Hello everyone and welcome back to Friday’s Choice. Today I am going to be talking about five shows that I streamed this month. I have really been enjoying these shows and as we move into late autumn and winter, which means longer, darker evenings, I think it’s always a good idea to have a list of shows to watch.
So let’s dive into #fridayschoice.
I’m going to be talking about these five shows in no particular order. So let’s start with Annika. I mentioned this show in my Ten Crime Shows That I Binge Watched list. At the time I wrote that list, Annika had just started airing on Alibi. The first season of the show is now complete, and I really hope there is a second season because I thoroughly enjoyed season one. Annika is a detective series. Each episode had its own investigation. I really loved the small ensemble of characters. The story is told from the point of view of Annika, I mentioned before how she breaks the fourth fall and addresses the audience directly. I said how I really liked this as it was something new and different, and I hadn’t seen this done in a crime show before. Now that the season is complete, I will say that I really enjoyed this style throughout each episode. The moments where Annika addressed the audience directly were clever, witty, and her monologues often made me laugh. I also really enjoyed how in each episode, she would reference a literary work, an Ibsen play, or a Greek tragedy etc. It made for a unique approach to a crime drama, and so as I have said already, I really hope that there is a season two.
The next show that I watched and would highly recommend is Mare of Easttown. Kate Winslet was absolutely brilliant in this show, as was the rest of the cast. There were only seven episodes of this series, and if I were to describe this show in one word, I would call it gripping. It is not an extremely new story. A detective is searching for a missing girl who has been missing for over a year, and more and more young girls are being found dead. This isn’t a revolutionary new plot that has never been done before, but it is done incredibly well. The characters are intriguing, the show is filled with twists and turns, and the story is utterly compelling. It is one of the best shows I’ve watched in a long time. I can’t recommend it enough.
Up next is ClickBait on Netflix. I started this show after I finished watching Mare of Easttown, which was a hard act to follow. I started off thinking that while this show was good, I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I had enjoyed Mare of Easttown however as each episode went on, I was becoming more and more invested. I would call this show a slow-burn because while it didn’t grip me straight away, I would say that by episode three I was very intrigued, and the last few episodes were definitely stronger than the first few. I felt that this show was really relevant as it featured a lot of the dangers that can occur due to social media. It really is amazing, and scary seeing what can be done in just a few clicks, and again this was another show that was filled with twists and turns, especially in the final few episodes.
If you follow me on Instagram (@katelovesliterature), then you will have seen from my stories that just last weekend I started watching Vigil. I loved it so much that I watched all six episodes in one night. It was brilliant. There is a trend here as all of these shows have a common denominator – they all are filled with twists and turns. A major theme of this show is corruption, and it was done so well. The cast was fantastic, particularly Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie. I thought that these two actresses were brilliant, and in my opinion they led the show. The premise was really fascinating, I don’t want to spoil anything but what I will say is that I enjoy when characters are limited to certain settings because I feel it’s more interesting. When there are only so many places a person can go, it means that the narrative is challenged to operate within that space, and when an investigation is occurring in limited space, it means that there’s only so many places where evidence can be hidden. I would have to say Vigil is my second favourite show in this list, as it follows Mare of Easttown.
The last show I’m going to mention is Only Murders in the Building on Disney plus. There are only five episodes of this show so far, and I’m very excited to see the next one. I absolutely love Steve Martin and Martin Short. I think these two actors are a brilliantly witty duo, and Selena Gomez joining them makes for a very funny, sarcastic trio. I think that this show has a great premise. It’s something that true crime fans will enjoy. It’s funny, it’s witty, I would say it’s satirical. There are moments that do seem nonsensical, but I am able to suspend my disbelief and go with it because it is a satire and it’s cleverly done. Despite the satirical nature of the show, the mystery is still very intriguing, and I am very curious to see what happens next. So if you want something that’s lighthearted, different, but still mysterious, I would say to watch this show.
So this has been Friday’s Choice. These have been five shows that I streamed in the month of September. Have you seen any of these shows? What did you think? Do you binge watch shows the way I do?
I am very excited because starting Monday, it is spooky season here on Katelovesliterature.com, and I am going to be embracing horror, and thrillers, and ghoulish galore in the run up to Halloween. Stay tuned.
Kate xo.
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