TV show or Movie: TV show

Where to watch: Hulu

Premise: Reboot is about the dysfunctional cast of an early 2000s hit sitcom, Step Right Up, who must face their unresolved issues and navigate social media cancel culture when a young writer pitches a reboot of their show.

Cast: Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, Rachel Bloom, Calum Worthy, Krista Marie Yu, Judy Greer, Paul Reiser.

What it reminds me of: The show reminds me of 30 Rock, Great News, Unreal, and Episodes. I am a big fan of behind-the-scenes shows.

Why I like it: The show is created by Steve Levitan who created Modern Family, so that is a start. The cast should also be enough to get you interested in this show. You will recognize the cast from many things, but if Calum Worthy is a newer name to you, he was fantastic in Hulu’s The Act and Netflix’s American Vandal. I can’t believe it took so long for a show like this to come out. This show gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what it is like be the cast and crew of a reboot of a 90s sitcom. 

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 TV show or Movie: TV show

Where to watch: HBO Max

Premise: Former “Saturday Night Live” head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider are the creative forces behind “The Other Two,” a scripted series centered around two siblings desperately seeking their lot in life. Aspiring actor Cary is struggling to land better auditions than “Man at Party Who Smells Fart,” while his sister Brooke is simply struggling in general. As they work toward self-improvement, their lives are turned upside-down when their teenage brother Chase becomes an internet sensation overnight.

Cast: Heléne Yorke, Drew Tarver, Ken Marino, Case Walker, Molly Shannon, Josh Segarra, Wanda Sykes, Brandon Scott Jones

What it reminds me of: The show and the plot are both very original. What I like in a television show or movie is a cast that always wants to make it and be successful and never does. And that is this show. 

Why I like it: Ken Marino and Molly Shannon. Need I say more? This show is super funny. The premise is essentially: what if Justin Bieber had two siblings that were absolute messes and lived in his shadow. Also, their mother loved all three of them equally and saw them all successful in her eyes.

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Reservation Dogs

The second season just started and is out on Hulu now!

 TV show or Movie: TV show

Where to watch: Hulu/FXX

Premise: Following the exploits of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma who steal, rob and save in order to get to the exotic, mysterious and faraway land of California. To succeed, they will have to save enough money, outmaneuver the methheads at the junkyard on the edge of town and survive a turf war against a much tougher rival gang. This first-of-its-kind creative team tells a story that resonates with them and their lived experiences — and invites audiences into a surprisingly familiar and funny world.

Cast: Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paulina Alexis, Zach McClarnon, Kirk Fox, Matty Cardarople

What it reminds me of: Letterkenny, Stand By Me.

Why I like it: Taika Waititi co-created this show, so you know it’s going to be good. Although the title is similar to the 1992 Quentin Tarantino film, Reservoir Dogs, it doesn’t have the same feel at all. The show is about four best friends getting over a tragedy while also trying to stay entertained in their small hometown. I have been there before as have so many other people. The show is a comedy-drama, but definitely has more laughs than sad moments. The cast is great together, the characters in town, like Kenny Boy played by Kirk Fox, and the rapping twins played by LilMike (AKA Mike) and FunnyBone (AKA Bone) are hilarious and I always get excited when I see them on screen.

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 TV show or Movie: TV show

Where to watch: Hulu/FXX.

Premise: A young chef from the world of fine dining comes home to Chicago to run his family’s Italian beef sandwich shop after the suicide of his older brother, who left behind debts, a rundown kitchen, and an unruly staff.

Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott.

What it reminds me of: Imagine that Lip from Shameless moved to Chicago and became a chef. Kidding. JAW (Jeremy Allen White, as I am now calling him) will not be type cast! I love seeing all of the characters from Shameless in their new endevors.

This show reminds me of those shows and films where someone comes back to their hometown and tries to put the pieces together. Because that’s what this show is.

Why I like it:  This show is wild. Part comedy, part drama, part anxiety-inducing entertainment. So a dramedy panic attack? I dont know what I would call it.

If you have worked in a kitchen before, or just a restaurant in general, some of this will connect for sure. The acting is so, so, so good in this show. Jeremy Allen White took culinary classes and worked in a kitchen to prepare for the role. And it shows.

The show is fast-paced, tense, everyone hits their beat. It’s truly one of the best shows of 2022. Just like Yellowjackets, we are all just sitting here waiting for season two.

Trailer:  

I Love That for You

 TV show or Movie: TV show

Where to watch: Showtime

Premise: The show stars Bayer as Joanna Gold, an aspiring host for shopping channel SVN, who lies that her childhood cancer has returned in order to keep her job; the story is inspired by Bayer’s personal experience with childhood leukemia.

Cast: Vanessa Bayer; Molly Shannon; Jenifer Lewis; Paul James; Ayden Mayeri; Matt Rogers; Punam Patel

What it reminds me of: 30 Rock, Great News.

Why I like it:  When two SNL alums get together to make a show about the behind-the-scenes craziness of a home shopping network channel, how can you not want to watch it? I absolutely love Molly Shannon and I will watch anything that she does. This show is also semi-autobiographical as Bayers did have childhood leukemia and co-created this show. Jennifer Lewis plays the head of the network and is a no-nonsense character who’s character development was very well written and done. The supporting cast is very comical, filling the roles of the other hosts at the network. 

A lot of the episodes are directed by comic genius Michael Showalter who recently directed the Oscar-nominated The Eyes of Tammy Faye and the hopefully Emmy-nominated The Dropout. Showalter is becoming the new Jay Chandrasekhar or Fred Savage, directed a bunch of episodes of television comedies. 

Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjdhfiGA8BU

TV show or Movie: TV show

Where to watch: HBO MAX

Premise: Barry is a dark comedy starring Bill Hader as a depressed, low-rent hitman from the Midwest. Lonely and dissatisfied in his life, he reluctantly travels to Los Angeles to execute a hit on an aspiring actor. Barry follows his “mark” into an acting class and ends up finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the LA theater scene. He wants to start a new life as an actor, but his criminal past won’t let him walk away —can he find a way to balance both worlds?

Cast: Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan, and Henry Winkler.

What it reminds me of: Not much.

Why I like it:  The plot is literally that Bill Hader plays a hitman who goes to Los Angels to kill someone but falls in love with improv and tries to leave his life as an assassin to break into the acting scene. What is not to love? Why do you need to read on right now? This should have been enough information for you to want to watch it.

This show is super dark, super funny, and explores a lot of interesting themes such as PTSD, the struggle to make it in Hollywood, the mob, and so much more. 

Henry Winkler plays an adorable failed actor turned coach. Anthony Carrigan is a newer actor but plays quite possibly one of the funniest characters of all time. 

Once you have watched the first two seasons, check out the bloopers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpXGjrwBo6k

Also, check out the scene that broke Bill Hader here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv-GRK7ODVQ

TV show or Movie: TV show

Where to watch: Netflix

Premise: Seven adults with autism dive headlong into a dating group to explore the unpredictable world of romance, tackling misconceptions about both themselves and how they want to live.

Cast:

What it reminds me of: Not really anything else! Besides the Australian version of the show, of course.

Why I like it: Reality shows are garbage. Dating shows are garbage. Reality dating shows are garbage. But in July 2022, Netflix released a show called Dating on the Spectrum that took place in Australia. Due to the pandemic, it took a while for season two to come out, but it was great following up with the people from the first season. 

I turned on Netflix the other day and saw that Netflix now has an entire first season of Dating on the Spectrum US. The show is extremely eye-opening as you learn about what it is like for those on the autism spectrum when it comes to finding love. Their parents, siblings, roommates, and friends are also interviewed and talk about what it has been like growing up with the person seeking love.

TV show or Movie: TV show

Where to watch: HBO Max

Premise: A woman is on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to a tech billionaire, who has implanted a monitoring device in her brain, allowing him to track her, watch her and know her “emotional data” as she tries to regain her independence.

Cast:Cristin Miliotis, Billy Magnussen, Dan Bakkedahl, Noma Dumezwei, Ray Romano, Caleb Foote, Patti Harrison

What it reminds me of: Black Mirror!

Why I like it: The cast is fantastic. Cristin Miliotis, who was on an episode of Black Mirror, stars as the wife of a tech mogul. It really makes you think about what it is like to be married to ne of these people. The technology and special effects in the show are fantastic. It is a very dark comedy. Ray Romano is fantastic. Billy Magnussen plays the role perfectly and is so off, distant, and disconnected from anyone and everyone. If you love Black Mirror, but wish an episode could be linear and develop into a series – watch this!