Recent TV Series

Time to update you on what I’ve been watching. Apart from my usual intake of beauty videos on Youtube, I’ve also been watching some TV series again. And before I delve head first into House of Cards (yay 5th season!), I thought I’d talk you through some of the series I’ve been watching. And this time, shock and horror, I actually watched some of these on TV. It had been years since I last watched a TV series and while it proved a challenge to watch the weekly episodes, I somehow managed to watch three TV series on TV and two via digital streaming.

Recent TV series

Taboo – James Delaney has been in Africa for years, thinking lost. But when his father dies, he is there to claim the Delaney lands in Nootka. This is a major drawback to the East India Company, who had hoped to claim the lands for themselves. This is the start of a treacherous game which has Delaney cleverly walk the line between savage and sophistication. This series is incredibly dark. Dealing with insanity, voodoo, Native American heritage, incestuous relationships and the dank, dark streets of London in the early nineteenth century, this series was an engaging watch. And it has Tom Hardy in the lead. I hope this is renewed for a second season!

The Night Manager – Jonathan Pine is the night manager at a luxury hotel in Egypt during the recent revolution when he falls in love with the mistress of Egypt’s richest and deadliest gangster. That of course doesn’t go down to well and Jonathan relocates to Switzerland where he comes eye to eye with the illustrious business contact who he holds responsible for the death of his girlfriend: Richard Roper. Philanthropist by day, arms dealer by night, Roper is on the most wanted list of both British and US intelligence. So when Jonathan is offered a job to infiltrate the Roper organization, the game of cat and mouse can truly begin. This series was great! Amazing acting, great plot, and a well-played out storyline. Oh and it has that other Tom in the lead: Tom Hiddleston.

London Spy – Ben Wishaw plays Danny who is the complete opposite of Alex. While Alex is neat, ordered and incredibly shy, Danny is a hopeless romantic and a bit of a hippy. Yet they fall for one another. But then one day Danny finds Alex, stuffed in a trunk and very much dead in his attic in a scene that Danny finds very unlike Alex. Murdered, says Danny. Suicide says the police. As Danny tries his hardest to dig into Alex’ past and find out more about the man he thought he knew, he finds out that with Alex nothing was really as it seemed. Alex worked for MI6 for starters. This was a cool series, but a little vague and sometimes overly artsy for my taste. The story line moved slowly and while still intriguing, the story kept getting weirder and weirder by the episode.

Planet Earth II – I want more! More Planet Earth. More BBC Nature documentaries and more David Attenborough. Planet Earth truly was the cherry on top and I liked how this time they also gave you an insight into how the series was made. From curious penguins to dangerous moment among tigers, this series captures nature in all its beauty. And what I’ve found is that I find these type of programmes weirdly relaxing. The music, the narration, the images: I find it’s the best way to unwind after a long day. Here to Planet Earth III!

CSI Cyber – Avery Ryan is the head of the Cyber division in Washington DC. Together with a team of hackers, a scientist and her own psychological skills, they try to piece together puzzles instigated on the deep web. From illicit drug deals, to someone using the 911 distress number to play an evil trick on people: the team cracks them all. This was the second season I saw. I still find the CSI series entertaining. I like the puzzle solving combined with the predictability of the solutions that are offered. This is true brainless entertainment. Props to Patricia Arquette in the lead and it also features that guy from Dawon’s Creek (my inner 14 year old squeas at that!)

What series are you watching?