I love TV shows because a) You don’t feel that guilty about downloading copying downloaded episodes from usb drives you happen to find at some desolated corner of a dark alley, because such shows do not come to our TVs or stores for at least another year or two, b) Different variety of TV shows to entertain each and everyone, and c) When one show completes its season, it’s time for the start of another show’s season.
Some of my favorite shows like Newsroom, Suits and Justified have just completed their latest season, while others like Elementary, Sons of Anarchy and Person of Interest have just started their new season (and yes, BBC’s Sherlock season 3 will start airing soon too, finally! Can’t wait!), while a few others like Breaking Bad, House and Alphas have ended or have been cancelled.
I will not go into all the TV shows I love on this post. My 2011 post about the end of a season of some of my favorite TV shows pretty much talk about some of my favorite shows, which I still watch today. In this post, I just want to talk about some of the new TV shows that have come up recently, and why you should watch them too.
Orange is the new black
Orange is the new black - I really love this show! This show has it all - racism, prison life, and lots of lesbian semi-porn :P But no it’s not because of the sex that I am hooked to this show. Taylor Schilling perfectly played the role of Piper Chapman, an engaged woman who suddenly had to spend time in prison for a very old crime she had committed years ago. I really love the way they synced both the present and the flashbacks regularly.
It was a bit strange seeing American Pie’s Jason Biggs as the fiancé of Piper, because it’s really hard to take somebody with an epic comedy film franchise to play a serious role seriously, the same way I felt when I watched Breaking Bad for the first time and I just couldn’t stop picturing “Malcolm in the middle”. Things like this need time to erase from our head, like how Jeff Daniels turned the tide from playing Harry in “Dumb and dumber” to ass-kicking news anchor Will McAvoy in “Newsroom”.
But what felt really awkward for me was seeing Laura Prepon, aka Donna from “That 70’s Show” playing the role of Piper’s former lesbian partner and fellow inmate. Seeing all the sex and juice, it felt like I was watching “Spartacus” all over again, where Lucy Lawless aka Xena: Warrior Princess indulged in various sexual promiscuities, all nudity uninhibited. Ooops, there goes my childhood once again, was my first thought… But don’t miss this show.
Under the Dome
Under the Dome - I really like this show. Is it practical? Can that actually happen? Don’t you think that’s too far-fetched? Seriously!!!??? It’s written by Stephen freaking King, so expect the unexpected. A beautifully directed show about a mysterious invisible dome that suddenly cut off a small town from the rest of the world. I really love how they build up the main characters right in the beginning itself.
Initially, I found Junior to be quite creepy and out of place, but then, as the show progressed, I realized that was actually the role he was supposed to play. Big Jim’s rollercoaster character changes have been phenomenal too (which kinda reminded me of that movie “Crash” sans the racism) and I can’t help finding him look extremely similar to Bruce Willis on many occasions :)
Would love to say more about the show, but then that would mean I’d be giving away spoilers so I’ll stop at this. Do watch it.
Ray Donovan
Ray Donovan - My immediate reaction when I first saw the promo of this show was - Hmmm… a male version of Olivia Pope from “Scandal”. Yeah, there had been one too many “fixer” shows running lately. But the main reason why I decided to watch this show was because of the cast - You have Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Elliott Gould, Steven Bauer and Paula Malcomson to name a few, all familiar faces on the big screen.
Ray Donovan is a professional “fixer” who can fix any problem you have and make it disappear, and is one of the most reputed fixers in town. The only problem is, he can’t seem to fix the problems his own family have, especially after his dad got out of prison on parole.
Well, urrmmm, as the season progressed, I ended up not liking it that much, but I’d still recommend it to you because of the stars and the… stars.
Da Vinci’s Demons
Da Vinci’s Demons - Another new TV show I really love, about the life of a young Leonardo Da Vinci. The quality of production is outstanding. However this show may not be for those of you who are into historical accuracies. Just enjoy the series like any other normal fictitious show.
Also, if you are religious, especially of the Catholic faith, you’ll have to watch this with an open mind. Urrrmmm… watch the show and you’ll know what I’m talking about. I guarantee it will keep you engrossed.
Magic City
Magic City - Among all the new TV shows I’ve seen recently, this one is my favorite. Unfortunately, the show had been cancelled and we’ll no longer see Season 3, which had such a suspense ending.
The first time I saw this drama show, I thought it was going to be like Mad Men or Boardwalk Empire, due to the similar settings. But actually, this is way more intense. It captured the 50’s really well. The show centers around Ike Evans, owner of a popular luxury hotel in Miami, and one of his investors is a notorious mob boss. From drama to beauty and brains to violence, this show will keep you sitting at the edge of your seat throughout.
But one of the main reasons why I really love this show is because Ike, in spite of being the boss and living in a glamorous world surrounded by beautiful loose showgirls and prostitutes every day, is actually a very faithful family man who doesn’t cheat on his wife. If it was Don Draper from Mad Men, how many of those women would he have slept with behind his wife’s back in the first episode itself? Lolz :P See, I’m not trying to be a prude here or judge anyone based on their promiscuity. It just feels good to see a main character like that on TV again these days.
And of course the ending of Season 2 was a real shocker. And that didn’t go down so well with many loyal fans. In fact some people were actually happy the show got cancelled because they didn’t want to imagine what would have happened when Vera stopped by at Stevie’s place as the season came to an end.
So those are the TV shows I really recommend you watch too. Take care and cheers.
