It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend anything you’ve been watching this week
I’m a little bit behind. Sorry. Watching all of Altered Carbon(Netflix) for Boxset Monday, coupled with the double-episode French demands of Engrenages (Spiral) and Baron Noir meant that although I’ve managed third-episode verdicts of Counterpart(US: Starz) and Black Lightning(US: The CW; UK: Netflix), I’ve not yet had the chance to see the first eps of A.P. Bio (US: NBC) or Let’s Get Physical (US: Pop). They’ll be coming later in the week, along with a gander at Squinters (Australia: ABC) and maybe even The New Legends of Monkey (Australia: ABC Me; UK: Netflix), although that’s really for kids. Still, Monkey Magic!
Still a lot of shows are now ending, which should make that job easier. Indeed, after the jump, I’ll be looking at the season finales of Engrenages (Spiral) and Happy!, as well as the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery.
On top of that, I’ll be looking at the latest episodes of Black Lightning (yep, another one), Baron Noir (well, one of them, since at two episodes a week, I’m a bit behind…), The Magicians, SEAL Team and Will & Grace.
See you in a mo.
PS I saw two new movies in the whole of January. That’s not a lot, is it? So it might be time to have a Monthly Movies feature, rather than including it in WHYBW. What do you all think about that?
Every Friday, TMINE lets you know when the latest global TV shows will air in the UK
Quite a lot of acquisitions this week, with Universal Channel picking up The Resident (US: Fox), Sky1 grabbing hold of S.W.A.T.(US: CBS), 5USA acquiring Training Day (US: CBS) and Walter Presents shockingly acquiring a dark Scandi thriller Elven (The River) (Norway: TV3) – who saw that coming?
Premiere dates have been a bit harder to come by, mind, but here’s three to tickle your fancy.
Striking Out Left to Right: Rory Keenan as Eric, Fiona Shaughnessy as Meg, Emmet Byrne as Ray, Neil Morrissey as Ray and Amy Huberman as Tara
Striking Out (Ireland: RTÉ One; UK: 5Select)
Premiere date: Tuesday, February 13
Channel 5’s new 5Select channel is launching with Irish legal thriller Striking Out, which has been renewed for a second season in its home country. Here’s the Wiki plot rundown, since I ain’t seen it.
Striking Out follows the suddenly tumultuous professional and personal life of Dublin-based solicitor, Tara Rafferty (Amy Huberman), and her fledgling legal firm. With the help of Ray Lamont (Emmet Byrne), her street smart and opinionated client-turned-assistant, Meg Riley (Fiona O’Shaughnessy), a tech guru and private detective, Pete (Brahm Gallagher), the easy-going owner of the café where she makes her new office, and Senior Counsel Vincent Pike (Neil Morrissey – yes, that one), Tara’s mentor and friend, Striking Out follows Tara in her often surprising, sometimes poignant cases – their findings, fallouts, and resolutions.
Spanning from grandeur of the Four Courts to the beehive of Grand Canal, Striking Out is a snapshot of contemporary life in Ireland. Over time Tara’s cases pit her in direct conflict with influential families and the legal and political establishment, and also challenge her own ethics as she navigates her new life, fighting the urging of Eric and his and her family to return to the way things were. She isn’t alone in the battle, though. With support from her new team, Tara finds that this unexpected road is actually more rewarding
Gone Left to right: Leven Rambin, Chris Noth, Andy Mientus, and Danny Pino
A TV show that has even less of a fixed abode than Absentia, Gone has only just started airing in the likes of France and Germany, which is why I haven’t seen it. That and it sounding rubbish, despite both Leven Rambin and Chris Noth being in the cast. So here’s the spiel:
Based on the Chelsea Cain novel One Kick, Gone tells the story of Kit “Kick” Lanigan (Leven Rambin), the survivor of a famous child-abduction case, and Frank Novak (Chris Noth), the FBI agent who rescued her. Determined never to fall victim again, as an adult Kick has trained herself in martial arts and the use of firearms.
She finds her calling when Novak persuades her to join a special task force dedicated to solving abductions and missing persons’ cases. Paired with former army intelligence officer John Bishop (Danny Pino), along with other team members, Maya Kennedy (Tracie Thoms) and James Finley (Andy Mientus), the team work to solve cases and bring victims home.
No English-language trailers that I could find, but if you don’t mind some Spanish, there’s this one:
And if you can cope with a little French, there’s these for the first two episodes:
Alexa & Katie (Netflix)
Premiere date: Friday, March 23
Sigh. Not seen this one, either, but it’s Netflix. Probably won’t see this since it’s for kids:
Alexa & Katie follows two best friends eagerly anticipating the start of their freshman year of high school. Despite the fact that Alexa is undergoing cancer treatment, her outgoing personality and enthusiasm for life never falter, especially with her loyal, quirky, and awkwardly adorable best friend Katie by her side. At times they’re left feeling like outsiders, during a period when what seems to matter most is fitting in.
The comedy series stars Paris Berelc, Isabel May, Tiffani Thiessen, Emery Kelly, Eddie Shin, Jolie Jenkins and Finn Carr.
It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend anything you’ve been watching this week
Gosh, it’s been a busy old week, hasn’t it? Elsewhere, I’ve posted third- and fourth-episode verdicts on The Resident (US: Fox; UK: Universal Channel), Corporate (US: Comedy Central) and Burden of Truth (Canada: CBC), and that’s on top of reviewing the first episode of The Alienist(US: TNT; UK: Netflix).
Some time in the next few days I’ll be taking a gander at Let’s Get Physical (US: Pop), and passing a third-episode verdict on Black Lightning (US: The CW; UK: Netflix). I’m also knuckling down to try to watch all of Netflix’s Altered Carbon in time for a Boxset Monday. Let’s see how that goes.
But today, it’s time to look at the regulars. SEAL Team and Will & Grace are on a break right now, but Engrenages (Spiral), Happy!, The Magicians and Star Trek: Discovery will all be getting my considered opinions, as will The Brave and Great News season finales (which will probably be their series finales, to be honest).
On top of that, Counterpart has now started in earnest, there’s a new episode of The Alienist and Amazon’s started dishing out two episodes of season two of Baron Noir at time (although I’ve not had time to watch today’s two new episodes, just the first two). And although it didn’t quite merit a full Boxset Monday treatment, I did watch all of season two of Babylon Berlin this week.
