Series seen in 2025#
(Work in progress as the year progresses, so remember to check every now and then if anything new popped up in the meantime.)
Beware: There are a couple of spoilers ahead as those are predominantly notes for myself. Nothing all too serious, but one or two twists are revealed.
Barry (Season 2)#
The second season of "Barry" luckily drops Dexter's vibes and develops its own essence. What I liked the most is good balance of funny stuff and unfunny stuff. It's comedic and at the same time it tells a story of its characters. And then, there was this fantastic episode with a taekwondo master and his daughter which reminded me of this "The Sopranos" episode where Chris and Paulie got lost in the woods with a Russian mercenary. I am looking forward to season 3.
Creature Commando (Season 1)#
"Creature Commandos" is a 7-episode animated series in a spirit of The Suicide Squad and actually picks up directly after "The Peacemaker" (Amanda Waller and John Economos return with the live-show actors voicing them). It's edgy, it's funny, it's explosive, but also touching at times (the backstories are actually tragic). DC, which didn't have as much luck with cinema as MCU, finds itself pretty well in the world of animation. Can't wait for season 2.
Wellington Paranormal (Season 2)#
The second season of "Wellington Paranormal" finally finds its pace and rhythm, and with a bit of Flanderisation, but manages to map the characters' interactions. Once again, I am grateful for subtitles because New-Zealandian English is something altogether different. What I noticed in this season is that resolutions to most of the jokes' semantic traps come almost immediately, which is unusual, but in the end, worked out quite fine.
Cien Años de Soledad (Season 1a)#
"Cien Años de Soledad" is an adaptation of a very famous book from Gabriel García Márquez. It seems that Netflix ran the first half of the season, but so far, so good. It treats the source material with respect and I read it 25 years ago, but it seems to be not taking unforgiving shortcuts. It was interesting to see this differently to how I imagined it. To think that a couple of decades ago, they would probably try to squeeze it into a 2-hour movie. Inconceivable!
Ozark (Season 3)#
The third season of "Ozark" gets even denser with various plots accumulating around the Byrde family. I really like this speed chess of changing circumstances which puts almost ever calm Marty in a tough spot after a tough spot. There's always a risk of Flanderisation here, but "Ozark" manages to stay on the working side. I am looking forward to seeing the last season later this year.
The White Lotus (Season 2)#
The second season of "The White Lotus" takes us into sunny Sicily, which was a very familiar setting for me and not exotic. I like the slow burning plot where all but the last episode are rather drama that suddenly becomes a crime story. It's hinted at the beginning that someone will die, but it's hard to figure out who can be a victim and who a perpetrator. I am surprised that the format became popular enough to spawn 3 seasons to date.
Barry (Season 3)#
"Barry's" season 3 gives us more unhinged Barry, who's slowly falling off the wagon. It's a bit of relief because acting-as-a-therapy worked for a while, but Barry probably wouldn't be a good actor. I like how the show juggles with funny and scary moments. You laugh at first, then you're terrified for the characters.
I liked the episode where he fought the dirt-bike gang. It reminded me of the season 2's episode where he had to deal with the the Taekwondo master and his daughter, but in itself it didn't feel like "The Sopranos" episode but rather the "Oldboy's" fight in the corridor (something that was also recreated in "Daredevil's" season 1).
It shows the diversity of the show, which is a comedy, a drama, and then action like that all in one.
Wellington Paranormal (Season 3)#
Season 3 of "Wellington Paranormal" is at home with its jokes and the actors feel confident with their characters. And Parker, the season 2 addition, fits in just right. I am also getting better at understanding kiwi accent. It's fascinating how differently English can sound.
Boy Swallows Universe#
"Boy Swallows Universe" is a series adaptation of a book telling a story of growing up in 1980s Australia. There's a fair dose of magical realism, but in the right amounts, so the whole thing doesn't venture into gibberish. It's actually quite brutal as for a story of a child. A solid thing with an unexpected performance from Simon "The Mentalist" Baker, whom I didn't recognise at first. I am also a taste for Australia as a setting place for stories.
Curb Your Enthusiasm#
I realised that I never wrote anything about "Curb Your Enthusiasm," now that I've finished the show finale. So, let's do a general review.
After having a blast with "Seinfeld," I wanted to follow up with similar vibes. Something appealing about those nihilist tones they had there. And Larry David, whose fictionalised life is the core of the show here, was a co-writer for the first 7 seasons.
The show was shot from 2000 to 2024, which gives us 24-year span, although, there are only 12 seasons (for instance, there is a 6-year gap between seasons 8 and 9). And because it continues the every day minutiae approach from "Seinfeld," it kind of documents some if not many aspects of the world. By some sense, those are the best documents, because they don't care about that when shooting and it ends up more realistic.
The first 4 or even 5 seasons were a bit hard to go through, as the humour was actually different from Seinfeld, even if similar at the same time. But then it clicked in, and the show started even doing whole-season arcs, which often happens with these vignette-disconnected shows. At some point, it all converges.
Most of the dialogues were improvised, and it was my small pleasure to observe how actors are trying to keep the straight face while talking absurd stuff sometimes.
And speaking of actors, the show had so many famous guests and recurring roles, oftentimes playing themselves as well. For instance, we can see young Bob Odenkirk, among other which I cannot recall now. But they are there. Sometimes as extras (like Meredith from "The Office" as a policewoman in one episode). That's always fun to spot them, sometimes looking very differently.
There are of course also actors from "Seinfeld," playing themselves. At the beginning there is Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but later Jerry Seinfeld himself and Michael Richards when they try to shot, within-the-series, a reunion episode of "Seinfeld." Nice tongue-in-a-cheek to all the people waiting for season 10. Seinfeld returns for the finale as well.
So, to summarise, while the beginnings were tough, we turn around and at the end I had a lot of fun. My favourite thing that happened to Larry is gotta be when he didn't get enough napkins when buying a hot-dog, so he took some more when the owner turned around, and moments later was stopped by police. This is kind of a thing that we're afraid to happen, but never happen. Well, to Larry, they do. And that's how the show rolls. But it's probably not for everyone.
Pustina (Wasteland)#
"Pustina" ("Wasteland" in English) is a Czech show about a small town being devoured by a mining company. Then a disappearance of a young girl happens, and avalanche of events starts. Classic "Twin Peaks," we could say, but without supernatural. The show is very dense and heavy, and also ugly: all the places are just depressingly ugly, although in a natural way.
I've been eyeing "Pustina" for a while, but thumbnail discouraged me. Don't make the same mistake. :D
The White Lotus (Season 3)#
Season 3 of "The White Lotus" takes us back into more exotic from my point of view place: Thailand. It's a strong continuation, and I applaud the arc they managed to build in a bit stealth mode. I did not expect that! This season had a sort of a hero (but still not the main character), which I found to be a nice addition. It also showed me that Walton Goggins is a very talented actor. Due to anthology character of the series, season 4 would not be a stretch.
Alright, it's confirmed. "On January 22, 2025, ahead of the third-season premiere, HBO renewed the series for a fourth season." Again in Europe.
Barry (Season 4)#
With its season 4, "Barry" closed the story. The first half is the "find out" part of earlier "fuck around," and the the second half is a variant of distant finale. There is no theme during the opening and the tone is generally more sombre. There are still a lot of funny moments and twists, but the reality caught up with characters' actions. And because it's a closed story, I can recommend it to anyone. A really good show.
Smiling Friends (Season 1)#
"Smiling Friends" is an animated series from Adult Swim, and it's as if someone took all the limitations from creators, and they did something without any inhibitions whatsoever. Visual styles mix and plots go in the wildest directions, and it still works. Episodes last around 10 minutes because no sane person could follow what's going on there for longer time. It gives me similar feeling like I got watching Cartoon Network ("Cow and Chicken" school) when I was a kid.
Veep (Season 1)#
To fill in a gap after "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which itself was filling a gap after "Seinfeld," I moved on to "Veep," which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a titular vice president of the U.S. It's like "House of Cards," but less serious. The amount of insults that the characters throw at each other is nothing short of amazing. Don't even pick it up if you're not fast with English. I am curious to see how some stuff got old in the new world of the U.S. politics.
The Tourist (Season 1)#
To stay in the Australian outback, I started watching "The Tourist," Max's show about a man who wakes up after an accident with no memory. And then various people want to kill him. Back in the days, I loved a good amnesiac story as I find this framing device very appealing. The show is on par with "Fargo" (the show), although, it gets heavier at times (more like the movie, then). Season 2 moves action to Ireland, alas.
You (Season 4)#
"You," season 4, is a mixed bag. I was stalling to start it, and when I finally did, season 5 started. :D But let's have it. It starts pretty strong, with Joe ending in a whodunnit and very meta-referential, but then it does twist number 1, which lowers the bar, and then mega twist 2, which brings it to the levels of ridiculousness, and it doesn't end there. In the end, there are too many heel turns for me to really care. I'm a little curious what they have for the final chapter.
The Handmaid's Tale (Season 6)#
"The Handmaid's Tale" is finally over. Season 6 brings some closure to June Osborn and her friends. I was curious how are they going to end it because Gilead is too big to be brought down by one person, and I think the creators managed to do it smartly. Probably too many characters survived, but I can hand-wave it. The rules of narrative. What I liked the most is that it left a lot of things dangling, which felt realistic. The last episode was sort of "the day after."
Now it's time for the book.
Vice Principals (Season 1)#
"Vice Principals" is a show with Danny McBride and Walton Goggins playing the titular vice principals who fight for the position of the principal. But first they will have to side to get rid of the official replacement. It's a new comedy show (2016), and it shows. Jokes are very brutal, but what I find the most fascinating is that the main characters are so unlikeable, with Goggins' one not having any redeeming characteristics. Extra points for Mitch Murder music (and when!).