You guys, it's September and you know what that means?? The return of all the good TV shows!! I have a lot of friends who like to do active things with their spouse, like hike or run or bike or travel to new, exotic places.* But me and Robert? We love to watch TV. And September is the best time for TV.
I got a major upgrade to my TV situation when I married Robert. In my late-ish twenties I was living with my best friend in an adorable downtown townhouse, working at a job that I can only describe as having a....mediocre salary. I can't speak for Brigid but I'm pretty sure we were both more concerned with spending our hard-earned cash on Friday-night drinks (and cute tops to wear out to get said drinks) than on some frivolous cable bill (........). So, I had a tiny TV in my room (it was MAYBE one square foot), a crappy DVD player, a handful of movies and the full series of Friends and Dawson's Creek on DVD. That was the extent of it. (And if you're wondering, season eight is the best season of Friends and season four is the best season of Dawson's Creek IMO).
But. My future husband had the real deal. A huge TV, six-disc DVD player and surround sound. Some of my fondest memories from our early relationship include eating dinner on his couch while watching The Blacklist, waking up at some insane hour to drink coffee and watch the US beat Russia in hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics and having midday drinks while watching Jordan Spieth win his green jacket at the 2015 Masters Tournament, a warm breeze wafting through the open screen door. Now, a few years later, we've kept up with our hobby (can I call it that?) and still tape a number of TV shows to watch when we have spare time (increasingly rare, but we'll typically watch in the evenings after Bodhi is in bed or during his occasional long Saturday nap). Here are our favorites (major networks only):
Quantico (ABC: cancelled)
This show follows a number of FBI agents, most notably Alex Parrish, from the time of their FBI training (at Quantico) to their time in the real world. The format has changed drastically since its inception (which featured a lot of flashbacks) but the story lines are smart and interesting and I really look forward to watching it every week. Unfortunately, I recently learned that it has been cancelled! This is definitely a first world problem, but it's kind of like your favorite variety of something being discontinued at the grocery store; out of your control and disappointing, lol.
Law & Order: SVU (NBC: Thursday, 10PM EST)
It feels like Law & Order has been on forever. Before we had Bodhi I used to spend every early, early Saturday morning drinking coffee and watching Law & Order re-runs on USA. And although I will admit that Olivia Benson occasionally gets on my nerves, I really do love this show. I was disappointed when Raul Esparza (Rafael Barba) departed, but I'm thinking that Peter Stone has to be Olivia's new love interest right? Please make that happen NBC. And also, Iced-T as Fin is the best.
Blindspot (NBC: Friday, 8PM EST)
This is a weird show. When the show was previewing a couple of years ago the trailer featured a hazmat scene with a concerning, lone duffel bag; everyone thought it was going to blow-up. Then it kind of shakes and a woman emerges, covered from head to toe in tattoos and having no recollection of who she is. The show has definitely taken a few creative turns since the beginning, but we're still watching...for now.
Chicago P.D. (NBC: Wednesday, 10PM EST)
I don't know if this is any better than the next cop show, but this is hands down our mutual favorite. The characters are really believable (I think they're always more so when the actors are lesser known) and the "lead" character if you will, Hank, if kind of a bad-ass. The end of last season was really heartbreaking for me (anyone else out there an Al fan?) so I'm really interested to see where this next season goes. This is part of the Chicago series (also on NBC are Chicago Fire and Chicago Med) but we've only ever gotten into PD.
There are several others that we tape, too. Robert likes Seal Team, Hawaii Five-O and any iteration of The Challenge on MTV (can you believe CT and Johnny Bananas are STILL doing those shows?). And last year I taped and occasionally watched The Voice. But with a few of our regular shows being cancelled and my decision to give up The Voice (it's just too much), we are looking forward to filling our DVR with some of the new shows that have been previewing. Here are the ones we're looking forward to the most (major networks only):
New Amsterdam (NBC: Tuesday, 10PM EST)
This is a new hospital drama that features Ryan Eggold (who played Tom Keane on The Blacklist; this was originally a great show but we lost interest). The premise seems to be that a new doctor comes in to revive a hospital that has become too focused on politics and not focused enough on patients. I really like a good hospital drama (like ER, House or maybe like Grey's Anatomy was for one or two seasons before it became ridiculous) and I also really like Ryan Eggold, so I'm looking forward to checking this out.
A Million Little Things (ABC: Wednesday, 10PM EST)
This is one of those shows that I'll probably watch for one or two seasons and then stop watching because I get sick of having to emotionally prepare (hello This Is Us). But the trailer was intriguing; a group of friends meet while stuck on an elevator and, years later, are reunited when one of them suddenly dies. From there it follows how each of their lives are changed because of that one event. We'll see how it goes.
I Feel Bad (NBC: Thursday, 9:30PM EST)
I haven't found a thirty-minute comedy that I've loved since Friends and The Office went off the air. So, I'm interested to try this one which has Amy Poehler as the executive producer. The show follows Emet, a woman who is wearing a lot of different hats (mom, wife, boss, etc.) and coming to the realization that she wears all of them imperfectly. This seems like an everyday thing to me, and so often, the good comedies are those that are about the mundane.
Manifest (NBC: Monday, 10PM EST)
This new show, a little reminiscent of Lost, is about a group of people who experience an incredibly turbulent plane ride, and, when they land, are five years in the future. I have a knack for watching shows about things that scare me in real life (like Shark Week) and since I really, really hate flying, this show is apparently right up my alley.
*I'm obviously being overly dramatic. We also like to play with our baby, cook, go for walks, try new restaurants, travel to places we can go for the weekend and work on our house.
What are your favorite TV shows (past or present)? Clearly I don't need any, but I'd love to hear your recommendations!
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