Startup

Netflix

Creator: Ben Ketai

Stars : Adam Brody, Edi Gathegi, Otmara Marrero

Show started with an interesting premise and some absorbing characters. But it was soon evident that the writers didn't know what to do with so many lead figures. Everyone went all over the place and it was becoming a mess beyond redemption. It was very clear at the last season that they were just looking for some exit - any exit and looks like they just went for some random finish. Why did I start following the show - I tend towards thrillers, crime dramas more than other genres. Got hooked into it because of the Computer Science aspect, the feeling of seeing an energetic startup in action and rockstar programming. It was good for a while. But once all the lead characters slowly started to become irredeemable assholes, it just became unwatchable. I suppose if as a writer you want the audience to keep following a show, you need to give them some reason to be invested in it - a sense of justice, entertainment or suspense. If all you can care about as an audience is for the lead characters to die, it's pretty easy to look up the ending online or fast forward to the last episode. Which is mostly what I did with Startup. Was happy to note that it wasn't renewed.

Undercover Season 3

Netflix

Creators: Piet Matthys / Nico Moolenaar

Stars : Tom Waes, Frank Lemmers

Now this is what you call a SHOW!! After a relatively slow season 2, the show was back with a bang! Mainly because the supporting cast was so much better than season 2. The antagonists - The Turkish gang, the chief matron, the enforcer, the police chief running the operation and of course - the irrepressible FERRY!!

Everyone gave POWER PACKED performances! From the conclusion, it seems like there won't be a season 4, but boy do I hope there is! I'm just a huge fan of Frank Lemmers who played Ferry - the gait, the dialogue delivery, the expressive face - I thought he was absolutely terrific. Same with Nazmiye Oral who played Leyla - very expressive, great range, the emotions, the dialogues - the ability to switch between protective, loving and fierce, dominant. The only weakness in this series might be that the protagonists are desperately uninteresting - starting with Bob, his family, the cops. But the bad guys more than make up for it and luckily the show keeps them in focus most of the time.

Ozark - Season 4

Netflix

Creators: Bill Dubuque, Mark Williams

Stars:  Jason Bateman, Julia Garner

What a fucking disaster - I almost feel like I shouldn't waste any more time on this - but what the heck. To be fair, the first 3 seasons are decent and get you invested in the story line. It gives a hint of where it's going with Wendy Byrde being portrayed as this omnipotent, omniscient, giving Deep Blue a run for its money sort of character - however even after getting a hint of the spoilers I wasn't prepared for how bad it was going to be. To an extent even most of the last season can be considered passable. But the finale was nothing short of a dumpster fire. It felt like a caricature of the series. The worst part was a nonsensical car crash which actually gives a very clear indication of where the ending is headed - but has no bearing on the plot. Unless you had some contractual obligation to Honda - why the hell are you wasting screen time like that in a finale. Besides that, all the characters seem to just collectively lose their marbles - except Ms. Deep Blue of course. Ruth acts like some naive hillbilly, Marty finally decides to grow some balls - or was it borrowed from Jonah who seemed to have lost his, a former top cop acts like a SJPD rookie - I have no issues with a sad ending or a shock ending, but characters acting out of character or lazy writing is not acceptable. It really seemed like they were in a rush to wrap up production and went with the easiest way to end it. Anyway, I think they cemented their position alongside GoT, Dexter and the others as a shit series which will now only be remembered for its disastrous ending.

Better Call Saul - Season 1 - 5

AMC / Netflix

Creators : Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould

Stars : Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks

I had briefly started following this show when it originally came out and gave up very soon for some reason. Out of the blue, I decided to give it a go  in April and this time I was HOOKED. Very very good show. Gave us characters that we cared about (even the bad guys in the show have an interesting story line) and there aren't any parts that you will want to fast forward through. Of course the plot and the narco trafficking is a bit out there, however at no point did I feel like it jumped the shark - mostly because the performers hold everything together very well. In short I couldn't see too many weaknesses in this show and absolutely loved it. My personal favorite character in the show was Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) - a conflicted ex-cop caught between trying to live a peaceful life, keeping what is left of his family safe and trying to do the morally right thing while being in a very questionable line of business. There are others who have such interesting character arcs - Saul himself - a carefree, hustler who becomes a hard working lawyer and a doting brother, and then transforms into a savvy, cartel lawyer, or Varga - the cartel hitman who is desperate to relinquish the narco life to keep his father safe. Better Call Saul does a great job of telling us a normal story in an interesting way while also challenging the audience the right amount in terms of guessing the characters' motivations and backgrounds. The only logistical issue for me was that the last season wasn't on Netflix and I am considering waiting for the series to end before watching the complete final season either on Netflix or with a month long AMC subscription.

The Lincoln Lawyer

Netflix

Creator: David E. Kelley

Stars: Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Neve Campbell

Legal drama about a brilliant but out of sorts defense attorney - Mickey Haller, who gets a second lease of life when tasked with taking over the practice of a murdered former colleague. What follows is the typical mix of Haller dealing with day to day cases with his effortless brilliance and a longer running murder mystery involving a very obnoxious tech entrepreneur - Trevor Elliot. There are other distractions to fill up time in the form of Haller's prosecutor wife, his secretary - a wannabe lawyer and his friend who doubles as a private eye / side kick. None of these characters are memorable or displayed anything out of their stereotypes as shown in numerous American sitcoms/dramas. That's the thing about this show - nothing, absolutely nothing - stands out as unique, intelligent or insightful. It is bland, trite, legal pulp-fiction that you can play in the background while focusing on your work. You wouldn't miss a thing. But that suited me just fine when I saw (or rather streamed) it - so no huge complains. Not every series aims to be a Breaking Bad.

Intimacy (Spanish: Intimidad)

Netflix

Creators: Veronica Fernandez, Laura Sarmiento

Stars: Itziar Ituno, Patricia Lopez Arnaiz, Ana Wagener

A Spanish drama series that centers around 4 female characters and how they deal with issues regarding patriarchy, harassment, career etc. The fundamental plot is about leaked private photos/videos of women and its repercussions on the lives of these women. One of them, Malen - a rising politician deals with it in a very different way than Ane - who ends up taking her life due to the harassment and fear of bringing disgrace to her family. The show contrasts how different people deal with such situations, as well as how some people find their inner strength to tackle these problems and bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice. The premise itself wasn't something I found very interesting when I read the synopsis, but I thought of giving this series a go and I'm glad I did because the performances of the lead actors is ASTOUNDING. Especially Patricia Lopez Arnaiz - who plays Bego, the sister of Ane who fights to deliver a small measure of justice for her sibling. There was very little by the way of fluff or filler material in Intimidad. Every scene had some meaning behind it, characters behaved like normal human beings do when not necessarily in front of a camera and that gave the series an overall taut, impactful feeling. And you walk away from the series with a sense of having seen good art - by the way of good performances, good story telling and better appreciation for film making.  

Suzhal: (The Vortex)

Amazon Prime

Creators: Pushkar - Gayathri

Stars: Kathir, Aishwarya Rajesh

A Tamil (Indian language) crime-thriller set in a rural town in Tamil Nadu, India. Deals with a missing person case  that slowly turns into a murder mystery. The acting is good for most part, the plot line, cinematography and music are also impressive, however the writers try too hard with the red herrings which blunts the overall impact of the story. A few episodes into the series, we begin to see through this when they go overboard to implicate some character to only reveal their innocence later and contrary to their expectations this detracts significantly from the viewing experience. Another minor annoyance is Kathir's look for the series - everyone in the force looked like a cop except him. Aishwarya Rajesh's character also seems a tad unbelievable, however by the standards for Tamil series' this is a major step up. Overall, I can say I enjoyed the series and hope to see more such shows from South India.

The Watcher

Netflix

Creators: Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy

Stars: Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale

A mini-series (only 1 season - luckily) about a family that moves into a beautiful suburban mansion and doesn't quite fit into the neighborhood. The family faces a lot of attempts to push them out of their house and the series is about who is behind this and how the family deals with this crisis. The mystery aspect of finding out who is behind the efforts to push them out, keeps you following the series, but besides that there's not really much. The characters are all quite unlikable, the writing goes all over the place and the show creators seem at a loss of how to wrap the series up after a few episodes in. The ending also left a lot to be desired. The only good thing was the cinematography. This is one of those series that is good to have in the background while you are doing something important - just to serve as some sort of white noise, but nothing more than that.

Khakee : The Bihar Chapter

Netflix

Creator: Neeraj Pandey

Stars: Karan Tacker, Avinash Tiwary

A mini-series that follows an ambitious, young IPS officer's quest to bring a notorious criminal - Chandan Mahto and his gang - to justice. Based on real life characters, the crime thriller is backed by superb performances, unrelenting pace and non stop action. It drags a bit in the second half as the writers aren't able to add more intrigue and the series spirals towards its climax, but maybe that's better than overstaying its welcome. Overall, pretty entertaining, especially the arc of Avnish Tiwary from simpleton to crime lord was pretty interesting to watch. 

Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie

Amazon Prime

Creator: Andrew Louis

Stars: S.J. Suryah, Laila, Sanjana Krishnamoorthy

Another crime thriller series based in Tamil Nadu, India - revolves around the murder of a young girl and how the media and society treats it as a matter of gossip and profit while the police force grapples between good optics before the public, pressure from their superiors and also catching the actual culprits. S.J Suryah gives a very believable performance as an honest, upright cop who is hell bent on bringing the perpetrators of the crime to justice and Laila does a decent job as well. Where the story falls flat is in terms of the pacing and also what seemed like many loose threads. In much the same way as Suzhal, the story adds a lot of red herrings to the point of distraction and ends on a less than satisfying note.