TV show recommendations
 

I'm looking for a TV show or two to start and was considering a few that sound appealing. Has anyone seen any of the following and if so, what did you think?

Your Friends and Neighbors - Apple
Dark Matter - Apple
Dark Winds - AMC + but also on Netflix and Prime
Mayor of Kingstown Paramount Plus
Dexter Original Sin -Showtime
Virgin River -Netflix
FUBAR - Netflix
House of David - Amazon Prime
Ransom Canyon - Just released on Netflix

Thanks!

It depends what you like. ‘Ransom Canyon’ has a lot of people doing dramatic things, country music, and rodeos.

‘Dark Winds’ is very dry.

‘Mayor of Kingstown’ was really good, but really violent.

All the rest was not appealing to me.

The only two I am familiar with on your list are Virgin River and FUBAR. Virgin River is a total chic flick, not in my wheelhouse. FUBAR is a good watch.

We both like Virgin River interesting characters.

We are in the middle of a TV series Bones, over 200 episodes so will keep you busy for awhile.

If you liked Dexter you will like Dexter: Original Sin.

Think I have seen most of the Bones episodes.

Agree. I love all of Taylor Sheridan's work. But if you dislike violence, look elsewhere.

"Dark winds" is just OK. I watched the 1st season, but I got bored and did not watch the 2nd season. I read about "Ransom Canyon". It was rated around 55 on Rotten Tomatoes, which is sort of LOW. It is about several ROMANCES, which I am usually NOT interested. On Max....."The Last of US" is VERY good, with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

The Last of Us is excellent but very violent.

I like a lot of different things and have probably watched shows in most genres. It is a plus if they have some humor sprinkled in. Some violence is ok but not a fan of beatings that last too long.

I think the best way to get recommendations is to tell us what shows/movies you really liked and some that you didn't.

Guess you didnt like the Reacher fight at the end of season 3. Great ending.

Highly recommend Reacher.

Not on your list, but………
 

OP,

Apple has a new one, “Your Friends and Neighbors” starring Jon Hamm as a hedge fund manager who gets (unfairly) fired, blackballed by those who might have hired him, and has to figure out how to maintain his high level lifestyle. It’s entertaining. Only 3 episodes have dropped so far though.


Someone mentioned comedy.

If you like ensemble casts with quirky characters, try “Corner Gas.” It was the Number 1 Canadian sitcom during its run.

This one makes me laugh out loud. If you liked “Northern Exposure” or “The Vicar of Dibley,” you will probably like “Corner Gas.”

Boomer

Dark Matter
Dark Winds
Mayor of Kingstown
House of David
Silo
For All Mankind
Inspector Ellis
Unforgotten
Prime Target
Schits Creek
Vienna Blood
Professor T
Vera

American Primeval on Netflix is really great

I hear "The Americas" is a good watch, and Ken Burns series on The Vietnam War.

we have for the past 4-5 years watched BritBox and Acorn as lots of the American shows got weird and way too much action. The British crime drama shows all seem to have great twists in them and you get to learn a new language… British English… you will need subtitles :-)

Vera
Shetland
Grantchester
Silent Witness
Inspector Gently
Foyle’s War
Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix
Broadchurch


Just to name a few

“Dark Winds” is based on the famous detective novels of Tony Hillerman and are set on the Navaho Reservation. The detectives are two Navaho cops, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. The show was shot on the reservation, and a lot of the actors are Navaho. The. Lead actors aren’t, but the are Indians. The first two seasons were excellent.

“Virgin River” has beautiful scenery and solid acting. It’s warm-hearted and romantic. I’m a guy, and I’ve watched it all by myself, but women especially love this series. You come to care for the characters. They all face difficulties and moral questions (by which I don’t mean sexual questions, but questions of what to do, how to respond). It’s a bit like a series of lessons in What Would Jesus Do, but without talking about it. Highly recommended.

I highly recommend “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” on Netflix. I’ve shone this to a number of people here, and they are all crazy about it. It’s a Korean show, and I watch it with subtitles, but you can set it to play in English. Attorney Woo Young Woo is the first autistic attorney in Korea. She has a photographic memory. She is utterly charming, adorable, and weird. It’s a comedy.

Try “Her Majesty” on Netflix. Set in Spain. The unpopular King of Spain has to flee to Latin America because his corruption is discovered, and his party-girl 29 year old daughter has to take the throne. It’s a comedy. She learns and gets better at it.

On Amazon Prime, try “Decline and Fall,” based on the 1936 novel by the great Evelyn Waugh. It’s a devastating, biting satire of English ways back then. Not well known in the U.S., but a cult classic in the U.K. Also, the new Agatha Christie show on Amazon Prime, “Towards Zero.” Very clever plotting. Both are just three episodes.

A few good series to watch:
Yellowstone
Newsroom (fantastic)
Suits (fantastic)
Landman
Reacher

Mayor of Kingstown—unnecessarily violent tale about nasty people, with no redeeming theme or characters. Ditched after two or three episodes.

Mayor of Kingstown, The Lincoln Lawyer, Ozark, and Goliath are all excellent!

Happy Valley

Agreed. Maybe DEI surfaced in UK? So many of the shows nowadays are situated up north, where the diction and accents are not proper Cambridgeshire or Londonian. Subtitles are a big help. Another observation, while most episodes of police procedure dramas in the USA feature gunplay and killing of perpetrators, the British shows rarely get violent, and they arrest the bad guys instead of killing them.

Agree, but that fake Bostonian accent from a British actress took some getting used to.

Dark Winds is kind of like Longmire, which is excellent. Virgin River is like a never ending Hallmark movie. I watched two episodes and hated it. Reacher is fun. Suits is good. The best series ever is The West Wing.

I really liked that.

Breaking Bad is on Netflix.

I could not get into that.

TV
 

Watching Dark Winds-very good. Reacher on Prime. Daredevil on Disney+. Monarch on Apple +. All excellent shows.

The Black Mirror on Netflix is interesting. It's sort of a modern Twilight Zone with different scenarios every episode. I've enjoyed most of them but a few are just ok.

We watched a few British shows including Broadchurch season one, the first season of Poldark, The Crown and Peaky Blinders. I read the novel The Magpie Murders and was thinking of watching the series. Michael Connelly is one of my favorite authors, but the series is not as good as it strays too far from the source material by expanding the importance of the minor characters. My brother-in-law also recommended Vera, so I may give that a shot.

My wife started watching season one of Hart of Dixie from what I understand is similar to Virgin River. The nice thing about that show is that almost all the men are very good guys which is refreshing to see. Would you say the same is true of Virgin River?

TV show
 

The Pitt on Max is excellent.

Bosch
Bosch:Legacy
Lessons in Chemistry Apple
Slow Horses
Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Here goes. I don't think there is a consistent pattern.
Dramas
The Wire is my number 1 all-time favorite show
The Sopranos
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
Rectify (very underrated)
The first five seasons of Bosch
Men of a Certain Age (great cast and all great guys. My wife loved it as well)
Freaks and Geeks
Justified
The Americans

A few Science Fiction
The X Files (Had some very funny episodes that are worth rewatching)
Lost (ran out of steam in the final few seasons)
Firefly
Fringe

Loved Moonlighting back in the day
Veronica Mars
Chuck
Quantum Leap (the original.)

Sitcoms
Frasier
Dick Van Dyke
Cheers
Better off Ted
Modern Family (we are on season 4)

I agree that "The Americans" was very good.

Interesting that you say that US people prefer action movies , but UK people prefer intricate plots. Maybe that reflects national identity with the US being less sophisticated.

I've fully watched "Suits" three times; it's that good. Suits LA (set in Los Angeles), not so much. It's not the same without Harvey and Mike.

"TAU" is a Sci/Fi that I liked, but the reviewers at rotten Tomatoes did not like. Others with better rating that I liked are "Black Mirror", "Cowboy Bebop", "Queens Gambit", "Ragnarok", "Subservience", Spiderhead", "Zero Day", "ARE murders", which gets rated 86% by Rotten Tomatoes, "Territory" an Australian western on prime, "Sense8" is good , but slow in spots, "The Cinderella Man" a true story about a pro boxer. And "Troppo" an Australian crime/drama which gets 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

If you have access to Peacock, one we really like is Poker Face. The second season is coming soon. On network television we like Irrational.