Even though there are now new shows popping up at any time of the year, winter seems to be a bit like the new fall. A number of shows have debuted over the last couple of months, some good and some meh. Here’s a few that I’ve watched (many of you may have watched some of these already):

The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+)

While The Mandalorian was already kind of slow-paced (for a Star Wars series), this spinoff was even more of a head-scratcher in terms of what’s the point of the show and why would I keep watching it? Bounty hunter Boba Fett has been an icon ever since the original trilogy, but when the character made an appearance in The Mandalorian, fans were eager to see more adventures with him and were thrilled that he would be getting his own series. However, as intriguing as it was to find out how he survived execution by Sarlacc pit (apparently gastric juices are no match for beskar armour and a flame thrower), the subsequent story of how Fett dances with Tusken sand people, then takes over Jabba’s fallen criminal empire is far less compelling. It takes a detour to a couple of episodes out of The Mandalorian’s storyline and finding out what Din Djarin and Grogu have been up to just to keep momentum going. Nevertheless, you’ve got to give it up for Disney’s production values. The show looks like it could have been part of a Star Wars feature film. Plus, it is highly appropriate that fan favourite Boba Fett’s series should the place to bring to canonical life some other fan favourite characters such as Krrsantan (a black-furred wookie bounty hunter from the comic books) and Cad Bane (a blue-skinned mercenary made famous in the Clone Wars animated series). Now, if only they could figure out how to make the series feel worth our time and viewership.

The Gilded Age (Crave/HBO Max)

Perhaps it is appropriately snobbish that all I should care about is pedigree when it comes to being excited for a show dealing with the social upper-crust in late 19^th century New York, but when I heard that Julian Fellowes (creator of Downton Abbey) was going to writing/producing a new series, I eagerly awaited its debut. So far, it’s not bad but not quite another Downton. Featuring the story of two (I’m assuming fictional) wealthy families in New York City before the turn of the 20^th century, this show’s cast of characters is much broader, and touches more on the larger society and community of the time rather than just one family. The amazing Christine Baranski stars as Agnes, the matriarch of the old-money van Rhijn clan, while new-money neighbour Bertha Russell (played by Corrie Coon – who I am jaw-dropped to learn also played Thanos’s minion Proxima Midnight in Avengers: Infinity War), tries to claw her way into polite society despite being given enough cold shoulders to freeze the Hudson River. While I’m enjoying most of the characters, van Rhijn’s niece Marion Brook (who is arguably a main character of the show) is kind of boring, and there seem to be far too many characters whose story lines have already kicked off even within the first five episodes. I fear that like the many-coursed, opulent brunch that Mrs. Russell throws only to have no one attend, too much of a good thing will result in viewers being unable to truly savour any characters or storylines to the point of becoming committed fans. However, I believe in Fellowes’s Midas touch enough to keep watching with the expectation that viewers will be rewarded in the long run.

Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina (Amazon Prime)

This animated fantasy adventure show gave me very real flashbacks to the days of Saturday morning cartoons and I loved it (but I’m a big fantasy adventure fan, so maybe that is not a surprise). Based on a podcast (which I have not viewed/listened to) where a troupe of voice actors dramatize various fantasy role-playing game campaigns as a group of adventure characters, this show has a lot of echoes to the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show from the 80s. Animation quality has improved a lot since those days, and the show looks really good. However, though it might look good for kids, the show is clearly geared towards adults, with its gory violence, sweary dialogue, and bawdy, grown-up humour. The group of characters is a mix of classic fantasy role-playing types, and the storyline seems pretty well-developed (since I guess it was taken from the campaign that they already ran through on the podcast). It’s not an episodic story, but stretches across an entire season. One of the main characters (Percy de Rolo) seeks revenge/justice by taking out some very evil individuals who have taken over the city that his family once lovingly ruled. The rest of the merry band of heroes helps him fight the evil Briarwoods. In addition to the original voice cast from the podcast, tons of big name voices (especially to genre fans) make guest appearances, including Stephanie Beatriz, David Tennant, Indira Varma, Rory McCann, Stephen Root, Dominic Monaghan, Kelly Hu, and Gina Torres. I also love how the show brings to life a lot of tropes and conventions of fantasy fiction while still making the characters and their relationships interesting. Even if you’re not a big fantasy or animation fan, or the only thing you love from the fantasy genre has been Game of Thrones (at least until the dragons showed up), I still think it might be worth trying this show. You might be surprised that you’re a fantasy fan after all.

The Woman In The House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window (Netflix)

Apologies to anyone who loves this show or finds that it’s a clever sendup of the romance-thriller sub-genre, but as much as I love Kristen Bell as well as suspense and plot-twists, I found this show so boring and unfunny that I never made it to the “crazy ending” that has been talked about. I get that there are a lot of tropes of the genre that are easy to make fun of, like how Bell’s character has a debilitating phobia of something as mundane as rain, or how she is constantly bringing over casseroles when she visits, but simply repeating them a lot does not make them funny. The tone of the show is pretty dead-serious, even as it spoofs the genre by including some extreme elements in relatively nonchalant, deadpan ways. Kristen Bell is fine in the titular role, but she does her best work when she’s being clever and biting in to dialogue that makes her the wittiest person in the room. Watching her unravel and mope is not really seeing her best side. I don’t want to spoil too much more than I already might have, but suffice to say that despite the show’s best efforts I neither cared who may or may not have killed the girl in the window across the street, nor do I care what happens to the woman in the house across the street. Perhaps I underestimate the cleverness of the show, but I don’t expect the payoff to be satisfying, so I have to move on to something I’m a bit more excited to watch.

Murderville (Netflix)

In contrast, Murderville (which is also a Netflix original) is a much more clever parody of a similar genre (the homicide detective solving murders) because it clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously (or seem like it does). Starring Will Arnett as senior detective Terry Seattle (the title and name already get us off on a good foot for parody), each half-hour episode is part improvisation as a new celebrity guest shows up in the role of detective trainee to help Det. Seattle solve a murder. While each episode follows a pretty obvious formula/template, none of the celebrity guests are given a script. A lot of the scripted or improvised scenes are over-the-top, but there are a few laugh-out-loud moments in every episode. Guests include Conan O’Brien, Kumail Nanjiani, Sharon Stone, and Ken Jeong. Seattle’s character seems a little unhinged most of the time, and what he asks the trainees to do is often unrealistic and ridiculous, but it is also pretty funny to watch the guests adapt and play along. I almost always laugh at the part of the episode where Seattle sends the trainees “undercover” with an earpiece and they have to repeat what he says into their ears to a bunch of potentially hostile individuals. Part of that segment includes having to introduce themselves by some crazy, embarrassing, clearly-made-up pseudonyms. While each episode follows a repeated pattern leading to the moment when the guest has to reveal their pick for which suspect is the true killer (which is then confirmed or not by the chief of police – who apparently knew who was the killer all along), it’s also fun to watch the variety of ordeals that the guests have to go through: Marshawn Lynch takes part in a suspect interview but the one-way mirror has been broken, Annie Murphy has to pose as a pancake vendor to get the blessing of a food truck mafia don. While sending up very familiar tropes, this show is surprisingly clever and fun.

Reacher (Amazon Prime)

Though Tom Cruise has already adapted some of Lee Child’s novels featuring ex-military cop Jack Reacher, Amazon has done an arguably better (or at least more novel-accurate) job with its reboot as a TV series. In particular, tall and massive actor Alan Ritchson is reputedly (I have not read any of the books so I cannot confirm) a much better match than the shorter and less-muscular Cruise in the iconic Reacher role. When Reacher ends up wandering into a small, southern town at the start of an alarming spree of murders, he is immediately arrested as a suspect but very quickly switches over to the side of local law enforcement to help solve the murders (including learning about a very personal connection to the cases) and track down the conspiracy of corrupt individuals behind the bad goings-on in Margrave, Georgia. While generally I prefer the more cerebral character who wins the day by his wits rather than his fists, I have to say that I really like the Reacher character (as portrayed by Ritchson). He has a strong tranquility and bravado-free strength that is kind of unique and kind of the archetypal “strong silent type”. Despite his often close proximity to violence, one might still feel safer with him around (assuming that you are on his side). The backdrop of the decadent American South is a bit of a cliché, but it still provides a satisfying context for the overall mystery (though I’m not sure how I’d feel if I were from the South, or still living there). The only part of the show that I don’t love are the not-infrequent flashbacks to episodes of Reacher’s childhood. I know they are trying to illustrate what made him the way he is and perhaps show how he might be feeling about his current circumstances. However, I find them too often a bit cryptic and I don’t find them particularly well-written. I assume they are an element of the novels that they wanted to adapt to stay true to the books, but maybe they could have left them out.

Besides all of these shows that I’ve mentioned, there are so many new series that have appeared in the last months and also many returning shows that have come back with additional seasons and episodes. In a time when choice of TV viewing is already an embarrassment of riches, the new year/winter season is becoming quite the treasure trove.