This is the third, and last, installment of my hit blog post series (in my own mind, at least) about streaming shows I've liked in 2023. First two posts are here and here.
Billions -- Various streaming services
Yeah, I know. This series, which had seven seasons, kicked off in 2016 and concluded this year. But I came late to the Billions party. I started watching it in 2023, can't remember exactly when. Once I started, I was completely and utterly hooked on Billions. I couldn't watch anything else during my Me Time for streaming. (My wife and I watch some shows separately, then together late at night.)
I loved the theme of greedy financial types jousting for power and money, with a federal attorney in the Southern District of New York battling not only his own demons but the financial guys/gals. Note: Laurel, my wife, has a strange distaste for Paul Giamatti's face. When we'd fire up Apple TV for our together TV watching time, usually an image of Giamatti would be on the screen, left over from my viewing of Billions. I had to rush to switch to a different screen before my wife had a nervous breakdown.
A Murder at the End of the World -- Hulu
Very creative and unique take on the rather familiar plot of a brilliant "detective" straining to discover who the murderer is among a group of people in an isolated setting where all the suspects are known and can't escape the premises. Great acting with a pleasing didn't-see-that-coming ending. The stark snowy scenery is gorgeous. Show is set in Iceland, though I don't know if that's where it was filmed.
The Buccaneers -- Apple TV+
An engrossing period piece set in the 1870s. However, the music and general vibe is contemporary, at least when it comes to the five female friends who embark from the United States to find good times, and husbands, in Britain. It was easy to get hooked on this show. Lots of opportunities to think stuff like "Oh, no, he isn't right for her" and "Why can't the two of them get together?" Thankfully, there apparently will be another season -- though this seemed pretty obvious from the ending of the first season.
Lessons in Chemistry -- Apple TV+
This is a show about a strong independent woman held down by the mores of 1950's America. And, of course, her own hangups. There were times when I felt like giving up on the series when her plight seemed hopeless. Of course, that was just the bottom of a narrative arc, so I was glad when I kept watching and saw her triumph over adversity. It's a love story with unpredictable twists. And quite a bit of science.
Reacher -- Amazon
I'm enjoying Season 2 of Reacher just as much as Season 1. The best thing about the show for me is that Reacher isn't played by Tom Cruise, which he was in the movie version. That was so wrong, so out of touch with the Reacher I came to know through the books featuring this character by Lee Child, I could barely watch little Tom Cruise trying to act like a 6' 2" 250 pound muscular Jack Reacher.
Who, we learn in Season 2, can set off an air bag in a car by delivering a powerful kick to the front of the vehicle. (Don't try this at home; at least, if you don't want a broken foot.) Reacher is a nice guy who, believe me, you don't want to get on the wrong side of, because then he's not nice at all.
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