Type Click Mailbag: What Are We Watching, Folks?

Let's talk about some shows.

Hello and welcome back to the Type Click Mailbag. As always, here’s the rundown of how this works:

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From Jeff:

Whenever possible, I like trying to watch the same shows my favorite writers are watching as the shows are airing. That way, whenever one of you writes something, I'm not shouting, "Oh, great. Do I have to watch R.J. Decker to read Brian now, too?" (No offense lol.) So here's my question: What are you watching right now? And have you ever thought about keeping a running list of shows you're currently watching somewhere so readers can check in? That was two questions. Sorry.

Excellent question(s). I will gladly answer these below, with the caveat that I’m not watching as many shows as I used to when it was my full-time job. It’s something I like about doing this newsletter, actually. I get to be a little more selective and watch stuff I like without feeling obligated to stick with something just because HBO put it on their schedule in the 9pm slot on Sunday night. Maybe you liked Lanterns. That’s fine! I had no strong feelings about it in any direction and decided to bail after the second episode. It felt great!

This is also why I fear the concept of me keeping a list would be a mess. I bail on shows ruthlessly now. Which is a policy I stand by. Few things out there are as freeing as realizing you can just stop doing something and it won’t matter at all. Everyone should quit things. Except, uh, reading this newsletter. There’s a law that says you have to subscribe now, actually. Personally, I think it’s a bit of an overreach by the legislature but this is why you need to vote.

Here are my highlights:

The Lowdown — I wrote about this show a couple weeks ago, so I don’t think I need to go through the whole thing again. Ethan Hawke and Betty Gilpin are doing incredible things on television together. It is my favorite thing going right now.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins — I wrote about this one, too, back when its first season really started cooking. Season two just debuted this week. If “Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe in a lightning-fast network sitcom produced by the co-creator of 30 Rock” doesn’t sell you, I’m not sure any other words I type will.

Cupertino — A new legal procedural from the creators of The Good Wife that stars Mike Colter, Rachel Keller, and Busy Philipps as co-owners of a small law firm in Silicon Valley that takes on cases where a little guy has been wronged by a tech company. We’re only a few episodes into the action, but it already has the kind of quirky twists on headline-ripped plots and collection of wacky judges that I enjoy in a 42-minute weekly watch. Extremely good, like, Friday night television, even though it airs on Thursdays.

9-1-1/9-1-1: Nashville — This is where I admit that I mostly just watch these shows with the cursor hovering over the “skip ahead 10 seconds” button, which I mash repeatedly until something interesting happens. Something like, for example, Ryan Phillippe showing up in Tennessee as a character named Detective Rogue Kelly who has a New York accent so thick you could spread it on toast.

In the coming soon and/or screeners I’ve seen category, we have…

Black Doves — Season two of this Netflix spy series drops this weekend. I liked season one a bunch. It’s got Keira Knightley as a spy who is married to a high-ranking government official and Ben Whishaw — the voice of Paddington fyi — as a champagne-slugging assassin. It’s fast and funny and has great twists in the action and a slew of really great characters. I just rewatched the first season last week and I bet I'll write about the new season soon, too. It’s a good time. And the seasons are short and super-bingeable. Get in there.

Cunk and Dig — Both dropping in November. Just gonna post some trailers here. Bing...

Bang...

Boom

Feel free to pop into the comments to tell me what you’re watching, too. I can’t promise I’ll watch it myself (see above, re: no obligations babyyyyy), but I’m always open to suggestions.

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