I could not stand Curb Your Enthusiasm either.
We loved curb your enthusiasm, but I think itās a love/hate show. I remember my dad absolutely hating Seinfeld.
Finished binge watching Etoile on Amazon. Really enjoyed it. Tooks 2-3 episodes to get into it but finishes very strong and the dancing is terrific. Looking forward to season 2!
Itās true there is self-selection. Some on IMDB also have an inflated personal rating scale along the lines of 10 = above average, 9 = average, 8 = below average. However, compared to any reasonable peer group of sitcoms that also have self selection bias, Curb Your Enthusiasm has among the highest ratings distribution.
I rarely like sitcoms. I donāt find the traditional laugh track formulaic sitcom funny with a heartwarming nuclear family with stereotyped personalities, unique relative/neighbor, and generic plot that gets resolved and reset to base each 30 minutes. Curb Your Enthusiasm obviously breaks with this tradition. The small minority of sitcoms that I do like also tend to break from that tradition in some way. Other examples include Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Seinfeld, and Rick & Morty (sitcom formula, with unique relative being genius scientist who often makes the show as much sci-fi parody as sitcom parody).
My post above mentions Rick and Morty. The new season 8 is starting today. While I plan to watch the show, I donāt have high expectations. The early seasons were incredible, particularly the first 4. Season 7 was not, which likely relates to firing Roiland. Roiland was the creator, primary writer, voice of Rick, and voice of Morty. Essentially Roiland is the show, and removing Roiland destroys the show.
In contrast, the earlier seasons have some of my favorite episodes of any sitcom ever. One that stands out is The Rickshank Rickdemption (season 3, episode 1), where Summer and Morty attempt to rescue Rick from a galactic prison, and Rick removes Jerry and galactic governments as āde facto patriarch of family and universeā (episode description is, āSummer and Morty travel interdimensionally to locate Rick and find a bunch of Ricks. Rick craves a very specific chicken nugget dipping sauce.ā). The early episodes like this had so much detail and thought put in each scene, with a combination of both light and dark humor.
Ballard, the latest spinoff of Bosch and which was alluded to in the final season of Bosch Legacy, will drop all 10 episodes on July 9th
Longmire
Bosch
Dark Winds
Better Call Saul
Andor
Say Nothing
Thanks for the North of North recommendation. One of many shows I probably wouldnāt have found without this thread. I enjoyed it a lot and learned a few things. Iāll be on the lookout for season 2.
We finished North of North last night and enjoyed it too.
Has anyone watched a British show called The Gold starring Hugh Bonneville?
Catching up here . . .
LOVED Four Seasons. I loved the movie too and while they are similar, they are also different. I may watch the series again.
Halfway though the current season of HACKS. Jean Smart is an amazing actress. Iām not a fan of the tension in the first couple of episodes, but the hilarious throwaway lines of Jimmy, Damien, Kayla keep me paying attention.
We binged PARADISE earlier this year. It was definiting addicting. I love Sterling K Brown, although I donāt usually watch that genre. I hope they have thought out the next season or two or else it might jump the shark.
We also started an older series called STARSTRUCK. Again a lot of funny lines and very binge able.
The most brilliant thing about Curb, as was true of Seinfeld was the ability to tap into some social truth that often goes unexpressed. The ā Yada, yada, yadaā the ā close talkerā and from Curb, the one we refer to most often in my family āpeople who canāt Middle ā. My brother in law pulled his often glum teens from the center of the family thanksgiving table where they had plopped themselves down ā you guys donāt talk to anyone,you arenāt allowed to middle, move down!ā
I binged Department Q on Netflix and really enjoyed it (except for a weak ending). It had just the right mix of humor, mystery and action, plus those gorgeous Scottish accents.
I finally found an answer to my own questions about the British crime drama called The Gold.
It will be on PBS Materpiece this fall. I like both Hugh Bonneville and Jack Lowden. I look forward to this show this fall, plus the Season 5 of Slow Horses.
We recently subscribed to Peacock with the idea of dumping it after watching Eurovision-2025. OMG! I can watch some of my favorite shows like St Denis Medical without ads? It is a keeper now.
Me too. At first I thought it would be too dark, and did skip some of the scenes because of that, but the humour does redeem the show, as do the accents and the Scots scenery. Sanjeev and Leah are pretty funny, as is Leahās Dad(revealed near the end of the first season). Akram is also an interesting, nuanced, character - itās refreshing to see a middle Easterner not be a terrorist or criminal.
The new season of The Bear comes out June 25. Iām a fan of Jeremy Allen WhiteāShameless was one of my all-time favorite series. Also, I think Jamie Lee Curtis does an amazing job as the mother of this family.
Resident Alien season 4 is on USA!
I didnāt like Caged Harry Is an Idiot but the rest was excellent
Thanks to the recommendations here, weāve been really enjoying Resident Alien. Just finished Season 1 last night. Itās a nice combo of low key mystery, humor, and heartwarming relationships. I like watching it as our last show of the evening.