird so well!
Pennyworth – Starz most enjoyable splattery surprise about young Alfred, butler to the most over exposed comic book character, Batman. Stylish and odd but great! S2 has been slightly less successful with jsut a few eps released.
Chernobyl – utterly brilliant 5 part miniseries about the nuclear disaster. Great TV.
Sharp Objects – I’m a huge Amy Adams fan and this was in the Big Little Lies line of amazing actresses in great tv roles. Disturbing and compelling.
Gentleman Jack – Sally Wainwright returns to TV with a jaunty tale of Anne Lister, an extraodinary woman and her adventures in Halfax in the 1830s as a woman of business and an eye for the ladies!
DCs Legends of Tomorrow – the most fun of the CW shows – yes, more fun than you Supergirl! Whacky hijinks with Sara Lance, and the crew are always a hoot in the most bonkers of any superhero show.
The Haunting of Hill House – Netflix’s best chiller, fabulously made. Loved it! Follow up, the Haunting of Bly Manor was good too but not AS good.