Like many, I enjoy watching television. I don’t enjoy reality shows (other than sports) but I do enjoy episodic comedy and drama television shows. Though I pay a crap load for cable, I don’t have any premium channels. I do, however, have Netflix and Hulu. Hulu is on a special discounted price for a year and that special price is ending in October, I will not be renewing Hulu once the subscription ends but I am keeping Netflix.
Below I’m sharing some of my favorite television shows. Only one is currently running live and the others are on hiatus. The Netflix shows are available but none of the new seasons are out yet.
NETFLIX
OZARK
The internet says: This drama series stars Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a financial planner who relocates his family from Chicago to a summer resort community in the Ozarks. With wife Wendy and their two kids in tow, Marty is on the move after a money-laundering scheme goes wrong, forcing him to pay off a substantial debt to a Mexican drug lord in order to keep his family safe. While the Byrde’s fate hangs in the balance, the dire circumstances force the fractured family to reconnect.
Trena says: An accountant from Chicago has to move his family to the Ozarks because his business partner was skimming money from the drug cartel. The business partner is killed and the head of the cartel insists that the accountant repay the 5 million dollars. The money of course has to be cleaned so many business deals and other intrigue ensues after the move to the Ozarks. FYI-the move involves the accountants wife and children and they are none too happy about it.
Each episode is one hour long and the first season is 10 episodes. Season 2 returns on August 31.
ATYPICAL
The internet says: When a teen on the autism spectrum decided to get a girlfriend, his bidfor more independence puts his whole family on a path of self discovery.
Trena says: An autistic teenaged boy really wants a girlfriend. His family and his sibling try to help him meet this goal all while living out the complications of their own lives.
Each episode is about 30 minutes long and Season 1 has 8 episodes. The show has been renewed for a 2nd season but no word on a start date yet.
GRACE AND FRANKIE
The internet says: For as long as they can recall, Grace and Frankie have been rivals. Their one-upmanship comes crashing to a halt, however, when they learn that their husbands have fallen in love with each other and want to get married. As everything around the ladies is coming apart, the only thing they can really rely on is each other. This Netflix original re-teams Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin (“9 to 5”) as Grace and Frankie, respectively, bringing their chemistry to the small screen. It’s a casting reunion on a grand scale, as Tomlin is reunited with her co-star from “The West Wing,” Martin Sheen, who plays Grace’s husband, Robert. And Fonda is back with Sam Waterston, her co-star from “The Newsroom,” who plays Frankie’s husband, Sol.
Trena says: Two women who never really liked each other very much are thrown together when they discover that their husbands who are business partners confess that they are in love and have been having an affair for the past 20 years. It is the classic Oscar and Felix, straight laced vs. kooky set up and Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda do not disappoint. It is great to watch women (of a certain age) navigate their way through a life they were not anticipating. The show is funny, intelligent and compassionate. Each marriage had children and their stories also play a pivotal role in the series (which is awaiting its 5th season).
Each show is about 30 minutes long and there are about 12-14 episodes in the 4 seasons. Season 5 will return sometime in 2019.
FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE
The internet says: The show is a comedic exploration of old friendships, former romantic entanglements and balancing adult life with nostalgia for the past.
Trena says: A group of friends from college who live in New York City and live out all of the family and relationship issues with one another. Michael Keegan Key is one of the main characters and is funny, funny, funny. Each episode is 30 minutes and there are only 8 so it can be finished in a weekend (or on a sick day from work-which is when I watched it). There will be a Season 2 but no return date is set yet.
NETWORK/CABLE
YOUNGER
The internet says: After being mistaken for younger than she really is, a single mother decides to take the chance to reboot her career and her love life as a 26-year-old.
Trena says: The world is a cruel place for a woman not considered young especially one who stopped working for a time to raise her now college aged daughter. The publishing world is a young person’s game (apparently) so Liza decides to go for it when she’s mistaken for being younger than her actual 40 years of age. Of course, there are many instances of humor with the “mature” Liza not understanding some of the references as well as the not so funny instances when Liza is forced to lie and deceive to people she comes to deeply care for.
The show is
currently airing on TV Land, Tuesday nights at 10 PM. The show is 30 minutes long and in its 5th season.
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER
The internet says: A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot that will shake the entire university and change the course of their lives.
Trena says: I can’t really say it better than the internet in this care other than to say that this show is so much more. As the series moves forward, we learn more about each of the students only adding to the intrigue. Additionally, watching the students and their professor work on other cases keeps story moving and shifting.
The show is currently on hiatus but will return in the fall. The 5th season will return Thursday, September 27 at 10 PM.
CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
The internet says: Still pining for Josh, the boy who dumped her ages ago, whip smart lawyer Rebecca jettisons her New York life and moves to California to win him back.
Trena says: Again, this show is about so much more. It is different from every other show on television in that there are really funny and smart musical sequences. It is billed as a comedy but this show can be very deep, dark and sometimes painful. I was a late convert to this show watching the first two seasons on Netflix and then keeping up with it live. This upcoming 4th season will be the last. I have mixed feelings about that because (1) it is a really well written show but it feels right for it to end. I can’t say more about that without giving away plot points so just take my word for it.
The final season will premiere on the CW on Friday, October 12.
SPECIAL MENTION
INSECURE
I don’t have HBO but one week recently I received it for free. I made it a point to watch the highly acclaimed show, Insecure. Issa Rae is the creator and star and this show is GREAT!!!
The show is based on her web series, Awkward Black Girl, and follows the adventures of Issa and her friends through life in Los Angeles. Of course, it’s about love, relationships and being black.
If you have HBO, you should definitely watch this show. It is not for kids in any way so consider yourself warned.
And just so you don’t think I’m insane, I also love This is Us but everyone does so I decided to leave it off of the list (for now)!
Share in the comments-what do you like to watch? Is there a show that I’m missing out on?
