Which TV Shows made Show Snob’s Weekly 10: June 26, 2023

We have seen a nice number of premieres in the last week or so that have really spiced things up. Consequently, Show Snob’s Weekly 10 has seen a big shake-up.

Best TV Shows To Watch (Week of June 26)

1. The Bear (Hulu)

The much-anticipated season 2 of The Bear was released this week. This season, they are converting the restaurant from the fast-food Italian Beef category to a fine dining restaurant.

The entire crew is back including Jeremy Allen White (Shameless), Ayo Edebiri (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), and Chris Elliott’s daughter Abby (Cheaper by the Dozen). There are issues with construction, hiring, the menu, compensation, permits, the fire suppression system, and lots of other stuff.

The Bear maintains its combination of humor, sweet relationships, depressed and moody characters (they actually fixed Richie), great music (REM, Squeeze, The Refused, Ramones, Replacements, and, of course, Taylor Swift), and the ability to get the audience to cheer for the underdog. The Bear is a must see.

If you live in or around Chicago, they do the city great justice showcasing restaurants like Ever, Avec, and Pequod’s. Maybe not the best episode, but definitely the most interesting, is the 1 hour 6-minute episode 6 that shows just how dysfunctional Carmen’s family is and stars Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween), Oliver Platt (Chicago Med), John Mulaney (Big Mouth), Bob Odenkirk (Lucky Hank), Sarah Paulson (every season of American Horror Story), and Jon Bernthal (American Gigolo).

2. High Desert (Apple TV+)

What a strange finale. With the gangsters shooting each other and the other gangster getting accidently shot by the police and Guru Bob running off, I am not sure how Peggie is going to get her reward money or if they are going to try to sell the Guru’s wife’s forgeries.

It seemed like a very abrupt end to season 1 with not much closure (just Peggy about to be shot out of a cannon), but I’ll definitely be watching the next season the minute it comes out.

3. Platonic (Apple TV+)

A bit of a more cringy episode as Rose Byrne (Physical) makes all the wrong decisions and gets fired after her first day of work. There is still a couple of good laughs this week, especially the meeting with the artist and, of course, the dick face portrait.

Platonic is still the best comedy out there right now.

4. Based on a True Story (Peacock)

This show gets better every episode. The psycho serial killer is hysterical and the way they rationalize working him with him is fantastic.

The fantasy scenes definitely make it difficult to figure what is happening and what is fake, but sometimes they are the funniest parts. If you had to vote for the best character, it would be really tough.

Chris Messina (Air) is fantastic, and Kaley Cuoco (Flight Attendant) is doing Cuoco things, but Ruby is out of control (Priscilla Quintana). Tom Bateman (The Westside Ripper) has great lines when he goes into serial killer mode, and the sister/roommate spins the one-liners as fast as anyone.

The ending isn’t great, but it is a great ride.

5. The Righteous Gemstones (MAX)

The kids are now in charge of the church as Eli (John Goodman) heads into retirement and things are not going so well. The first episode has them losing a huge donor.

The second episode has the nationwide group of ministers threatening to leave, which ends in a shoe fight. And the third episode is Cousins night with the Montgomerys and Gemstones.

The show remains really funny while creating crazy circumstances like Eli’s sister’s family as part of a southern militia. Though it feels like the show is struggling to find new topics, it is still quality entertainment featuring the three worst siblings in the world.

6.. Silo (Apple TV+)

Now that we know that it is really Bernard who is spying on the entire Silo, we finally get a glimpse of the true betrayal of the Silo administration against its inhabitants. It is hard to believe that Juliette can continue to evade Judicial for too much longer, so it is good luck that the season finale is next week.

7. The Rising (The CW)

Yet another person is able to see Neve, could this be her killer? I like the supernatural angle that we are taking in the woods, but it is unraveling very slowly.

8. Never Have I Ever (Netflix)

There are many different teenage, try-to-be comedies out there, but not many are doing it correctly. Never Have I Ever is your savior.

9. Black Mirror (Netflix)

Black Mirror released five episodes for its anthology series. The first episode always starts big and they didn’t disappoint with an episode with Salma Hayek (Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard), Rob Delaney (The Man Who Fell to Earth), and Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).

The episodes seem to be very techno-media based, with the first episode being a twist on reality TV. Pretty good stuff.

I would skip the Aaron Paul episode, 1.5 hours and slow moving, but the rest are pretty good. My order to watch: Episode 1, 5, 4, 2, 3.

10. Break Point (Netflix)

If you are a fan of all the Netflix sports docuseries like Formula One: Drive to Survive or Full Swing, you will like Break Point, which is the tennis version. If you don’t like tennis, you should still watch Break Point and you will like tennis after you watch it.

If you like tennis, it is a much watch. The series goes from one tournament to another, starting with Wimbledon and going through the US Open.

They mostly focus on the younger generation of men’s and women’s players, which gets very interesting when they are about to play a Rafael Nadal or a Novac Djokovic. The main problem, like all these shows, is the one-year time lag.

The fact that they are showing Wimbledon 2022 (when Wimbledon 2023 is starting very soon), instead of the French that just finished a couple of weeks ago is a problem.

Great Shows That You Need To Know About That Did Not Make Show Snob’s Weekly 10

• Swagger (Apple TV+): Coming back for a long awaited second season, Swagger takes place in the kids’ junior year (3 years after season 1, though it has only been about 2 years). The focus is now on high school baseball where Jace, played by Isaiah R. Hill, is looking to repeat as a state champion and get an offer from the right colleges.

O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Cocaine Bear) is lured to coach Jace’s high school team as the current head coach leaves to for the University of North Carolina. Jace goes to a wealthy, private high school and you can bet there will plenty of culture clash between Icon (Jackson) and school administration. Swagger, though predictable, is a great youth basketball show with plenty of sports action.

• I’m a Virgo (Amazon Prime Video): Definitely the weirdest show that we’ve seen in a while. This is the story of a teenager, Cooti, who is 13 feet tall, has been shielded from society by his parents/guardians his entire life. As if his height wasn’t weird enough, the social awkwardness brings it home once he starts leaving the house.

In the backdrop of this story, is a strange superhero angle, with a real-life super here called The Hero played by Walton Goggins (The Shield). There is also commentary around corporate greed, systemic racism, and underinvested communities. We watch Cooti dance, try to navigate restaurants that he can’t fit in, bench press cars, curl kegs of beer, and other oddities. This show is strangely good.

•  The Crowded Room (Apple TV+): Now I get that they know, that we know, that all of Danny’s personalities know, that he has serious issues. The show isn’t as frustrating once you have this realization, and now I think this show is really trending up.
• Deadloch (Amazon Prime Video): Australian crime drama with two detectives with very different approaches. One has a very dry sense of humor and the other is outrageous. Pretty funny show with an interesting mystery.
• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX): Dennis teaches Mac and Dee how to pick up a man, but they completely fail the system on their first dates. But Frank beats the Russians in chess. America’s five worst people in the world continue the pranks and laughter.

There is rarely a reason to go back and watch previous episodes, but if you are confused about today’s economic environment, the premiere about inflation is probably all you need to rectify your investment portfolio.

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+): If you haven’t watched Strange New Worlds, it is a throwback to the original series from the 1960’s. There is not much of a recurring story line (so you don’t have to watch season 1). Each episode is an independent show, albeit with the same characters. Strange New Worlds takes place before the time of Captain Kirk, Captain Pike, played by Anson Mount (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), is in charge of the enterprise and Spock is just a kid.

The first episode has Spock stopping a war between the Federation and Klingons. Not a bad             start. The next episode was a narrative around racism/literal alien discrimination which                       doesn’t play as well.

• Cruel Summer (Freeform): Megan has been caught in so many lies it is hard to know what is real at this point. The show also seems to be slowly and quietly leaking important information, like the fact that Luke disappeared before he was killed. I sometimes feel like I watch a whole episode and I can’t remember anything significant that happened. However, it is still an interesting show and I definitely want to know how we get from point A to point B.
• Manifest: The series ended as sappy and overacted as it started. But if you like the mythology of the whole thing, it was a pretty good biblical fantasy show. It doesn’t turn to preachy or too worshippy, they do a nice job with that. If you have watched the other seasons, it is worth finishing up.
• Class of ’09 (Hulu): Tricky business when the AI you created decides that it is against the law to try to shut it down. Then, has you arrested when you try to shut it down. Then you blackmail some people to have it shut down. This show just misses being great.
• City on Fire (Apple TV+): The season finale recovered from the horrible Episode 7, but the show still doesn’t get very high marks overall, unfortunately. It starts out really well but ends on a very Murder She Wrote note. The story ending with Samantha waking up, Lorraine knowing how to disarm a bomb, Charlie as Regan’s long-lost son, and the missing children was somewhat insulting.
• Secret Invasion (Disney): Starring Samuel L Jackson (Avengers), Secret Invasion is an extension to the Captain Marvel franchise where Nick Fury is supposed to be helping the Skrulls find a new planet. It seems like at least some faction of the Skrulls are not going to wait any longer and they would like Earth instead. The debut definitely felt like one of the better Marvel series in a long time.
• Gotham Knights (The CW): Is cancelled (too bad) so why bother?

Wait And See

• The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC): At the end of The Walking Dead, Negan and Maggie had repaired their relationship, but the new series seems to go back in time when they are still at each other’s throats constantly. In the new series, based in Manhattan, Negan is supposedly helping Maggie get her son back after the new Hilltop was raided. The first couple of episodes were not too bad (Negan is funny again), which is a little shocking since the end of The Walking Dead wasn’t great and Fear the Walking Dead has thus far been disappointing.
• The Clearing (Hulu): This show is starting to run off the rails where it is really tough to follow the different timelines and understand if the mystery or plot is moving forward. There is a possibility that this show makes a comeback, but we are demoting The Clearing to Wait and See.
• And Just Like That (MAX): Charlotte, Carrie, Miranda, Che, and everybody else is back for season 2. Like the The Walking Dead, Manifest, and other shows we have dedicated years to, we have to keep watching the Sex and The City franchise.

The first two episodes of this season were better than any episode from last season (the first episode way better than the second), but the hour-long format is still too long for this show. Sarah Jessica Parker has some great one-liners, and they did a decent job of adding some raunch and sex, but this show has a way to go to get even to good status.

• Glamorous (Netflix): I’ll watch anything with Kim Cattrall and I’ll watch all of this show. There is probably no coincidence that her show debuted the same day as And Just Like That. But it needs something a little more. More laughs, more sex, more dirty, more something.
• The Other Two (MAX): Too cringy, too dark, too serious, which is too bad.

Don’t Wait and Don’t See

• Fear The Walking Dead (AMC): It felt like we saw the end of Dwight and Morgan’s story last week. Morgan said he was going to look for Rick Grimes, which means they may pass him on to that Walking Dead spinoff later this year. The last couple of episodes have been frustrating. Why is a 10 year-old in charge of everything all the sudden? It took Grace about 5 hours to die and I was so disappointed that she did not take her daughter with her because now we have to listen to her for the rest of the season. I spent 7 years watching this show, so I have to finish it, but it doesn’t mean you have to.
• The Idol (MAX): This show makes no sense. Nobody would act like this or tolerate this type of behavior. And it isn’t over the top enough to make it funny or a guilty pleasure.

Which of the following shows from our list have you watched? Which one did you enjoy the most?

Let us know in the comments below!