#tv recs

[the-sassy-composer]

Really tired of streaming services making absolute banger animated TV shows for adults, never advertising them, then canceling then because no one watches them, so I'm taking it upon myself to share some of the ones I've watched recently with the hope other people will hear about them for the first time and give them a shot.

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Blue Eye Samurai

"A master of the sword lives life in disguise while seeking revenge in Edo-period Japan."

Probably one of my favorite animated shows of all time. Mizu, arguably one of the best sword masters in this time period, goes on a quest to eliminate four white men living in Japan, one of which is Mizu's father. The show focuses heavily on how factors outside of your control, such as race and gender, impact how others view you and how you view yourself.

Watch if you are a fan of: Complicated characters/relationships, revenge quests, gore, complicated relationships with gender and race, and absolute badass characters.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Undone

"After 28-year-old Alma nearly dies in a car accident, she finds that she has a new relationship with time; she develops this newfound relationship to find out the truth about her father's death."

Undone focuses on difficult relationships with family, including how your parents can have profound effects on you even after they're gone, and how to deal with grief. That, plus the added chaos of being able to travel through time.

Watch if you are a fan of: character studies, shows dealing with grief, time travel, trying to rewrite fate.

Where to watch: Prime

Scavengers Reign

"The crew of a damaged deep space freighter are stranded on a beautiful but dangerous planet."

A mix between sci-fi and horror, this show focuses on the crew of a crashed spaceship. Each (living) crew member of the ship escaped in pods, scattering them across the planet. They must fight to survive and make their way back to their ship on a planet featuring some of the most fucked up creatures I've ever seen.

Watch if you like: sci-fi, isolationist horror, body horror, creature features

Where to watch: At the moment, Max. As of May 31st, Netflix. Max canceled the show (even though it has a 100% rating 🙃). Netflix may make a season 2 depending on how many people watch it in the first few weeks after it comes to Netflix.

Harley Quinn

"The newly single Harley Quinn sets off to make it on her own as the criminal queenpin in Gotham City."

Honestly I was feeling a bit burnt out on super hero shows, but this one felt like a breath of fresh air. It follows Harley as steps out from the shadow of the Joker, no longer being one of his henchmen and struggling to find her identity as a single, independent villain.

Watch if you like: Superhero/villain shows, stories that focus on blurred lines instead of a clear distinction between good and evil.

Where to Watch: Max

Primal

"At the dawn of evolution, a caveman and a dinosaur on the brink of extinction bond over unfortunate tragedies and become each other's only hope of survival in a treacherous world."

This show is super unique in that there's basically no dialogue, but it still finds a way to display an absolutely gutwrenching relationship between two parents of different species going through shared grief.

Watch if you like: Brutality, heavily visual story telling, prehistoric stories, and tales of overcoming.

Where to Watch: Hulu

Love Death and Robots

"This collection of animated short stories spans several genres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror and comedy. World-class animation creators bring captivating stories to life in the form of a unique and visceral viewing experience. The animated anthology series includes tales that explore alternate histories, life for robots in a post-apocalyptic city and a plot for world domination by super-intelligent yogurt."

I love this show because you never have any clue what to expect. A siren living in a river falling for a deaf knight? An artist painting intergalactic art pieces? Three robots going on a field trip through the apocalypse to visit old human historical sites? You never know, but there's going to be love, death, and/or robots in it. Each episode varies wildly, so I'd recommend watching at least a few to get a taste for it, as some will resonate more strongly than others.

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I'm sure there are lots more excellent animated shows, but these are all the ones I've watched in the past year or so. I'd love to see more recs in the tags, because I'm always down to watch more cool animations!

[terapsina]

Now that the writers and actors strike is about to begin being felt (and as we wait for those greedy billion dollar companies who are refusing to negotiate fair pay and conditions to give up) here's 10 of my favorite (all around best) fully finished older series you should definitely check out if you haven't watched.

I mean it, these are the shows with continuously great writing and a satisfying endings that manage to actually deliver on their promises.

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1. Leverage - (containing 5 seasons, or 77 episodes) - trailer here.

Hitter, Hacker, Grifter, Thief and Mastermind. Heists and cons. Stealing from the rich and giving to their victims. They provide... leverage.

Meant for anyone who enjoys bad guys being the best good guys, who will burn down the lives of evil CEOs and then gloat in the background. Very satisfying.

Hands down the best example of a found family trope I've ever seen on screen. Barring none.

2. Killjoys - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Space Bounty Hunters. Another case of found family trope. Bisexual space princess assassin. Quippy sentient ship. Green alien goo. Evil lesbians (but like... in a good way). The warrant is all.

More seriously though, it's a story about three killjoys and the bounties they go after. Initially. And then they have to save the entire Quad from some very terrifying... stuff.

Contains one of the best friendships I've ever seen on television.

3. Orphan Black - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Found family trope but with clones.

Low level grifter sees a woman who looks exactly like her kill herself and plans to take over her identity long enough to cash out. Except then there's two other women who also look exactly like her. And apparently they're all clones and someone's killing them.

Enter a global conspiracy. Human experimentation. Lots of clone shenanigans. Some serial killings. And a few murders 💖.

4. Person of Interest - (containing 5 seasons, or 103 episodes) - trailer here.

Okay I'm beginning to see how I might have a found family trope issue.

Former CIA agent gets recruited by a reclusive billionaire computer programmer who developed a... machine that can predict acts of terror before they happen. But it also predicts 'irrelevant' acts of violence that will result in someone's death.

Unless someone interferes.

I'd really like to spoil some stuff to get you all to watch this one. But I'm going to maintain self control and just mention that early on they get a dog named Bear. Bear is a very good boy. Watch it for Bear.

Also for excellent commentary on rights of privacy, government surveillance and what does 'greater good' even mean? But mostly Bear.

5. 12 Monkeys - (containing 4 seasons, or 47 episodes) - trailer here.

The very best time travel show out there. What starts out as a confusing mess of causality basically exploding, by the end of the series all makes complete and total sense.

(when that final timey-whimey loop slid into place and revealed the entire pattern it was like a choir of angels started singing in the back of my head. It was freaking glorious).

Anyway, a man from a post apocalyptic future travels into the past to stop a plague from decimating nearly the entire world population.

He has the name of the man who released the virus and it's supposed to be a single trip. One trip. One bullet. Simple. Done.

Except then things keep escalating, and escalating until time begins eating its own tail and it might start looking like the end of the world might be a better ending than erasing all of time and space from reality.

Because when our guys screw it up, they screw it up GOOD.

And oh yeah... found family.

6. The Good Place - (containing 4 seasons, or 53 episodes) - trailer here.

A self-proclaimed Arizona dirtbag opens her eyes and finds out that she's dead and got accepted in the Good Place. Except that as soon as she arrives the Good Place starts glitching, and she really, REALLY needs to become a better person before she can be found out and kicked out to the Bad Place.

Luckily her assigned soulmate was a professor of ethics and moral philosophy.

One of the funniest, most thoughtful and clever comedies I've ever watched. Ever. The characters are delightful and by the time the final minute rolled around I had sobbed my heart out multiple times (which, as we all know, is a sign of the very best comedies out there).

As for the question of whether or not this too contains Found Fami- Yes! Obviously, yes.

7. Avatar: the Last Airbender - (containing 3 seasons, or 61 episodes) - intro here (couldn't locate the trailer but it's basically the same thing in this case).

The four nations lived in harmony. Until the Fire Nation attacked.

It's been a hundred years since the beginning of the war when two kids from the Southern Water Tribe find a boy frozen in ice and wake him up. A boy who's able to bend all four elements... though not very well.

Enter multi-nation flying road trip (thank you Appa, we love you most of all) as they try to find teachers for the Avatar and save the world.

Includes found family (shut up), amazing fight scenes, the most heartfelt and vivid characters ever, and the best example of a redemption arc actually done well.

8. Love Between Fairy and Devil - (containing 1 season, or 36 episodes) - trailer here.

This one gutted me. I'm saying this as a compliment. But it had to be said. Completely destroyed me. I just haven't been the same.

A love story between an Orchid Fairy and the leader of the Moon Tribe that starts out with her accidentally releasing him from millennia long imprisonment and then takes you through the caleidoscope of all possible human emotions (it's a body-swap comedy through the first part, then a romcom, then a dramatic romantic tale, and finally a tragic love story).

But it's such a satisfying slow burn.

And it carries this... humanity through the whole thing that makes it so visceral.

If you're a romantic who's very tired of instalove and characters dropping all their morals because 'ooh, attractive person' then you've got to watch this. Because this story does NOT take the easy road there.

(my more extensive rec for this series can be found here)

9. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - (containing 7 seasons, or 133 episodes) - fanmade trailer here (it was better than any of the official ones).

This series did so much. Introduced Ahsoka Tano, and made us love her. Gave names and faces and souls to the Clone Troopers (okay, it's the same face but you know what I mean), to a point where their endings during Order 66 destroyed me just as much as the ending of the Jedi Order. And somehow made me both love Anakin AND be a million times more angry with him.

There are some arcs in this series that might be a bit weaker. But there were some... god, there's a reason I love Clone Wars more than any other series or trilogy in this universe. And I'm not even a little ashamed to say it.

Must watch for Disaster Lineage shenanigans; for the vod'e; AND for the Jedi (who did their best okay? They always did their best 😭💔).

(and on the subject of found family... do I even need to comment)

10. Nikita - (containing 4 seasons, or 73 episodes) - trailer here.

A rogue assassin that escaped Division - covert government agency that takes recruits out of prison, fakes their deaths and then forces them to become spies and assassins - has come back to take it down. Brick by brick if she has to. With guns and explosives too when that works better.

Contains soooo many cool fight scenes. Is full of incredible characters you'll fall in love with (and hate with) very quickly. And most of all has an incredibly complex relationship of mentorship and friendship between two women that holds both great admiration and betrayal, real care and love as well as rage and hatred, forgiveness, mutual respect and an unbreakable kind of bond that so very rarely involves even one female character on TV, let alone two.

(as usual, found family tropes up the wazzoo).

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In conclusion. We all know there's going to be a large space between seasons of our favorite shows now (and some shows that aren't going to survive it). Let's fill that space with some excellent TV we haven't had a chance to see yet.

And direct the blame for the wait towards the right place (i.e. the studios).

[bettsfic]

what is the most obscure piece of media you love? the book, show, movie, game, or whatever else that you think is a masterpiece and you have no idea why it's not more famous than it is. the thing you're always recommending to other people because you want them to love it the way you do.

[daisymintt]

Finished Renegade Nell a couple days ago and oh my gosh it’s sooo good! I can’t stop thinking about it!!! What a refreshing and original show! I really hope it gets a season 2, though I wish it had a few more fight scenes in it. Most of them are just in the first and the last episode. Overall though it’s a 10/10 show! Highly recommend especially if you like well written strong female characters, magic, Robin Hood, and Jack Sparrow-esque characters!

[ilikecrocssuckit]

Mature Rated Animation Is Having A Moment

Seriously, I watched both of these shows in the span of a month and they're both absolutely incredible. Both use animation to its fullest potential in terms of storytelling power that other visual media just don't have. I highly highly recommend both. Be warned that they are both mature for good reason, but so worth it. Enjoy.

[megmoon1111]

Alastor the Radio Demon from Hazbin Hotel

[dandelionjack]

post i made on the WEWIL sub, because i was desperate. i’m getting burnt out on doctor who and i need a new special interest with that same intensity. strangely enough it’s only highly specific criteria that can get me obsessed with a fictional world. i don’t care if it’s embarrassing— obsessions literally help me survive. so i’m asking for recommendations from you all on this website too. please don’t be mean xx

note: i didn’t include classic who in the title because it has quite a different vibe to what i’m searching for and i want to narrow my options down. i still love it but it’s not quite the same

[gay-fandom-menace]

ITS OFFICIAL:

YALL NEED TO WATCH GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES

I PROMISE YOU WON’T REGRET IT

There’s found family. Girl friendships. Girl kissing. Soft boys. Soft girls. Tough boys. Tough girls. Tough folks of all kinds that are vulnerable for the ones they love. Character growth. Fleshed out characters. Epic dance numbers. Epic music numbers. All around just a fan-flipping fantastic time that made me smile, made me laugh, made me tear up, and made me believe in the beautiful.

Go on!! Give it a go!

[amplifyme]

Is anyone else watching The Diplomat on Netflix? If you loved The West Wing and miss the powerful women, take-no-prisoners vibe of Madam Secretary, you might want to add this to your watch list. I gulped down 3 episodes tonight, but I was hooked after the first. Well worth your time.

[otterskin]

Otterskin Recs: Blue Eye Samurai

Premise: A 'half-breed' samurai with blue eyes, possessed by an evil spirit of vengeance, cuts her way across the land as she seeks her father - one of only four white men in isolated Japan. For the crime of her own miserable existence, she will execute him.

Oh yeah, it's good. This may be sacrilegious to say, but...

American Cartoons < Anime < American Cartoons trying to be anime

Somehow, that last thing can overcome the problems the first two things are usually crippled by. BES is one such incredible show. It's well-paced, designed for the screen first and foremost, builds on its continuity and has occupied my thoughts for a week.

Thanks to that excellent pacing, it was very hard to not binge the whole thing. I only made it till episode 4 by watching one at a time, and then binged the rest with only a sleep to interrupt it. Its influences range from Samurai Champloo (naturally) to Hellsing Ultimate to Shogun by James Clavell to Kill Bill to maaayybe The Last Samurai. I've no idea how accurate to Japanese history it is, but even with all the ultra-violence and impossible physical feats, I did feel very grounded in its version of 17th century Japan.

The storytelling is compelling, the characters complex, the action exhilarating, and the voice-acting impeccable. Particular kudos given here to Maya Erskine as the titular character, who manages a convincing androgenous voice that is meant to come across to others as emotionless, but must convey all kinds of emotional information to the audience - for an entire show. That is no easy feat! The work of Randall Park as Heiji Shindo was also a favourite, managing to juggle menace and comedy. Even in the character's darkest moments, he is first and foremost entertaining.

Believe it or not, I did not at first realize that Abijah Fowler was played by my own beloved Kenneth Branagh! I should've realized it when this despicable character was so instantly charismatic, ha ha. As good as everyone else is, and they are all excellent, Branagh's menacing Irishman is the most interestingly performed, with small inflections and lilting menace that makes this odd duck out a protagonist of his own terrifying story. In a world of propriety and performance, only he and Mizu, the Blue-Eyed Samurai, are honest about who they are and what they want.

However, my favourite character of the show is probably Akemi. To avoid spoilers, I'll simply say that she's a competing protagonist and much-needed counter-balance to Mizu's story. She enriches the story with her perspective and experiences, which is a necessary thing when the protagonist is so laser-focused on a single goal. It is through Akemi's eyes that we actually come to understand the world and how it works, before Mizu ruthlessly slices through it.

The one fly in the ointment is that the CGI animation can't always keep up with the show's ambition. It's nowhere near as good looking as the impossible Arcane was, but once you accept its limitations, you get used to it. The animation also increases in quality as the show goes on, which means it only gets better! There are all kinds of dynamic camera movements and creative cinematography to make it engaging, too. My favourite was the use of a bunraku puppet show intercut with a flashback, which is interesting on several levels, not the least of which is realizing that since this is in 3D, that these animated characters are also puppets, of a modern kind.

I recommend this show for fans of Claymore and Afro Samurai in particular. It's violent, dark and carnal, but unlike so many anime that are so, it has excellent writing for its female cast and the wider story. This is the rare 'adult animation' that is actually for mature viewers, who expect mature writing and sensibilities.

Give it a go. And let me know what you think!

[kawaiixchaotic]

big mood just ruined and brightened up my life within 3 hours,,,,

i fuckin binged it..... nicola coughlan.... the woman that you are.... lydia west too, bra-fucking-vo

i dont think ive ever laughed and cried so much within such a small period of time

and i dont think ive ever felt more seen either

i NEED the next season. im wrecked man

CANNOT recommend this show enough. if you've ever struggled with depression or bipolar, especially if ur a woman, this show is so amazing not to mention a beautiful take on friendship struggles when ur mentally ill and trying to be there but u just Can't, and everyone like sees it as a personal failing.... i could go on. please watch this show.

[middlingmay]

Leaving Episode 1

Just finished watching part one of Leaving (2012).

I don't know why this show doesn't get talked about more, but I'm loving it so far.

Aaron (Callum) is lost, rejected, and desperately looking for something to anchor him. Julie (Helen McCroy) feels like she's missed out on something, is envious of her own children, is looking for something her life, which she's outwardly happy with, can't give her. There is something very young, almost naive about the way Helen M played Julie. And the end scene, her shyness and vulnerability came off more inexperienced than Aaron.

I think i can already tell that will be one I rewatch.

[terapsina]

Let me introduce you to the characters of the new British TV Show Nautilus (loose re-imagining of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas).

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Captain 'Tragic Backstory, a Quest For Vengeance and All The Slow-Motion Cool Camera Angles' Nemo Dakkar nee. Indian Prince.

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Miss 'Taken By Underwater Pirates But At Least I'm Not Married Yet' Elizabeth Sw- I Mean Humility Lucas.

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Mistress 'I Should Never Have Taken That Job To Body/Prison Guard That Rich Girl Until She's Unhappily In the Hands of Her Betrothed' Loti.

&

Cook 'Surrounded by Idiots' Kai.

(featured together because if that's not 'Love at First Knifepoint' I don't know what is (and if I'm wrong I will be highly disappointed))

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A PUPPY.

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Young Mr. 'A Sweetie With a Sweet-Tooth' Blaster.

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Mr. Architect 'I Just Wanted To Explore the Beauty of the Depths of Ocean WHY Does Everyone Want To Ram My Precious Child Into Boats?' Gustave Benoit.

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Captain 'The Most Punchable Face I've Seen So Far' Youngblood.

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Mr. Evil Toddler of 'It's MY toy that I built with slave labor and I want it back' Crawley.

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To Be Continued Once I Get To Know The Rest of the Crew Better but Until then... trailer under the cut.

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[moonagedaydreamsofrhiannon]

Media I enjoy with similar vibes

1. Cynical satirical comedies/dramedies in which selfish people do bad things and no one gets a particularly happy ending:

Veep, Succession, Bojack Horseman, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrested Development

2. The horrors of girlhood and homoerotic female friendships with vaguely supernatural happenings:

Yellowjackets, Jennifer’s Body, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Heathers, Veronica Mars (VM and Heathers aren’t supernatural per se, but there is some “dead girl haunting the narrative” ghost action so I’ll count it)

3. Strange things happen in the Pacific Northwest:

Yellowjackets, Gravity Falls, The X Files, Twin Peaks

4. Tragic doomed romance in period pieces:

Titanic, Dead Poets Society, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, The Phantom of the Opera, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Maurice, Brokeback Mountain

5. Bittersweet coming of age story set at an all-boy’s boarding school in the twentieth century where a teacher changes the course of a student’s life for the better but is fired by the corrupt school administration at the end of the story:

Dead Poets Society, The Holdovers (I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?)

[ironworked]

60 Sec Rec: Claws

"Claws is a midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a South Florida nail salon. It's about good women caught in bad places with worse men. It's the story of hardworking women trying to get by in this economy, set against the surreal, bright, gritty landscape of Florida and the luscious, absurd, extreme excesses of the crime world." [adapted from TNT]

I'm still half-way through, but i already know I have to rec this one.

Surprisingly well-described as 'strip-mall crime caper' by tv line, CLAWS is a show for everyone who complains about female characters never being allowed to be as messy and complicated and outrageous as the men. However, you absolutely get what you asked for, so be aware going in that they won't pull their punches: you wanted messy, you're going to get a huge Floridan mess.

The actresses are absolutely impeccable, and I have to agree with 9-1-1's Athena Grant as she livetweeted this show with her friends: 'Niecy Nash is a national treasure'. If you don't have it bad (whatever that means to you) for at least one of them 5 minutes into 1.01, I despair of you.

Also, Dean Norris as a bisexual druglord slash stripclub owner known to family and associates as 'Uncle Daddy' is... quite something.

Plus, Gina Torres in lingerie in one episode 🥵. And Harold Perrineau's character preparing a strip dance. I won't tell you how that goes, you'll have to see.

Created by Eliot Laurence (Motherland: Fort Salem). Written by Laurence, Emily Silver (Finding Carter, Bones), Sam Forman (House of Cards), Janine Sherman (Criminal Minds, ER)... Directed by Dale Stern (Veep, I'm Sorry), Jamie Travis (Faking It, The Bold Type), Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink, True Blood)... Starring Niecy Nash, Jenn Lyon, Karrueche Tran, Judy Reyes, Carrie Preston, Dean Norris, Harold Perrineau...

60 sec rec: Deadloch - Dead Boy Detectives - The Tick - This Close - Kung Fu - Nancy Drew - Kevin Can Fuck Himself - Silo - The Flight Attendant - Severance - Hacks - Hit The Floor - Black Sails - 12 Monkeys - T@gged - The Diplomat - The Mick - Timeless - UnReal - Kings - All Rise - Barry - Halt and Catch Fire - Resident Alien - Santa Clarita Diet

New shows: Brilliant Minds

[she-is-27-i-checked]

Recommend me one piece of media (other than Rizzoli and Isles) that you like but is not *good*.

ONE? I cannot do just one. I'm sorry but I have been training for this all my whole life... I'm not even going to keep to one per category and there's nothing you can do about it ((maniacal laughter))

Film:

Pitch Perfect. (The first one's undoubtedly the best but once you're in it you're in it) It's just fucking good fun ok? The songs make me happy. And 2 of the lead actors have been working the queer angle for years. 11/10

The Bee Movie - my wife and I will recommend this to literally anyone who will listen to us. Puns! Just endless Bee puns. 12/10.

Non-Fiction TV:

Dr G Medical Examiner. Just absolutely dog shit quality factual programming. They use the same graphics every week. In the later seasons they put really awkward personal life segments in for no discernable reason. Unbelievably watchable 11/10.

Deadly Women - **voiceover** Adele was a 13 year old Hispanic teenager. **On screen reconstruction** a middle aged white woman staggers in wearing juicy sweatpants. I have literally no idea why I enjoy this show so much. Maybe it's the brilliant (((whom))) sound effect they use all the time? Maybe it's Candace DeLong's hilarious turn of phrase "she was crazy...LIKE A FOX". 12/10

Fiction TV:

Ohhh boy...

Lost Girl - it's a succubus that needs to have sex or she dies. And she's played by Anna Silk. The story is actually surprisingly good once you get into it. Except season 4 when Anna was heavily pregnant and that had to do that insane train thing for like 6 episodes?? 11/10

Pretty Little Liars - ok, don't kill me. I know it is problematic AT BEST, especially in the later seasons. But it's also...just really fucking habit forming? If you have the self control, watch just the first 2 seasons and stop and it'll be nicely wrapped up before it gets ... Well...let's say it goes downhill 11/10

Books:

Different Dress by Lori L Lake - to be fair, I last read this maybe 15 years ago, but I do regret giving it away now as I'd do that shit again. It's just a cheesy romance on tour with a country singer. I loved it. (12/10)