Q Wave’s Watchlist: May 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!
Shadow and Bone (Netflix)
Have you been looking for the perfect show to fill that Game of Thrones-sized hole in your life? Well, until the HBO prequel, which recently started production, hits our screens, Netflix is taking a swing to try and whet our appetite.
Based on the Grisha trilogy, a series of Young Adult novels, Shadow and Bone (named after the first book in the trilogy) tells the story of a war-torn fantasy world, specifically a place called Ravka, which is in constant struggle with something called the Shadow Fold, a patch of permanent darkness that separates the East from the West. Ravka is home to people known as Grisha who have magic abilities. An orphan named Alina discovers she is the fabled Sun Summoner, the only person who has the ability to free her country from the Fold.
Confused? It’s a tough plot to nail down on paper, but the show is extremely effective in laying everything out for the viewer in an easy-to-understand manner, which is no simple task. Young Adult novels making their way to live-action formats had jumped the shark recently after the successes of franchises like Twilight and The Hunger Games paved the way for a swath of lame imitators (looking at you, Divergent). But with Shadow and Bone, we may have found a worthy successor.
Part of what makes the show noteworthy is that while there is a love triangle (because of course there is), the show fills its already complex world with a collection of fun and interesting characters. Additionally, some genuine laughs are provided along the way, making it feel fresh and different from stories that have come before it.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: His Dark Materials, Game of Thrones
Runtime: 8 episodes, 45-58 minutes each
Genre: Fantasy
Made For Love (Amazon Prime)
The exploration of the effects of technology on society as a whole is pretty much its own subgenre by now, so for a show to commit to that as one of its central themes, it needs something extra to push it over the edge. Enter Cristin Milioti (Palm Springs) in a role that truly allows her to flex every skill she has to offer.
Milioti plays Hazel, a woman who goes to great lengths to escape a 10-year marriage to a tech billionaire recluse only to find out that her husband has planted a chip in her brain, allowing him to watch her life and track her every move. The performance should be on the radar come awards season, as Milioti can switch back and forth from wide-eyed to frantic to sardonically exhausted. Playing Milioti’s father, TV vet Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond), turns in a surprisingly touching performance that really gives the show its heart.
The series is based on a book published in 2017 of the same name, and it has some serious Black Mirror vibes which, funny enough, featured Cristin Milioti and Billy Magnussen (Game Night), who plays her husband here, co-starring together in the same episode titled ‘USS Callister.’
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Upload, Black Mirror
Runtime: 8 episodes, 25-29 minutes each
Genre: Drama, comedy
Mare of Easttown (Crave)
If there is one thing that you can bank on in the world of television, it’s HBO serving up prestige programming on Sunday nights, and Crave is home to its latest offering. The premise of ‘detective investigates murder in a small town that has everybody on edge’ is one that has been thoroughly explored by now, but as Mare of Easttown demonstrates, if it’s done properly it can still be must-see TV.
Oscar and Emmy winner Kate Winslet (Titanic) stars as the titular Mare, a tough as nails detective infamous in her Pennsylvania town for making a game-winning shot in a high school basketball game many years ago, now trying to solve a grisly murder case that has rocked her small community. The series offers plenty of twists and turns as we’re brought into a world that feels fully fleshed out and lived in. Winslet’s talents are on full display as she sports her best Philly accent and brings layers of grit to a small town cop trying to keep her own life from unravelling. In fact, Winslet’s accent work is so strong, that she was reportedly the only person on set who could drop the accent in between takes and pick it right back up when the cameras started rolling, the other cast members found switching between to be too difficult.
Filming was halted in March 2020 when the pandemic hit, but after protocols were established and daily testing for the cast and crew was set up, production wrapped last fall.
The miniseries debuted April 18th with episodes being released weekly until the finale on May 30th.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: The Undoing, The Night Of
Runtime: 7 episodes, 60 minutes each
Genre: Crime, drama
The Bad Batch (Disney+)
To many Star Wars fans, May 4th is a day to celebrate. Colloquially, it is known as “Star Wars Day” because fans will greet each other with, “May the Fourth Be With You!” (A play on the Jedi expression, “May the Force be with you!”). This year, fans will be treated to the launch of the newest series from the Star Wars universe: The Bad Batch.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch continues the story of a squad of clones first introduced in the final season of The Clone Wars animated series, which aired last year. Also known as Clone Force 99, this group of clones were deemed “defective” and underwent a different set of “desirable mutation” making them unique among the hundreds of thousands of clone troopers. Clone Force 99 consists of Hunter (who can only be described as the Rambo of the group), Wrecker (the muscle), Crosshair (a sniper), and Tech (a technology specialist). Rounding out the crew is Echo, a rescued and cybernetically-enhanced clone trooper from the final season of The Clone Wars.
This new series is set in the aftermath of the Clone Wars; Emperor Palpatine has control of the Senate and has christened the Republic as the Galactic Empire. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, we recommend watching Season 7 of The Clone Wars, which does an excellent job of tying the movies and these animated series together. The Bad Batch was created by Star Wars genius, Dave Filoni, the mastermind behind Disney’s other hit series, The Mandalorian. As a bonus, eagle-eyed viewers will spot a connection to good old ‘Mando’ in the trailer below.
(For a good primer heading into the series, check out our September 2020 Watchlist, where we listed some key episodes of The Clone Wars to get you up to speed)
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Star Wars
Runtime: 14 Episodes, Special 70-minute runtime for first episode
Genre: Sci fi, animated
The Year Earth Changed (Apple TV+)
Few things sound more unappealing than sitting down and watching something related to the pandemic right now, and here’s hoping that when the next round of shows come back from their COVID hiatus, they will skip those storylines altogether. However, despite the majority of news being overwhelmingly negative in relation to the situation, from the Earth’s point of view, it hasn’t been all bad.
If you’re into nature documentaries, then you definitely recognize the voice of David Attenborough who has become the gold standard for the format. He teams up with his frequent collaborator, the BBC, to bring us a fascinating documentary that highlights the positive impact people staying in their homes has had on the environment in the last year. Whether it’s whales being able to communicate like never before due to the absence of boats, birds singing to one another in eerily quiet cities or the Himilayan mountains finally being visible thanks to lack of smog, our lessened impact on the planet due to the pandemic did have a positive impact in some aspects..
It would appear The Year Earth Changed has the Earth watching, with the program becoming Apple TV+’s most viewed documentary on the platform. The doc has topped unscripted viewing globally, with the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, Russia, India, France, Brazil, Mexico and Japan all being noted as standout territories. With an underlying message of hope, the film provides a feeling that resonates with audiences regardless of location.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Our Planet, A Perfect Planet
Runtime: 48 mins
Genre: Documentary
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