Favorite Streaming Picks
<
>
Hart to Heart
Peacock
So the first episode I caught of this show was Kevin and Jay-z....you had my curiosity but after watching the interview now you have my attention. Kevin Hart is everyones favorite comedian and my personal pick for him was his role in the remake of Jumanji (my absolute favorite film of his). From there I saw an episode with Seth MacFarlane and Tyler Perry and loved seeing Kevin in a different light.....the male Oprah. A glass of wine, intelligent and interesting but lightly humored conversation between Hart and his guests made this a great watch.
The Last Of Us
MAX
In my mind for the longest time I thought "I loved it when it was The Walking Dead". Pedro Pascal is life right now in every role he chooses but I was a little weary of a too-soon replica but the Halloween Horrors feature announcement forced me to change my tune. Yes the show was popular but I also don't like to fall into that trap either unless the show is genuinely good....and yes The Last of Us was genuinely great.
Nora From Queens
Comedy Central
Awkwafina is either your favorite flavored Asian or not your cup of tea...either way she got paid. I love her to death in every role she plays because she's herself and she stands alone as one of the top asian female comedians out right now. Every now and then someone comes on the scene in a generation and stands alone in his/her field and to me Awkwafina is one of a kind in her craft.
A Small Light
Disney+
This so far has been my favorite stream in 2023 and I'm so touched by the subject. I love that they took a different perspective on this story as there have been a few "Anne Frank" tales over the years. This story is from the eyes of Anne's fathers' secretary and it's so delightful and touching. Again World War 2 being a favorite subject of mine the acting was superb, the story was appropriate and everything about this series should win an Emmy. Top watch.
Citadel
Amazon Prime
Citadel was awesome and Priyanka has officially been added to my girl crush list! She's sexy, fierce and a great compliment to Richards character. The show is like James Bond meets the winter soldier....I mean it's the Russo brothers so no surprise there. Good action, adventure and a few surprises, this was a great summer add-on to Prime's lineup.
Ghosted
Apple TV+
This movie started out adorable. Chris and Ana are absolute chemistry on film. The middle was a little drawn out and I absolutely loved the cameos but the end brought it back to life again. Overall the movie was super cute and very Rom-Com.
Defending Jacob
Apple TV +
Let's start with the truth, I wanted to see this show back in 2020 because Chris Evans was starring in it and Jaeden Martell was one of my favorite parts of "It". I'm not big on lawyer shows but I know that category has it's own fan-base so with all the right ingredients, I can properly suggest this show. I enjoyed the darker tone of this show and the cast made it so intriguing that similar to "How I Met Your Mother"...I wanted to watch to the end to see the outcome. A situation like this could easily happen to any troubled teen in their high-school years and the show paints a great mysterious picture of how parents would handle this situation given the circumstance.
The Twilight Zone
Paramount +
Jordan Peele is one of my favorite directors and when I heard he was taking on The Twilight Zone back in 2020 I thought "Oh how fitting!" I love when Hollywood picks the right shows and tv to revive or reinvent and this is one that gets it right on so many levels. The original Twilight Zone no doubt was the originator and master of the unknown but give a new aged innovative director like Peele a shot at it and you'll hit all the right chords for a new generation of weirdos like myself. I want to highlight episode 4 "A Traveler" in season 1 and episodes 7 & 9 "A Human Face" / "Try, Try" in season 2.
Chernobyl
HBO Max
Yet another favorite "Mystery from History" for me Chernobyl was a FANTASTIC show. This was an area in the world that always intrigued me and although I am an avid traveler, this has always been one place in the world where I will have to admire from a far. So many brave men gave their life and sacrificed their entire world to fight one of the unseen terrors in the world: Nuclear holocaust.
Dahmer
Netflix
Evan Peters was long overdue for recognition and I'm thrilled he finally got it. From American Horror Story to X-men, there is no ignoring the talents and witty personality of this actor. This role was very 360 from what he typically would portray but if you are an AHS fan (American Horror Story) you'll know this one was right up his alley. In every season he's played some form of demented killer but in this biopic his talents called him to channel a real person with a real disturbing aura and it was no easy task. Like Heath Ledger with the Joker, sometimes a character can creep into your real brain and there is no easy way to get them out. Kudos to Evans for this disturbing performance based off the real life horrible events that Dahmer constructed so many years ago.
Castle Rock
Hulu
All my Stephen King fans will certainly appreciate this blast from the past reference/show. "Misery" starring Kathy Bates as a deranged woman who kidnaps a writer in the snowed out mountains gets an evolution story and her character stops at nothing to show you why she's considered one of historys crazies. Lizzy Kaplan is fantastic at portraying her character in her younger/earlier years and takes you down a gut-wrenching twist and turn road. Murder, Mayhem and a whole lot of medication goes into the telling of this chilling tale.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Netflix
When we talk tv show poetry, this should be the 1st thing that comes to mind. To date, I have watched Bly Manor more than I have Hill House and the story and show is so poetically beautiful that I don't really know the best words to describe it. A love story, a poem, a prayer and a ponder this show made me cry..HARD. The concept of accepting love and finding a love so deep that it terrifies you to lose someone but you feel blessed to experience them in life is something so rare, people have spent their entire lives looking for it. It can also be nestled within someone that you least expect and turn out to be one of the greatest things to happen in your life.
Wednesday
Netflix
One of my all time favorite fictional characters in history is none other than Lady Wednesday Addams. Her most iconic moments to me were in the 2nd film...ruining the Thanksgiving play that Amanda worked so hard on, burning down Chippiwah Falls and so many other legendary moments. Wednesday was never an "Amanda" (you gotta watch the movies to get that one). Like my other on screen icon, Lydia from Beetlejuice, Wednesday is the disease and plague you wish you could understand. She's the princess of the macabre, the ruler of the disturbed and in no way does she have any desire to be anything like the normal high-school/grade-school girls around her...I mean why blend in when you can set them on fire? This series is the perfect little double middle finger to anyone who dares to disturb the accidentally living.
The Morning Show
Apple TV+
There was this really weird time in morning news history where male anchors were doing things that were probably happening in Hollywood forever but someone finally spoke up and complained. This show spotlights what happens when a man in power is made an example of. This show is sassy, scandalous and that's just the 1st episode! Season 2 is just as crazy....I LOVE Jennifer Aniston & Reese Witherspoon but I also love a story that is not boring or repetitive. This show really showed a different side of what we all had a feeling was happening behind the scenes but could never really confirm. "Bombshell" is also a movie that goes deeper into this controversy but I think The Morning Show painted a much more in depth and emotional view of a time we all didn't know existed.
The Queen's Gambit
Netflix
With this one you don't have to be a chess expert to enjoy. There is something so cerebral and tasteful about this mind sport that after watching this show makes you want to walk into a tournament and see what you got. Anya Taylor-Joy plays the part flawlessly of a girl who has a rough up-bringing but doesn't let that stop her from using a gift that only God could have served up. She plays an innocent few games in the basement of her school with the janitor and it ends up changing her life forever. Becoming a chess phenom in a time when only men were looked at as the top of the food chain in this sport, Anya walks in...demands to go against the best....beats the best and asks "Who's/what's next?". The pressure and weight of everything that comes along with this girls talents is something I'm sure she never saw coming but ends up navigating only the way a true queen could. This show is more than an under-dog story... it's an inspiring look at how sometimes in life you have to sit back and let the pawns go first.
Inventing Anna
Netflix
Unicorn Store
First off, I love that I'm highlighting this show of a fake socialite who travels around the world, spends a ridiculous amount of other people's money and get's confused when people call her out on it along the way....we all know someone like this, don't we? Inventing Anna was such an interesting and hilarious watch that there was no way it couldn't end up on this list. I remember thinking "There is no way people are that stupid to not have caught this early enough that it got that bad"...well the show tells you the exact opposite. The story follows Anna Delvey who claims she is the heiress of her father's German fortune but she can't access the money until later in life (red flag). So she "borrows" friends and their money to become this instagram phenom but it turns out her father was nothing like she painted him at all. Someone actually dove deeper and truly uncovered who this girl really was and it is the most entertaining thing to watch on screen. This one is for all the Anna's on the gram! Cheers Ladies!
Netflix
Only about 5% of the population is going to actually watch and like this one...i'm cool with that. Brie Larson is me in a different universe for many reasons and I just love everything she is and everything she stands for. She's an award winning actress; Plus I mean she's Captain Marvel...so yeah +100 points. Brie makes her directing debut and this one is special to me because it's a little bit of my story growing up. I have forever had crazy ideas, conjured up my own imaginations and stories in my head but have at times felt trapped by the world to keep that side at bay for fear or judgement. Unicorn Store is for...well the unicorns. The symbol behind it is to love your crazy, quirky, colorful self and the world just might love you by accident for it. There are always steps, signs, symbols and people put in your path along the way in this crazy world...this movie teaches us to listen. I myself still have room to grow and room to build my own "Unicorn Stable" if you will but the ambition has to be there, the passion has to be there and the ability to listen and accept must follow.
Squid Game
Netflix
So every now and then you get this incredibly popular show and everyone is like "Oh you have to watch...." and you're like I know, I know I get it. That is how Squid Game started for me, however.... it ended up becoming a glorious triumph that (yet again) changed the way I viewed the world and the people in it. The concept is so basic yet masterful..."What would you do for money/no debt?" - Some players were thinking of their families, most were thinking of themselves and some were in strategy mode because that is who they are as people. It teaches you something special about "strategy mode" that also mirrored "The Queens Gambit" also on Netflix. Some hear this term and think of it as a negative or cynical term but in some circumstances (as per this show) it can truly save your life to have compassion, purpose and proper strategy. By the end of this show I yet again shed a tear for the message it taught me and hopefully after you watch it, you will also gain some clarity on life.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Netflix
Don't be shocked....by now you've realized i'm bat shit crazy and adding this show to this list makes no exception to that fact. A 90 minute snap-shot if you will of Ted Bundy's life and a deeper look at how it all played out. Zac Efron was the last person I expected to play a role like this but I must say he did an exceptional job with his performance. I was creeped out but also charmed at times with how he played the role so well and also enjoyed Lily Collins work in this one.
Ratched
Netflix
If you had the chance to stop by my top t.v. shows list, you will find Ryan Murphy at the top 5 of that list. I don't know if he creeps in my brain and finds out everything I love or if he was me in another life but I have adored every single show he has created (I haven't seen Pose yet unfortunately). From American Horror Story to American Crime Story he just gets it and gave me my favorite actress (Sarah Paulson) in the process. Ratched follows Paulson as Nurse Mildred Ratched from the iconic "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" movie to uncover her chilling origin story. I wasn't crazy about the Cuckoo's Nest movie but this series allowed me to have a new vision on a new character. Very sinical and dark... if you are a fan of such favorites as "The Shining" and "House on Haunted Hill" this is as if they had a love child on screen.
American Crime Story: Impeachment
Hulu/FX
Here we are again, talking about another Ryan Murphy masterpiece (I wonder if he will ever get tired of making such art). Versace and OJ made my all time list and although I would not place this on an all time list, the show was just as captivating and fun as it's predecessors. I will never stop praising Sarah Paulson as an actress because her talent is literally enchanting to watch on screen... the way she becomes any character she chooses is quite scary lol. Her interactions with Beanie were fantastic and Clive Owen as Bill Clinton was also almost unrecognizable. A stellar cast for a stellar show that you don't want to miss!
Emily in Paris
Netflix
At this point the way I bashed Paris,France in my travel blog review maybe I am in complete denial of the fact that I actually do in fact enjoy Paris. My first experience there was work and I got a small glimpse of it and I must say my French co-workers during the event were a mirror image of how they are portrayed in this show. Laid back, leisure enjoying, champagne drinking humans....I mean what's so wrong with that? One of the best places on earth in all reality this show screams love, work-life balance and baguettes. I adored this show...from the fashion (surprise) to the dialogue... to the drama. I feel like this show was an accurate depiction of "typical entitled American girl thinking she can come over here and implement her shitty American ways into our full-proof system". What ends up happening is we see a fuse of sassy American wit mixed with pristine European class to equal out to the perfect recipe of a show! Top watch and my Sex in the City ladies will just adore it.