It's been a good year for some really interesting, challenging and fun TV series. I wish I could say the same thing for this year at the movies.
Here is what I watched and loved!
The White Lotus - Season 2
Once again a disparate group of people come together at the White Lotus resort and once again there is a dead body but this time the White Lotus is in Sicily.
The ending of Season 2 of this series has sparked more controversy than any other series this season (and no, I won't give it away). If you were expecting Season 2 to be a continuation of Season 1 with the same setting and the same characters, you would be wrong.
This series has turned out to be more of an anthology series starring various characters vacationing at a White Lotus resort in various locations. Last season, the series was set in Hawaii. This time it's Sicily and the only returning characters from Season 1 are Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) and Greg (Jon Gries). However, Season 2 is just as good as Season 1, if not better, and many of the themes from Season 1 remain - class dynamics, wealthy people with issues and... murder.
Season 2 begins with a flash forward. A dead body is discovered in the water and there are rumors of other people found dead.
Then in a flashback, we meet the new cast of characters. Like I said, Tanya is back and is now married to Greg, though their relationship is rocky. Tanya has brought her young assistant, Portia (Haley Lu Richardson), along and Greg is not happy about that so Tanya orders Portia to stay out of sight. Portia meets young Albie (Adam DiMarco) who is at the resort with his father, Dominic (Michael Imperioli) and his grandfather Bert (F. Murray Abraham), who are in Sicily to get in touch with their roots and find some long lost relatives. Dominic's marriage is also on the rocks due to his many affairs and Bert is just a dirty old man. Other guests include married couple Ethan (Will Sharpe) and Harper (Aubrey Plaza), who have joined Ethan's old college roommate, Cameron and his wife, Daphne. Harper doesn't like Cameron (Theo James) and Daphne (Meghann Fahy), finding them fake. This time the hotel manager is Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore), a seemingly unhappy woman, and it doesn't help that she is constantly having to keep tabs on sex workers, Lucia (Simona Tabasco) and Mia (Beatrice Granno), who keep insinuating themselves into the lives of the hotel guests.
It all makes for a delicious mix of drama and dark comedy.
Everyone has a storyline, but the heart of the series is Tanya, a dippy but very wealthy woman. Her husband,Greg, tells her he has to go back to the States for work, but Tanya is suspicious, thinking he is having an affair. Bored and adrift at the resort, Tanya meets Quentin (Tom Hollander) and his friends, a group of gay men who "adopt" her. The handsome and mysterious, Jack (Leo Woodall), Quentin's "nephew," befriends Portia who in turn dumps Albie and Albie ends up with Mia. More drama ensues. And then there is the mystery about that dead body. Who is going to die?
Created by Mike White, this is social satire at its most brilliant.
The story moves at a fast pace, the characters are interesting, the dialogue is snappy and the Sicilian landscapes are breathtaking. The San Domenican Palace stands in for the White Lotus, and it's beautiful, but if you are hoping to plan a vacation to Sicily so you can stay there, forget it. For one thing, the suites with views are $3000 a night and the place is already totally booked. The power of TV!
Rosy the Reviewer says...can't wait for Season 3! What character(s) will return?
Welcome to Chippendales
This docudrama series tells the story of Somen "Steve" Banerjee, the guy who came up with the idea for Chippendales, and the evil deeds that took place.
Kumail Nanjiani plays Somen "Steve" Banerjee, an Indian immigrant who in the 1980's worked his way up from gas station owner to become the owner of the most famous and successful male strip club in Los Angeles - Chippendales. But Banerjee wasn't happy with that. Banerjee was an immigrant seeking the American Dream and that dream was to be the next Hugh Hefner, the top dog. He couldn't stomach competition so perhaps a little fire might start at a bar that also had male dancers? And then there was his partner and choreographer, Nick di Noia (Murray Bartlett), who was handsome and charismatic, appearing on talk shows to promote the club and being called "Mr. Chippendales." And when he opened a very successful club in New York City and then took the Chippendales dancers on tour with even more success, Banerjee was livid, so livid that murder came to mind.
Who knew that handsome men taking off their clothes and wiggling their butts could cause such havoc?
This is a departure for Nanjiana who is more known for comedies but he carries the role brilliantly. Other standouts are Annaleigh Ashford as Irene, Banerjee's very sweet and supportive wife, Irene, who finally lets Steve have it when she finds out what he is really up to, and Bartlett, who fans of "White Lotus" will recognize as Armand, the White Lotus manager from Season 1. Well, maybe you won't recognize him. I didn't at first, probably because he is one of those really good actors - a chameleon. And the rest of the ensemble cast is first rate, including Juliette Lewis, playing her usual kooky self. Rosy the Reviewer says....created for television by Robert Siegel, this dramatization of how the male stripper franchise "Chippendales" came to be and the criminal activity that ensued is riveting. Nanjiani is a revelation as Banerjee and you won't be able to take your eyes off of him...or this exceptional series. Firefly Lane - Season 2
A dramatic series that follows the friendship of two women from their teens to their forties.
This is decidedly a bit of a soap opera, but there is a reason soap operas are so popular. There is lots of drama! Taken from the novels by Kristin Hannah, and adapted by Maggie Friedman, Season 2 continues where Season 1 left off and continues the story of the friendship of Tully Hart (Katherine Heigl) and Kate Malarkey (Sarah Chalke), two besties, who met each other in the 1970's as middle-schoolers when Tully moved across the street from Kate on Firefly Lane.
Tully was the beautiful, popular and strong one, Kate, nerdy and smart and the series follows the ups and downs of their friendship over three decades, hopping around in time. Tully becomes a celebrated television anchor, Kate works along with her but also marries, Johnny (Ben Lawson), and has a child. As Season 1 wraps up, Tully and Kate are at a funeral and Kate tells Tully she is not welcome! What could have caused the rift between these two long-time friends?
So, Season 2.
Season 2 focuses more on Tully and her relationship with her hippie mother, Cloud (Beau Garrett), and Tully's search for her father, who she never knew. As for Kate, the series explores her relationship with Johnny - they got married, they broke up, they got back together. Tully and Kate work together to film a documentary about finding Tully's father but the two eventually have a falling out. Then Kate has a health scare and realizes she needs her friend but when she goes to Tully's apartment to rekindle their relationship, Tully is gone.
To be continued. This is the last season of "Firefly Lane," but the season's 16 episodes have been divided into two different "seasons," so the final eight episodes will come out in 2023. So we are still on that cliff, hanging.
Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke play the adult Tully and Kate and do a good job of portraying the yin and yang of Tully’s and Kate’s friendship, but Ali Skovbye and Roan Curtis are just as good as the young Tully and Kate.
Like I said, this is a bit of a soap opera but there is a reason why soap operas are so successful. They engage us with characters we root for and intriguing plots and that describes this series.
Rosy the Reviewer says….despite my comment about the soap opera aspect of this series, it’s a coming of age tale that not only celebrates female friendship, but explores what it was like for women coming of age in a time when they suddenly had more choices and how difficult it can be to make the right ones. If you loved “Beaches," you will love this.
From Scratch
While studying in Sicily, an American woman falls in love with a local chef.
When American student, Amy (Zoe Saldana), meets Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea), a handsome Sicilian chef, and falls in love, she doesn't realize the cultural shock she will go through. It's a clash of cultures and just as a chef starts dishes from scratch, so too must these two lovebirds "start from scratch" to make their relationship work.
Based on Tembi Locke's memoir of the same name, Lino's traditional Sicilian family does not approve of Amy, especially when he moves with her to Los Angeles. Amy has a loving but boisterous, opinionated family and Lino must also get used to Amy's life in America but time passes. Lino and Amy adopt a child and things look like they will work out. But then tragedy strikes and everyone must "start from scratch" again.
Zoe Saldana is a very sincere actress. She is one of those actresses you believe whether she is painted blue in "Avatar" or here as a young mother coping with tragedy. Eugenio Mastrandrea is also believable, and might I add, handsome? He is someone to watch.
Rosy the Reviewer says...a well-acted and touching love story.
Only Murders in the Building - Season 2
There has been another murder in the building!
This time in Season 2 of this hilarious series, it's the Anconia's HOA President, Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell) who is murdered, and neighbors and amateur detectives Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) are once again putting together a podcast about the murder and trying to discover who the murderer is.
But because Bunny was murdered in Mabel's apartment and Mabel is found covered in blood and not remembering what happened, Mabel comes under suspicion, and it doesn't help that someone is trying to frame all three of them. But there are other suspicious neighbors and friends about, like Alice (Cara Delevingne), Mabel's artist friend; rival podcaster, Cinda Canning (Tina Fey); Leonora, Bunny's mother (Shirley MacLaine), and even Detective Krebs (Michael Rapaport). Amy Schumer makes an appearance as herself along with a foul-mouthed parrot who knows more than he is letting on.
The usual hilarious Martin Short and Steve Martin hijinks ensue with Selena Gomez holding her own which is not an easy task considering Martin and Short will do anything for a laugh, especially Short. There are also many red herrings and twists and turns. But no matter what is happening, it's always fast and funny.
This season, the series, created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, gets into more character development and we learn more about our main characters, and there is some poignancy mixed in with the comedy. And yes, there will be a Season 3. No mystery there.
Rosy the Reviewer says...watching Martin Short and Steve Martin run around is funny enough but the plot is also always fun. The series is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Comedy as are all three of the stars.
Hacks - Season 2
Legendary Las Vegas stand-up comedian, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), is back for Season 2.
Deborah is worried about her career. She decides she needs to be more honest on stage but how to do that when she isn't really sure of the meaning of her life off stage?
Season 1 ended with Deborah finally accepting her young assistant, Ava (Hannah Einbinder), as her co-writer, but that's before Deborah finds out that Ava has dished about what a bad boss Deborah is to some TV writers. Subsequenly, Ava is tortured, worried that about Deborah will find out. To make matters worse, they are stuck together as Deborah takes her show out of Las Vegas and on the road. The two are an odd couple, an aging comedian and a young Zoomer, who are both trying to figure out their lives, and who, despite some ups and downs, can't seem to quit each other. It's a comedic road trip but also an interesting story of female friendship spanning a couple of generations.
Jean Smart has come into her own and is finally being recognized for the wonderful actress she is. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy series last year and is up for it again this year, as is the series itself. But the entire ensemble is first rate as well as the smart writing, no pun intended.
And in case you missed these other TV series (and my reviews) the first time around, here is my wrap-up of more of the best series of 2022 (if you want to see the original full review, click on the title).
The Crown - Season 5
The story of the Royal Family continues.
Rosy the Reviewer says...the best season yet and I proclaim that Imelda Staunton is the best Queen Elizabeth yet!
Pam & Tommy
It's all about Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, their love story and that infamous sex tape.Rosy the Reviewer says…a really good, engrossing story, stylish, and a lot of fun, and, even if you aren’t interested in Tommy Lee and Pamela and their sex tape, this is just a really well-done series, one of the best of the year! And no, I never saw the tape.
Julia
The story of Julia Child and the beginning of TV cooking shows.
Rosy the Reviewer says…this series is a confection, the best meal you will ever have. It’s bingeable, delicious and satisfying. You won’t be able to put down your fork, er, the remote! Bon Appetit!
Bad Sisters
What do you do when you discover that your sister's husband is abusing her? Why, you decide to kill him, of course!
Rosy the Reviewer says...this is a celebration of sisterhood. These "bad sisters" are really good sisters who are loyal and love each other very much and it is a joy to watch...Brilliant writing, brilliant actresses and a brilliant villain. (Apple+)
The Patient
A therapist takes on a new patient only to discover his new patient is a serial killer...and then the serial killer decides he needs his therapist all to himself and kidnaps him!
Rosy the Reviewer says…this brings a whole new meaning to the guy living in his mother's basement. From the start, you will be hooked and want to know what is going to happen to Alan (Steve Carell) and Sam (Domhnall Gleeson). A tense, sometimes humorous but always fascinating look at empathy, isolation and the world of therapy and one of the best series of the year. Not be missed. Trust me. I'm a criticologist! (Hulu)
WeCrashed
The story of Adam and Rebekah Neumann and their start-up, We Work, one of the world's most valuable start-ups, and how it all went wrong.Rosy the Reviewer says...at times this show was above my mental pay grade when it came to the ins and outs of the business financial world e.g. IPO's, S-1's, etc. but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. I did. The story is engrossing and the acting is phenomenal. (Apple+)
The Tourist
A man wakes up in the Australian Outback with no memory of how he got there or even who he is.
Rosy the Reviewer says…if you like thrillers with a Coen Brothers vibe, this is a must see. Another great series that you won’t be able to stop watching. (HBO Max)
Thanks for reading!
See you again soon!
And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in. Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critic Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE: IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around. It's worth it)!
(NOTE: If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch. It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)