WHATCHA WATCHING?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: TV, anyone? We just watched DOWN CEMETERY ROAD, every single bit of it, and at one point I said to Jonathan, wow I love this, but, what again? Is the point? I completely don’t understand it. Eventually it was all made clear, ish, kind of, and some loose ends were not tied up, but it was really fun to watch. Rhys, it’s Emma Thompson’s hair you need to see. Go for it.

PLURIBUS, yes yes yes, fabulous. Thought-provoking, fantastic. Would you trade away your individuality if you could be happy and know everything? Ah, I don’t want to describe too much, but it is about (to me, at least) the dangers of AI. 

SLOW HORSES continues to be wonderfully entertaining. (Mick Herron wrote Cemetery Road, too.) And we just started watching HIJACK, with Idris Elba.

I know I am leaving something out. How about you, Reds and readers?

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m in RE-watch mode with SHERLOCK. Remembering how fabulous Benedict Cumberbatch was and how smart the writing was. But honestly there’s nary a single clue or red herring that I remember from having seen these before. The solutions are SO complicated, and sometimes I”m not even sure exactly what the crime is. Doesn’t matter… I do love Sherlock and Mary and Watson and Mrs. Hudson.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: We’ve just finished the final episode of STRANGER THINGS. We found this last season a little confusing, especially since it had been so long since the previous one, but we loved the way they wrapped everything up. It was such fun to see all the lovely kids grow up over the course of the series.

Also, we watched the ERAS tour documentary, which was fascinating. The technical side of the productions was just astounding, and the effort and dedication the tour took, not just from Taylor but from all the dancers and singers and musicians and crew, was incredibly moving. I only wish I’d had the experience of seeing it in person.

JENN McKINLAY: We are currently watching THE LOWDOWN, starring Ethan Hawke, and it is excellent - we are only two episodes in, however. Before that, we watched THE CHAIR COMPANY…um…wildly entertaining and yet soooo bizarre. We loved, loved, loved, NOBODY WANTS THIS. We also caught the movie MARTY SUPREME and it was utterly bonkers and very entertaining.

RHYS BOWEN: We haven’t been watching much because we had family around and then John was in hospital. When I’m in de-stress mode I watch the tennis channel and right now there are some good tournaments going on in Australia. It is also nostalgia for me because it reminds me of times in Australia, watching those tournaments with my mum.

But we did start one of the new Agatha Christies the other night. The Pale Horse, which was one of her really good stories. But Agatha writes in a way that is calm and genteel. No gore. No sensationalism. This rendition was horrific and we turned it off after about twenty minutes. And retreated back to old favorites. Recently discovered a Maigret with Rowan Atkinson. They are really good and it’s fun to see him playing a deep and serious character.


LUCY BURDETTE: As you know, I am the world’s fussiest television watcher. By the way, Jenn, we went to see Marty Supreme. I hated it! About 2/3 of the way through, I mentioned to John that this was hard to take. He said he didn’t like it either and let’s leave. And so we did. But then we saw Song Sung Blue, which was sad but so excellent! Now I am looking forward to watching another new one about a stand-up comic who is getting divorced. It’s called Is This Thing On?

On the television front, nix on Cemetery Road. And I haven’t gotten hooked by Slow Horses, though I know I’m in the minority. We did watch the first episode of the new season of Shetland and absolutely loved it. We also watched episode one of the new season of THE PITT. John loves it, I will give it another try. Fussy.


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I’m also in a TV funk. I don’t feel like anything dark, but most comedies aren’t my cup of tea. I watched WAKE UP DEAD MAN when Youngest was home and we both adored it. I’d love for more series or movies in the traditional Agatha Christie vein, but it’s getting hard to find one I haven’t already seen! Happily, a new adaptation of The Seven Dials Mystery was released on Netflix yesterday, so that’s going to be my weekend watch. Now, if PBS will just let us know when MARBLE HALL MURDERS (third in the wonderful Moonflower Murders series) is being released, I’ll call myself good for the month.

HANK: Oh, yes Seven Dials, looking forward! But somehow...I think all those look to campy for me. But hope persists! And anything by Anthony Horowitz, I'm totally in. And oh, the Lincoln Lawyer is coming up.  Yay.

How about you all, Reds and Readers? Whatcha watching?