Master of none is great. Acting is Seinfeld level shit tier, but it's sort of the charm. Especially Aziz's parents.

S2 is indeed riskier. If you don't like Aziz, that's a problem though.

Watched ep1 of Riviera last night. It’s darker than I expected, and that’s a good thing. Stiles is convincing as a Russian billionaire’s young second wife – who genuinely adores the guy, and had no idea what he was really involved in. I say ‘was’ because it’s no spoiler to say he dies in this first episode. Or does he? There’s mystery to it already. This is going to be a thriller, not a romantic drama. As soon as her husband’s dead, she starts to learn that he kept secrets – and that everyone around her seems to know more than she does.

I’m predicting a tangled web of financial fraud, art forgery, Government corruption and a conspiracy to murder and/or fake important deaths … and we’ve already been rushed around London, New York, Monaco and Nice. The locations are a big part of the scene-setting.

I like it so far. Will watch the rest.

I reckon ‘Mixed reviews’ describes most shows I enjoy.

Riviera is fluff, not high drama, but feels like it’s had a lot of love lavished on it. There’s a whiff of cheese, but I’m okay with that. Y’know, ‘rich Russian is dodgy’ … ‘Concerned dectective has a secret’ … ‘ex-wife knows more than you think’ … etc. I’m on board.

Kow wrote:

He was ok in Parks & Rec, but his standup is woeful.

Agreed on that but I still really enjoyed MoN so might be worth another go.

Good comedy doesn't really need good acting though. Curb your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld are good examples.

Talking of detectives, I never mentioned my liking for the third season of Bosch. It's still fairly typical Hollywood, but the cast and production are absolutely top notch. The main strength is that they seem to have mastered the streaming format. It's not an episode of the week TV show and it's not an eight hour film. It is multiple cases and a shitload of characters, spun out over ten episodes without a stodgy bit in the middle or a couple of fake cliffhangers.

you are part of an infantilisation of society

that's deep DS i know thanks

Fell into watching something called Fearless the other night (Thursday?) on ITV.

Was ep.1  Seemed to have a lot going on - will keep watching.

Watched the first episode of Riviera and found it to be quite pleasingly interesting viewing.. it looked as Rich as it should .. apart from I wasn't sure what to make of Julia Stiles.. still I'd watch another episode.

Just about to start watching Preacher on Amazon as I think I'm giving up with American Gods.. it's just to dull.

Aye, Preacher was great fun. American Gods has been a huge disappointment. It's almost like they had no idea how to adapt a book for television and make it interesting.
It's stylishly shot, but it's candy floss story telling. The episodes in the present day narrative just meander along going absolutely no-where, and the only two episodes that have risen above that level of mediocrity have both basically been hour long montages that have to fall back on pop music and narration to tell their stories.

disappointing

g.man

Assuming you're up to date with it, I'm pretty sure that there's only one episode of AG left.

I feel as if they've definitely stretched content out to try and get more seasons.

Personally felt the Vulcan bit was rubbish. Since I saw the stylish opening credits I was hoping they'd introduce more aspects of American culture like firearms/military fetishism into a "new" new God but Vulcan is definitely not what I was hoping for.

Vulcan was definitely a poor showing but I've no issue with the show really, but I think it's just pretty marmite. At least it isn't trying to trick you into thinking it's superior like Westworld, it's just revelling in its own little thing. Which is good because I don't often find shows that are doing that in a way that I like.

It's been a long time since i've read it but it moved at no brisk pace from memory. Gaiman has definitely grabbed extra stuff to make it longer here though.