Over the last month or so I’ve spent some quality time at home with my sofa, reading and watching box sets on the television.
There have been some great new shows on, plus I’ve caught up on a few things I didn’t get to watch the first time round.
The OA
One of Netflix’s new shows, everyone has been raving about The OA.
It tells the story of a young woman who is found after mysteriously disappearing seven years earlier, with her blindness cured. As she tries to settle back into family life, Prairie becomes an object of curiosity in the neighbourhood, as the FBI and the press try to find out the details of where she’s been and what happened to her. Slowly, she begins to reveal the secrets of her time away to a group of troubled youths from the neighbourhood, drawing them into a quest to save the others who she was held captive with.
This is a really lyrical, slow burn of a show that touches on some profound issues around life after death. There are several layers to the story, as Prairie begins to explain what happened to her and we discover more about the lives of the people in her group and why she needs them.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Hotel bell boy Todd is having a really bad day. After his psycho landlord smashes up his car and demands the money he owes, he discovers a bizarre multiple murder in the Penthouse of his hotel, before getting fired. Arriving home, he finds Dirk Gently, holistic detective, climbing through his window and is sucked into a weird maze of murder, cults and time travel.
It’s really hard to explain the plot of this show without giving too much away, but the best description I can give is that it’s a high-energy thrill ride through a complicated, interconnected series of events. And it’s trippy as fuck.
Based on the series of novel’s by Douglas Adams, I’ve read some reviews that complain the adaptation strays too far from the original story. I haven’t read the books so I can’t comment, but I really enjoyed the show, which you can also find on Netflix.
Modus
This atmospheric Swedish crime drama was screened on BBC4 before Christmas and you should still be able to catch it on iPlayer.
After her autistic daughter witnesses a murder, former FBI profiler Inger Johanna Vik gets involved in the investigation into a series of brutal killings.
I’m a sucker for any kind of Scandinavian crime book or drama and this one did not disappoint. If you enjoyed The Bridge, give this a watch.
Bitten
This one isn’t exactly new, but as series three has just started and the first two series are available on demand, I thought I’d check this out.
Elena has the perfect life in Toronto: she’s a talented photographer, with a handsome boyfriend and great friends. But she’s hiding a pretty big secret. She’s a werewolf.
When bodies start turning up close to the home of her pack in upstate New York, she is called back to help them hunt down the killer. Torn between her two lives, and two men, Elena has to help catch the rogue wolf killer before the pack’s secret identity is revealed.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but I actually really enjoyed the first series, although series two hasn’t been as good. It’s a bit like the werewolf version of The Vampire Diaries, but aimed at a slightly older audience.
What have you been watching lately?