Which television shows am I watching right now? What programs have I been viewing recently?
Welcome back to another edition of NOW CONSUMING, which is a check-in segment to fill you in on what I haven't had a chance to talk about. Since my attention has been diverted elsewhere for far too long, I've neglected talking about so many TV shows over the years that I would have normally done full scale reviews or seasonal breakdowns for.
Unfortunately, I can't remember everything from every show I've watched over the past few years. However, I'd like to get back into the swing of things if possible, so Now Consuming gives you a microdose review as a quick fix for my thoughts.
Previously, I mentioned the theatre performances recap, so now, I wanted to shift my focus to the realm of television.
Previously on...
Admittedly, I've not kept track of the television shows I've been watching for a looooong time. There are entire series that I've seen and you would have no idea because there isn't a blip of a mention on this site. Unfortunately, I don't even remember some of them, and I don't have my handy lists like I do with movies for me to go back and check for comparison. Apologies for the gaps. Something like The Paper, I did write up about, so you can find my thoughts there.
Something like Batman: Caped Crusader, you would think would be the subject of a bunch of articles and podcasts (especially given my Batman Blueprint), but I didn't have anything to say about it until well past the point that it was out of the zeitgeist. For the most part, I wasn't impressed, to be honest. None of the show was what I would want out of it.
Peacemaker season 2 was pretty great. I had a lot of fun with this season and enjoyed it even more than the first. If they don't get a third season, I'll be disappointed.
Keeping up with some of the comic book stuff, X-Men '97 was a blast. I'm SO glad they knocked that out of the park. Since I've been eagerly awaiting the next season and I know that they're shuffling the deck with the creative team, I'm concerned this next round won't be quite as good, but I hope I'm proven wrong.
Harley Quinn is perpetually great, always funny, and I can't get enough of that show. My Adventures with Superman isn't as amazing, but I still liked it. It works better as a binge watch to me.
Did I mention anything about how Penguin was one of the best shows I had seen in a long while and I am so glad it was recognized with some awards?
Gen V and The Boys continue to be fun treats. I'm sad the show is ending, but I'm hoping they will go out with a bang.
More comic book stuff, starting to venture out a bit, The Sandman was a great finale. That season was phenomenal. I wish Dead Boy Detectives and other things in this universe were still around. For that matter, when the hell does Good Omens return?!
Interview with the Vampire is one of my favorite shows going. Talamasca was a fun side story to hold me over, but I didn't like it anywhere near as much. Lestat is going to be great, I'm sure. While I'm bummed that it didn't release yet like it was supposed to already, I hope that's for the better.
Also on the horror side of things, From is a show that my wife and I (who watches about 95% of these shows with me) binged all the seasons of. Awesome. I'm counting down the days until that comes back, too.
It: Welcome to Derry was amazing. I actually liked that better than both the television adaptation (which was meh) and the recent film reboot. Frankly, I enjoyed this maybe more than anything in that universe. I don't know how they're going to do another season, but I trust them to pull it off. On the strengths of that, we watched the first season of Castle Rock as well. Comparing the two, Welcome to Derry was better, but I still liked Castle Rock. It was cool to revisit Shawshank and to play around in that world some more. I've yet to watch season 2, partially because there are just so many other shows going on right now, but I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually.
Alien: Earth was on a similar wavelength, where I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next season, even though I'm not as crazy over the franchise like I am with the comic book side of things. Full transparency, I've only ever seen Alien, Aliens, and Alien: Romulus. I've never even seen AVP. It feels like with those three films and this television series, I've watched all the good stuff.
Yellowjackets doesn't have quite the punch it used to, and I think it's good that they're wrapping things up. I still liked the last season, but I'm going to need a refresher for certain parts of it that I'll have forgotten by the next time they're back. Speaking of which, Severance is consistently great, but I do feel like the last season ended in a way that they might be milking this and stretching it out too long for its own good. I don't like having to wait so many years between seasons all the time, and I'm not sure where they go from that end point. Then again, why should I second guess such a great show?
Stranger Things ending isn't something I spoke about on here, but I happened to really like the vast majority of the season. It didn't end exactly as I would have done it, but I was happy with the outcome for the most part and would just nitpick certain things. I never once thought that we were getting more episodes. Conformity Gate was ridiculous.
Squid Game ending the way it did was good, and I was sad to see that show leave, but I was even more sad to see the reality show was so terrible with season 2 that I couldn't make it past the first episode. It's become far too over the top scripted. If you're curious about any other reality shows that I've watched, The Mole is something I wish would return.
On the animated comedy side of things, I've not particularly loved Futurama and South Park as much lately. While I still appreciate them, I just haven't been laughing as much. When it comes to Futurama, it's starting to have that same downturn in quality that The Simpsons and Family Guy eventually fell victim to. Regarding South Park, as much as I want as much criticism of MAGA as possible, because that political ideology is nothing but pure evil, I'm so inundated with that on a daily basis that I want to escape from it. I can't open up TikTok without seeing terrible things those idiots are doing, and I have a hard time laughing about our world turning to shit and a good portion of the population losing their goddamn minds. This past season of South Park is something I've almost entirely skipped, as I just don't have the stomach for it right now.
English Teacher was something I really wish wouldn't have gotten cancelled. It's rare these days for me to get into this type of sitcom anymore (even though I used to love a lot of them), and it's even rarer for my wife to be interested, let alone legitimately like a comedy like this. Thumbs down on how this all ended, as I wanted more seasons.
Sadly, I have to give a thumbs down to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at the moment. This past season had such a weak opening that I didn't feel any motivation to keep watching. With so many other things taking up my time, I've completely let that sit on the sidelines and I have no itch to check out those episodes I've missed. Maybe I'm skipping out on some gold, but since nobody has told me anything about any of those episodes, I have a feeling it's probably all on the weaker side compared to how brilliant it used to be.
Black Mirror is also not as great as it once was, but I'll keep watching anything they put out there.
Silo, on the other hand, is a show that I struggled with for the first season and got halfway through season 2 before I threw in the towel. I just couldn't connect with any of the characters and I got tired of the visuals and the tone.
The Last of Us was much better in the first season. Season 2 was fine, but I'm not as thrilled about the third season as I was to get into season 2. Also on the video game adaptation side of things, Twisted Metal isn't a GOOD show in the sense that I find it gripping and award-worthy, but it's an entertaining one that I can't help but to check out as a guilty pleasure. It's honestly better than I anticipated from the start, and I liked the most recent season more than the first one. Fallout is something I'm behind on. I haven't started the second season yet. Other things have been more of a priority.
Currently Watching
Had I written this article a week ago, I would still be watching Wonder Man, but I finished that before publishing this. Overall, not my favorite of the Marvel Cinematic Universe television shows so far, but I did like it. I'm only one episode into Daredevil: Born Again's second season and I'm sad to say this feels like a downgrade from the previous season. I hope the second episode and onward turns things around.
Invincible is always rad. Since I'm not as aware of the source material as I am with Marvel and DC things, each new twist is something that wows me. That in and of itself is a refreshing change of pace, and I love how both serious and silly this series can get. I most recently watched the Hell episode, which was weird, but interesting as a side plot.
Scrubs is great. I was so worried they were going to drop the ball with this follow-up series, but it's SO good. Somehow, they were able to capture the magic from the original series without dating it in a way that makes it cringe. They avoided the pitfalls of trying to do something different purely for the sake of it, and thusly alienating the whole reason why anyone would want to reengage with a show they used to love, as well as the trap that many shows fall into where they just carbon copy everything and it feels like a hollow retread. New characters fill in previous roles very well. I like the new cast, and I like how they're progressing as supporting players who will take on bigger spots as the show evolves.
Traitors is a show that has finished, but I haven't finished the season. I'm on the final episode, so I still have that and the finale recap to check out. This cast wasn't my favorite by any means, and very early on, they knocked out some of the people I was rooting for (like Ian) and made it harder for me to get invested in the people I had never heard of and wasn't loving.
I'm behind on Survivor. I haven't finished season 49, let alone started season 50. There's no sense of urgency. I'll get around to it at some point.
School Spirits is also something I'm currently sitting on. We're juggling too many shows at the moment, so some things have had to be on the back burner, like how I mentioned Fallout is still just sitting in my queue. Since they've been renewed for a fourth season, I'm hoping that's a good sign that season 3 is solid, and I've liked the previous two.
I'm also sitting on starting season two of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. I started to watch the first episode, realized I had forgotten where we left off, and I'm waiting to eventually watch a recap on something like New Rockstars before picking this back up.
Something I'm even more excited to start watching is Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat. That's something I feel might work better as a binge watch, so I'm holding off until all the episodes have been released. The same for Love on the Spectrum, which is back today. Those 7 episodes are definitely going to be a quick watch. I perpetually say that show is the most wholesome thing I watch and I just love it.
Next Time, on...
Naturally, I'm looking forward to some of these shows returning. Everything listed above is something I plan on revisiting.
From is back soon, The Boys starts next week, Stranger Things: Tales from '85 is right around the corner, and holy shit, American Gladiators is also coming out this month, finally. Hell yeah.
In May, I know I have Spider-Noir and the Marvel special presentation to look forward to, and my god, how am I going to finish everything on my plate as well as take on the rest of these?!
I've also been interested in eventually (somehow) checking out Sunny, The Studio, Shrinking, The Institute, and Disclaimer, as well as a few other shows I've heard good things about, but unless I figured out how to extend 1 day to 1 week, I don't know if I'll ever get around to them. Plus, who knows what else will randomly pop up on the horizon that will be so tempting to watch that I'll have to add it to the list?
What are you watching right now? Have you seen these shows? Drop a comment below and let me know what television has caught your eye lately!
