Mely (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
coffeeandink) wrote2026-10-22 07:00 pm
coffeeandink) wrote2026-10-22 07:00 pm
Brief notes on 2026 TV
This is ranked solely by my degree of emotional engagement, which resembles but is not identical to my ranking by overall quality.
The problem with describing this series by its plot is that it will make you think it's about the plot, and the plot is pretty rote. What it's about is rape culture and the patriarchy and imperfect victims, and its take on that is not rote at all.
Alice Black (Emmy Rossum), newbie FBI agent, tries to identify and track down a female serial killer (Lola Petticrew) who seems to be targeting powerful men in the circle of billionaire Jay Eaton (the initials "JE" are not a coincidence). Alice recently left the NYPD, after her boyfriend, also a cop, almost killed her, and all their coworkers except Alice's partner supported him; but it's clear that the FBI isn't any less patriarchal and complicit in patriarchal violence than the NYPD. She seeks the advice of the head of the sex crimes unit, the jaded and alcoholic Nora Washington (Quincy Tyler Bernstine), and sometimes even gets it. If you've seen any quotes from the show, it's probably this exchange; if you come out of the show without saying, "Quincy Tyler Bernstine, where have you been all my life" I don't even know what you're looking for in a performer.
The show is Furious because the three women are deeply, ferociously, knowingly angry; but also because they are the Furies, and the show doesn't shy away from what vengeance means, and how violence makes the victims -- possibly even more than the perpetrators -- seem monstrous to a society that doesn't want to face their pain.
The ending makes for a brilliant limited series, and I am slightly worried that the show will fall off its perfect balance in season 2; it is so good at the tough, painful parts of survival and damage and complicity. I really hope they carry it off again.
Speaking of shows about cycles of violence and abuse making you feel like a monster … Despite the retitling, I think this would be almost incoherent if you started it here; this is really Interview with the Vampire S3: The Even More Unreliable Remix. It doesn't waste Jacob Anderson as I'd feared it would, but it doesn't balance the supporting characters quite as well as it did in earlier seasons. By the end of the season the strain of trying to stuff everything it has to cover into only eight episodes really begins to show; they had two seasons for the first book, and it worked much better. The finale is weirdly anticlimactic and even though the season covers the entire novel, it feels like half of a story; overall judgment held pending Queen of the Damned aka S4.
Rereading, I realize I sound like I was mostly unhappy, which is not a true at all. It is an amazing, hilarious, heartbreaking ride.
This is a delightful comedy about an assassin (Hannah Waddingham) and her best friend, an elite politician's wife (Octavia Spencer). It is the middle-aged female buddy comedy road trip show I didn't know I needed. Canceling it was a terrible decision, but you should give it a go anyway; it does tell a complete story.
You probably already know about this one. Like everyone else, I don't think it balances its ensemble with Dr. Robby's story as well as S1; the show really could have fixed both the repetitiveness of Robby's storyline and the scanting of the supporting cast with a single move. I do very much appreciate the increased focus on the nursing staff.
This is the show about teenage girls stranded after a plane crash that's not Yellowjackets. The first season interweaves the girls' experiences on a desert island with them telling their stories to mysterious interrogators after their rescues. It feels like a vintage CW show with a better budget and a more explicit vocabulary. I hugely enjoyed the entire ensemble of complicated and often dislikeable teenage girls, and I am very sorry it got canceled on a cliffhanger in 2022 and no one will watch it and talk to me about it.
It's Tatiana Maslany's new show. It gives her almost enough to do. It's edited like a panic attack.
Period police procedural set on a Navajo reservation. The supporting cast is fine, but the shining light of the show is Zahn McLaren as the lead. Eventually I will watch the next two seasons.
I do not love this as much as everyone else does, but I do love Patricia. I have attempted to convince two people who were not enthused about the pilot to just watch Episodes 4 and 8, the Patricia episodes. (They ended up watching the entire series, but I still think they could have managed with just the Patricia episodes.)
Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre are great; Kelly McDonald is great but her character makes no sense. In retrospect, I think they probably should have cut way back on the puzzle box aspects and started the whole thing around Episode 8, which is when we finally get the Hal Jordan-John Stewart buddy show the trailers seemed to promise.
It made me not hate spending time on Hal Jordan, so kudos for that, I guess.
I feel kind of bad I watched this, a show with maybe three named female characters, and not House of the Dragon, but House of the Dragon looks incredibly bleak and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms did not. Peter Claffey and Dexter Soi Ansell have great buddy chemistry, and Dunk brought up fond memories of his descendant, Brienne of Tarth. I could have done without the feces on screen.
Season 4 had the same problem as Season 3: the male lead is just so much less interesting than the female lead. It works slightly better than the previous season for three reasons:
But hey! Maybe having two female leads for S5 will fix the problem.
Furious (Hulu)
The problem with describing this series by its plot is that it will make you think it's about the plot, and the plot is pretty rote. What it's about is rape culture and the patriarchy and imperfect victims, and its take on that is not rote at all.
Alice Black (Emmy Rossum), newbie FBI agent, tries to identify and track down a female serial killer (Lola Petticrew) who seems to be targeting powerful men in the circle of billionaire Jay Eaton (the initials "JE" are not a coincidence). Alice recently left the NYPD, after her boyfriend, also a cop, almost killed her, and all their coworkers except Alice's partner supported him; but it's clear that the FBI isn't any less patriarchal and complicit in patriarchal violence than the NYPD. She seeks the advice of the head of the sex crimes unit, the jaded and alcoholic Nora Washington (Quincy Tyler Bernstine), and sometimes even gets it. If you've seen any quotes from the show, it's probably this exchange; if you come out of the show without saying, "Quincy Tyler Bernstine, where have you been all my life" I don't even know what you're looking for in a performer.
The show is Furious because the three women are deeply, ferociously, knowingly angry; but also because they are the Furies, and the show doesn't shy away from what vengeance means, and how violence makes the victims -- possibly even more than the perpetrators -- seem monstrous to a society that doesn't want to face their pain.
The ending makes for a brilliant limited series, and I am slightly worried that the show will fall off its perfect balance in season 2; it is so good at the tough, painful parts of survival and damage and complicity. I really hope they carry it off again.
The Vampire Lestat (AMC)
Speaking of shows about cycles of violence and abuse making you feel like a monster … Despite the retitling, I think this would be almost incoherent if you started it here; this is really Interview with the Vampire S3: The Even More Unreliable Remix. It doesn't waste Jacob Anderson as I'd feared it would, but it doesn't balance the supporting characters quite as well as it did in earlier seasons. By the end of the season the strain of trying to stuff everything it has to cover into only eight episodes really begins to show; they had two seasons for the first book, and it worked much better. The finale is weirdly anticlimactic and even though the season covers the entire novel, it feels like half of a story; overall judgment held pending Queen of the Damned aka S4.
Rereading, I realize I sound like I was mostly unhappy, which is not a true at all. It is an amazing, hilarious, heartbreaking ride.
Ride or Die (Amazon)
This is a delightful comedy about an assassin (Hannah Waddingham) and her best friend, an elite politician's wife (Octavia Spencer). It is the middle-aged female buddy comedy road trip show I didn't know I needed. Canceling it was a terrible decision, but you should give it a go anyway; it does tell a complete story.
The Pitt (HBO)
You probably already know about this one. Like everyone else, I don't think it balances its ensemble with Dr. Robby's story as well as S1; the show really could have fixed both the repetitiveness of Robby's storyline and the scanting of the supporting cast with a single move. I do very much appreciate the increased focus on the nursing staff.
The Wilds (Amazon)
This is the show about teenage girls stranded after a plane crash that's not Yellowjackets. The first season interweaves the girls' experiences on a desert island with them telling their stories to mysterious interrogators after their rescues. It feels like a vintage CW show with a better budget and a more explicit vocabulary. I hugely enjoyed the entire ensemble of complicated and often dislikeable teenage girls, and I am very sorry it got canceled on a cliffhanger in 2022 and no one will watch it and talk to me about it.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (Apple)
It's Tatiana Maslany's new show. It gives her almost enough to do. It's edited like a panic attack.
Dark Winds S1-2 (AMC)
Period police procedural set on a Navajo reservation. The supporting cast is fine, but the shining light of the show is Zahn McLaren as the lead. Eventually I will watch the next two seasons.
Widows Bay (Apple)
I do not love this as much as everyone else does, but I do love Patricia. I have attempted to convince two people who were not enthused about the pilot to just watch Episodes 4 and 8, the Patricia episodes. (They ended up watching the entire series, but I still think they could have managed with just the Patricia episodes.)
Lanterns (HBO)
Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre are great; Kelly McDonald is great but her character makes no sense. In retrospect, I think they probably should have cut way back on the puzzle box aspects and started the whole thing around Episode 8, which is when we finally get the Hal Jordan-John Stewart buddy show the trailers seemed to promise.
It made me not hate spending time on Hal Jordan, so kudos for that, I guess.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO)
I feel kind of bad I watched this, a show with maybe three named female characters, and not House of the Dragon, but House of the Dragon looks incredibly bleak and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms did not. Peter Claffey and Dexter Soi Ansell have great buddy chemistry, and Dunk brought up fond memories of his descendant, Brienne of Tarth. I could have done without the feces on screen.
Bridgerton (Netflix)
Season 4 had the same problem as Season 3: the male lead is just so much less interesting than the female lead. It works slightly better than the previous season for three reasons:
- Luke Thompson (Benedict, S4) is a better actor than Luke Newton (Colin, S3).
- The show has finally realized that one of Julia Quinn's novels doesn't provide enough content for eight episodes and has beefed up the plotlines for supporting characters.
- Yerin Ha is such a charismatic and compelling actress that she manages to pull a coherent characterization out of a poorly written jumble of effacement and strength of will. (Nicola Coughlin is very good! But I think Yerin Ha's gonna be a star.)
But hey! Maybe having two female leads for S5 will fix the problem.
no subject
no subject
I liked it, but in 2025. :)
no subject
no subject
I started watching while it was still airing but there were already at least 3 episodes out. I was very fannish about for about 6 weeks, but the feeling died out because a) sports b) 6 episodes.
no subject
no subject
I always want to see the new season of Bridgerton and race through it and find it absolutely unwatchable if I try to rewatch it. They've made a lot of good casting decisions, though.
no subject
(exact same emotions as you on Dunky Egg)
no subject
Ride or Die is fan service in the best way and I sincerely hope they are able to sell it to another streamer.
no subject
no subject
I did! It was very interesting to see something That Was Not My Interpretation,and yet was clearly a justifiable Interpretation of the text.
Which is something an adaptation doesn't have to be, to be good, obviously. But in this case Murderbot was both good and mostly faithful.
no subject
FYI, the lead actor's name is actually Zahn McClarnon.
no subject
thanks, corrected! I think S1 was shaky with some satirical aspects that just didn't suit the tone of the show, but they seem to have straightened that out.
no subject
Re: Lanterns, I maybe expected too much of it based on how great Lindelof's Watchmen was. But if the whole thing amounted to less than the sum of its parts, at least I had fun watching Chandler play an asshole.
no subject
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
It started out with Paula being surprisingly sensible and doing things like lying to the cops, and then as time went on we just kept driving further on into Very Stupid Decisions.
Lanterns
I kept seeing reviewers discuss it favorably as Lindelof's follow-up to Watchmen and being like, NO IT IS NOT WORTHY. I mean, yes, I can see the influence, it is obvious, but ... like ... one of these shows is extraordinary and one is not terrible but also kind of eh.