shelidonJanuary 13, 20193 Comments on 2019 in Series

As we step bravely into a new year, let’s try and see what’s good and what’s promising to keep us company on tv. Since summer, some things have changed in what I watch: I crawled through the latest seasons of:

• Daredevil (boy, that was a good Bullseye and I like what they did with the nun, but a serie can’t take 6 episodes to get interesting);
• Iron Fist (same as above: I liked what they did in the end but it was too damn slow);
• Jessica Jones (a lot weaker than season 1).

I am currently struggling to finish Luke Cage season 2 and I gave up on The Punisher: I wasn’t even able to finish season 1. On the other hand, I must say I’m pretty satisfied with season 2 of The Gifted, and Runaways isn’t bad either, even if seas 2 has a little too much of teen drama for my taste.

We’re also enjoying a lot The Orville, Seth MacFarlane not-so-parodic science fiction series, and I hope it will keep us company for many seasons to come, especially considering that season 2 of Star Trek Discovery is upon us and the only good thing of season 1 is dead. And Spock has a beard. A hipster beard.

Also, for reasons that are too convoluted to explain, I took up watching Supernatural starting from season 1 and I binge-watched my way through season 8. No kidding. Wait for me, I’m coming. I’m also watching Midnight Texas, I love how it’s basically a loose setting for a role playing game, and I have Legends of Tomorrow on ice: the last season wasn’t that exciting but I still find that entertaining.

Of course we also have the amazing We Bare Bears and Ducktales to keep us company, and Lucifer.

On the other hand, I honestly gave up on Vikings (once the supernatural got real I was out of there), Doctor Who (not convinced at all on this new doctor), The Flash (somewhere when I lost count on how many times Barry gets exiled in a speedforce reality) and Arrow (that whole cheap drama with Felicity wore me out, but I might resume it with this new Prison Break twist they have). Also, Impulse was a good one and I saw the first three episodes, before becoming emotionally unprepared to watch the story of a girl who manifested powers after an attempted rape. Maybe I’ll take it up again when I’ll be feeling better myself. Impulse is certainly better than that movie Jumper, although based on the same novels, and it’s a YouTube premium production but you can watch some episodes for free.

I abandoned Lethal Weapon with rage, because they killed Riggs and screwed up my made-up continuity with movies: fuck you, so I tried my hand with the reboot of Magnum P.I. and I didn’t hate it.

Since all this stuff doesn’t seem to be enough, let’s take a look at what’s coming in 2019, because there’s some juicy stuff.

Good Omens. I’m ready. I’m a,ways ready to see more Neil Gaiman brought on screen, but in this case I’m more than ready: everything seems perfect and I can’t wait to see what they do with the story of the unlikely angel and the demon working together to stop Apocalypse and save French wine.

Kingdom. I didn’t lose my mind: this Korean production about a medieval zombie outburst mixed with palace intrigue looks damn good.  And it’s a good chance to see Bae Doona again: I loved her in Cloud Atlas.

Deadly Class. Based on a pretty good graphic novel, it’s Harry Potter with a dark, urban, bloody and more contemporary twist.

His Dark Materials. I have conflicted feelings about Philip Pullman, but I’m at least curious to see what will come out of this. No trailer available yet.

Russian Doll. It’s like Groundhog Day, only with more death involved and a heavy-drinking loud-mouthed Natasha Lyonne in the leading role.

Miracle Workers. For all of you crazy kids who think Steve Buscemi is God, your prayers just got answered (sort of) in this Netflix serie starring Daniel Radcliffe. We’ll see if it’s too much “comedy” for me.

The Umbrella Academy. I’m not sure about this, it kind of looks like a series written by an algorythm in a clumsy but genuine attempt to please me, but it has superheroes and I might give it a shot.

The Boys. No, I’m messing with you: there’s no way in hell I’ll support this DC trash thing. With all the Marvel series being reimagined due to their transfer on the Disney challenge, it seems like we’re back trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t work on screen when it comes to superheroes. And to think that the first seasons of Flash and Arrow nailed it so effortlessly.

Watchmen. I was really skeptical: it’s a pretty difficoult graphic novel to put on screen, as the movie proved quite dramatically, and some of the most important subtexts, both social and political, simply do not work if you take them out of the comic book. Then I saw Jeremy Irons as Ozymandias and now I’m ready to give it a chance: bring it on. No trailer available yet: just a couple of sequences in HBO roll of 2019 titles.

The ABC Murders. I just don’t see how John Malkovich can be Hercule Poirot, but he’s such a wonderful actor that I think we have to have faith.

The Witcher. As opposed to Good Omens, I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. Henry Cavill seems completely unsuitable to play Geralt of Rivia, our beloved Witcher, and I don’t think they will have the guts to put on screen all the moral degradation and corruption of the world he walks in. If they transform him in a pretty face, I swear I’ll scream so loud they’ll hear me.

American Gods. Bryan Fuller is gone, so we approach Season 2 with a certain… anxiety. However, the first look seems great and we hope they will keep up the wonderful work they did with season 1.