Hey there lovely readers.

Thanks for your patience, it’s been a few months since I’ve updated this but I was just reading this article on finding my passion and it inspired me to stop doubting myself and to keep following my bliss.

Depression sucks, and it gets even worse when you start weaponizing your intrusive thoughts to prevent you from following your bliss. In my case, it was convincing myself that what I write here and what I post doesn’t really matter, nobody’s going to read it (especially if I am not updating it regularly), I may as well just give up and keep slogging along at my actual day job. But fuck that. Who cares? And I mean that in a good way. I like writing this blog about TV, and even if in my sad, anxious haze I’ve obsessively kept Downton Abbey on as a background show since January, there’s still a wealth of topics that I’m crazy passionate about and still have a drive to share my thoughts. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ve also considered and am pretty jazzed about the idea of braiding in my journey with mental health into whatever is applicable on here. It obviously has an effect on my ability to act in some cases, and rather than try to shut the world out of that mix, I want to try including it in the conversation. It’s something I live with, and I am definitely not the only one. Mental health is a part of everyone’s daily life and that includes the shows and films I watch, what I’m in the mood for, and what I don’t want to see; so why not include it here too? And in the spirit of committing to my passion and maintaining a significantly more regular schedule on here, I’m creating a schedule of topics and due dates for myself. Hooray accountability.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who leaves the same tv show on for months at a time out of comfort, and if you’re wondering why you do it, there’s an easy answer — anxiety! Psychology Today wrote this article about why people have comfort shows, and after reading it, I would say that definitely tracks with me. I like the comfort of having a show on that I already know what happens, I already know what’s going to happen so I’m not anxious about the Will They Or Won’t They, and after any type of emotionally taxing day, my brain just wants something familiar on. So if this sounds like you too, don’t beat yourself up about not trying new stuff. Sometimes all you need is a little more of the familiar to feel better. I will add though, my one complaint about many of my favorite anxiety shows is when the theme song is 50 decibels higher than the dialog. Looking at you, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Rec, and The Office. It’s hard to fall asleep when every 22 minutes you get another Do Do DO Do DOOOOOOO.

I’ll spare you my thoughts about Downton Abbey (for now) and instead focus on the new shows and films that I did watch during these few months.

Bad Sisters - I really enjoyed this quick 6-episode series about the five Garvey sisters and the aftermath of an untimely death. I like the way the story flows, beginning at the end and flashing between what the cast is dealing with currently as well as the moments before. The theme of abusive relationships is a main part of the story arc and I think the writers did a good job of showing what these can look like from the inside and outside. It makes me wish I had siblings who would be as caring as the Garvey sisters. Or any siblings.

Abbott Elementary - I absolutely love this show. It is very reminiscent of Parks and Rec but the story and the character development is very there already in Season 1. We follow a few teachers at the Willard R. Abbott Elementary School in Philadelphia. Besides the cadre of teachers, we also have the very sassy Ava as principal, and Mr. Johnson as the friendly janitor. I can’t recommend this show enough.

Succession - I’m fairly late to the bandwagon on this one, but only because it took me watching the first season through twice to “get it.” I don’t know what took me so long to connect with the insanity of the Logan clan, but once I gave this show the college try I was glad I did. The show has only escalated in intensity and antics since Season 1, and the final season is really delivering on chaos. I can’t decide who my favorite character is, but maybe that’s because everybody on this show is their own brand of piece of shit, but I love watching every minute of it.

Wednesday - I really liked the way that this family was rebooted into a Netflix show. The casting was a chef’s kiss, and the way that Christina Ricci was incorporated into the new show is a great nod to the OG Wednesday. As a tall woman I also love anything with Gwendolyn Christie in it, and she also shines. The story is original, it kept me in suspense the whole season, and I can’t wait for the next one.

The Bear - Jeremy Allen White really took this show and ran with it. This show about a local Chicago Italian beef shop is packed with so much story in such a beautifully told way. This failing restaurant is learning how to repair itself emotionally and financially after the owner commits suicide. And White’s character Carmy is also dealing with his own slew of emotional turmoil after a stint on the Michelin side of restauranteering. There’s so much more to be said that will hopefully trickle into the second season and I just can’t wait. This is a must-watch if you haven’t already.

The Boys - This is not a new show but it was new to me. Boy howdy, when I heard it was violent I just thought to myself, okay sure, check on violence. And it is so much more than that. This show paints a tapestry of story with its unconventional heroes and villains that I can’t get enough of. The violence is on another level of creativity and gore (you really, really have to be okay with violence to watch this show) but to be honest it doesn’t feel over the top to me. Yeah sure, a man chokes out another man with his retractable penis, but did I expect that? Absolutely not. Did I enjoy trying to figure out how they CGed that whole scene? You bet your less retractable penis I did.

Dead to Me - I watched this over Christmas break after being told by multiple people that I should watch this show, and none of them were wrong. This is a really fun, quick show about forgiveness and friendship, and it was really fun to watch two wonderfully powerful women portray that. I really love Linda Cardellini and Christina Applegate from various other stuff I’ve seen them in, and I feel like in this show you can really see their whole range as well as their potential. I wish they were case in more stuff, and I really hope that Christina Applegate is doing okay post diagnosis.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you NEXT WEEK. Promise.