tv_talk | Speak Up Saturday

Ugh - With most things in repeats, there's little new stuff we're watching. I will say that this past week the CBC/Hulu/Someone put out a second season of 'Deli Boys'. It's a dark comedy about two brothers who inherit a store in Pennsylvania, except they find out that the real money is actually being made in drug deals. It's completely ridiculous, but one of the only new things airing right now that I'm watching. Too bad they only had like 6 22 minute episodes for a full season. :(

'Brilliant Minds' is finally back, and we're getting an interesting story about Zachary Quinto's character going undercover. Except we know the series is cancelled, so I really hope they're not going to end the series with a cliffhanger...

That's too bad about Brilliant Minds being cancelled. I can't say I was very into it, though I did see all of S1. But it did seem to be a bit different.

Last week I finished my re-watch of Interview with the Vampire, just in time for the start of the third season tomorrow. S2 is still soooo good. Even the second time around, the finale gave me the feeling of "I want more now!" So my timing worked out really well.
I tried to stay away from most trailers/teasers/released scenes and even the concert videos (Sam Reid doing that whole thing in character as Lestat seems impressive though), but the couple of things I have seen make me really excited.

I watched some more of Widow's Bay which is both scarier and funnier than I thought it would be. The scary parts are not always my cup of tea, especially the jump scares. I like it though.

I watched Jack Ryan: Ghost War which also could have been another season of the show. I remember liking the show more though. This movie was kinda meh.

Yesterday I saw The Sheep Detectives which is a cute and fun cozy crime movie. I loved it, but it's not necessary to watch it on a big screen. It's pretty much exactly what it says on the tin: sheep solving a crime. However, there is also a story about grief and learning to deal with grief in there which is more complex than I expected. Then again, once I realized it was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Last of Us) it makes sense.
If you give Molly Gordon something to do and actually write her as a charming person, she can absolutely deliver. The Bear just doesn't really do that...

I plan to watch Sheep Detectives at some point.

"Sheep Detectives" is based on a series of mystery novels - I found the books in a book store recently and it's a series of novels, and highly popular.

I definitely recommend it! I think it's the perfect movie to enjoy at home with a nice cup of tea (or other beverage of choice) ;)

Am almost finished with Maul, just episodes 9 and 10 left. I'm also all caught up on Rivals -- I'm assuming that was not the season finale though it sure could be given everything that happens.

All caught up on Jeopardy and the 1% Club, which I generally just forward to each question and answer. Will watch the latest The Floor tomorrow.

Watched more of Brokenwood, we're now up to S7. We really enjoy how characters just keep coming back in different ways.

Watched another episode each of Matlock and Dune Prophecy and Rooster.

Rather feel like watching some Buffy after the news of Tony Head's death. Angel seems to be available via Hulu but not Buffy. We have the box set and might break that out.

I'm also all caught up on Rivals -- I'm assuming that was not the season finale

It was the mid-season finale. Season 2 is 12 episodes, and will return some time in November.

Ugh, long wait.

I feel validated for watching Rivals very slowly now. I'd binged S1. But I slowed down a bit with S2, which appears to be a good thing. I think there was a huge wait between S1 and S2? Because I think S1 aired in Britain in 2024? And S2 didn't air until now? I read it somewhere - because Dame Jilly Cooper (who wrote the books that the series is based on), was an executive producer up until her sudden death in 2025.

I think there was a huge wait between S1 and S2?

Wouldn't define it as a "huge" wait. Season 1 dropped all at once in mid-Oct 2024, and season 2 started up in May of this year, so just over a year and a half. Which these days, is practically speedy.

Because I think S1 aired in Britain in 2024? And S2 didn't air until now?

Season 1 dropped in the UK and internationally on the same day, Oct 18 2024, just on a different streamer for the US (Disney+ internationally, Hulu in the US), and the same for season 2. The main difference between the two seasons is that season 1 was released in one go, and season is a weekly thing.

I didn't watch Rivals right after its release so I didn't realize it hadn't come out weekly. Interesting that they chose to do it so differently. I wonder if they wanted to track how much people binged it? And since it turned out to be quite popular they are now stretching it out?

Buffy is available via Hulu - I've been watching it via Hulu. Do you have a different Hulu? Is there a different Hulu? I just checked - it's available.

Half way through S2 Rivals...I think there are roughly 8-9 episodes each season?

Half way through S2 Rivals...I think there are roughly 8-9 episodes each season?

Season 1 had 8 episodes. Season 2 has 12, but they're taking a mid-season break. Episode 7 will drop some time in November (they've not announced the exact date yet).

And I don't know who your Buffy comment was addressed to, but Hulu is available only in the US.

Ah thanks! Hulu kept my watchlist for some time between rotations, so I'm guessing I didn't find Buffy during one of them. Good to know, makes it easier to jump between seasons.

Awww, your icon. :')

Yeah... 😢

I think the only new show I've watched was The Witness (Netflix), a 3-part docudrama. I posted the trailer for it here a few days ago.

I finished watching the limited series Dear England.

Otherwise, I watched this week's episodes of Welcome to Wrexham, Criminal Minds, Brilliant Minds and Rivals (and am annoyed that we have to wait until November for the 2nd half of season 2 to resume). I think I have one more episode of For All Mankind left to watch. Or maybe 2. And, as usual, I watched sports (baseball, French Open).

Nothing specific that I'm looking forward to... The World Cup starts up this week, of course, and Toronto is a host city. I'm not excited about the latter, but I will tune in to some of the games, of course.

I'm definitely looking forward to the World Cup though it does take over my TV viewing while it's underway. And this is the first year there will be even more games...

I am not looking forward to the World Cup - NYC is kind of a host city - everyone has to stay and go through MidTown, Manhattan to get to the stadium in New Jersey.

"MetLife Stadium is hosting its World Cup matches in East Rutherford, New Jersey, located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex roughly 8 miles west of Midtown Manhattan. Due to FIFA sponsorship regulations, the venue is officially designated as New York New Jersey Stadium during the tournament.The stadium is serving as a major hub for the 2026 tournament, hosting eight matches, including the grand finale."

I honestly wish they'd picked anywhere else. At least I don't have to go into Midtown until July 7 and August 11.

Recently finished: Percy Jackson & the Olympians TV series.

Currently watching: The Great Food Truck Race all-stars season. This one is set in the Bay Area of California and has been interesting so far.

The Great Food Truck Race? Do the food trucks race across the country? How does this work? And where can you watch it?

They do not race across country, each season has a general territory. This one is in the Bay Area of California. But speed is a factor in performance. Description says it's on Food Network.

I forgot to check in last week, so here's two weeks' worth:

Finished The Burroughs, which was fine. If anyone has thoughts about the ending, I'd be interested.

Watched some Night Train with Wyatt Cenac episodes on Youtube (Brooklyn-based standup sets, very chill). (I believe this was made for a network but not picked up, so they just uploaded it all to YT.)

An episode of White Collar with my sister, and the movie Parasite; some

HowTown videos.

Conclave, a pope-election movie with Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, et al. I was lukewarm about watching this but very glad I did. Tense complicated politics, and a satisfying outcome. Would rec.

I finished To My Beloved Thief, which had a slightly draggy ending, but was otherwise a delight. Historical magic realism ftw! It made me want to rewatch the old Hong sisters' version of the Hong Gil-dong story, too (unfortunately, not available in streaming).

Also finished Absolute Value of Romance, which

spoiler

navigated between the ending I didn't want (teacher/student romance), and the ending I craved (teacher is gay) to find a slightly unsatisfying middle ground. I don't know if Ga Woo-Su was actually oblivious to Ui-Ju's love confession or just ignoring it to avoid the awkwardness of rejecting her outright, but an unnecessary childhood connection and significant "first snow" moment kind of point (via drama conventions) to them getting together in the future, when a) that would still be completely inappropriate and jeopardise his teaching career, AND b) Ga Woo-Su has previously shown no sign of interest in her at all (imo). He and Yoon Dong-Ju are obviously boyfriends or pining for each other! Why on earth would he have reacted so weirdly to being the second lead in Ui-Ju's webnovel otherwise? (Which, btw, was wildly inappropriate.) ;-p

Now I've started episode 1 of Hong Gil Dong, and gone back to The Spirealm (fantasy horror Cdrama).

We're still watching Miraculous Brothers (contemporary thriller, time travel) with a friend at a rate of two episodes per week. The central character is a hot mess with no moral compass but somehow likeable enough that I'm engaged, and the mystery built around a cold case is pretty cool. I'd put it in the same category as Glitch and Sisyphus. Hopefully it will delve into the scifi/supernatural aspects more at some point.

Continuing Love Scout with a friend. It's completely swoony and great.

Two episodes of The Story of Pearl Girl (Netflix Cdrama), but the acting is too melodramatic for my partner, and I want some humour in my shows, so we're abandoning it.

We're halfway through the first season of Italian drama Blocco 181, which I heard about on

polyamships. It contains a trope I find super stressful

to wit:

leading characters steal drugs from drug dealers, argh,

but the three leads are all really charming. Warning for violence and a ton of drug use.

Finished season 1 of Scottish sitcom Dinosaur, about an autistic woman and her newly engaged sister. It's not laugh-out-loud, but I really like it and am looking forward to season 2.

Second on Conclave - it's excellent and great performances all around. (Although it's accuracy is circumspect.)

I've been flirting with the Burroughs.

I found The Burroughs enjoyable enough, but it leaned pretty heavily on its star power.

I've been thinking about watching The Burroughs, although I probably won't get around to it for a while. The cast looks impressive.

Would you recommend The Spirealm? I mean, does the plot make sense, and do the characters behave in (mostly) non-stupid ways?

I've been flirting with horror movies today - and all week long. I keep reading the descriptions while bored at work. Microsoft Edge throws lists of television shows and horror movies and movies coming out that I should watch. And read the reviews and descriptions. I've discovered something? Descriptions of horror films are kind of insanely silly? Or like reading the transcript of someone else's bad acid trip. I think horror films may defy description? It's like describing a roller coaster ride or amusement park ride.

Midnight Mass - saw the third episode. This is a limited run horror series by Mike Flanagan. So far it's more creepy than scary? And filmed in an odd gritty depressed style.

X-men Animated Series from the 1990s - very uneven. The Phoenix Saga is actually fairly well done - for the most part, they kind of hand lift it and most of the artistic aspects directly from the comics. Except the dialogue isn't as good and cringe in a lot of places. There's some decent stand-a-lones - mainly the ones focusing on Cyclops or Corsair.

Rivals - halfway through S2. I'm taking my time with it - mainly because it's on Hulu and they drop the episodes weekly, and part of the season won't be dropped until the fall. It's excellent British Satire. And a lot of fun. The characters have grown on me, and Alex Hassal is VERY pretty, the man has insanely long eyelashes.

From - also watching slowly - because they appear to drop episodes every two weeks. So I've decided to wait until a bunch of them have been dropped. I may wait to watch the second half of S4 at Halloween.

Widows Bay Same issue as the others, slowly dropping episodes. I've made it through 4 so far.

Flirted with S2 of Four Seasons - which is okay, I use it as background noise.

Now, that Head has passed, I may go back and finish watching S3 of Ted Lasso.

I'm looking forward to S4 of the Bear - which is the final Season and S2 of X-men '97. And flirting with S2 of The Citadel. I might need to rewatch S1, which I adored.

Your comment about the descriptions reminded me of something that really amused us this week. We subscribed to Acorn for Brokenwood, but started scanning other shows to see what else they had. The 3 word descriptions for the series can be hilarious, they are often so specific!

I'm finally watching season 4 of Witcher. Liam Hemsworth does not have Henry Cavill's thighs but you know what, he's fine. Feels like the pacing is better this season. I was surprised to see Laurence Fishburne show up... shouldn't you have better things to be in sir...

Even more belatedly, I am watching season 3 of Legion, after rewatching the first two seasons. I don't think this season is as strong but there's still plenty going on. And I enjoy its commitment to playing with conventions!

In kdramas, I'm near the end of Siren's Kiss, which is very good. Younger sib has been watching it with me even though they often ignore my kdramas, so it must have something going for it :D It will be interesting to see how the ending plays out!

It was surprisingly easy for me to accept Liam as Geralt. I had my problems with S4, but Liam wasn't one of them.

Movies: Hokum (not my thing), Backrooms (liked it, but Obsession continues to be my 2026 horror highlight)

Foundation: Looks great, but I'm not sure this is the show for me.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: Unfortunately, they didn't really commit to last week's cliffhanger.
Murder Mindfully S2: Still silly as hell, but now I'm committed to watching the entire thing.
My Royal Nemesis: More rom-com and less suffering, please.
Tip Toe: Intense and uncomfortable!
Widow's Bay: Remains my highlight of the week. :)

I started two new-to-me shows this week.

On Britbox, I watched the first few episodes of Vicious with Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen. I love both of them and they're catty and campy and do their best to live up to the show's title.

I also watched the first couple of episodes of Rizzoli & Isles on Netflix and found them entertaining, though it seems to me that Sasha Alexander's character is just a slightly different variation on Temperance Brennan from Bones.

For movies, I watched Johnny Mnemonic, also on Netflix. I had seen this one right after it came out on video (I might have seen it in the theater, but if I did, I don't remember). It is definitely not great art, but it's an entertaining way to spend an hour and a half.

I also watched Lucy on Netflix. This one I have seen a few times. I know a lot of people didn't care for it, but I like the kind of stylized presentation and the intercutting of scenes from the animal kingdom at the beginning of the movie.

Edited 2026-06-07 10:48 (UTC)

It's been some years since I saw Vicious, which was airing on our PBS station. I'm not sure I saw the whole series but I think I might have. I daresay they had a good time with it!

Speak Up Saturday

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Thoughts

Re: Thoughts

Re: Thoughts

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject