JAileen, I know a lot of people love Succession so you may want to give it a try. I didn't find it funny so maybe I didn't get far enough in to be a good judge.

Jules, I am always surprised when people say that about Seinfeld, I didn't see them as terrible people. A little self-centered maybe?

Olivia Colman is in the new HBO series The Landscapers. David Thewlis plays her husband. I watched the first episode last night and I'll give it two thumbs up! It's a true crime story.

Re: Seinfeld, I think they’re ‘terrible people’ in the context of a light sitcom about ‘ordinary’ daily life. None of them have spouses or kids or even longterm coworkers to mistreat over time, but that’s part of the deal (adults with very few adult responsibilities obsessing about minor things). In Succession, they are ‘terrible’ people with a lot more power and influence both globally and within their dysfunctional family. As for it being funny, it’s not obvious at first nor is it everyone’s sense of humour. It’s in the details of the dialogue (plenty of which are easy to miss as people talk under their breath etc) and some great but sometimes subtle ironic moments. Anyway, none of this is to say it’s everyone’s cup of tea! There’s no reason to force it if you don’t enjoy it. I happen to be a fan so I love dissecting it as part of the fun.

I’m terrible at pop culture, have never heard of most of these shows! I was recently chided for the way I text with someone about a movie they were watching—too analytical , not “oozing relaxation or fun”. Arg. But apparently 211 is about a bank robbery and gets pretty interesting & intense. And I need to learn to relax, am going to work on that, lol.

Xtabay, that looks fun. Love Olivia Coleman

Personally, I think Succession and Seinfeld are extremely well written. Very clever dialogue and the characters are well cast! I can see why a comparison between the two shows was food for thought. Interesting!

Forgot to mention that Foundation was fab! STRONG female leads. Always a win.

And Formulae 1: Drive to Survive was very compelling too. Especially if you like to travel.

But nothing has been as good at The Handmaid's Tale. One of the best TV shows of all time (although hard to watch as a women).

Last time I will comment I promise... but for those who enjoy Succession, there is an Instagram account documenting some of the fashion @successionfashion
And this is an interesting article about the design of the interiors.
https://www.theringer.com/succ.....othes-cine.

Thanks, Jules! Shiv's colour palette is sublime on her! And feel free to comment as much as you like

OBSESSED with Succession ... as others have said, they are absolutely terrible people, and yet somehow I can't wait to watch them every night (we are catching up ... just into Season 2).

Angie, Shiv's season 1 palette I think would be so beautiful on Lisa P!

We also just started The Shrink Next Door - really interesting, starring Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd (my secret boyfriend, shh, don't tell!) and sort of a 'dark comedy'/drama based on a true crime-esque podcast.

Loved Ted Lasso, enjoyed The Morning Show, also loving a weird show called What They Do In The Shadows, which is basically The Office, but with vampires. I think it's Taika Waititi's brain child and has his signature bizarrely hilarious style.

Helena - you are correct. What We Do In The Shadows is based on a movie (same name) from several years ago by Taika Waititi. He’s in it, also with Jemaine Clement. Absolutely hilarious!

Well, THANK GOODNESS I CHECKED IN HERE, because nobody seems to be mentioning Schmigadoon, which is one of the best things I’ve seen in 2021!

The trailer doesn’t do it justice, but take a look anyway…

https://youtu.be/yKG0RodrzVo

We started watching Vigil last night, which has familiar UK actors . Another crime/thriller series. Story line is good so far, but I wish there was an option for captions - I can't understand much of what is being said, lol.

Lisa, I have watched certain series with closed captioning on because some sound mixing is just not great, either that or the actors are mumbling!

Wow, MB, Schmigadoon looks amazing! It's on my list for sure. How did I miss that?

Interesting comments about subtitles and captioning, I think they are useful beyond translating from another language. Not long ago my 83 yr old Mom got totally absorbed in Schtisel while visiting. She's not into foreign films or shows, and I was surprised she stuck with it due to it being in Hebrew with English subtitles. She loved the story, but I realized she actually really liked reading the subtitles. She's complained a lot about not understanding things that we watch together. Her hearing is fine, but she's just not great with accents. Struggled with The Crown, and other British and Australian shows. It hadn't occurred to me to put on the captioning for The Crown!

Very good point Laurie! I sometimes struggle with accents including some American ones. Bad sound mixing is also an issue, as Janet mentioned. And I think some people's capacity to process rapid speech can be lowered due to aging or even mental health/fatigue (talking about myself here). I sometimes turn on the captioning when we start a new show involving strong accents just until I get used to it. Also a good reminder that I was interested in Schtisel.

Gosford Park, a murder mystery written by Julian Fellowes (who also wrote Downton Abbey) has dialects so thick I had to watch it with subtitles. Another show with difficult accents is Shetland. I guess I have trouble with Scottish accents. We’re watching Dalziel and Pascoe on Britbox, and it is set in Yorkshire. Their accents are near-Scottish.

I found captioning really helpful watching Outlander. Americans can be pretty challenged trying to understand Scottish brogues!

Sex Education- This may be my favorite for 2021. It made me laugh and cry. Lots of awkward teens. Parents also navigating relationship struggles and parenting. Well acted. I also liked the wardrobe style….very colorful, eclectic….it added to the uniqueness of each character.

Maid - Attempted portrayal of obstacles encountered by people who need to rely on social service systems for their survival fell too flat for me…..

Breaking Bad warrants a repeat viewing, and I loved Better Call Saul too. Michael McKean as Saul/Jimmy’s brother is fantastic. I’m anxiously awaiting a new season. Bob Odenkirk had a heart attack a while back so he’s been recovering — I hope he’s doing well and can resume the show!

I watched several episodes of Bad Sports on Netflix, which were interesting -
Race car driver/drug smuggler Randy Lanier, 2002 Olympic ice skating judging scandal, race horse murders.
https://www.netflix.com/title/81084829

@Xtabay - the BF heard about Schmigadoon via an NPR interview of the writer/composer while stuck in traffic! Otherwise, I really haven’t heard a lot about it.

We just started watching “Welcome To Earth” with Will Smith last night, on a friend’s recommendation. Mind = BLOWN. We only stopped watching because it was so late, we were struggling to stay awake.

Mary Beth, what did the writer /composer say were his goals in Schmigadoon? I just watched the first episode (the freebie), then read Vulture’s reviews of the rest of them. This is the closing paragraph of the last one. It refers to some hopes for the musical that the author has commented on throughout the series.

Schmigadoon! preaches a valuable message about accepting people for who they are, but it does so without any real insight into how communities can truly evolve to serve all people. Pedestrian sentiment buries the more incisive social commentary, and it feels as if creators Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio were afraid to go too hard on the classic musicals they revere. But then what’s the point? The show didn’t use the genre to say anything particularly interesting about relationships or deliver any provocative critique, so it ends up playing as a pale imitation of the classics with a cast full of wasted potential.

Was the creator really trying to interrogate the problems with the archetypical musical form from the mid 20th century, or just a cheeky homage/loving parody?

Aha @rachylou do you mean the new live action version of Cowboy Bebop or the original anime?

I don't think my tastes are to most people's liking in here haha but I've been watching Aggretsuko - a mild mannered accountant who blows off steam from her day job by singing death metal karaoke. Yes, you read that right haha. It sounds quirky but it's essentially an animated version of The Office (the karaoke isn't the main focus, but rather the characters' growth & relationships).

I was watching the new live action. It’s already been cancelled, lol. My bff refused to watch it because it wasn’t the anime. But I’m the opposite of a purist, unlike him: I really enjoyed it. Light fun in my book

Thanks to some of the recommendations here, I started watching the Great. I think it's amazing. Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult have incredible chemistry. The finale of the first season could easily be one of the best things I've watched in the last few years.

For Olivia Colman fans, she is in Fleabag, which is another great show. And in a little dysfunctional family show called, Flowers. That one is really bizarre, so this is not a blanket recommendation, but worth a watch if you are into the Wes Anderson genre of entertainment.

Speaking of Olivia Colman, I have Landscapers on my to view list.

I’ve been watching Station Eleven on HBO Max and I think it’s quite good. A different take on the post-apocalyptic genre. I read the book a few years ago.

Hmm, in season my husband says I love anything with sequins: DWTS, The Voice, etc.

I also follow my college football and local NFL teams, and he follows our local baseball team. I have dispensation sleep during his games and vice versa.

I can’t stand the storylines in Hallmark, etc.: big city girl comes to recognize the error of her ways in going away to get an education or working in a professional position, and returns to her home town to be a mom. It’s like watching my life if I had never escaped the toxic stew in my rural home town of blue collar defeatism, conservative religion and sexism. The Handmaid’s Tale reads like an instruction manual for the future for these people; I can’t bear to watch it.

We also watch smart mysteries, like Mare, and anything BBC you all recommend, except for those set in Scotland- I can understand a wide range of accents but the burr completely throws me off. I will take the tip from you all of turning on closed captioning! This year we also watched two French shows we really enjoyed: The Bureau and The Spiral.

We’ve started Silent Sea on Netflix. It’s Korean, with subtitles. We’ve seen three episodes. So far, it’s pretty good!

Okay, everybody, drop everything and watch Don't Look Up on Netflix! Best movie of the year, even though it will make you crazy!

Reno 911 re-runs on Comedy Central.