I have a lot of shows, movies, and podcasts to catch you guys up on! This monthly post definitely fell to the wayside with all the broken ankle excitement. But I always think it’s fun to share the things I’ve enjoyed the most and love hearing other people’s recommendations. I’ll even rank them in order of what I liked the most, so you don’t have to slog through the entire thing. 🙂 Here goes!
TV – Alone
1. The Resident
My top four picks are all extremely close in how much I absolutely loved them. But I think this one squeezed just a smidge up into first place. The characters were fantastic and every episode was intriguing. I loved the Conrad character SO much.
2. The Royals
This is one of my all time tops shows, ever. I ADORE it. Season four was fantastic. Probably my favorite! So much Jasper. 🙂
3. Rise
I’m really disappointed this show isn’t getting a second season, but it does work really well as a single season arc. I loved it. I got teary during a lot of it. It just felt like a very special show and I’m so glad I got to see it.
4. The Good Doctor
Apparently I really love a good medical drama. I especially enjoyed the first season of this one. Love the characters!
5. A.P. Bio
This show as hilarious! I laughed so hard in every single episode. There were definitely a lot of ridiculous plot holes. Like, he only teaches the one class all day long?? But it was so funny. The students were so nerdy and endearing and Jack was such a crazy teacher. Love it.
6. The Five
This was recommended by a podcaster I enjoy (Lazy Genius) and I’m so glad I listened to her and watched it. It’s a British crime drama that just takes place over ten episodes. It was absolutely captivating and I binged the whole thing in just a day or two. It’s definitely a bit dark, but really fantastic tv.
7. Life in Pieces
This one continues to give me the giggles!
8. Splitting Up Together
I have mixed feelings about this one. As just a show, I really liked it. But the theory behind the show – getting divorced, but continuing to live together and keep your family together and suddenly find all this respect for each other that couldn’t be found when their marriage was in tact. They clearly belong together. But…where is this show going? I liked it, though.
9. iZombie
For a long time this was one of my favorite shows. This last season really went downhill in entertainment value for me, though. I don’t like how Seattle has now become a city of zombies. It was much more fun when Liv was the main zombie and each episode was just about how each brain affected her crime solving skills.
10. The Great British Baking Show
Season four was just as good as the rest! I love watching the bakers and how much love and respect they all have for each other! I wish there were a hundred seasons of this to watch.
11. Shameless
Continues to be a gritty, but awesome show. I think the season must have ended around February because I don’t actually remember much about it. But it was good!
12. New Girl
I’m glad this show has come to an end. The three year time jump in the final season was a little much for me. It was still funny. Winston, Nick, Schmidt – they’re all so hilarious! But Jess and CeCe are just so blah to me. I’m glad it’s over.
13. Famous in Love
I almost didn’t watch this second season because I was so incredibly pissed off by what happened in the last seconds of the first season. But I was very surprised to see that Paige picked the right guy. Now if only they could be happy! A lot of the acting in this show is pretty awful, but it’s still fun for a show to half watch while I’m working.
14. Scandal
Scandal had so many ups and downs. This final season started out pretty rough, but I like how it came together at the end. If only a certain character hadn’t died, it would have been great.
15. Modern Family
Another show that has really run its course. I continue to watch it because I like having some light hearted sitcoms to watch while I work. But it’s very far from one of my favorites.
TV – Together
- Halt and Catch Fire
In the last few months we watched all four seasons of this show. I had a lot of very mixed feelings about it, but it was my favorite of everything Greg and I watched together, so I guess it was worth it! If you can get past the first few VERY confusing episodes (unless you’re a super computer geek), it gets pretty addicting. One thing I disliked, but also found very unique to the show, is that each season the characters seem completely reinvented. You’d be shocked to watch the first season and realize how much they change by the fourth. I think my main reason for watching this was just to see Lee Pace. He’s an awesome actor. But also very sexy. It was a good show!
2. Breaking Bad
We also watched this in its entirety the last few months. Greg has seen it before, but it was my first time. It did take me awhile to understand the hype and why so many people it’s the greatest show of all time. But I definitely did enjoy it. I just started hating Walt SO much! And I felt so horrible for Jesse! And I just wanted Hank to get his justice! I’m really happy with how it ended.
3. Santa Clarita Diet
Season two was just as ridiculous as season one, but still so funny! I guess you have to be into this sort of bizarre comedy to enjoy it, but I loved it. Brought some good laughs after watching such serious shows for like three straight months.
4. Superstore
I rave about this all the time, so – more of the same. It’s funny! It’s fun! But I kind of hated how the season ended. Can’t Jonah and Amy just be happy together? WHY does she have to be pregnant with Adam’s baby? We could have just happily ignored the fact she was pregnant in real life. This complication seems unnecessary and dumb.
5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Still funny! Captain Holt is one of my favorite tv characters of all time.
6. The Flash
We used to watch so many superhero shows and this is the only one we’ve stuck with. I’m really not that interested anymore, but I’m not ready to give it up.
7. Love
I definitely hate watched this show. Could Gus and Mickey be any more ill-suited? I hate Mickey soooooo much. And Gus keeps switching between being cute and nerdy to being horrible and mean. Birdie’s storyline was more interesting. And I guess I kind of like how it ended. But…I just hate the characters!!
8. Mozart in the Jungle
The final season was such a mess. I actually really liked how much more focused Rodrigo seemed. His love for Haley seemed genuine and intense. But Haley? She was just so unlikeable. The actual orchestras were almost nonexistent in this season, which just seems bizarre for a show about the orchestra. I think I would have liked it all a lot more without Gloria and the original Maestro. I couldn’t care less about their awful acting and boring storylines.
9. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
I’m pretty over this one. It’s still good for the occasional laugh at weird songs, but the show as a whole is a drag for me.
MOVIES
- Life of the Party
I just saw this the other day and loved it! I wasn’t sure what to expect because the critical reviews haven’t been that great. But I honestly felt it was one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. SO hilarious! I highly recommend it.
2. Avengers – Infinity War
It’s hard for me to rank movies when they just have a single shot at impressing me. And I’ve seen a whole lot of movies the last four months. Mostly movies I only watched because Greg wanted to see them. But, I liked this one. So many great actors. Enough going on that I never got bored. Intriguing enough ending that I’m anxious for the next installment.
3. Game Night
Parts of this movie were so dumb. But parts were so funny! I’m glad I didn’t force seeing it in the theater like I had originally wanted. But I enjoyed it for a movie night at home.
4. Black Panther
I don’t have much to say about this, except I liked it! It felt very different from all the other Marvel movies, which was refreshing.
5. Solo
I’m not much of a Star Wars fan and didn’t have any expectations for this one. But I liked it! Maybe because it didn’t feel particularly Star Wars-ish. The characters were all very likeable and the storyline was interesting.
6. The Kissing Booth
This felt like an adorably quirky and fun YA novel. The kind of romantic comedy I grew up watching. The acting was pretty terrible. But I liked it!
7. Leap!
I’m not very into animated movies. Never have been. But I really enjoyed this one!
8. When We First Met
Another kind of dumb Netflix made movie. But still funny. Entertaining enough to watch while working on other stuff – how I watch most of my tv and movies.
9. Thor Ragnorok
I honestly can’t tell you a single thing about this movie. But I’m pretty sure I liked it! Thor is funny. That’s always something. 🙂
10. The Mountain Between Us
Survivalist stories are always inspiring to watch. This was pretty slow with not a lot of action, but I liked the relationship that grew between characters.
11. Jumanji
This is the movie that made me think maybe I actually do like The Rock. It was a pretty funny movie!
12. Coco
I was definitely unprepared for what this movie was about. The boys kept insisting it was too scary. We had to take a break halfway through because it was right after my surgery and I couldn’t stay away for more than half an hour at a time. I remember feeling like it was super emotionally manipulative. But it was good. Very good. If you’re in the right headspace to watch it.
13. Home Again
Kind of dumb. Kind of funny. Pretty meh about it.
14. Baywatch
I was surprised to find I actually enjoyed this movie. I thought the characters would all be portrayed as hot idiots, but they weren’t. It gave me some good laughs.
15. Forever My Girl
Very cliche. Very predictable. But it was okay!
16. Jane
Shepard was going through a Jane Goodall phase, so we also watched this right after my surgery. It was mildly interesting. I was most intrigued by how often she was caught on video in her earliest days with the chimpanzees.
17. A Bad Moms Christmas
Pretty dumb, guys.
PODCASTS
I’ve actually really cut back on my podcast listening. I just got into a mood where I only wanted to listen to the few that I absolutely love. I did try out a few new things, but mostly stuck to my tried and true.
- The Popcast
I am ALL for The Popcast. Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week when I can listen to a new episode. Always so funny and so interesting!
2. The Popcast Patreon
I also love Fridays to get the News and Notes episodes. I also get early released episodes of The Bible Binge podcast that they also do. And now they’re starting up Bachelorette recap episodes, so I think I’m going to have to start watching The Bachelorette. I just love everything about the Popcast.
3. Front Porch with the Fitzes
I also love Tuesdays for my new Front Porch episodes. They’re always a bit hit or miss, but filled with some fun laughs. I love how they all interact with each other.
4. Spilled Milk
I’m not quite sure how often these release. It might be weekly, but sometimes it feels like longer in between new episodes. They’re my most light hearted episodes, but I always enjoy them. It feels like connecting with an old friend. Probably because I’ve listened to all like three hundred episodes they’ve produced.
5. Happier with Gretchen Rubin
I’m only a few months away from being caught up with this! It’s always interesting and positive and filled with good advice.
6. Lazy Genius
I go back and forth on this one, but lately Kendra has been doing a series on getting ready for summer that has been incredibly useful. She had a cleaning series too that I loved listening to.
7. Dear Sugars
This is the only one podcast I’ve started in the last few months. I don’t listen to it very regularly because it’s always deep and thought provoking, which isn’t often what I want in my entertainment while doing housework. I started listening to it after reading Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things. In the podcast she and Steve Almond answer Dear Sugar letters on air. It’s good! Just not when I’m often in the mood for.
Well, I think that’s it! Hopefully my longest post I’ll ever write on entertainment. I’ll try to get back to monthly recaps from here on out!!
