What I'm watching & listening to: 3/15/23

Top 3 shows and songs I'm vibing out on. Which means you should be too.

By popular demand, shows (+ songs) I’m digging on that I’ve been dying to tell you about.

3 Shows

Mr Inbetween on Hulu

Good for fans of: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Frayed / Out of: Australia

Ray Shoesmith (Scott Ryan who is also the creator and writer of the show) is a 40-something hitman for hire, with a heard of gold, who is adept at solving problems and generally there’s a level of violence in his vocation given he’s an assassin. He’s also more capable at creative problem solving than those around him - which include his best friend who has a knack for creating a mess which Ray has to clean up and his boss, a crime lord, who looks to him to generally be the one who handles his inconvenient, disposable people who don’t pay up. But where this show shines is in Ray’s juggling of his shady work in “security” and his personal life. The funniest moments are found there, but the show doesn’t shy away from the serious and the real. Ray is a divorced dad of an 8-year-old with whom some of the best dialogue is shared, has a funny brother who has a degenerative condition (Motor Neurone disease) - not funny, and a girlfriend who represents all the good things life for someone like Ray, if only he can shield her long enough from his anger issues. But as the audience knows, barring some real growth, and a career change, Ray likely won’t end up with the girl. There’s only so much separation of work and life one person can juggle, even an expert problem solver like Ray.

Perry Mason on HBO Max

Good for fans of: Boardwalk Empire, Fargo, Babylon Berlin, Pennyworth / Out of: U.S.

Welsh actor Matthew Rhys (The Americans, Brothers & Sisters) is a favorite of mine who also bears an uncanny resemblance to one of my brothers, which is a compliment for both of them, I guess. In his first sizable role since The Americans, Rhys is starring as the eponymous Perry Mason (iconically played by Raymond Burr in a the mid 20th century and rebooted in the 80s). It’s a tough act to follow but given the evolution of the character in this reboot which is intended as an origin story, it’s like we see an entirely new Mason emerge. He’s tired and world weary, living in 1930s Great Depression-era Los Angeles, back from WW1, drinking himself into a stupor, lonely, and in need of something, anything to give his life meaning and purpose. In this version of events, Mason is still joined by Della Street (Juliet Rylance, The Knick) as his partner (more or less). Street is smart, resourceful, and always the picture of composure in her professional life, though sometimes we see a little more of her

Both S1 and S2 crime stories are inspired and loosely based on actual crimes of their time. S1 focuses on the mysterious disappearance of a baby and his horrific death - his eyes are sewn open. Mason defends the mother. The main plot also centers around a famous radio preacher, Sister Alice (Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black). Second season sees the death of someone less innocent, wealthy and powerful scion Brooks McCutcheon (Tommy Dewey) and poor, marginalized minority scapegoats being targeted and set up to take the fall for McCutcheon’s demise. Will Mason take the case? Of course!

Hello Tomorrow! on Apple TV+

Good for fans of: Mad Men, Pleasantville, Severance, The Umbrella Academy / Out of: U.S.

Billy Crudup’s (of late, The Morning Show) latest endeavor has him playing a salesman, Jack Billing, a conjurer of dreams for the people he sells to. He’s doing them a favor, you see, by selling them real estate on the Moon and collecting $$ by way of his own Ponzi scheme, but really he’s affording them admission to a better life, allow them to leave behind all of life’s baggage in search of a more ideal life. Just ask Myrtle Mayburn (Alison Pill), a scorned housewife, who sells her whole life for Jack’s promise of a fresh start. Burn. Jack’s team of ace sellers (Hank Azaria, Haneefah Wood, Dewshare Williams) are eager beavers when it comes to outselling one another, but the sharpest by far is Wood’s Shirley or “Shirl” as Jack calls her. The retro futuristic setting can’t really pinpoint time and place - it’s purposefully vague. It’s like a futuristic 50s if the 50s was as advanced as some of the self-driving and automated machines. Its a slow burn and highly stylized like that other Apple TV+ show Severance. Give it a go.

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3 Songs

Theme: Romantic Love, Self Love and General Hype Songs

I Got You Babe, Etta James (Romantic)

Special, Lizzo, Sza (Self Love)

Until I Found You, Stephen Sanchez, Em Beihold (Romantic)

+ Bonus Track

You Are The Best Thing, Ray LaMontagne (Romantic + Self Love)

What say you?

What are you watching and listening to? Do you have good platonic relationship kinda love songs you listen to? If so, please share. And don’t say the Friends theme. That’s too obvious.