Television

The Bear Season 2

• By Nina Sventitsky
• Photo Courtesy of FX

I did not know how much I missed the characters and storyline of The Bear’s first season. If you are a fan of Jeremy Allen White (Shameless) as I am, you were not surprised by his performance in The Bear, which dropped in Spring of 2022. Carmine (Carmy) is a chef at a michelin-noted NY eatery who gets called back home to Chicago after a family tragedy, to run his family’s sandwich shop known as the Beef. We follow him as he introduces professional-level discipline in his kitchen, scrambles to keep the cash flow above the red line and struggle with his addictions. 

The Bear’s cast is stellar and will return for Season 2. Along with the regulars are Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) in an as yet unnamed role, and Molly Gordon (Shiva Baby) as Carmy’s ex-girlfriend. The first season ended with an amazing discovery of wads of cash to save the day, and a sign hung on the door that said “The Beef is closing. Thank you for your patronage. The Bear is coming.” Until I saw this in the last frames of Season 1, I thought “The Bear”was a person. 

Season 2 has an additional two episodes (vs. Season 1). I took to this series as I did Ted Lasso, because it delivers similar poignancy, and moments of humor and reality.

For more, click here.

Jury Duty

• By Caroline Lenher
• Photo By Prime Video

If you’ve had the pleasure (read annoyance) of serving jury duty, the new show of the same name is for you.

If you are yet to report, sit in a jury room, or go through jury selection, this is a highly entertaining glimpse, and mostly realistic view, into the experience. 

Jury Duty is a delightfully light and fun hybrid of reality and scripted TV. Most content is scripted, covering jury selection, serving on a jury through a trial, deliberation, and reaching a verdict. I say the majority as all, but one individual is an actor. Ronald is the one juror who believes he is legitimately serving and entirely unscripted. Told he is in a documentary; he takes the experience seriously. When he goes off “script,” or things don’t go as planned, the cast must adjust to the new direction improv style.  

The cast represents every type of individual you encounter serving your civic duty with multiple demographics and “roles,” including the sleeping juror, enthusiastic know-it-all, and, of course, the weird guy. And, for those who served in LA, the celebrity James Marsden plays an amusing version of himself.

Advisors and some cast include lawyers and those with legal backgrounds to ensure a completely realistic experience, well almost. Watch through to the end to see how they pulled the whole thing off.

For more, click here.  

SILO

• By NINA SVENTITSKY
• Photo By Apple TV+

Your next sci fi obsession is on Apple TV+ called Silo. Based on the Wool Series of novels it features strong female characters and follows a dystopian society post-apocalypse. Thousands of people live in underground ‘silos’ unaware of why and how long they’ve been there. the outside world is toxic and dangerous. dissent and questions are tamped down. Punishment is meted out with a finality from which people never return. The cast is wonderful, you will recognize many actors. Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Rebecca Ferguson, Ian Glenn, Will Patton. 

As with many such series, you get attached to the characters who then get killed off. Answers are impossible in a manufactured world with no written historical truth available. Each episode reveals more of the society, shown in layers of the silo which goes down for hundreds of levels. This society is broken down into layers of roles. Mechanical, Agriculture and other cultures support 10,000 people isolated from all of humanity. 

The production design is spectacular, shadowy and creative – reminiscent of the original Batman films. Early on, it’s clear that the only way for the citizens to get from one level to another is my climbing or descending the giant central staircase in the Silo. it’s a character unto itself. 

The story has so many shocking plot twists, you will be shocked by the truth as it is revealed.

For more, click here.

PLATONIC

• By RICH ANDREW
• Photo By APPLE TV+

With their latest comedy series, creators Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller set out to explore the challenges of maintaining meaningful friendships no matter how hectic life may get. The story features the hilarious Rose Byrne (Physical) as Sylvia, a busy wife and mother of two, who gets a text from her old childhood friend Will, played by the always lovable Seth Rogen (Dumb Money). Despite their falling out years ago, Will reaches out to Sylvia with the sad news of his impending divorce. What starts out as Sylvia just being Will’s shoulder to cry on soon escalates into a rekindling of the good ol’ days. Their responsible adult lives become disrupted by their adolescent antics of wild nights out of dancing on bars and snorting horse tranquilizers in the bathroom. The chemistry between Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen is immediately endearing, and you can’t help but root for these two to keep sliding down their shame spiral, proving perhaps that their bad influence on each other might just be one of the few good things in their lives. With a stellar cast that also stars Luke Macfarlane (Bros), Tre Hale (All American), Andrew Lopez (Bad Vibes), Carla Gallo (Sid Is Dead), Vinny Thomas (Ashay), Ambrit Millhouse (Abbott Elementary), Alisha Wainwright (Raising Dion), and Guy Branum (Nonfiction), Platonic undoubtedly delivers all the laughs.

For more, click here.