Updated 8-12-20
Hi, friends!
I know it’s been a long time since I blogged here. Partly this is because I’ve been focusing my energies on Patreon, and partly I just really liked having the special Max blog be the latest thing at all times.
But, given the state of the world, I wanted to migrate one of my Patreon posts over here, in case it’s helpful to anyone. Behold, my list of pop culture recommendations:
I hope you’re having a low-stress pandemic, but that does seem a bit of an oxymoron. Since so many of us are staying indoors these days, I thought I would put up this post with some recommendations for at-home movies, TV shows, and books. I’m trying to focus on “off the beaten path” suggestions, rather than the super well-known pop culture touchstones.
I’ll be updating this throughout the next few weeks, and I really want to encourage you to comment with anything you’re enjoying at the moment too. Self-care isn’t just about washing hands, it’s also keeping our minds relaxed and engaged so we don’t lose them, amiright?
Books:
- I went on a Scandinavian mystery kick earlier this year, and recommend the Rebecca Martinsson series (begins with Sun Storm) by Asa Larsson.
- Catch and Kill, nonfiction by Ronan Farrow, about how he broke the Harvey Weinstein story and several other tales of systematic misogyny
- The Whisper Man, psychological thriller, by Alex North
- Tananarive Due writes some excellent horror/supernatural books. I’ve really enjoyed The Good House and My Soul to Keep this year.
- Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London urban fantasy series is excellent, and will keep you busy for quite awhile. I recently did a big series re-read and included the graphic novels, which are really fun as well.
- The Ruin and The Scholar, Irish mysteries by Dervla McTiernan
- The Ruth Galloway Mysteries audiobooks got me through the drive all the way out to Colorado and back. This British series is a little more gentle than a lot of the stuff I read, but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of murder and stuff. The first book is Crossing Places.
- On the darker side, I really liked the Crimson Lake series, by Australian author Candice Fox. The subject matter is a little heavy (the main character is falsely accused of sexually assaulting a child), but the characters and plotting are great, and it’s fun to be in the sweaty, dangerous Australian outback for awhile.
TV Shows:
- I loved This Way Up (Hulu), a delightful British comedy about a woman trying to rebuild her life after rehab. It’s a bit like Fleabag but the comedy is more awkward, less bleak.
- Everything’s Going to Be Okay (Lifetime/Hulu), which I am championing like nobody’s business, and not just because it features an autistic actor playing an autistic character. It’s also sweet, hilarious, and insightful.
- Lincoln Rhyme (NBC/Hulu) and Prodigal Son (FOX/Hulu), because I’m dark and weird and into that stuff.
- Stumptown! (ABC/Hulu) Probably the best new show of the season.
- Did you like Napoleon Dynamite, but wished it was set on a small-town Canadian farm? Please, PLEASE check out Letterkenny (Hulu). My husband and I just finished streaming all 8 seasons, and we are endlessly quoting this one. To be FAAAAAAAAIR
- For sitcoms, I love The Unicorn (on CBS) Bless This Mess, Brooklyn-99–and ESPECIALLY What We Do in the Shadows, which is just…I don’t even have words. I loved the film when it came out, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say the show is even better.
- Do you enjoy kids television, or need to watch it because you in fact have kids? Our family was pleasantly surprised by the Lego Jurassic World TV show (we bought the DVD at Target for ten or fifteen bucks). It’s set shortly before the events of Jurassic World, and goes surprisingly deep into the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World mythology, and has a lot of fun silliness. Other shows we’ve been watching with the kids: Xena, Psych, a Gravity Falls rewatch, and Inbestigators (on Netflix).
- Burden of Truth is a Canadian legal show that’s sort of gentle and easy but also incredibly watchable. The first two season are on Hulu, and season 3 is debuting weekly on the CW website.
- After hearing about it for ages from my mystery-loving friends, I finally watched Terriers on FX and really enjoyed it. It’s a PI show about two scruffy ne’er do wells, with a quirky SoCal vibe. There’s only one season, but it ends fairly well–not like a shocking cliffhanger.
- This might be a good time to sign up for a free trial of those lesser-known streaming channels to check out their flagship good shows. ––DC Universe has the excellent Doom Patrol and an animated Harley Quinn series that I haven’t seen yet, but which looks really good. Also liked the first and only season of Swamp Thing. (I liked season 1 of Titans but kind of lost interest with the flashback-heavy season two) I’ve been watching the new Stargirl show with the kids, and it has a lot of promise so far.
–Boomerang has Be Cool Scooby Doo, an absolutely delightful show for all ages.
–Apple TV has Mythic Quest, which I enjoyed a lot more than expected, and which did an absolutely phenomenal quarantine episode recently that deserves a pile of Emmys. The Morning Show is gripping and fantastic, and I also really like Servant, which is M Night Shymalan getting to do his thing with a great cast and claustrophobic set.
–Shudder, the horror streaming service, has a great Swedish show called Jordskott. It’s kind of like if The Killing and the X-Files had a scenic Swedish baby, and Guillermo del Toro was the godfather.
–Acorn TV has LINE OF DUTY, which I absolutely adored. It’s a British crime show with a heavily serialized element, and it does suspense like very shows in the genre. Each season (there are five!) is about an internal affairs division of the Met chasing a new opponent-a police officer who may or may not be corrupt.
–I never watched The Good Wife, but I’ve been binging The Good Fight on CBS All Access. It’s a trip. It started as a fairly straightforward legal procedural, but as it goes on it gets a bit bananas.
-Peacock has a lot of older shows, and also one of my current obsessions: Yellowstone. It’s soapy trash, and I love it sooooo much. Think Succession, but set on a Montana cattle ranch and with Kevin Costner instead of Brian Cox.
Movies:
Sonic the Hedgehog–pleasantly surprised
It’s always a good time to watch John Mulaney’s comedy specials on Netflix. I loved them so much that Scarlett even quotes one in Born Magic.
Deadtectives–another Shudder exclusive, this is a comedy-horror movie that reminded me delightfully of the Ghostfacers episode of Supernatural.
Birds of Prey – silly, violent fun
Knives Out just went to Amazon Prime, and it’s one of my favorite movies of last year. It’s also the rare film that gets a little bit better every time you watch it. If you like this one, please consider checking out the director’s other great movies. I especially love The Brothers Bloom and Brick.
