Clarkson is unbearable for me, totally ruined Top Gear (for me) by buying into his own crap. After a few false starts with radio DJ's and Matt LeBlanc from Friends, the BBC finally settled on a decent group for the revamped Top Gear, and it's as good as the old one ever was (especially once you puzzle out how heavily scripted their 'adventures' became on the old one). If you're interested, it's the ones with Paddy McGuinness (comedy actor best known for working with Peter Kay), Freddie Flintoff (ex-cricketer for England) and Chris Harris (car vlogger and race driver). Oh, and I still like James May a lot. His 'Our Man in...' series on Prime are great.
I've been on Crave heavily for the first time in a long time, with those HBO shows in heavy rotation. The Last of Us has been a mixed bag for me, with some really dull 'zombie' horror mixed with some really beautiful moments (episode three). If you want your post-apocalyptic TV slightly less grim, I can't recommend Station Eleven highly enough. Once you get past the seemingly insane pretence of a travelling company of Shakespearean actors in the post-apocalyptic timeline, it really hits home.
Another HBO series we loved was the second season of White Lotus. The first was a brilliant examination of the privileged and those in their orbit at a titular resort in Hawaii, made as a response to pandemic restrictions by having essentially a bottle show, rather than episode.
The second takes place at another White Lotus resort, this time in Sicily (they must've hired the BBC cameramen from the various Planet Earth series', as the landscape and ocean are stunningly beautiful). It kicks off with an unidentified body, so you spend the rest of the series guessing who dies. The acting is mostly amazing, and there's a LOT of sex (hi HBO), so definitely not a family show. But between the nuanced characters (including returning Jennifer Coolidge from Best In Show, Michael Imperioli from The Sopranos, Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation, and F. Murray Abraham from Amadeus), the mystery of the death, and the examination of power and sex in relationships both transactional and committed, it's got a lot going on. Plus, it's a neat seven episodes, so not a massive time commitment. Oh, and there's a lot of truly beautiful people in it, so is easy in the eyes, whatever your preferences...
like it was written by highschoolers
Top score in my books, can't wait for the next season!
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