#Bingewatch: your #TV #show guide for February 4th – 10th
Nice to see you again, bingewatcher. Let’s get right down to the nitty gritty cause we’ve got a lot of shows to cover this week. Last time the networks were taking it nice and slow, letting the superhero nonsense play out and letting you recover from the last batch of Kimmy Schmidt episodes before coming back with a few more big players.
It was awesome to see a swell of appreciation for Netflix’s Russian Doll, though, the Groundhog Day-inspired dark comedy from Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), and Leslye Headland (Sleeping with Other People). It’s taken the world by storm and we’re already desperate for a second season, or, at least, many more projects with Lyonne front and center.
This week is absolutely packed with some returning gems. Relive your adolescent trauma with Big Mouth, returning for a one-off Valentine’s Day special, or lock up your doors and get ready to face The Walking Dead. In between our anticipated faves’ triumphant comebacks, there are a few new shows here & there that we think might be winners. Let’s take a look.
Elvis Goes There (Epix)
Airs Mondays from Feb. 4th, 2019
Top of the line journalist Elvis Mitchell travels with a variety of special guests from the world of motion pictures to the places that inspire them the most. This brand new documentary series is essential viewing for blockbuster fans and cinema snobs alike, as it’ll include appearances and interviews with the likes of Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), Sofia Coppola (The Beguiled), and Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water). If you’re an aspiring filmmaker, you better be taking notes!
Man With a Plan (CBS)
Original air date Oct. 24th, 2016
Season 3 airs Mondays from Feb. 4th, 2019
Matt LeBlanc (Friends) learns that staying at home to look after the kids isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. He soon discovers that behind every innocent child lies an evil genius, and must learn to adapt to his new responsibilities and lay down the law.
American Housewife (ABC)
Original air date Oct. 11th, 2016
Season 3 continues Tuesdays from Feb. 5th, 2019
Katie Otto can’t quite fit in with her neighborhood of wealthy housewives and their pretentious children when she and her very normal family move to Westport, Connecticut. She fights to balance her down-to-earth sensibilities with her new life in this exuberant family sitcom starring Katy Mixon (Hell or High Water).
American Soul (BET)
Airs Tuesdays from Feb. 5th, 2019
Illuminating new biopic series about one of the most era-defining cultural landmarks of the 1970s through the late 20th Century that managed to launch R&B, soul, disco, and hip hop into the mainstream. Traces the story of Don Cornelius, the pioneering host of black music and dance show Soul Train from its first episode in 1971 all the way up to 1993. Expect at the very least the best TV soundtrack of 2019.
One Day at a Time (Netflix)
Original air date Jan. 6th, 2017
Season 3 available from Feb. 8th, 2019
Reimagining of the classic 1975-84 sitcom of the same name, this time switching the focus towards a Latino family, following the story of single mother Penelope Alvarez (Jane the Virgin’s Justina Machado) and two feisty teenage kids.
Trades friendly white suburbia for a more topical outlook on modern parenting, and has been praised for its takes on racism, homophobia and mental illness. Features Rita Moreno (West Side Story) as Penelope’s doting grandmother, and this season will feature a guest appearance from Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Melissa Fumero.
2 Dope Queens (HBO)
Original air date Feb. 2nd, 2019
Season 2 continues Fridays from Feb. 8th, 2019
Another set of specials from the queens of podcasting Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson. Their podcast shot to the top of the iTunes charts in 2016, and was notable for its exciting guest appearances from female comedians, comedians of color and LGBTQI comedians.
It was succesful enough to warrant a rare podcast spin-off, Ilana Glazer’s Sooo Many White Guys, plus four TV specials last year directed by Tig Notaro. Hopefully their fresh & inclusive style of humor remains a hit and we can see these specials happening again each year.
Big Mouth: My Furry Valentine (Netflix)
Original air date Sept. 29th, 2017
Available from Feb. 8th, 2019
Leave it to the grossest show on Netflix to ruin Valentine’s Day once and for all. The awkward teen comedy about bodily functions, hormones, and puberty won’t be returning for a third season for a little while, but we at least have the Big Mouth gang’s inappropriate take on the year’s most romantic holiday to tide us over. Expect uncomfortable animated sex and adolescent humor.
PEN15 (Hulu)
Season 1 available from Feb. 8th, 2019
The Lonely Island team are in their absolute element when they’re appealing to the sweet spot of 10-13-years-old, when anything goes and even the cheapest of fart gags or sexual allusions is the funniest joke you’ve ever heard.
The trio that includes Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer return to their roots for this middle school comedy, in which adult actresses Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle portray 13-year-old versions of themselves witnessing the highs, lows, and cringes of the seventh grade as it really happened.
Unauthorized Living (Netflix)
Season 1 available from Feb. 8th, 2019
Spanish acquisition from Netflix, who continue to prove that they have a fantastic eye for must-watch foreign dramas. In this new crime thriller, a Galician drug lord struggles to cope with his diagnosis with Alzheimers while his second-in-command plots to take over his business.
White Dragon (Amazon)
Available from Feb. 8th, 2019
British thriller that aired in the UK under the title Strangers in which John Simm (Life on Mars) portrays a professor whose life is thrown into chaos following his wife’s mysterious death in Hong Kong. His fear of flying has kept him isolated in London, despite his wife living and working overseas for half her life. Now, he’s forced to take a trip to identify his wife’s body, whereupon he discovers a shocking truth that will lead him through crime & conspiracy.
Features some prestige British talent alongside Simm, including Harry Potter’s Cho Chang, Katie Leung, Emilia Fox (Inside No. 9), and Tim McInnerny (Blackadder). This will also mark the first English-speaking role for the great Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong, best known for his work on the action masterpieces Hard Boiled and Infernal Affairs. At eight episodes, the series has a little more breathing room than Brit miniseries are usually used to, but the gripping premise promises tight thrills and some shocking revelations.
The Break (Netflix)
Original air date Dec. 21st, 2016
Season 2 available on Netflix from Feb. 9th, 2019
Stunning Belgian mystery finally makes its return for a second season after more than two years. Make sure to catch up on the first ten episodes before jumping in, in which a detective moves back to his home town in the midst of a strange case involving the body of an African football player. Like Twin Peaks without the doses of surrealism and kooky humor, this should satisfy fans of Lynch, David Fincher, and foreign dramas alike.
Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj (Netflix)
Original air date Oct. 28th, 2018
Season 1 continues Sundays from Feb. 10th, 2019
Netflix: Topical comedian and former Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj brings his unique voice to a number of issues facing America. From immigration and free speech to ordering products online, Minhaj expertly deconstructs modern issues to ask the questions that nobody is asking, namely what the hell is going on and should we be worried?
Private Eyes (ION)
Original air date Feb. 11th, 2018
Season 2 airs Sundays from Feb. 10th, 2019
Canadian comedy-drama that stars Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson as two private detectives who couldn’t be more different. Matt is a bumbling, neurotic former hockey player who’s recruited by Angie, a tough-as-nails PI to solve crimes around Toronto.
Slutever (Viceland)
Original air date Jan. 24th, 2019
Season 2 airs Sundays from Feb. 10th, 2019
Fearless Vogue columnist and writer for VICE Karley Sciortino translates her sexpertise from page to screen in this interview series that takes an open-minded approach to modern sex. From strippers to porn stars, furries and virtual reality, every corner of both shared and self love will be examined through Sciortino’s signature raunchy lens. This is for anyone who went through a slutty phase in college and is not afraid to admit it, or, if you’re not loud and proud, tune in and get empowered by your sexuality.
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Original air date Oct. 31st, 2010
Season 9 continues Sundays from Feb. 10th, 2019
The horror drama staggers on while more and more viewers switch to its far superior spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead. For those still invested in the apocalyptic exploits of Frank Grimes, keep your eyes open for three AMC-produced original films centered on his character, the first of which has announced production to start sometime this year. If you’re just in it for the zombie-killing, at this point we can only recommend waiting for the upcoming sequel to The Last of Us.
