TV: What I’m watching this summer

 

Summer TV viewing:

Summer is a time to catch up and binge watch shows that you haven’t gotten to see during the year or years past. Since retirement, I have been able to catch up on many shows I missed during my working career or that I just couldn’t get to in the last couple of seasons. This summer I am going to try and watch the following even though I’m pretty sure I won’t get to through every series.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress and feel free to binge them yourselves!

Must see summer shows:

Mr. Robot (USA)

Mr. Robot starts its 2^nd season July 13^th. If you haven’t seen this Golden Globe winning drama, find Season 1 and watch this remarkably fine cyber hacking drama staring the magnificent Rami Malek. It is full of twists and turns and you won’t always know what is going on but the acting is fantastic and the show worth of all its accolades.

Rectify (Sundance)

Rectify will premier it’s forth and final season late this summer on Sundance. For me, this is tied with the Americans as the best TV program on the air. You can easily catch up on the first three seasons on Netflix, as each season only runs  6 episodes except for season 2 (I think).  I promise that it will be so compelling that if you don’t have the Sundance channel, you will get a Seasons Pass on ITunes so you won’t have to wait another year to see the final season.

Rectify follows Daniel Holden, who was convicted for the rape and murder of his girlfriend when he was 18 years old. At 36, after spending 18 years on Death Row, he is cleared through DNA analysis and returns to his childhood home. The show explores how he and his family and the community deal with his return. It is a beautiful character study that combines unsolved mysteries (did he really do it) with evolving personalities and relationships. Just an amazing series.

Netflix original shows I am involved with but haven’t been able to keep up on that I will try and finish:

• The Unbreakable Kimmy  Schmidt (Very Good)
• Bloodline (Good 1^st season; 2^nd season is supposed to be pretty bad but I’ll check it out)
• Daredevil (1^st season very good; haven’t gotten to more than 1 episode in season 2)
• Jessica Jones (1^st season very good; 2^nd season not yet released)
• Orange is the New Black (it has had it’s ups and downs but I am a faithful viewer waiting for the next season to drop)
• Grace and Frankie (ok first season and second season is very weak)

Series I want to catch up on:

• Jane the Virgin (I watched the original pilot but it wasn’t my cup of tea so I dropped it. However most of the critics I really respect love it and so I think I need to give it another chance
• Sherlock (another very good one that I just have never been able to find time for)
• Killjoy (Highly rated Sci Fy show that I’d like to check out)
• PBS’s Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth (I’m a sucker for Jane Austin and this is supposed to be a great one!)
• Happy Valley (got through an episode or so but had no time this year and can’t wait to get through the rest)
• Billions (saw the first episode but never had time for the rest this season)

There are still some premiers and finales happening that I will be posting updates for them as they happen.