I watched it on a screen: rolling TV and streaming media 2026

New year, new thread - mostly for TV but really anything you watched on a streamer/at home/etc is fair game.

January is chock full of new and returning shows. Some stuff I'm looking forward to:

The Pitt s2 (HBO) - Jan 8
The Traitors s4 (Peacock) - Jan 8
His & Hers (Netflix) - Jan 8 (new mystery show with Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson)
A Thousand Blows s2 (Hulu) - Jan 9
The Night Manager s2 (Prime) - Jan 11 (10-years-later followup to the John Le Carre adaptation w/ Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Coleman)
Industry s4 (HBO) - Jan 11
Hijack s2 (Apple)
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (Paramount) - Jan 15
Ponies (Peacock) - Jan 15 (new thriller with Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson)
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (HBO) - Jan 15
Wonder Man (Disney+) - Jan 27
Shrinking s3 (Apple) - Jan 28
Bridgerton s5 (Netflix) - Jan 29

will def watch the pitt and traitors and knight of the seven kingdoms. been meaning to watch both industry and shrinking

The Pitt and Industry for sure. Maybe The Night Manager as well; I liked the first one and didn't realize it had been 10 years.

Just realized I've been conflating the Night Agent and the Night Manager (haven't seen either)

I really liked Night Manager when I watched it years ago. I’m a sucker for the Le Carre brand of espionage shows. Which is definitely NOT what Night Agent is.

Haha same - I was getting really confused by the excitement around the new season of the Night Agent

Haha same - I was getting really confused by the excitement around the new season of the Night Agent

Bad: We watched the first two episodes of Night Manager 2, and it is some pretty generic and implausible stuff. Might not bother with the rest.

Good: We're also three episodes into Néro on Netflix, a French drama set during the early 16th century, which has assassins and witches and people fighting their way across hostile countryside. It's pretty good.

Sad: I've had to give up on Culinary Class Wars. During episode 4, one of the chefs started grilling crabs over coals, and it was immediately apparent that one of the crabs was still alive while this was happening. And they didn't just show it once: a couple of times they cut back to the crab trying to climb off the grill and the chef hooshing it back on there. I'm aware that attitudes to marine animals differ across the world, and I know that it might make me a hypocrite or whatever, but if I'm watching something purely for entertainment purposes, I don't really want to see that, so I have parted ways with this otherwise excellent show.

yeah that was a bit grim.

Futher ahead, looking forward to the second season of Beef which is around April I think.

All new cast (and beef) this season

Looking forward to His and Hers, hope it's good, plan to start that as early as today. I just finished The Lowdown last night so I have a bit of a void (watching The Beast in Me and Death by Lightning with the wife so our schedules/appetites have to align before I move forward with those).

I liked season one of the Night Manager well enough but tbh the trailer for season two looked incredibly trashy and bad and was enough to put me off for now. Reading the comments above won't drive me on to watch it.

Task is decent but should have been a single half hour episode because that guy wouldn’t have survived robbing a single drug house.

This looks reeeeeally stupid. I'm in. On Amazon January 28.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8R0xDczERo

I watched one episode of His & Hers and don’t think I’ll continue. I hope Bernthal and Thompson got big paychecks.

Very late to the party, but finally gave the Lowdown a shot last night. The whole lovable screw-up who stumbles upon something bigger than himself, while trying to fix stuff at home, all felt bit played out. Still, the Tulsa backdrop is interesting/intriguing. Will try one or two more episodes before deciding whether to pass.

I watched the first episode of Lowdown and it felt a little forced and cutesy -- and yet another show/movie to trade in on Keith David's innate likeability without giving him anything interesting to do. But maybe it gets better?

agreed on His & Hers, I couldn't even make it all the way through one episode. very soapy, which isn't my speed. that makes two Tessa Thompson projects in a row (also Hedda) that I've quit after roughly a half-hour. I don't think the problem is her, but I'm a little wary.

also, Keith David has plenty to do in The Lowdown, I'd advise you stick with it. I know YMMW with Ethan Hawke and sometimes he does seem extremely try-hard, but ultimately he won me over, plus it's got lots of other great folks like Jeanne Tripplehorn, Kyle McLachlan, and especially Tim Black Nelson.

*Blake

Yeah, I will watch a few more.

Tessa Thompson is a terrible actor imo. I mean, she's okay in Thor, where she's supposed to be a little blank and aloof. But she's always somewhat wooden, like she's rehearsing for a Hal Hartley movie.

Lowdown is loosely based on a real person and story, which adds some perspective.

https://slate.com/culture/2025/11/the-lowdown-show-fx-ethan-hawke-sterlin-harjo-lee-roy-chapman.html

I'm really enjoying The Lowdown but would be sticking with it anyway just for all the JJ Cale on the soundtrack

The Lowdown is a great hang! to me it’s like a cross between Inherent Vice & Long Goodbye where it’s more journey than destination, but even more shambolic & lazy-river. The vibes are SO good though.

lowdown was my favorite show of last year. perfect vibes. incredible cast too, just a murderer's row of character actors. like i tell my friends that the ethan hawke show also has kyle mclachlan and keith david and tracy letts and tim blake nelson and they are like "why have i not heard of this show before now"

About halfway through Lowdown and loving it

You know what's pretty good? The Joel Coen version of MACBETH on Apple TV! (Particularly recommended to ANDOR fans. You'll be shocked why.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptqe7s6pO7g

I watch that every year with my students when we do our Macbeth unit. It generally goes over pretty well, though I do end up having to explain what film noir is because they've never seen any.

yeah i kinda liked that one too! odd that they made Mac & Lady no longer able to have children, kinda removes the point of the whole thing i thought

I didn't realise there was a wait for the culinary class wars final! I feel like there was a slight slump in the middle and 70 min episodes are a lot, but endless cooking paradise (surely "heaven") and hell were great. Loved the guy rushing out multiple dishes like they were being scored on quantity not quality, felt like he didn't give a shit about getting to the final; and the calm but not arrogant confidence of Culinary Monster. Sad but not too surprised to see Brewmaster Yun go.

I do like the show but here's my impersonation of Culinary Class Wars

Shot of dude making bibimbap

Black Spoons chatting amongst thrmselves: What is he making? Bibimbap?

White Spoons doing same: he is very fanmous for his bibimbap!

Cut to interview with guy: I will be making bibimbap.

Caption: THIS GUY - BIBIMBAP EXPERT

also:

The mystery ingredient is... KIMCHI!

Shot of assembled chefs gasping

KIMCHI!

Different shot of gasping chefs

KIMCHI!

Different shot of gasping chefs

I watched Heated Rivalry and found it very addictive and compelling TV. Went back and forth on whether it's actually good, whether something that's by definition a romance novel can *be* good, etc. Concluded that it's really well-made in all the details; acting, cinematography, lighting, music, etc. are all very high quality and the guy who plays the Russian is star material. Still can't quite tell whether that adds up to Good, Good Bad, Bad Good, or what.

It doesn't strike me as fetishizing in the way that Red, White and Royal Blue did; the characters are much more realistic, and it's the kind of difficult relationship situation (two people who get stuck in a situationship for almost a decade because the homophobia of their environment doesn't let them conceive of having an actual relationship) that seems worth spending a season on. Definitely seems to be made for a variety of audiences, not just women (though as a woman it's hard for me to say for sure.)

I’m guessing the source novels are fluff, but the filmmakers have clearly approached the material with the intention of making a quality production, which separates it from the pathetic Red, White and Royal Blue. I love the (Van Sant-inspired?) closing-credit sequence of the finale. And yeah, Conner Storrie is a star.

To me, the really big issue with Red, White, and Royal Blue wasn't even the quality, abysmal though that was; it was the way these two characters interacted in ways that seemed designed to make them as cute and unthreatening as possible to a straight audience. Their emails get leaked and what's in them? No sex videos, nothing embarrassingly dirty, just poetic long-form love letters full of literary quotations. That's not character; that's someone mashing two Ken dolls together.

With Heated Rivalry, the characters seem like actual twentysomething guys who have known each other for years but have never had a real conversation and don't know how, and it's genuinely interesting to watch them figure it out.

xposts i've only watched a couple of episodes but those descriptions of culinary class wars basically describes what happens on 99% of all SKorean reality shows

it's just their standard filming trope/style... like americans on a TV competition show and going "i'm not here to make friends, i'm here to win"

anyway, i'm here to echo others upthread - do not watch His&Hers. I watched it to the end against my better judgement, but it was very bad throughout and the final twist is incredibly stupid

All Her Fault was enjoyable though! Also a cheesy soapy thriller but it helped that the characters were various levels of sympathetic, even when they were being dumb.

My only problem with Heated Rivalry was that the actual heated rivalry part of it wasn't shown all that well. Like, every so often someone would go "don't you hate him?" but there was never any real footage of them hating each other on the ice (because the show couldn't afford to spend very much time on the ice, I guess), or any real feeling that they interacted at all beyond a lot of round-bum shagging in private. But otherwise, knowing some sporty guys, I found their relationship sort of realistic. In that one says "you're so boring" and the other says "you're an asshole" and they play video games and they watch a lot of hockey, and they basically do this for years, because that's what they do. They don't suddenly become incredibly articulate just because they're together.

Is anyone watching new season of Fallout? We enjoyed season 1. Two episodes into season 2 - not quite feeling it, too many plot lines.

yeah i like it okay but it is a lot to keep track of, i think mr veg enjoys it more than i do perhaps bc he played the games

I find myself increasingly getting annoyed by so many shows so I wind up just watching Fisk, I hope there's another season coming considering the success it seems to have had with stateside audiences via Netflix.

I’m 4 episodes into His & Hers … the Sobotkas + Bernthal … apart from them, the best characters are the kid and Alzheimers mom

I gave up on season two of Fallout after two episodes. It seemed to be going for maximum grossness over minimal entertainment and I just couldn't be bothered. Similarly, husband is still watching it because he played the games.

Last week's episode of Fallout was pretty good where they finally introduced deathclaws

Okay I finished His&Hers … it wasn’t horrible… but I had low expectations going in based on the “dead baby trauma” in episode 1.

Also, I swear that there is a scene in Walking Dead where Bernthal has the exact same lines & delivery as in one of the last two episodes.

I am watching The Traitors US season 4 but not opening the Traitors thread and posting about it because the UK version is also airing right now and Peacock won't show that until sometime later this year. Am I missing out on any discussion of the US version, or is it all just about the UK version?

(I get the impression that The Traitors, while certainly a successful show in the US, is a bigger deal in the UK. Or at least watched not just by gay men.)

Fallout S1 was overstuffed on plotlines too, I didn’t remember a third of the recap.

My mom is a big U.K. Traitors fan but hates that the US version is all reality TV losers.

I spent most of the weekend watching The Newsreader, which I had seen the first couple of episodes of back whenever the BBC originally showed it, but it never recorded properly for me and I lost track of it. It's a really good show. I strongly agree with the Guardian review, which said that if this was an American show, everyone would be talking about it. It's just trashy enough to keep you hooked, but smart enough to not feel totally trashy. It goes overboard a little bit in the final season, especially in the villain department, but stays solid, and concludes in satisfying fashion.
As usual, the first two seasons are on Netflix and I torrented the third one because I have no patience.

It seems to all be on iPlayer. I'll give it a go when I've finished Two Weeks in August.

I saw the first season when it was briefly free on Prime a while back & loved it. Need to watch the rest of the series.

Anna Torv’s character is loosely based on my favorite Australian reporter Jana Wendt.

Lots of childhood memories tied up the stories they cover in the show.

And, you know, a little Sam Reid never hurt anybody.

I dont think I new Torv was meant to be Jana! Or I'd forgotten. I'm not sure I ever ended up watching S3, but yeah its a good show. Maybe there's some things you'd miss if you arent across Aus 80s-90s current events and such but I don't think it detracts given it is very loose with facts anyway.

new=knew ugh too early.

But yes, I remember a lot of the international stories, but I had no idea about local bombings and shootings in Melbourne, obviously.

Melbourne crime was popping the fuck off around then - Russell St Bombing in 86, Hoddle Street shooting AND Queen St shooting 87 Walsh St shooting 88… shit was crazy

the Empire State Rooftoppers got me to watch the Skywalkers doc which is just fucking deranged but I admit I find them very impressive (NFT shilling aside; but this was a few years ago).

Watched the first couple of episodes of nu-Lord of the Flies, they were excellent.

not a shows person but just saw this clip from a thing called Jury Duty, was wondering if anybody knows how i can watch it without an Amazon account

I'm not sure I ever ended up watching S3, but yeah its a good show.

One of the things I really liked about (yes, I am still talking about it) it was that it never lost its sense of humour. There's a particularly great bit close to the end when a main character is having a MAJOR CRISIS at a wedding, and everything is EXTREMELY SERIOUS, and then the bride comes out in the most 1989 wedding dress you've ever seen, and it's just great.

not a shows person but just saw this clip from a thing called Jury Duty, was wondering if anybody knows how i can watch it without an Amazon account

I don't know, but Jury Duty is pretty fun

I finally watched S1 of “The Gold” (PBS/Masterpiece) holy shit that was a ripper. Killer cast, great story.. bit heavyhanded w the class stuff but otherwise it slaps!

S2 coming in October .. trailer looked a bit naff but I’ll still watch the hell out of it

just saw this clip from a thing called Jury Duty, was wondering if anybody knows how i can watch it without an Amazon account

what continent are you on

Yeah, VG, S2 of the Gold is nowhere near as good, but still worth watching, for sure.

I spent most of the weekend watching The Newsreader, which I had seen the first couple of episodes of back whenever the BBC originally showed it, but it never recorded properly for me and I lost track of it. It's a really good show. I strongly agree with the Guardian review, which said that if this was an American show, everyone would be talking about it. It's just trashy enough to keep you hooked, but smart enough to not feel totally trashy.

― trishyb, Sunday, 5 July 2026 20:13

Thanks for this tip, Trish. I watched the first episode and loved it. Very good comfort viewing – feels like an 80s movie in the way it's told as well as the setting.

It's helped me with the Headlines game as well. If an Australian one comes up, I can rule out the Eighties if it wasn't on the Newsreader.

what continent are you on

― uploading this content requires perseveration (sic), Monday, July 13, 2026 10:49 AM (eight hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

n america.

i watched some more clips and decided it was trying too hard to be the office so i think i can survive without it

I don't know how your ISP is but most don't really care if you are watching anything from a dodgy site (but definitely arm your browser with adblockers if you do)

Just watched the first two episodes of Lucky on Apple TV - Anya Taylor-Joy as a con artist on the run, Timothy Olyphant as her con artist dad (currently in prison), Annette Bening and William Fitchner as the master criminals pursuing her, Clifton Collins as their henchman, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as an FBI agent. So far it's basically been one long chase scene, which is fun. Also, Fiona Apple wrote and performs the theme song.

We watched the first episode of Ride or Die on Amazon Prime. Hannah Waddingham (assassin) and Octavia Spencer (brilliant legal mind who gave it all up to help her husband attain political power) are best friends getting up to all sorts. Episode one has a real Roger-Moore-era James Bond breeziness to it, which we both enjoyed. And the two women are great together. And Hannah Waddingham looks incredible and very believable as someone who can kick the shit out of hired goons. But I wouldn't say it was great, exactly.

I saw the trailer for that and thought, If this was a 90-minute movie my wife and I would watch it together and probably enjoy it. But there's no way that's an idea that stretches to fill eight or 10 hours.

That seems true for lots of these shows. Not everything has to be a series!!

Well, we will see, because if I get to look at pretty vampires every week, then Mr Trish gets to look at Hannah Waddingham cinched up to high heaven and lamping henchmen, regardless of the quality of the show.

That sounds kind of fun - maybe I’ll give it a shot

I watched the first episode of Lucky - I love the cast but idk, it feels a little half baked? And the dialogue is so flat. I am going to keep going but I’m not convinced so far

The second episode is better.

Ok that’s encouraging:)

My current TV diet:

The Agency - absolutely love. More people need to watch this show!!

House of the Dragon - really loving this too. I don’t bump on any of the things tha my bothered people about the last season so I was all in on this season.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed - I like Tatiana Maslani so I stayed with this one to the end, though ultimately I found it all to be just average.

Beef - I’m two episodes into the 2nd season and thinking about bailing. It’s got real team-no one miserable energy.

Other shows… watching X-Men 97 with my son - it’s fine. Watching RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (always reliable) though I’m 3 or 4 episodes behind. And for some reason I do like Deadliest Catch but don’t judge me. (Apparently someone really did die this season but I’m not sure if they plan to air anything about it beyond the acknowledgement they did in the first episode.)

Project Runway has started up again with too many designers and no designers as judges but with additional Tyra Banks for no apparent reason.

The Agency is great! I’m still slowly working thru s2, up to ep5, really loving it

Watching Star City - about halfway through, it's great. I see there is a dedicated thread but I don't dare read it yet.

PSA: The Prisoner is available on Amazon. It's been decades since I saw it. Watching the first episode I was struck by how well composed and shot the show is.

Star City rules, and I would recommend it even if you haven’t seen For All Mankind. Excellent mix of Soviet spy intrigue and space travel sci-fi

I just re-upped my Amazon subscription after about a year, so just catching up on The Boys, Gen V and Fallout

Fallout S1 was great but we bailed pretty quickly on S2. YMMV

So is part of the conceit of DTF St Louis that everyone is, like, very much on the spectrum?

(we only watched the first ep, not sure if we'll watch any more)

Disney’s Alice and Steve started off with a good cast and a weird premise and ended just dreadfully. Terrible.

― trishyb, Sunday, June 21, 2026 4:24 AM (three weeks ago)

A friend just emphatically told me that I should be watching this, but based on this comment I don't want to. And I think she hasn't gotten to the end yet; should I warn her?

Lucky - might be good? Starts off playing to Anya-Taylor Joy’s strengths (being permanently pensive), I assume we’re getting more Olyphant in the coming episodes.

Ride or Die - also promising if the comedy part doesn’t get too silly, nice to see the actress from Ted Lasso in anything but Ted Lasso.

Watched Relay on Netflix tonight, a 2024 corporate espionage action movie starring Riz Ahmed, Lily James, and Sam Worthington. Good stuff, like a cross between Michael Clayton and William Gibson's novel Spook Country (or Abel Ferrara's New Rose Hotel).

So is part of the conceit of DTF St Louis that everyone is, like, very much on the spectrum?

(we only watched the first ep, not sure if we'll watch any more)

skippable. if you enjoy the journey great, but don't expect a satisfying resolution.

Wouldn't have watched it if I didn't have friends working on it, but Virgin Island (reality show where a bunch of virgins go to an island and work with sex therapists) is shockingly earnest and sweet.

_Disney’s Alice and Steve started off with a good cast and a weird premise and ended just dreadfully. Terrible.

― trishyb, Sunday, June 21, 2026 4:24 AM (three weeks ago)_

A friend just emphatically told me that I should be watching this, but based on this comment I don't want to. And I think she hasn't gotten to the end yet; should I warn her?

Well, it’s always ymmv with these things, but I do think it goes off the rails very badly.

Similarly, I retract my recommendation of Ride or Die. First episode was good, second was worse, third was worse again. I’m out.

Strip Law currently excelling at being the most insane thing I've seen in awhile. Magicians vs. Animals episode is something next level but I don't know of what.

Finally watched Dark Wizard (HBO) mentioned by justin3 way upthread back in May

This doco series is a LOT. I generally don’t love the mythology built up around guys like Potter. At the same time, I am kind of weirdly into these death-wish climbing stories. I was aware of Potter from the Valley Uprising doc & his links to climbers like Caldwell, Honnold etc … I knew this would be gnarly but I wasn’t quite ready for just how gnarly.

So as much as I’m like uhhh idk … my god the footage in this thing is incredible. WILD shit.

My brother in law used to skydive & kinda dipped a toe into BASE jumping for a minute, it is a real specific niche of adrenaline junkie that I do not understand, don’t love that it happens, but cannot look away when I am shown footage. Insane

Oh and WIRE WALKING too? kerrrrrrrazy

Wrapped up Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. I actually think this show was great, and Tatania Maslany is exceptional.

It was fun enough. I'd have been happy with a happy ending and not more seasons and not all the set-up for season two.

Just started Lucky. It's pretty dumb. Second episode was a bit better than first. Will stick with it for a bit at least.

Ride Or Die, The Agency and 2073 are maybe next.

I like Lucky! She's pretty good at running away from people with guns.

Finished DTF St Louis and while I didn't really like the ending it had so much going on in terms of character and aging and...just the joy and sadness of life that I don't know that the resolution matters much, easily the least skippable show I've seen in many years. All three leads were fantastic.

Still not as good as Patriot mind but then what is.

Other half is watching The Westies as we speak. I'm finding the weirdly noncomittal period clothing offputting. Is it meant to be '79 or '80? No oneshair or clothes really matches it. Feels so far like a vaguely US Guy Ritchie show. I'm not a fan so far.