With the release of season 3 of House of Cards last Friday and given how often the subject of “what are you watching” comes up, I decided it was high time to do a post on TV. Since having children, my husband and I don’t go out nearly as much as we used to (and when we do go out to dinner with the kids we’re home promptly by 7pm) which means Friday and Saturday evenings are made after the kids are in bed with a little wine and a little TV-binge-watching. We’re lucky that there are SO many options now – more than the hour-drama and 1/2-hour comedy that used to be TV’s standard. I am always recommended all these shows I’ve never even heard of to add to our list and it’s always fun to find a friend who is watching or has watched your current TV-obsession so you can compare notes, theories, and disbelief’s in recent plot twists.We absolutely watch(ed) all the big ones (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black, Downton Abbey, Girls, we even just binge-watched and are now caught up on the Walking Dead) but there are a few off-beat series we’ve watched recently that I thought I’d share in case you’re looking for your next TV show to watch.
The Fall starring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan (of 50 Shades of Grey fame). The show is set in Belfast and tells the tale of a serial killer and the detective charged with capturing him. It was definitely binge-watch worthy as you’re simultaneously watching the serial killer move through his family life and latest obsessions while the detectives investigate and chase him. A must watch and after this you won’t believe that the same actor plays Christian Grey, he is very good in this.
Transparent with Jeffrey Tambor as a closeted transgender father who finally comes out to his adult children. The sometimes funny show is based in LA and centers around the (mostly dysfunctional) lives of Tambor and his adult children. It’s a great modern twist on family.
We just finished watching the 8-episode mini-series The Honourable Woman with Maggie Gyllenhaal and it was fantastic – most episodes were so intense with action I felt like I was watching a movie. The plot is slightly complicated for me to summarize here but basically the series is about an English family arms business with the goal to create better relationships between Israelis and Palestinians. The company is lead by Gyllenhaal who took over for her brother after he inherited the company when their father was murdered. As the series progresses more and more secrets arise and the plot thickens (as they say…) with wild twists and turns. This is a good one.
There is no excuse not to watch The Americans with Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, on every Wednesday at 10pm on FX, which most people get through their cable subscription. The plotline is basic – 2 Russian spies living a seemingly normal suburban American life with 2 children, all the while spying on the American government and reporting back to their motherland. It’s fast-paced, action-packed, and pretty risque at times. And if I can’t convince you, this article will.
What have you been watching lately?
