As summer officially begins, hot new/returning shows might be giving the lacklustre summer box office a run for its money. The scheduling of the highly-anticipated return of The Boys within the three-week gap between the two batches of new Stranger Things episodes reminds me a lot of the old “opening weekend” shuffling that used to determine which movies would be coming out when. From my end, this means that the number of episodes that I need to watch to stay current just keeps going up (even despite my best efforts) — again, it’s too much TV (in a good way)!

The Boys

If you came to season three of The Boys thinking that this super-satire couldn’t possibly up the ante on squelchy, head-exploding violence, twisted and extreme sex, or tension so thick you couldn’t cut it with laser eye-beams, then you’d be dead-wrong. So many plot developments continue from the last season. Butcher and the boys are working for the CIA (though they pretty much follow their own anti-supes agenda). Hughie is trying to help senator Victoria Neuman keep supes in check by putting on a suit and tie (little does he suspect that his new boss makes heads explode in a squelch of blood). Plus he’s now the celebrity boyfriend of Starlight, who returned to the Vought lion’s den. Of course, Homelander is becoming even more paranoid and psychotic than ever. I’m really enjoying this action-packed season so far. I feel like the stakes have never been higher as Homelander grows more and more powerful (even in non-super ways). I feel so engaged with the storyline that I’m just as driven as all the “good” characters to find a weapon to stop him. To that end, they’ve added a new character named Soldier Boy (played by Supernatural‘s Jensen Ackles), who’s basically a darker version of Captain America, and we’re all waiting to see if and how he will be the key to defeating Homelander. I can’t wait to find out, however, I admit that I do feel a bit exhausted watching this show sometimes. The outlook is super-cynical and it’s tough to watch the villains (who are only perhaps a little worse than the heroes) keep getting the upper hand. I also get a bit numb to the deviant sexual stuff and the extreme-yet-nonchalant violence, but I also find the writing and the acting enjoyable and compelling. Sometimes I want to switch it off, yet I can’t look away.

Ms Marvel

On the opposite end of the spectrum has been Ms Marvel — the latest MCU streaming series on Disney+. I know most people loved Wandavision or maybe Moon Knight, but I think that so far I have enjoyed Ms Marvel more than any of the others. The series is about a teenage girl, Kamala Khan, living in the MCU’s New Jersey, who is a huge fan of Captain Marvel. Thanks to a magical bangle that she puts on, she discovers that she also has supernatural powers (though nothing that resembles her idol) and suddenly her life gets turned upside-down. Admittedly the plot of the story is not a new one. Add to that the high-school, teenage context and it might feel very familiar. However, this show makes up for that with a lot of heart and charm. Canadian actor Iman Vellani is wonderful as the title character, and she has a great pair of sidekick friends (mirroring some of what made Tom Holland’s Spider-man so fun). However, what I have enjoyed the most has been the Pakistani-Muslim culture that is showcased front and centre. I love the characters of Kamala’s parents (seeing her father painted green in order to connect with his daughter by cosplaying the Hulk with her at a local super-hero convention was a riot). They are both so loving and their personalities are charmingly parental–I can’t get enough of them. Also, her family is an active part of the Muslim community and so we get treated to a wonderful and humourous taste of it through all the side-characters and the cultural events that occur within the show — I tell you, I never tire of scenes where characters break out in Bollywood dance numbers — the energy levels are off the charts. I’m still waiting to see how this show fits in with the rest of the MCU Phase 4 movies and shows (apart from a nice Easter-egg reference to how Kamala’s mom was obsessed with Kingo–one of the Eternals, and a big Bollywood star). This series is lighter and plays out on a much smaller scale. However, when the “villains” of this show made themselves known, I felt like we were back into the Marvel action and swashbuckling that is shared by all its stories.

The Umbrella Academy

Hot off the servers, this series just returned to Netflix today but I’ve watched three episodes already. I confess that I was not crazy about the second season, where each of the Umbrella Academy were separately lost in time and basically just going through their own story of living life in whatever period they were in. However, I was super excited by the season two finale cliffhanger when they returned “home” and ended up in an alternate timeline (maybe?) where they had been replace by the super-powered Sparrow Academy (and brother Ben was still alive). I couldn’t wait to return and meet the Sparrow Academy and learn more about this alternate reality (Is this the year of the multiverse or what!). The first episode was awesome, as the two teams clash (and equally awesome how much 80s music plays a role). In true The Umbrella Academy fashion, the main weird thing is not the only weird thing. In fact, there are so many other weird things all around that it’s a challenge to figure out what is the main weird thing. Anyway, there’s also some glowing ball of energy in the basement, and the mother-robot of the Sparrow Academy apparently worships it as a god. Oh, and there’s also a mysterious out-of-place-looking man following the Umbrellas (reminding me that I kind of miss the Swedes — the three Nordic assassins from last season, remember?). By the second episode, however, there is less team vs team conflict as they both go to their corners to regroup. The Umbrellas each take on their own storylines (including incorporating Elliot Page’s gender transition as a plot point for Vanya/Victor’s story as well). So far, this show has managed to keep all its good things (I love that we still get Number 5’s smart-mouth personality, and Aidan Gallagher gives a wonderful performance as always) while improving on some of the less interesting things that bogged down previous seasons (including the frustratingly convoluted and confusing Temps Commission — who were maybe defeated last season). I can’t wait to see where the rest of the season goes (and thanks to Netflix not doing the Stranger Things split on this show, I can watch the rest whenever I’m ready).

Night Sky

I don’t know if people realize that Amazon Prime has a side-hustle in low-key science fiction shows — the kind of subtle, character-focused stories that look at ordinary people living ordinary lives except they have been affected by particular science-fictional things. I’ve previously mentioned Tales from the Loop, a series that I love, where folks living in a small American town quietly experience time-travel, robotics, cybernetics and other out-of-this-world stuff. Amazon also has Soulmates (where a highly advanced and accurate soulmate test affects the lives of various individuals) and Solos (an anthology telling dramatic stories around various sci-fi themes like cloning, smart homes, memory technology, and time travel). Night Sky fits in well with that milieu. It starts out with an older American couple, played superbly by Oscar winners Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons as Irene and Franklin York. At first they appear the same as any other aging couple, coping with deteriorating health as they try to enjoy their golden years. However, it’s quickly revealed that a secret chamber in their backyard leads to a portal which leads to an observation room on a strange, deserted (presumably distant) planet. The show is quiet, focusing mostly on the lives of these normal folk (and the people around them), while slowly teasing out the details and the mysteries of the extraordinary planet that Irene and Franklin apparently visit the way many of us curl up with a good book or chill with Netflix. As the episodes go on, we meet other characters and find out more about this portal and this other planet, but each new detail brings with it even more questions. I have not made it very far into the show, but I am super-intrigued by what is going on. I’m also a little nervous — which happens a lot with supernatural mystery shows (Remember the disappointing finale of Lost?) — and I really need the reveal and the resolution of the mysteries to be satisfying.

I’m having a blast with all these shows. So much still to watch (I’m not making a dent in my movie backlog!) that it’s almost too much of a good thing! I’m glad that the age of “peak TV” is still in full swing — and might even be making a bit of a sci-fi twist.