What I've Loved Watching Lately
Due to the less than desirable weather in the UK (although lately, things have brightened ever so slightly) I’ve been watching far more tv than I usually do as there’s been little else to do than hunker down inside. In combination with the miserable conditions and lots of new releases on Netflix and all my favourite US shows coming back onto the air after their midseason breaks there’s been plenty of things to watch and these are the best shows that I’ve watched lately.
modern love (amazon prime)
This has got to be my favourite thing that I’ve watched lately and something I may have already watched again as I was desperate for my boyfriend to watch it too. Modern Love is a tv adaptation of the New York Times column that has also had a book made from the essays featured in the column as well as a podcast. The TV show shared 8 different love stories whether that be romantic love, self-love or the love of a child and honestly, I couldn’t get enough of it and it was such a feel-good watch for me even though I inevitably shed some tears too. Whilst I know a lot of the essays the episodes have been based on have been made more glossy for a tv audience I still fell in love with each story and my favourite was undoubtedly the one with Anne Hathaway. The way they approached the subject of bipolar was beautifully done and unlike anything, I've ever watched before. I truly hope that they make a second season as I could not stop watching the first one, it was beautiful. However, if they do make another season I do hope their casting might be a little more diverse in their female roles as that was something the first season lacked.
cheer (netflix)
You’ve more than likely heard everyone raving on about Cheer on Netflix by now as it’s fantastic but just in case you haven’t. Here is what it’s about: Cheer is a documentary that follows a cheerleading team based in Texas and their training season to go to the National Cheerleading Tournament in Florida (yes, the very same one they recreated in the fictional film Bring It On). The Navarro cheer squad goes through a gruelling time training to hopefully take first place again and I never knew just how incredibly hard it is to compete at that level of cheerleading. You can’t help but fall in love with the stories of the members of the squad (Morgan and Jerry were my favourites) and it sheds a whole new light on the sport and what it takes.
sex education season 2 (netflix)
I felt in love with Sex Education last year so I was super excited to have it back on my tv and I’m thrilled to see that they’re making a season 3 right now. Once you get over the initial confusion of where this tv show is set and what era it's in you can’t help but fall in love with the way this has been set and the costume designer did a superb job this season. This season I found was much more about character development than a crazy storyline and that was something that I really enjoyed as I think it’s been set up so well to have multiple seasons rather than just a short-lived show. As well as a heavy focus on character development they’ve covered much more serious topics which has been incredible to see, it left me wondering why my own sex education at school was so poor as there is so much that I just don’t know or understand even now as an adult.
dont f*ck with cats (netflix)
This was a documentary that I watched before Christmas I believe but I don’t think I’ve spoken about it properly anywhere online. If you love a really good, gripping and well-done crime documentary then this one is for you because it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever watched and the story is absolutely insane, there is no other way to describe it. I was initially put off from watching this as there are multiple scenes of animal cruelty which I’m not sure anyone feels comfortable watching but once you get through them (you never see anything too gory) it’s a brilliant documentary. The story behind the infamous cat killer is unlike any I’ve heard before and it’s interesting to see into the mind of people online and just how easy it is to find something out about somebody.
the stranger (netflix)
I saw people raving about this Netflix original crime drama over on my Instagram feed I knew that I had to give it a watch even though typically I’m not all that into crime dramas. The Stranger is based on a book, it’s not something that I’ve read so I can’t say how it is in comparison but I thoroughly enjoyed the Netflix adaptation of it and was completely gripped. It follows a family who seemingly has it all until you guessed it, a stranger approaches their father to reveal a secret about his wife and that is when the story starts to unfold and there are so many twists and turns that you can never guess what is going on. I was completely gripped by the storyline but my only criticism is that everything seemed to come together and be explained so quickly in the last episode where I would have liked it to been slightly slower paced but it’s still a fantastic watch.
spinning out (netflix)
A total guilty pleasure watch of mine in the last few months has been a Netflix original show called Spinning Out. I watched it all within two days and even though it's kind of trashy I loved it. It follows a Canadian figure skated called Kat who had a bad accident during a contest and it follows her trying to come back into the sport. There are so many plot twists throughout the show that you can’t help but keep watching even though so much of it is so cheesy it’s still a good watch. Kat and her mother who is played by January Jones both suffer from bipolar disorder and it’s interesting to see how that is portrayed throughout the show and how they both try and manipulate their disorder to be able to achieve more. It’s not the greatest show of all time but I did enjoy watching it and it’s something to watch if you don’t fancy anything too complicated or heavy. Oh, and there is a cameo of Jonathan Von Ness in it so that makes it worth the watch alone to me.
