Tag / HBO Max

by admin

2025: The Year In Television

With fewer good productions airing on network and cable networks and instead moving to the various streaming platforms, that seems to have taken over as my main form of non-game show or sports television watching. Now that I work from home full time, I have plenty of time to take in whatever they have to offer. Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 17 seasons of shows I streamed on eight different platforms this year.

Based on a True Story Season Two (Peacock)
A copycat killer starts terrorizing LA.

Black Doves Season One (Netflix)
When a spy’s lover is killed, she puts her undercover identity in jeopardy to find out what happened.

Black Mirror Season Seven (Netflix)
The British anthology returns with a strong six-episode season, including a sequel from a previous favorite.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 (Paramount+)
The BAU returns once again, following up on plot threads from the previous season.

Doctor Who Season Two (Disney+)
Ncuti Gatwa exits what was intended to be a new era for Doctor Who.

Ginny & Georgia Season Three (Netflix)
Georgia’s past comes back to haunt her, and her kids pay the price.

Mr. Mercedes Seasons One – Three (Peacock)
An adaptation of the Bill Hodges trilogy of novels by Stephen King.

On Call Season One (Amazon Prime)
A training officer and her rookie try to keep the streets of Long Beach safe.

Only Murders in the Building Season Five (Hulu)
Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez return for another investigation into a murder in their building.

The Pitt Season One (Max)
Noah Wylie returns to the emergency room.

Pluribus Season One (Apple TV)
A space virus has turned the human race into a single hive mind, save for a handful of immune survivors.

Poker Face Season Two (Peacock)
Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne return after more than a year for a second installment.

The Sex Lives of College Girls Season Three (HBOMax)
The final season sees Reneé Rapp move on for a music career and a new roommate move in to take her place.

Shrinking Season Two (Apple TV+)
Brett Goldstein joins the cast as the drunk driver who killed Jimmy’s wife.

The White Lotus Season Three (HBOMax)
The third season action moves to Thailand.

by admin

Post Mortem – The Sex Lives Of College Girls

Created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, The Sex Lives of College Girls premiered on HBO Max in 2021.  Following the lives of four 18-year-old freshmen roommates at the fictional Essex College, the series starred Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Alyah Chanelle Scott, and Reneé Rapp.  Rapp, whose star rose higher than the others, left early in season three.  Following the release of the third season last November, the show was cancelled in March.

While Rapp seems to be focusing on music for the time being, the other three leads should find themselves finding new work relatively easily.  I look forward to seeing what comes next.

by admin

The CW Upfronts

It’s another year of change at The CW, which was sold to Nexstar and is cutting programming costs in a bid for more profitability.  Monday starts off with All American, the only returning scripted show, followed by 61st Street., starring Courtney B. Vance and previously airing on AMC.  Tuesday is all “new” comedy night, with three imported Canadian series, Son of a Critch, Run the Burbs, and Children Ruin Everything, followed by Everyone Else Burns, a British comedy.

Canada provides more content for Wednesday night, with Sullivan’s Crossing, starring Chad Michael Murray, followed by The Spencer Sisters, starring Lea Thompson.  Thursdays goes all-reality, with two episodes of the Nikki Glaser-helmed FBoy Island, recently dumped by HBO Max.  Friday remains the same, with Penn & Teller: Fool Us followed by an hour of Whose Line Is It Anyway?  Saturday goes back-to-back with two episodes each of Masters of Illusion and World’s Funniest Animals.  The Sunday night offering is I Am, a collection of documentary features.

Waiting in the wings for midseason are the fourth season of Walker and FGirl Island, which, ok.  Whatever.

Lost to the sands of time are DC’s Stargirl, The Flash, Kung Fu, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Walker Independence, and The Winchesters.  The fates of Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights are undecided at this point.

by admin

2022: The Year In Television

With less and less good productions airing on network and cable and moving to the various streaming platforms, that seems to have taken over as my main form of television watching.  Now that I work from home full time, I have plenty of time to take in whatever they have to offer.  Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 32 seasons of shows I streamed on nine different platforms this year.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 (Netflix)
The end of the road for the first series set in, but not completely part of, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Archive 81 Season 1 (Netflix)
A video archivist is hired to transfer video tapes rescued from a building fire, but they contain much, much more.

Barry Season 3 (HBOMax)
With the acting class disbanded, Barry falls back to his old job while trying to make amends.

The Blacklist Season 9 (Netflix)
Years after Elizabeth’s death, Red returns and the task force re-forms to track down her killer.

The Bear Season 1 (Hulu)
A world class chef inherits the family beef joint after his brother dies.

DMZ (HBOMax)
An adaptation of Brian Wood’s comic series about Manhattan becoming a DMZ following a second civil war.

The Flash Season 8 (Netflix)
Catching up in preparation for the upcoming final season.

High School Season 1 (Freevee)
An adaptation of the memoir from Tegan and Sara shows the twin girls growing up in Canada and discovering their musical talent.

How I Met Your Father Season 1 (Hulu)
Missing all the charm and humor of its predecessor but might have all been worth it for the surprise appearance in the last episode.

Inside Man (Netflix)
A misunderstanding leads to a math tutor being held hostage and a vicar doing anything he can to save his family.

Lost in Space Season 2 (Netflix)
The Robinsons manage to get to another planet, but run into more adventures. Continue reading →

by admin

2021: The Year In Television

Now that I am home full time, I have plenty of time to catch up on the streaming shows I may have missed in years past or that were newly released. Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 34 seasons of the 24 shows I streamed on 8 different platforms this year.

13 Reasons Why Seasons 1-2 (Netflix)
When a high school girl commits suicide, she sends a series of confessional tapes to the people she deems responsible.

The Blacklist Season 8 (Netflix)
Having missed an episode or two along the way, I had to wait for the season to hit Netflix to combine with what was on my DVR to come up to date as the story of Elizabeth Keen wraps up.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 4 (Netflix)
The final installment of the darker interpretation of Archie Comics character somehow found a way to crossover with the 90s ABC version before ending its run.

Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (Peacock)
A very unfaithful adaptation of the novel which I probably should not have watched right after reading the book.

Devs (Hulu)
A woman keeps digging into the death of her boyfriend, running afoul of his employer, who is up to some sketchy stuff.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+)
Burdened by the legacy of Captain America, both the Falcon and the Winter Soldier try to find their way in a post-blip world.  When the government’s replacement Cap goes bad, the Falcon finally decides he is ready to take on the legacy Steve Rogers left for him.

The Flash Season 7 (Netflix)
I used a combination of Netflix and my DVR to catch up on the goings on from last season.

Hawkeye (Disney+)
Hawkeye takes on a new apprentice when the re-emergence of his old Ronin costume causes an uprising in New York’s underworld.

The History of Swear Words (Netflix)
Nicholas Cage hosts this look at some of our culture’s favorite words, including their etymology and most popular uses.

Loki Season 1 (Disney+)
Loki teams up with many different versions of himself to find out who is behind the TVA.

Love Life Season 1 (HBO Max)
An anthology series that follows one person’s romantic history per season.  The first season focused on Anna Kendrick’s Darby Carter as she learns to love herself and let herself be loved.

Mad About You Season 8 (Amazon Prime)
The 12-episode revival, released in 2019 on something called Spectrum Originals, finds the Buchmans rediscovering themselves after their daughter leaves for college.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation Season 1 (Netflix)
I wasn’t originally planning on watching Kevin Smith’s revival of the old He-Man cartoons, but when fandom acted all butthurt by them, I needed to see what the fuss was all about. Continue reading →

by admin

2020: The Year In Television

Last year was a bit disjointed when it comes to television shows.  The corona virus shut down most productions along with the rest of the world back in March, leaving the 2019-2020 season to end abruptly and causing the 2020-2021 season to roll out late, if at all.  On the other hand, it also caused me to be home full time since March, giving me plenty of time to catch up on streaming shows I may have missed or that were newly released.  Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 23 seasons of shows I streamed on various platforms this year.

Away Season 1 (Netflix)
Hillary Swank plays an astronaut who leaves her family behind on Earth to captain the first manned mission to Mars.

Blindspot Seasons 4 & 5 (Hulu)
I had fallen a bit behind on this NBC show that wrapped up last summer so I combined what episodes I still had on the DVR with Hulu to burn through the final two seasons.

Bosch Season 1 (Amazon Prime)
Based on the book series by Michael Connelly, I watched the first of six seasons last fall.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Part 3 (Netflix)
The latest installment of the darker interpretation of Archie Comics character is probably the only show I had watched pre-pandemic.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow Season 5 (Netflix)
I had only watched the first episode of the season pre-pandemic, which was the Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover, as it aired, so I combined what was on my DVR with Netflix to burn through the season quickly.

Dead To Me Seasons 1 & 2 (Netflix)
Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini get entwined in each other’s lives after killing each other’s husbands.

The Flash Season 6 (Netflix)
Like most of the DC shows, I hit pause after the Crisis crossover and before the season ended early, using my DVR and Netflix to catch up.

The Flight Attendant Season 1 (HBO Max)
Kaley Cuoco returns as a flight attendant with drinking issues who finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.

Lost In Space Season 1 (Netflix)
The remake of the 60s classic came out a few years back, but I never got to it until my December vacation.

Never Have I Ever Season 1 (Netflix)
A comedy about a high school aged Indian girl fighting against her traditional family while wanting to be a “normal” teen.

Ozark Season 3 (Netflix)
The latest installment of the money laundering family in Missouri and their dealings with the Mexican drug cartels. Continue reading →