March Watchlist: Coming in Like a Lion and Going out Like a [XXX]
My TV watching is all over the board these days and refuses to be defined or contained by one genre.
Comically Social Commentary
Alt Title: When you grow tired of pretending (or trying), bad things happen
The White Lotus on Max | (2021-Present) | [Trailer] | Showrunner: Mike White | Season 3 (4 episodes released) | Location: Thailand
STATUS: STILL WATCHING & LOVING. ❤️
Logline: Watch what happens when you put rich (entitled) people and service people together at a wealthy resort and things start getting real. Downton Abbey, this ain’t.
/ Verdict: The show’s third season hasn’t received the same high marks and warm reception as the second season, and that’s down to action. It’s a slow burn but I know the pay off here will be worth it. The 4th episode, the mid-point, showed us glimpses of the “shit hits the fan” type exposition and set-up that White excels at. Now we just need to see how all the pieces scatter.
Related News: This season’s full-frontal scene happened, and Jason Isaacs was starring in a “go big or go home” event. [Read here] As you may recall, the full frontal has been a staple in previous seasons. Theo James graced us in S2, or so we thought. [Donkey Kong surprise, here]
💧Water Cooler Chat: Drop into the chat to discuss the show, as episodes drop weekly. [Chat away]💬
The Righteous Gemstones on Max | (2019-present) | [Trailer] | Showrunners: Danny McBride (Vice Principals) | Season 4 (Final Season)
STATUS: WATCHING
Logline: From Top Couples Shows, in which I cited this show as beloved one:
Apart from the combined star power here, the show centers around a dysfunctional, over-the-top family running a mega-church in the South helmed by John Goodman, that’s a bit of a Succession gone wild approach. The adult children, played by Patterson, McBride, and DeVine are all vying to take over the church and pulling crazy stunts in the name of the father or the Father. It’s hilarious.
/ Verdict: Season four’s first episode, which dropped on Sunday, showed a lot of promise, especially given the cameo of Bradley Cooper (yes, the one who played Leonard Bernstein), as Elijah Gemstone, a thief-turned-preacher.
Related News: The White Lotus fans get a double dose of Walton Goggins here. On the topic of Goggins' appeal, this Slate article is a must read. [His Hair Is Greasy. His Eyes Are Bulging. I Think I’m in Love]
Murder Most Becoming
The Grosse Pointe Garden Society on Peacock | 2025 | [Trailer] | Showrunners: Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs | Season 1 (3 episodes released)
STATUS: WATCHING
Logline: Think Desperate Housewives meets Good Girls. Four unlikely friends who garden together become strange bedfellows (in murder) in this dark dramedy, taking place in the wealthy enclave of Gross Pointe, a suburb of Detroit.
/ Verdict: It has a tinge of network TV feel to it, but for the most part, it is better executed and less rote than the standard fare of its kind.
Dark Winds on AMC | (2019-present) | [Trailer] | Showrunners: | Season 3 (1 episode released)
STATUS: WATCHING
Logline: 70s crime drama centers on a Navajo Tribal Police, headed up by Joe Leaphorn, solving mysteries alongside Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito as a wave of violent crimes hits their locale.
/ Verdict: The show’s first two seasons made it a sleeper hit. I kept spreading the word because it’s gripping, smart and well acted. [See here]
This clip is one of the many reasons this show is so good. It helps if you’re a Bowie fan and your favorite song is “Space Oddity.”
Dark Winds is based on Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn & Chee novels.
Surface on Apple TV+ | (2022-present) | [Trailer] | Showrunner: Veronica West | Season 2 | Hello Sunshine Productions (Reese Witherspoon)
STATUS: WATCHING
Logline: Sophie, an enigmatic Brit married to James living the high life in San Francisco, suffers a head injury that leaves her with memory loss. As she starts to peel back the layers of her life, she finds herself in danger, and yet she can’t resist.
Verdict: I can’t even tell you why I’m obsessed with this show. It’s a slow-moving yet thoroughly hooking drama. My Fridays are made better for it. I generally scour Apple TV Thursday nights to watch early!
Playing Ball 🏀 in Pink Suits
Alt title: Running with Scissors Boys
Running Point on Netflix | 1 season, 10 episodes, each < 30 mins | [Trailer] | Showrunner: Mindy Kaling
STATUS: WATCHING
Logline: See note above
/ Verdict: It’s classic Kaling humor. It’s a bit of the magic she weaves into The Office, Never Have I Ever, and The Mindy Project all rolled into one. Kate Hudson’s turn as a TV comic actress is welcome and she’s believable as a BOSS lady, probably because she is one. She shines here, as does the entire ensemble, including Justin Theroux as a recovering drug addict who plays Hudson’s character’s brother.
Related News: Oh, the fashion. It’s the first thing I noticed and got excited about, once I got past the funny dialogue. Yes, to power dressing in a way that actually empowers women. [Go behind the scenes to learn more.]
Quickish Takes
Shows that prominently feature storylines with fictional presidents
STATUS: FINISHED ✔️ 🏝️ Paradise on Hulu | (2025) | [Trailer] | Showrunner: Dan Fogelman (This is Us) | Season 1 (8 episodes)
Logline: President (James Marsden) is assassinated in a dystopian world, where nothing is as it seems. Non-linear narrative with slower, mood-setting covers of 80s and 90s songs used to optimal effect to attract GenX fans.
/ Verdict: It worked! More Please. It’s been renewed for a second season, and Hulu is placing the show in prominent product promotion alongside the award-winning Shogun.
STATUS: FINISHED ✔️⚠ Zero Day on Netflix | (2025) | [Trailer] | Showrunners: Eric Newman; Noah Oppenheim; Michael Schmidt | Season 1 (6 episodes)
Logline: Former president (DeNiro) is appointed to head a commission on “Zero Day” after a cyberattack kills thousands of people. Queue the paranoid populace, the tech overlords, and “God complex” politicians.
/ Verdict: All set. Thanks!
Shows that make us feel stupid, but are really just stupid themselves
STATUS: WILL NEVA’ FINISH ❌ Prime Target on Apple TV+ - The show that tried to make all of us non-Math geeks care enough about Math and failed had its season finale. I was somewhat intrigued enough to want to watch, but didn’t. Instead I posted a Note. Thanks
for the spoilers and satisfying my Crying Game curiosity.STATUS: WILL LIKELY NEVA’ FINISH 🤔 With Love, Meghan on Netflix. Much has been said of the Meghan Markle Sussex lifestyle Goop-y show and in much more socially astute comedic ways, so I won’t add to the dialogue, apart from saying I watched the first two episodes. I was mildly entertained. After I read
A Film I Wanted to Like But Didn’t Really
Picture This on Prime [Trailer]. Per my Letterboxd review:
I analyze its merits in the romance genre with
here:What I’m Looking Forward To in March/April
Everybody’s LIVE with John Mulaney: John Mulaney is an uber-talented comedian, writer and host, if last year’s Everybody’s in L.A. [See here] taught us anything. After the success of the pilot, he was pretty much secured a talk show on Netflix and I can’t wait for its release this evening. I hope it retains its spontaneous, kooky feel.
The Last of Us - Season 2 [Trailer] on Max premieres April 13. I enjoyed this show’s first season so much that I recapped all episodes of its first season. Standout episodes were:
Etoile on Prime premieres April 24- The new ballet drama by Amy Sherman-Palladino who birthed Midge Maisel and Lorelei Gilmore. Described as, “Follows the dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies — one in New York and one in Paris — as they take on an ambitious plan to save their storied institutions: swapping their most talented stars. The eight-episode season will debut as a binge release.”
Charlotte Gainsbourg and Luke Kirby in “Etoile” Side Note: Can’t wait to see Luke Kirby (Lenny Bruce, Marvelous Ms. Maisel) and Michel from Gilmore Girls in this.
For Luke Kirby Fans: Watch Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz (2012) [Trailer]
To get you in the mood:
Follow me on Letterboxd if you like shorter, sporadic, and off the cuff film reviews
We binged Running Point. So cute.
Now we’re onto Sex Education. I know. We’re late to the party but we love when we find a show and it already has 4 seasons.
"The 4th episode, the mid-point, showed us glimpses of" .. a penis?? A.K.A Lucius Malfoy wand. I couldn't help myself haha I'll see myself out now. I am LOVING the slow burn of this season.