Q Wave’s Watchlist: February 2021
"There's nothing to watch," is not a phrase that should exist in a world drowning in content. Join us every month to get curated content - from the latest and greatest to revisiting oldies - we'll help you avoid the dreaded “Netflix Block” and find something to watch!
Welcome to the “longest shortest month” of the year! The holiday season is over, and it’s not quite spring yet, so here are some shows worth watching to carry you through the month of February!
Bridgerton (Netflix)
Rampant gossip runs amok in Regency-era high society! Could anyone ask for more from a television series? Well, it turns out this is exactly the kind of show people are clamouring for in 2021. With over 82 million viewers tuning in to watch the rivalry between the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons, Bridgerton is currently Netflix’s most-watched show. (Season 2 is already slated for Spring production.)
There is plenty to enjoy here. Extravagant costumes, wonderful set pieces, and a storyline that will keep you guessing right up until the very end. And if you listen closely, you may even catch modern pop songs disguised as classical ballroom music (done ever so skillfully by the Vitamin String Quartet). There’s nothing quite like realizing Ariana Grande’s “Thank You, Next” is playing in the background as Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) dismisses suitors left, right, and centre.
The cast is immensely diverse, most visible in the (dashingly handsome) lead actor Regé-Jean Page, who plays the Duke of Hastings, all the way to Queen Charlotte, played by Golda Rosheuvel (controversy surrounded the casting until people realized her character pulls the most from history). The young Ms. Bridgerton is played by Phoebe Dynevor, alongside Derry Girls alum, Nicola Coughlan. If that’s not enough star power for you, the entire series is narrated by Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins)!
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Gossip Girl, Downton Abbey
Runtime: 8 Episodes
Genre: Drama
Palmer (Apple TV+)
“Family is what you make it.” No statement could be more true for Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) as he returns from a dozen years in prison to live with his grandmother (June Squibb) in smalltown America. It’s not long before young Sam (Ryder Allen) ends up living with Palmer and his grandmother while his mother and her boyfriend run off for a few weeks. Sam is different from other boys, he loves princesses and playing with dolls, much to the amusement of other children.
Throughout Palmer, you’ll find familiar themes of family, loss, acceptance, and love. Justin Timberlake delivers a heartfelt performance, and his transformation from unwilling guardian to protective father will have you hooked. Ryder Allen is truly the show’s breakout star as Sam, who infuses his character with dry wit, raw emotion, and purity of heart. His enthusiastic, unadulterated response to Palmer when asked how many boys he sees on an all-girl cartoon, (“That I can be the first!”) is the salve we all need right now.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: News of the World, Midnight Sky
Runtime: 110 Minutes
Genre: Drama
WandaVision (Disney+)
In this slightly offbeat spin-off of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we find Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Oslen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) living as newlyweds in what appears to be a 60’s sitcom (complete with laugh track). It’s a bizarre start to the series, and no explanation is given as to why Wanda and Vision are stuck in this weird TV version of reality, but for die-hard Marvel fans, it’s a great (and varied) addition to the MCU.
The best part of the show is the sheer number of easter eggs for viewers to catch, from some of the one-liners (“My husband and his indestructible head!” - Wanda), to the Bewitched-inspired intro sequence, even the title of the show itself! Rounding out the cast is Kathryn Hahn (Bad Moms, We’re The Millers) as the slightly-off-kilter neighbour, and Randall Park reprising his role as Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Only a handful of episodes have aired so far, so there is plenty left to discover!
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Any Marvel movie from the MCU
Runtime: 9 Episodes
Genre: Science Fiction, Superhero
Good Omens (Amazon Prime Video)
In this HIGHLY irreverent take on the “biblical-end-of-the-world-apocalypse” story, Michael Sheen (The Queen) and David Tennant (Doctor Who) star as an angel and demon who seek to stop Armageddon by preventing the coming of the Antichrist. Each of them plans to influence the boy such that he is neither good nor evil, but rather something altogether...normal, thereby preventing the end of the world.
The show is narrated by none other than Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) as God, and features a well-rounded cast that includes Jon Hamm (Mad Men) as the Archangel Gabriel, Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as the US Ambassador, and Brian Cox (Succession) as the Horseman Death.
Good Omens is based on the book, “Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. If the title doesn’t tell you all you need to know about how ridiculous the plot is, nothing will.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Supernatural, Lucifer
Runtime: 6 Episodes
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy
RuPaul’s Drag Race (Crave)
“If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?!” - RuPaul
When it’s cold and bleak outside, RuPaul’s Drag Race is a breath of fresh (and glittery) air. Drag queens from across the United States, Puerto Rico, and occasionally Canada, compete for a chance to win $100,000 and a year’s supply of makeup. Challenges include “balls” (like the glittery parties of old, a reference to the underground New York ballroom scene in which modern drag is based), lip-sync performances, and the infamous Snatch Game (a hilarious version of the Match Game TV show). The winners each week often receive cash prizes, while the “bottom two” have to lip-sync before RuPaul issues her ruling: “Shantay you stay” or “Sashay away.”
Now in its 13th season, Drag Race has become a worldwide phenomenon. International fashion designers look to the show’s drag queens for inspiration, and many queens have even been featured in fashion shows and photoshoots. Such is the power of drag that celebrities clamour to be guest judges on the show and sit at the iconic judge’s table next to RuPaul herself and Michelle Visage. There are also several international iterations of the show, you will also find Canada’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK airing on Crave. RuPaul is currently in New Zealand filming a season there as well.
But Drag Race is more than just camp and comedy, it’s also a place for the LGBTQ2S+ community to find authentic representation that was once relegated to unknown networks airing at obscure hours of the night. Episodes often feature real, heartfelt conversations about topics such as conversion therapy, the AIDS epidemic, the role of transgender individuals in drag, and coming out.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Queer Eye, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything!, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Runtime: 13 Seasons (plus several international spin-off series)
Genre: Reality, LGBTQ2S+
Trickster (CBC Gem)
Set in Kitimat, British Columbia, this supernatural story centres around Jared, a 16-year old boy who is just trying to live his life as a normal teenager, while supporting his divorced parents through his under-the-table drug dealing. But when Jared, played by breakout star Joel Oulette, discovers that he is the son of a trickster (Kalani Queypo), his world starts to spin wildly out of control.
Trickster is based on the bestselling novel, Son of a Trickster, by indigenous author, Eden Robinson. The show has emerged as a leading voice in Indigenous fiction with the first episodes screened at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. It also features a heavily indigenous cast that includes real-life mother and daughter, Georgina Lightning and Crystle Lightning, as Jared’s grandmother and mother, respectively, Craig Lauzon as Jared’s father, Anna Lambe as the girl next door, and Gail Maurice as one of the supernatural Ancients.
The show has been lauded for its multilayered portrayal of indigenous culture, and the complex issues that face their communities. Jared’s family may be flawed, but at the end of the day, whose family isn’t?
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Supernatural
Runtime: 8 Episodes
Genre: Indigenous, Fantasy
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