Felice ShapiroWe’ve been watching a lot of great TV lately. Not in “real time” of course, because we are TV series bingers. We’ve discovered that watching an entire series in one-to-two seatings is our favorite viewing style — it makes for an ideal date night. It’s pure, delightful gluttony when you hook into a great series.
We watch most of our shows on our very “Smart TV” which makes binging particularly easy, and I have learned to master the clicker so I no longer feel stupid. Thank you Samsung. No more pathetic tech calls to my kids for help.
There was a time, not that long ago, that I was a tad judgmental about people who admitted to watching a lot of TV. I assumed they were not too bright and probably didn’t read much. Since I didn’t watch much TV, it wasn’t a topic that I could join in on. Now however – even in my book club – what are we watching next gets everyone’s attention, and we all pull out our I-phones to jot down the newest show.
I wanted to share some of our new favorite TV series that we have immersed ourselves in over the last month. If you haven’t seen these shows – frankly, I’m jealous because I wish I were seeing them again for the first time. I hope you have a chance to watch these and please let me know what you think.
- The Honorable Woman – an 8-episode mini-series created for BBC and Sundance TV is available to binge on in its entirety on Netflix. And I suggest you do!
I have my sister Jane to thank for recommending this just as the snow was beginning to fall for 2 days in Boston during the Juno Blizzard. She had admitted to her own non-stop binge-fest just the week before, and that was enough to get us tuned-in . We watched all 8 episodes over 2 consecutive evenings which was the ideal way to indulge in this story as there were so many plots and subplots. It takes a few episodes to grasp what is going on – and it’s so worth it!
This story is complex in its’ politics and story line. It tangles with the Israeli/Palestinan issue in the context of a who-done-it. We loved not only the story, but also the acting and the intrigue. Maggie Gyllenhaal who plays the main character, Nessa Stein is spectacular. Check it out – you won’t be disappointed.
There’s some great reviews about this show – one on NPR – which you should check out.
- Transparent– Jill Soloway won Sundance Best Director for Transparent and the show won the best TV series at the Golden Globes so there is a good chance you have already heard of it.
Because my son signed our family up for Amazon Prime – it was an easy download on our super “Smart TV.” We binged on this gem over the Christmas holidays while my sister Jane visited and we didn’t stop until dawn. We were totally wowed.
Mort, played by Jeffrey Tambor (70 years old) comes out to his family as a transgender woman named Maura. He’s brilliant (we love him from the series Arrested Development which is another of our family favorites). Tambor won best actor at the Golden Globes.
This series gave us an introduction to the transgender world with humor, kindness and sensitivity. The characters are hilarious, outrageous and surprisingly relatable. We weren’t surprised to read that the story was based on Soloway’s own dad who had come out just 3 years before.
This You Tube trailer gives you a taste of the what’s to come:
Click here to start watching Transparent on Amazon.
- Mozart In the Jungle– This one is another Amazon Prime easy grab. My friend Lizzy gave us the heads up on this pearl. A true cultural immersion into the classical music world in New York – this series is full of love, intrigue and gorgeous music.
It’s about musicians, behind the scenes at the symphony, artistic egos, and has plenty of sex. The series is hilarious and fun, and Bernadette Peters and Malcolm McDowell are fantastic. The incredibly sexy Gael Garcia Bernal (you will remember him from the Motorcycle Diaries) is the new maestro whose charm and sex appeal disrupt the old guard at the symphony.
My husband and I were sucked in immediately but admittedly we have not finished the series yet. We promised not to watch another episode without each other – so this one may take a bit longer to finish.
Here’s the trailer:
…and so if you’re intrigued.. well then…
Click here to start watching this on Amazon.
Have fun and let us know what you think in the comment section below.