This pandemic ain’t going nowhere, so it looks like a long winter of watching TV. Here’s a few things I’ve enjoyed over the last six months.
American Barbecue Showdown (Netflix, 8 episodes)
This is a standard reality TV show- there are challenges and eliminations and the rest of the fixings. But I enjoyed this show more than most reality TV I watch because the contestants are nice to each other. I enjoy the competitive format of reality TV, and it was fun to watch one where the contestants seemed as interested in helping each other as they are in winning.
Food Wars (Netflix/ Hulu subbed and dubbed, 37 episodes)
I started watching this show as a joke to show my girlfriend one of the worst examples of oversexualization in anime. Then I actually watched the show, and it’s great. Really, really, really great.
So this recommendation comes with two caveats: 1) Yes, there is a ton of oversexualization. If that makes you uncomfortable, DO NOT WATCH THIS SHOW. If you can work through it, then you’ll find a great story about outgrowing the arrogance of youth. 2) Only the first two seasons are dubbed. I prefer the dub of this show, so I’m waiting on pins and needles for the next season. If that doesn’t bother you, then you can watch the other seasons on Crunchy Roll.
The Mandalorian (Disney +, 8 episodes)
A cool guy doing cool shit with a cute-ass sidekick in the Star Wars universe. There’s not much more to it than that. If you have even a passing interest in Star Wars, space, cool shit or cute kids, definitely watch it.
Cobra Kai (Netflix, 20 episodes)
I wrote this off as a Hollywood nostalgia cash-in, and I was totally wrong. The characters in this show feel like real people, and respond to problems like real people. That alone helps it stand out among the pile of shows that rely on plot contrivance for drama. Plus it’s very funny. Strongly recommended. Fun fact: the guys who wrote this also wrote Harold and Kumar!
Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey (HBO Max, 1 hr 49 minutes)
I don’t understand the hate this movie got. It’s one of my favorite movies ever. It’s funny, it’s colorful, and thank goodness it avoids a 40-minute CGI battle orgy at the end. Between this, Joker, and Shazam, DC comic movies are at least on par with their Marvel counterparts.
Shazam (HBO Max, 2hrs 12 minutes)
My brother and I threw this on to have background noise while we were waiting for football to start. By the end, it was my favorite movie I’ve seen this year. It has all of the qualities of Harley Quinn, while being even funnier (it does unfortunately do the bloated CGI fight, but it handles that with humor too). If you don’t watch anything else on this list, watch this movie.
What have you seen that’s good?
