What I'm Watching: Fall 2018

Wednesday, September 19, 2018


Time for another round of Kate Watches a Surprising Amount of TV for Someone Who Claims Not to Like TV That Much™. Please bear in mind that I work from home & leave the TV (OK, my iPad) on while I work.

Sharp Objects

As a long-time Gillian Flynn fan, I was excited to see her dark debut novel get a miniseries. Having read the book, I knew what was coming, but I wanted to see Amy Adams' portrayal of Camille Preaker, an alcoholic journalist tasked with covering a series of murders of young girls in her podunk hometown. What follows is a suuuuper messed-up story in which the murders actually take second fiddle to Preaker's own terrifyingly bizarre estranged family. It has to be watched sloooowly to avoid mental impact; the end is bananas. (HBO)

Everything, Everything

I loved this YA book so much, even though it turns out to be A) wildly unlikely, & B) pretty effed up. The film stars Amandla Stenberg (Rue in The Hunger Games) as Maddy, who can't leave her phone due to a severe autoimmune disorder. Still, she starts up a friendship - & then a relationship - with her new next-door neighbor, whose presence in her life compels her to try to beat her illness & see the world. While the film wasn't nearly as compelling or adorable as the novel, I felt like it was a decent representation that held my attention & got me in my feelings. (HBO)

Younger

This show didn't really appeal to me a dozen friends recommended it as the best thing ever. While I wouldn't go quite that far, I'm definitely enjoying it. Sutton Foster plays a fortysomething single mom trying to reenter the workforce & discovering that she doesn't have the experience employers want. After a makeover, she sells herself as being much younger than she is - & it works. You've got to suspend reality to buy that her BFF Hillary Duff, among others, suspects nothing, but damn, this show is fun. (Hulu/TV Land)

The Sinner

Whoaaaaaa, this show. I started watching it on recommendation from My Favorite Murder, lured by the fact that it stars Bill Pullman, of Newsies & Independence Day fame. In season one, Cora, a very normal-seeming suburban mother & wife (played by Jessica Biel), stabs a random man on the beach, to the horror of her family & dozens of onlookers. Pullman plays the detective trying to figure out why she did it - & what's wrong with her. This show is incredible - & also incredibly dark. (Netflix/USA)

The Handmaid's Tale

Speaking of dark, I can only watch one episode of this show at a time because it's so twisted & scary - in a realistic, this-could-happen-someday kind of way. I know a lot of people were really angry about that finale (no spoilers), but I thought it was done right - & was the only way the show could've continued. I can't imagine what'll happen next, but you'd better believe that I'll be glued to my screen when season three begins (even if Elisabeth Moss is a Scientologist...) (Hulu)

Atypical

When I started this, I thought I was watching a movie; by the time I decided I liked it, I realized I was watching a TV show. A teen on the autism spectrum decides, at his therapist's behest, that he wants to start dating - & so he sets out to find a girlfriend. It's funny & heart-warming while treating autism seriously & with respect. As someone who's husband is on the spectrum, this show really resonates with me - both the serious parts & the funny ones. (Netflix)

Sex and the City

Nope, I've never seen HBO's iconic, Manhattan-based show about four best friends dating in the city. How? Look, I don't know either, it just never really appealed to me. Lately, though, I find myself wanting to be able to better understand this cultural zeitgeist, so I turned to HBO Now to help me out. Season one is almost unbearably cheesy, but I'm told it gets better, so I'm sticking with it. It's time! (HBO)

Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist

We talked about this Netflix docuseries at my book club meeting, & I started watching it the next day. It tells the story of "Pizza Bomber" Brian Wells, a pizza delivery man who robbed a bank with a bomb strapped to his chest & carrying a cane that concealed a working gun. He was caught soon afterward... & as news camera crews filmed, the bomb went off, killing him instantly. Was he acting alone, or was he a hostage? (Netflix)

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Uhhh, who among us hasn't watched this one already? Noah Centineo is distressingly adorable (& also 22 years old), but beyond that, this is just such a well-done rom-com. I loved the YA series (it's a trilogy), so I fully expected not to enjoy the film as much - but I was wrong. This is the rare instance in which both are equally delightful. (Netflix)

9-1-1

When I saw billboards for this one, I thought it was a new show. Apparently, it's on season two! It stars Angela Bassett, Jennifer Love Hewitt,  & Connie Britton, among others, as first responders. It's a bit far-fetched - literally, the first episode starts with a premature baby stuck in a sewage pipe - but hey, I watch SVU & Grey's Anatomy & Chicago Med, don't I? I love me a little far-fetched! (Hulu/Fox)


Jack Ryan

This one came as a recommendation from Instagram followers when I put out the call for a new show to watch. I wouldn't have expected myself to enjoy this one - it's based on a Tom Clancy novel & seemed strictly action-packed - but I actually really enjoyed the first season. It reminded me a little but of the first season of Homeland but not nearly as difficult to follow - &, I suppose, not nearly as good, but it was good enough to hold my attention! It just came out on August 31st, so season two is a long ways away. (Amazon Prime)

What are you watching? Send me any & all recs! 

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