Yellowjackets is a knockout
And four other new shows I watched in the last month.
On every 15th of the month, I share my thoughts on the handful of new shows I’ve been watching in the last month. Read to the end for a brief list of shows I’m keeping my eye out for in the next month, too.
5. The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+)
My score: 45/100
If it weren't for Kathryn Hahn, I would’ve abandoned this show a long time ago. And it's not because it doesn't have the raw materials: an interesting story, a star-studded cast, a sleek look that is becoming a consistent trademark of Apple TV+ original series.
But its finale airs this week, and I still can’t tell if the show actually has a soul. It takes so long for Ferrell's character to wake up to Rudd's manipulation as a psychiatrist leeching his wealth, and by the end it's sort of hard to care about their relationship. And then the show has the audacity to exclude Hahn from three episodes nearing the end of the season. Definitely missing some depth.
4. Harlem (Amazon Prime)
My score: 70/100
Harlem could be Run the World's little sister. It has the same premise: four Black girlfriends in Harlem via a Sex and the City formula of evening cocktails, career hijinks, adventures around NYC, and sex/relationship woes.
The more fizzy shows about girlfriends in New York we have, the better—particularly when they get the chance to explore facets of identity Sex and the City could not (and apparently still to this day, struggles to) explore properly. There's even a sort of inconsistent voiceover by the show’s “Carrie.” The girls are also joined by an entertaining Whoopi Goldberg, playing a stern academic. It’s definitely less grounded than Run the World and the girls sometimes don’t feel like real people—but I’m still having fun.
3. Station Eleven (HBO Max)
My score: 88/100
For the first time in my TV watching career, I can say I watched all ten episodes of this miniseries through screeners before it begins airing tomorrow. I also had the absolute honour of interviewing its star, Mackenzie Davis, for W magazine which will be out this week (she’s very cool and thoughtful).