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Category: TV

  • The Diplomat: Netflix’s Surprisingly Delicious Political Drama is Back

    The Diplomat returns for its second season on Netflix, October 31st. To get ready, let’s revisit the joyride of season one. Career diplomat, Kate Wyler (Keri Russell, The Americans), reluctantly accepts reassignment to the U.K. as U.S. ambassador. Her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell, The Man in the High Castle), also a diplomat, accompanies her to…

  • The Old Man Season Two: Bridges & Lithgow Team Up for a Rescue Mission

    The Old Man is back for season two, airing new episodes Thursday nights at 10:00 p.m., PST on FX and streaming on Hulu the next day. (Episode Four is September 26th.) Following is the preview/review of the first season I previously published (with minor updates) and a teaser for season two. Enjoy the show. Season…

  • 3 Body Problem: Netflix’s Intriguing New Sci-Fi Series

    Ye Wenjie, a Chinese astrophysicist, gets arrested after witnessing her father’s death during the Chinese Revolution. Due to her scientific background, she is sent to a secret hilltop military base striving to make first contact with aliens. Her decision to assist the extraterrestrials in migrating to Earth leads a group of scientists in the present…

  • A Gentleman in Moscow: A Wonderful Rendition of the Best-Selling Book

    In 1922, a Russian Count is sentenced to house arrest at the Hotel Metropol Moscow, one of thousands of former aristocrats rounded up in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. Most were killed or sent to die in Siberia. Thanks to one fortuitous circumstance, the Count avoids such harsh punishment. Instead, he must move from…

  • American Rust: Life & Crime in Rust Belt, PA

    American Rust is a crime drama television series set in Rust Belt, PA, shifting back and forth from the fictional small town of Buell to the big city of Pittsburgh. It premiered on Showtime in 2021 and was canceled after its first nine-episode season. It recently resurfaced on Amazon Freevee as American Rust: Broken Justice…

  • The Sympathizer: A Different Perspective on the Vietnam War

    “In America it’s called the Vietnam War. In Vietnam it’s called the American War.” During the pilot episode, HBO’s latest addition to Sunday night TV makes it clear that The Sympathizer is about the American War; a shift from the common perspective of the U.S soldier to the plight of the Vietnamese people. Directed by…

  • Undercover: Another International Treat from Netflix, This Time a Dutch Crime Thriller

    The scenario: Undercover agents infiltrate a drug kingpin’s operation by posing as a couple at the campground where he spends his weekends. They gain his trust and become close friends and partners in crime. Bad cops, twists and turns, double crosses, and sexual tension. Sound familiar? Of course, we’ve all seen a variation of this…

  • The 96th Academy Awards: No Surprise, Oppenheimer Was the Big Winner

    After sweeping the Directors, Producers, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Golden Globes, Oppenheimer was a shoo-in for Best Picture. Nominated in 13 (!) categories, it won seven – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Supporting Actor, Cinemaphotography, Editing, and Score. Poor Things took home the Oscar for Best Actress, Production Design,…

  • Oscars Predictions 2024: Looks Like Oppenheimer for the Big Wins

    The Best Picture nominations for the year 2023 run from blockbusters (Barbie and Oppenheimer) to critical favorites that few people saw (Past Lives and Anatomy of a Fall). Often by now many of the categories are sure things by building an unstoppable momentum during the Awards season. That’s still the case, but there are some…

  • Netflix’s A Nearly Normal Family: A Murder in the Swedish Suburbs

    Netflix continues to provide an array of compelling international programming. I love hearing the different languages (I would never dream of watching a foreign film dubbed in English) and exotic locales. Sweden is the setting for Netflix’s new limited series, A Nearly Normal Family. The Sandells – Adam, a local priest, Ulrika, a local attorney,…

  • True Detective: Night Country – A Spooky Chill in Dark Alaska

    In 2014, True Detective offered a fresh take on crime dramas. It was a swampy thriller, set in voodoo-land Louisiana, starring mismatched detectives played by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. It was HBO’s highest-rated debut since Six Feet Under, 13 years earlier. The second season in 2015, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams, moved to…

  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 Induction Ceremony

    The Rock Hall continued moving on from old white guys to a more diverse group of artists and musical styles, exemplified no better than this year’s headline inductee, Missy Elliott (on the heels of last year’s Dolly Parton). Here’s a complete list of the 2023 inductees: For the first time, the Induction Ceremony was livestreamed…