This is one of those shows that make me think there are many fake reviews on here. This show is definitely not 10, or even a 9, or 8. I watched it because of Reese Witherspoon, Cheryl Strayed, and I like the lead actress. However, the main character is just such an unlikeable head case. She is miserable, has a chip on her shoulder, and blames everyone but herself for her problems. I felt sorry for her daughter having such an embarrassing train wreck of a mother. She was a jerk to her best friend and cheated on her husband. It just wasn't believable that her hot husband wouldn't have divorced her much, much sooner.
Reviews
25 Reviews
Treason
(2022)
Believe the bad reviews.
29 January 2023
This series is neither suspenseful nor a thriller. It seemed like it had potential In the beginning, so I was dubious of the terrible reviews. However this quickly devolved to being the bland and forgettable tripe that seems to have infected all streaming services. This is a very condensed series. It's like they threw every spy thriller cliche and plot twist into a few shows at the expense of character development and pacing, and removed any common sense or logic. The only thing that sets this apart from all the other forgettable shows of this genre is that there aren't nonstop car chases or gunfights. Big snore.
Fauda
(2015– )
Doron is an insubordinate goon
26 January 2023
I loved seasons 1 and 2. Walid was a great and memorable villain. When season 4 was about to be released I went back and watched all the seasons again. Doron becomes more irritating each season. He doesn't follow orders and ends up getting people hurt or killed. Plus, the villains after Walid are not memorable or are sort of sympathetic characters radicalized by Doron. The gullible boxer, or his newly-released from prison father. Doron is a bull in a China shop and a pouty, self-absorbed man-child prone to tantrums. Please just fire this guy already! The women always fall for him for some inexplicable reason and his kisses are stomach churning as they sound like he is slurping soup. Season 4 was still entertaining, but the plot holes are more glaring (the convoluted plan involving tricking the police officer into going to Syria) and it is difficult to root for Doron as the seasons go on. I dropped my rating from 8 to 7 after watching Season 4 because the show and Doron went downhill.
Karen Pirie
(2022– )
Just Okay
29 October 2022
It is amazing how fake some of these reviews are. This is another run of the mill and quite forgettable cop show. It isn't a 10 or a 9 on any planet, nor is it a 1 or 2. This is average and a bit slow paced. The plot is ordinary and feels like a slight variation of ones I've seen many many many times before. The actors are okay, but do seem a bit off age wise sometimes: the murder took place 25 years before, but a few of the witnesses from the bar or party appear young enough that they would've been children then. The lead does look like she is 12 as another reviewer noted. I love a good cop show, but this is just another average show like so many others these streaming platforms keep cranking out.
The Fall
(I) (2013–2016)
Just OK and too long and slow
4 September 2022
This is one of those shows that makes me think there are a lot of fake reviews on IMDB. It's definitely not a 10 or a 9 or even an 8. It's just okay. The casting is good and it's clearly a well-made show, but it is really drawn out and repetitive. I've watched two seasons and am not sure I will bother with the next. Really the whole thing could've been done in 6 shows rather than 12. The guy is a serial killer and they spend a lot of time showing him committing similar murders. We get the idea and the repetition seems like filler. Similarly, when an unlikable character is in the hospital, there are long, drawn out sequences in the operating room. It isn't suspenseful, it just feels like they dragged it out to use up time. It would've been nice to see more investigation and less slow, drawn out filler. Plus it was weird the way the Gillian Anderson character started out as a tough, smart character in the first season and devolved into a teary-eyed, whispery wimp in the second.
Killing Eve
(2018–2022)
Meh
2 September 2022
This seemed like a series I would enjoy more. I like the casting and the general idea. I was hooked for the first couple episodes by the kick-ass female leads, but ultimately there isn't much here. It's thin and superficial with periodic grating music to try to fluff up the fact that there's not much of a plot or character development. Sandra Oh's piercing shriek about once an episode. Vapid writing. I made it through most of the first season but found myself playing with my phone more often as I grew more and more bored. I wanted to rate it as I'm sure I'll forget I watched it but don't want to accidentally start it again.
Shining Girls
(2022)
Confusing and a bit slow
15 August 2022
I like Elisabeth Moss and love Wagner Moura after seeing him in Narcos. This seemed like the type of series I'd enjoy, but it is just too slow and confusing. I'm curious about the book now as it seems like the underlying wrinkle in time is just a bit lost in the adaptation to TV. I'm very patient and watched the whole season, but it was more of a slog than it should've been with such a good cast and a seemingly interesting premise. That said, it is memorable and is a solid 7.5.
The Disappearance
(2018–2022)
Vulgar drunk racist lawyer
13 August 2022
The main character is vulgar, frequently drunk and drives too fast. When she's not too wasted to answer her phone, she's getting serial killers off. Not clear how she's supposedly a great lawyer, because it seems like she should be disbarred. The plot is full of holes as another reviewer mentioned and it doesn't make sense that people would retain her when she is a drunk and nasty and racist toward them. I guess I've just run out of things to watch and I was intrigued because this series is Polish.
Redemption
(I) (2022)
Just ok but big weaknesses
4 July 2022
This is another forgettable cop show. I've started rating them here just so I know which ones I've already seen. As many reviewers have pointed out, the big flaw is that this experienced police detective couldn't find her daughter who lived not very far away for decades. And that someone who was estranged from her own daughter for 20 years is all of a sudden so devoted to her grandkids. Silly. The rest is like so many of these merely ok cop shows these streaming services churn out. Definitely not a 10 like some of these questionable reviews. Also not a 1. Some effort but nothing special. A solid 6.8 but I won't remember it in a few days.
The Terminal List
(2022– )
Reacher or Jack Ryan but in the dark
3 July 2022
Not sure why they couldn't turn on the lights. This is another run of the mill Beefcake action series, but this one didn't use lighting. Even scenes in a hospital and office are dimly lit. An assortment of the usual clichéd ingredients: almost no one believes the beefcake hero, evil corporation, middle eastern villain, slain family, hero is a creepy murderous dude himself. The first show was exciting. I made it through a few episodes but there are so many shows like this I would rather watch one where most of the scenes were filmed in the dark.
Under the Banner of Heaven
(2022)
Well-made and good actors, but dull
26 June 2022
I love a good detective show, but this isn't it. It seems like it had the ingredients of a good series, but is not very compelling. The Mormon church seems very creepy and most of the characters are awful. The main protagonist is torn I guess, by the perversion of his religion and fact that the church cares more about its image than values. However, he is too weepy and his family is really dull, so getting through this was a bit of a chore.
Okkupert
(2015–2020)
Underrated and Binge-worthy series
6 May 2022
I passed this by for a couple years because the plot sounded silly, but now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, it doesn't seem so far-fetched. I've been so bored by many series and abandoned them a few shows in, or immediately forget them, but this series is pleasant surprise! It is imaginative, interesting, and I found myself binging show after show. Another great Nordic series! Highly recommend.
Julia
(2022–2023)
Fun, lite fare with great casting
1 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I came for the great casting. I really liked Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax. Plus I always liked David Hyde-Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth. They are all excellent and this is a fun, enjoyable series. Lite, easy watching. And who knew Julia Child was so progressive? Sticking up for her young, under-appreciated black assistant producer, partying with drag queens in San Francisco! Oh wait, that's the totally fake stuff that has irritated many reviewers. When I looked it up, it isn't true. There was no black assistant producer and James Beard didn't take Child to a drag show. It's Hollywood checking off the PC boxes (much like the Jennifer Hudson character in one of the too many Sex and the City movies or the character in the Gilded Age - the smart, young, underestimated black woman with the predictable little side story arc to check off the diversity box). But this show is based on a real person. Plus the real Julia Child grew up rich and was a chain smoker. But I guess that doesn't fit the woke narrative that needs to be shoe-horned into every series these days. Lost a star for that.
Anatomy of a Scandal
(2022)
Meh
27 April 2022
Lots of star power for what could easily have been a Lifetime movie. I expected more based on the cast and David E Kelley, but this was pretty standard and predictable fare. I dozed off during the last episode. Without spoiling anything, it reminded me a bit of the Undoing, but I enjoyed that much more.
Dark Desire
(2020–2022)
Silly soap opera
19 February 2022
This is a soap opera thriller with a lot of sex scenes and characters who periodically read poetry to each other. It was sort of cheesy fun at first, but as others noted, it is way too long. All the men are sort of creepy and take turns seeming to be the likely killer. The women are all gullible and improbably brush off being betrayed by the creepy men and one another. This review applies only to season one. The last episode made my eyes roll so much I don't think I can take any more.
Reacher
(2022– )
Beefcake with a brain?
6 February 2022
This is mildly entertaining old school 80's style action fare. I didn't read the books, so I have no comparison in that regard. The lead is hot and takes his shirt off a lot, which is a plus ;). However, the villains are cartoonish and the action and gunfights are too plentiful and often in the dark. You have to suspend logic to enjoy this: law enforcement working with this guy who runs around killing people left and right? I found myself reaching for my phone too often. The more I think about it, maybe this is a 6.5 but bonus for the shirtless scenes and occasional good music.
Gomorrah
(2014–2021)
Binge-worthy crime drama
30 January 2022
This series kept me coming back for more. It is a bit too violent and repetitive and I did find myself playing with my phone through some of the frequent gunfights. However, I enjoyed a few of the characters a lot (especially Don Pietro and Patrizia). Agree with many reviews that the earlier seasons were better. Some of the characters were awful (Enzo!) and it was difficult to see why the minor characters would be so devoted to them. I did wish that law enforcement would play a bigger role and send these guys to prison. Overall, I'd recommend this as entertaining and a good series to binge watch.
Landscapers
(2021)
Solid 7.8. Entertaining but over-stylized
25 January 2022
I'd rate this 7.8. The actors are top-notch, but as others have noted this is over-stylized and trying too hard. It was slow at times but overall entertaining. Not sure why filmmakers want to glamorize murderers though.
Ferry
(2021)
Fun prequel
15 January 2022
Not sure if I would have enjoyed this so much if I hadn't already seen the series. As others have noted, a lot is predictable or cliche, but since I already really liked Danielle and Ferry from the series, I found this movie really entertaining.
The Tunnel
(2013– )
Meh. Too long and disjointed
9 January 2022
I've spent the pandemic watching cop/crime shows from all over. I only watched season 1 of this series and it was a bit of a chore because there are so many subplots and characters that it is difficult to follow. The show just meanders too much and there are a lot of bad guys and characters whose relationship to the main plot is unclear and never explained. I barely made it through season 1 and don't plan to watch the next seasons unless I get desperate. If you like cop/crime series, I'd recommend skipping this and watching Line of Duty, Narcos, Spiral (Engrenages is the French title), the Bureau (also French) or Gomorrah instead of this.
Traces
(2019–2022)
Forgettable
1 January 2022
This is one of many run of the mill crime dramas that I've watched during the pandemic and will have forgotten in a day. Why in the world would the guy who plays Steve Arnott in the awesome Line of Duty take this role in this mildly entertaining but forgettable series? He seems way too old and too famous for the part. As others have noted, the lead actress looks like she is half his age and they have zero chemistry. Not as bad as some series, but meh. Ok for a lazy New Year's Day when everything is closed, it's 20 degrees out and you're too lazy to search for something better.
Mare of Easttown
(2021)
Worth a watch
16 October 2021
Tuned in for Kate Winslet, but was reminded again how great Jean Smart is. I always remember her as being an 80's big hair sitcom actress, but over the years and particularly lately she really became awesome. Similar to other reviewers, this reminded me of Sharp Objects or Happy Valley. I enjoyed this, but sometimes I found it didn't quite keep my attention or I couldn't keep track of some of the minor characters. Also Winslet's character was a bit too joyless. Overall it was a good show, but not a 10 and I might be enjoying American Rust (another gloomy depressed cop in small town America series with a great cast) a bit more.
Our Boys
(2019)
Compelling and thought-provoking
10 October 2021
I watched this because I liked Scenes from a Marriage and In Treatment so much that I decided to see what else Hagai Levi had written or created. Despite the subtitles I found this series very compelling (and much faster-paced than the other series mentioned above). I don't really have a deep knowledge or bias about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, so I wasn't offended or taking sides like some of the reviewers. Rather, this is an engrossing, well-written and acted drama. I binge-watched the whole thing in a day because it was so good, and I don't find many shows binge-worthy. The fact that it is based on actual events is heart-breaking, but this series is a gem.
Hit & Run
(2021)
Too many scenes in the dark
8 August 2021
I was excited to see this because I loved Fauda. The first few episodes seemed like they were building to something, but then the plot degenerated to a bunch of running around, fighting and driving around in the dark. So many scenes are just too dark to follow. The last episode was so dark I couldn't really tell who was in the scenes. Not sure why they couldn't just turn on some lights.
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