Hey TV watchers! My name is Michel Ghanem, and I’m a freelance television critic and writer based in Vancouver, Canada. Some of you may know me by my Instagram moniker, TV Scholar, a platform where I’ve been sharing the shows I’m watching on social media; I also have a Substack newsletter for the television-loving online community.
I watch approximately 160 seasons of TV a year, and am grateful every day that I get to live and breathe a medium I love so much. I’m thrilled you’re here to embark on this journey with me on Trust Me, I Watch Everything. Every two weeks, I’ll be sharing the shows worth your TV time and how to tune in.
You’re spoiled for choice if you’re looking for something new to watch, from the heavy-hitting drama Half Man on HBO (from the creator of Baby Reindeer) to Widow’s Bay, a spooky but cozy horror series starring Matthew Rhys on Apple TV. You might also want to consider Slip, a parallel-universe dramedy that arrived on Peacock after being lost in the ether for the last few years. And there’s plenty more where that came from — let’s jump in.
⏰ Tune in
My recommendation: Half Man
Why you should watch it: If you thought Baby Reindeer was twisted, wait until you get to the last few episodes of Half Man. Richard Gadd returns as the creator and star of this new limited series based once again on some autobiographical inspiration.
The hourlong drama follows two Scottish stepbrothers — their mothers are late-in-life lesbians — over three decades of their lives, from high school to middle age. In the later timelines, Gadd and Jamie Bell play Ruben Pallister and Niall Kennedy, respectively, but the younger actors (Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson) do a great job of capturing their high school and college years .
The story begins at Niall’s wedding when Ruben, his estranged and very scary stepbrother, turns up uninvited (and not in appropriate wedding attire). Each episode flashes back to a period of their lives, starting with teenage Ruben moving in after being released from juvenile detention.
Ruben is one of the scariest TV characters in recent memory. He is violent and unpredictable, traits that Niall, who was bullied relentlessly as a teen, becomes both envious and cautious around. Over the next few decades, their relationship becomes a toxic, co-dependent yin and yang, circling around each other and never quite being able to disconnect.
What makes this show a fascinating and challenging watch is what Gadd has set out to excavate on toxic masculinity. Niall’s struggle with his queer identity and his self-destructive nature is painful to watch, but it’s a powerful reminder of the toll it takes not to live your truth.
In tone, Half Man is reminiscent of the fourth episode of Baby Reindeer (you know, that one), stretched out across a season. It features some of the most upsetting violence I’ve seen on television lately, and flashes of hope and optimism are far and few between. Still, I couldn’t look away.
How to watch: New episodes of Half Man air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and stream on HBO Max.
📺 Stream it
My recommendation: Widow’s Bay
Why you should watch it: The mayor of this small fictional island off the coast of New England just wants it to be a thriving tourist destination. The wrinkle in his plan? It might be cursed.
Matthew Rhys stars as Tom Loftis, who is determined to revitalize Widow’s Bay, ghost clowns and murderous fog be damned! There is something appealing about the whole affair, from the small-town charm that feels like it’s out of Schitt’s Creek or Best Medicine, to the light comedy that comes with it. But if you dare to look beyond the wallpapered inn and the fog horn, there is something more insidious happening.
“The island is awake,” local alcoholic fisherman Wyck (Stephen Root) says to Tom in the second episode, trying to convince him not to reopen the nearby inn, which is most definitely haunted. Widow’s Bay is reminiscent of Servant, another horror series on Apple TV, in that it provides semi-plausible reasons for the creepy vibes: Black mold could explain Tom’s encounter with a ghost, and a horrific clown scene turns out to be just a dream.
Despite trying to apply logic to the haunts, deep down, Tom knows something is very off about this island — but it’s his job as mayor to keep the town afloat. He also promises his restless teen son that Widow’s Bay will have more to offer if he can just complete the port expansion and spread the word about the town’s potential as the next Cape Cod.
Rhys could not be better cast here. The actor known for The Americans and Brothers & Sisters has a bunch of Emmy nominations (and one win) under his belt and recently turned heads in The Beast in Me, but he’s always been able to play even the most demanding roles with a wink of levity. It helps that he’s surrounded by local eccentrics, who almost make this a kind of workplace comedy, from his assistant Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) to his deputy Dale (Jeff Hiller).
If you’re in the mood for something that feels like it could live in Stephen King’s extended universe, consider making a trip to Widow’s Bay.
How to watch: New episodes of Widow’s Bay stream every Wednesday on Apple TV.
But that’s not all …
Running Point: If the above options lean toward the heavy side, Running Point — which just kicked off Season 2 — is an affable, light comedy you can consider adding to your rotation. It follows Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) as she unexpectedly becomes the president of a professional basketball team. It’s not a slam dunk, but perfectly serviceable as a comedy with a likable ensemble that includes Justin Theroux, Brenda Song and Drew Tarver. — Both seasons are streaming on Netflix.
The Terror: Devil in Silver: On the other hand, if you’re craving more horror on top of Widow’s Bay, this horror anthology produced by Ridley Scott returns for a third season based on the novel of the same name by Victor LaValle. The Terror had a phenomenal first season and a mediocre follow-up; this one feels like a soft reboot of the series with a fantastic cast led by Dan Stevens, Stephen Root (yes, him again) and Judith Light. — New episodes stream on Thursdays on AMC+/Shudder beginning May 7.
Lord of the Flies: A new BBC-produced adaptation of the classic William Golding novel arrives on Netflix, and it’s written by the creator of Adolescence. The four-part miniseries follows a group of teen boys who find themselves stranded on a tropical island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean in the 1950s. This has already aired across the pond and received decent reviews from U.K. critics — definitely worth considering. — All four episodes are streaming on Netflix.
💎 Hidden gems
My recommendation: Slip
Why you should watch it: Have you ever wondered what your life might be like if you had landed in slightly different circumstances? Slip is a surreal but gentle sci-fi comedy series that uses parallel universes to tell that story.
Mae (Zoe Lister-Jones) is a New Yorker who works at an art gallery and is depressed by the monotonous nature of her life. Every day feels the same, from her morning routine to the inevitable “what are we having for dinner” conversation with her husband. At the afterparty for the launch of a new exhibition at work, she ends up sleeping with another man — which sends her rocketing into a parallel universe in which she finds herself married to a new romantic partner.
Once on this universe-jumping journey, Mae inevitably has to try and make it back home. The only constant is her best friend, Gina (Tymika Tafari), who appears in every universe and is always around for advice on how to tackle the romantic predicament she’s in this time — whether it’s a celebrity husband or finding herself with a wife and child.
If you’re a Trekkie or a fan of Netflix’s Russian Doll, a space-time continuum story won’t be anything new — but this isn’t quite Groundhog Day, and it’s tethered specifically to Mae’s romantic relationships. As Mae tells Gina, she realizes her vagina is, ahem, “a wormhole.” As she jumps from partner to partner, she begins to miss the comfort of her universe, the stability of her life and the husband that she took for granted.
Slip is a meditation on “the grass is always greener” fallacy, on leaning toward gratitude in moments of scarcity or thinking there could always be something better around the corner. It’s a fantastic auteur debut for Lister-Jones, who pulls triple duty as the star, writer and director of every episode. After disappearing from the Roku Channel where it first aired, it has finally found a new home on Peacock, and is absolutely worth the watch.
How to watch: All seven episodes of Slip are streaming on Peacock.
Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff in Battlestar Galactica. (Carole Segal/SCI-FI/Everett Collection)
(Carole Segal/SCI-FI/Everett Collection)
My bonus recommendation: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Why you should watch it: If you’ve already watched the 2003 reboot of Battlestar Galactica, you probably agree it’s one of the best sci-fi dramas ever made. For those who haven’t watched it, consider it a major gap in your television repertoire — and as researchers explore and push AI toward possible sentience, the series has an eerie resonance with our possible future.
First of all, you absolutely must start with the two-part miniseries that began the reboot of the late ‘70s series. In this universe, it’s been 40 years since an armistice between humanity (which lives across 12 planets) and the Cylons, the robots they created that gained sentience and rebelled. During that time, these Cylons found a way to begin embodying human form and began infiltrating high levels of government to prepare for their comeback (with a goal of annihilation, of course).
For the Cylons, everything goes according to plan after they infiltrate defense researcher Gaius Baltar’s (James Callis) government contracts to hack the military’s computers and bring down humanity’s line of defense. After a brutal attack, humanity ends up stranded in a fleet of non-military ships led by the only military ship that hadn’t been hacked: the titular Battlestar. The ship was in the process of being decommissioned when the attack happened, and was thus shielded from the hack.
Battlestar begins as essentially a scrappy, high-concept survival story. The series pilot, “33,” finds the survivors jumping through space and being confused by how the Cylons keep finding them at each destination every half hour.
I rewatched it recently, and it holds up well. It’s one of the best pilots to get you really invested in this world and acquainted with its characters: the ship’s commander, William Adama (Edward James Olmos), President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), who went from school teacher to the leader of humanity after finding herself at the top of the list of government succession; and the two pilots who rush to the Battlestar’s defense at every turn, Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) and Captain Lee “Apollo” Adama (Jamie Bamber).
The ensemble cast stretches out to comprise staff, mechanics and other pilots — too many great (if underrated) performances to name, and of course, the Cylons themselves, who you slowly uncover as the season progresses (are they among us?).
The series runs four seasons, at times taking arguably questionable spiritual detours. But it ends with a bang, and despite being from the 2000s, it holds up remarkably well in the visuals department — with the help of handheld-like style space scenes and creative production design. The robots look a little funny sometimes, but they’re a step up from the ‘70s edition.
Battlestar Galactica deserves to be treated with the same reverence as Breaking Bad and The Sopranos — it just owes more to science fiction, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Still, I found it well worth the time.
How to watch: The entire Battlestar Galactica franchise, including the miniseries and subsequent TV movies, is streaming on Paramount+ and Pluto TV, free with ads.
That’s the end of this week’s installment, but there’ll always be more TV to watch. I’ll be back on May 18 with new recommendations.
Think there’s something missing that deserves my TV time? Let me know what else I should have on my radar in the comments below!
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