Wow, how is it the third month of the year already!? I'm not sure how I found the time to binge watch so many shows already in the past few months, considering we went straight from the holidays into Mardi Gras season here in New Orleans, but I'm not mad about it at all. I have a few more shows I'm interested in lined up in my queue - The Umbrella Academy, and Baby being 2 of them - but those will have to wait until after the season premier of Game of Thrones next month. My (pretty ambitious) goal is to rewatch all of the seasons before the premier on April 14th - wish me luck! Read on for my thoughts, and deets about all of the shows I've binged lately.
Abducted in Plain Sight.
It's difficult to try and find the words to accurately describe just how insane this documentary was. Also, as a parent myself, it was hard to watch and digest (quite frankly) the stupidity of the parents in the doc. Seriously, how kids made it out of the 1970's alive is beyond me at this point. If you haven't seen it - highly doubtful at this point because it's been discussed pretty much everywhere in the past few weeks - the documentary takes a dive into the idyllic Broberg family - mom, dad, and 3 young daughters, and their increasingly worrisome encounters with family friend, "B". I won't give away the entire storyline in case you haven't seen it, but B's interest in one of the underage Broberg girls becomes criminal and the story takes multiples turns for the worse from there.
Grace & Frankie.
This isn't a new Netflix show, but season 5 was recently released and I've been in heaven watching it. It's such a light hearted and feel good, hilarious show, which is a a welcome break from the dramatic and true crime shows I have a tendency to watch. It also doesn't hurt that the main characters are made up of an all star lineup of acting veterans such as Jane Fonda and Martin Sheen, with seriously decades, if not more, of acting experience between them. So far, I don't think that season 5 has been as good as the other seasons, but it's definitely still worth checking out and watching.
Russian Doll.
This has to be one of the best shows I've watched in a long time. So many shows nowadays get sucked into having either too many episodes, or episodes that are too long, or even worse both. The pacing on Russian Doll is absolutely perfect- the episodes are just the right length, and there are just enough episodes to tell the full story without dragging it out just for the sake of having more episodes. The show's main character Nadia is played by Natasha Lyonne who I absolutely love, who keeps reliving the night of her death (which happened to be on her 36th birthday) over and over - think Groundhog Day meets Happy Death Day, if that makes any sense. I don't want to give away too many spoilers in case you haven't watched it yet, but even though I compared it to a Groundhog Day (sort of), the show is really way more amazing than that. Just to give you an idea of how good it is, I started and finished it within 24 hours. Also, hint - pay attention to all of the subliminal messaging as you watch. Rotten fruit anyone?
The Autopsy of Jane Doe.
Sigh, this is the sort of programming I'm most usually watching lol. Anything with mystery or creepiness, I'm weirdly drawn to. Even most of my favorite podcasts (you can read all about them in this post) tend to be a bit creepy. I had been having this saved in my Netflix queue for awhile now, and decided to finally check it out while working from home one day a couple of weeks ago. As far as scary movies go, it definitely doesn't top my list as one of the best I've seen, but it certainly isn't one of the worst either. If you're looking for a run of the mill horror movie to give you a good scare, this one is definitely one worth watching.
Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.
I know - again with the creepy fare. What can I say, I'm nothing else if not a creature of habit. With only a few episodes, this docu-series is a pretty easy watch, in terms of number and length of episodes. In terms of the actual content though, definitely not so easy to watch. This documentary is different from the other Bundy shows that I've previously watched in that it includes recordings from actual interviews with Ted Bundy himself. He never fully admits to any of the crimes he was convicted or accused of on tape, but does open up to the interviewer after he suggested that Ted speak about himself in the third person, which results in some majorly creepy monologues. There's also a court scene where Bundy is allowed to cross-examine a witness, and he repeatedly asks him to describe the crime scene in excruciating detail. Also, did I mention Bundy managed to escape from prison not once, but twice, and during the second escape made it all the way from Colorado to Florida without being captured. I repeat my earlier sentiments - the 1970's was a wild time to be alive.
You.
This show actually aired on Lifetime back in 2018, but since I, and probably the majority of other millennials, don't have cable this didn't come on my radar until after it was added to Netflix. One of the most interesting things about this show is that each of the characters are actually pretty horrible in their own way. While Joe, the main character and Fatal Attraction esque stalker, is supposed to be the show's villain, I found Beck - the girl he's stalking, and all of her friends to all be pretty awful as well. My work husband and I discuss all the time about how interesting horrible people are, and this show proves our theory for sure. I also feel like most stalker movies or shows are shown from the female victim's perspective, however You goes against that and gives us direct insight into the male stalker's thoughts. I do feel like it dragged on just a bit, but not so much that I wouldn't recommend watching.