Hello there,
I'm currently stuck in the heat dome during the longest summer of my life, so I've had a lot of time to watch stuff. I've read a bunch recently, but the best things I've read have been a real bummer, so today I'm bringing you a watch-only edition of recommendations for those who just want a quick distraction.
Recently my husband and I started The Sopranos (HBO), which is more than two decades old but we'd never watched. It's aged surprisingly well and though it's very, very violent, it's definitely one of the best TV shows ever made and is completely engrossing.
If you're interested in something less bloody, Somebody Somewhere (HBO) recently concluded its second season, and it's one of the sweetest, most wholesome shows you'll ever see. It focuses on a two friends living in Kansas and the small dramas of their lives, and it largely hones in on grief, family, and friendship. Every episode warms your heart.
Chimp Empire (Netflix) was a welcome distraction and a real feat of filmaking, capturing an incredibly close-up look of chimps living in the wild. It's fascinating, and scary how similar humans are to them.
Deadloch (Amazon) answers the question: What if you made a murder mystery that's also a comedy that takes place in a small Australian town with a large lesbian population? It's certainly the funniest police procedural I've seen. It takes place in beautiful, haunting Tasmania, and while the twists in the murder plot keep you interested, it's the comedy that keeps you hooked.
The Big Conn (Apple TV) is a shocking documentary about a Kentucky con-man who's name was literally Conn. But the story turns out to be even bigger than him, and involves a maddening tale of corruption that goes all the way up to the federal government and left some of Appalachia's most vulnerable people in dire straits. I really didn't care for the reenactments, but the story is so wild that it's well worth watching.
I completely stumbled on The Thief Collector (Amazon) by accident while looking for a movie to watch, and was instantly riveted because I was familiar with the first part of the story: a de Kooning painting was stolen in Arizona in the 80sā and was recovered in 2017 during an estate sale, and later returned to the museum in Tucson where it was stolen. But as it turns out, there is so much more to the globe-trotting, Jewish New Mexico-by-way-of-New-Jersey couple who almost certainly robbed the $160 million work.
Bonus: if you haven't watched them already, the (sadly) final season of The Other Two just aired and is very funny, and the new season of What We Do in the Shadows just started.
See a full list of recommendations here.
Until next time,
Rachel