After waiting a year to unceremoniously cancel the fantastic Riches, Amazon tries to make up for it by giving Reacher an early season 3 renewal. Yeah, not the same type of show, unless Jack Reacher is now played by a black actress, and the show is now about a heritage beauty brand for black people around the world and the family that helped push it to prominence that is now stuck in a Succession-esque fight for control over their dad’s company. I’m pretty sure that’s not the plot of Reacher. I could be wrong though. Who knows where Season 2 may take us.
1) Goosebumps (Disney Plus)
English Audio Description?: Yes
Status: not Yet Renewed
Disney needs to greenlight a second season immediately. With or without the same cast, this show has a great creative team that made an adaptation that was stronger than either of the two prior theatrical releases.
Episode Grade: A, Season 1 Grade: A-
2) For All Mankind (Apple Plus)
English Audio Description?: Yes
Status: Not Yet Renewed
Anyone else think Miles is going to screw something big up? The tension between Ed and Danielle is showing off the great work these actors have put in for four seasons now. I don’t get why this has never been on Emmy’s list. it’s a fantastic drama, with some terrific acting.
Episode Grade: A
3) The Hardy Boys (Hulu)
English Audio Description?: Yes
Status: Final Season
I love that this ends in a way that really pays homage to the books. I even caught the line by Fenton “You can’t judge a book by its cover”, as being a nod to the often minimalistic approach this book series had, where all the books looked basically the same, yet the mystery inside was different. I’m not going to say the series itself was perfect, but this conclusion is strong, and even leaves you with the feeling that these boys will still be solving mysteries even if no one is around to see it.
Episode Grade: A, Series Grade: B+
4) Get Gotti (Netflix)
English Audio Description?: Yes
Status: Limited
Seriously, I feel like this is the most informative singular program on John Gotti I’ve ever seen. It’s really well done, with some great interviews, and recreations. Gotti wasn’t stupid, but he may have over played his hand a bit. And who are these people trying to get his signature like he’s Taylor Swift? Do those people have his signature framed in their homes? How weird is that? “And, here’s a napkin John Gotti signed for me. I keep it here next to this signed headshot from Joan Rivers.” People are so weird.
Episode Grade: A
Even though I only got through four, each episode was excellent. Not a bad day at all.
