My Summer Viewing on the Couch

Depending on when classes start, summer is officially over, and school is in session. I thought that I would take this time to write up about what shows I've watched over the summer. Of course, there are shows from Suits, Royal Pains, Hannibal, America's Got Talent, and the new series like Aquarius and Stitchers.  But I'm talking about shows that either have been on or just recently that I've never had a chance to watch. This is my summer viewing.

Daredevil 

This new series released this year has become the biggest show on Netflix, next to House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. I'm never much of a superhero series. I never watched Smallville or Agents of Shield, but when I watched this series, it blew my mind.

We all know the story of Matt Murdock, a lawyer by day and a hero by night known as Daredevil. This 13-episode series stretches out the origin story and the story of Daredevil's first time fighting crime. The series was released on April 10th, but I never watched it until a month later.

As soon as I watched the series' first two episodes, I was hooked and amazed. Charlie Cox playing Murdock/Daredevil is fantastic, and may I say that he's way better than Ben Affleck. When I first saw this guy, I thought it was Will Forte. He hit a home run, but I was impressed with former Law & Order CI star Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk. D'Onofrio hit a grand slam. He was dark and scary, and the character was well done.

This is one of the darkest shows and Marvel series I've ever seen, and I'm counting the films, too. This is what comic-book series and the Marvel Universe should be like: dark and edgy.

Arrow

Speaking of comic-book series, after watching Daredevil on Netflix, I had a chance to binge-watch one of the popular series on cable television, Arrow.

I've heard of the show, and my first thought was, okay, this might be something. I could never watch it because I don't have The CW and always forget to watch it online. So my chance to watch was not disappointing at all.

I was amazed and thought to myself after watching the first season that this seemed to be like what Daredevil was with its origin story by mixing it in with each episode. But the issue is that it could be too long for me to sit and watch all 24 episodes of this series. I did manage it and enjoyed it quite dearly.

Stephen Arnell is unique and gives an excellent performance as the Green Arrow. I enjoy watching Oliver learn from the art of crime, fighting the ups and downs, and facing his fears when he gets his ass kicked by The Archer. I have to give a lot of credit to Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Marc Guffenheim for bringing this series to the airwaves and other shows from The Flash, soon-to-be Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl coming to CBS. I wonder if there will be any more. I hope it's maybe a Batgirl series.

I haven't started watching season two yet, and hopefully will get through season three before the fourth season begins this October.

Mr. Robot 

I was so engaged in watching this series from watching the trailer. Mr. Robot had so much buzz around social media and critics. The series is about Elliot Anderson, who works at a computer security company daily and is a hero by night for catching criminals through the web. But he gets picked up by a man who goes by Mr. Robot, played by Christian Slater. He wants Elliot to take down ECorp (Evil Crop). But things get twisted, and Elliot realizes what's going on.

Rami Malek puts on a fantastic performance. He'll be up for awards for this series—the definition of hitting a home run performance. Not to mention that it's got a great cast, from Christian Slater to Carly Chalkin to Portia Doubleday.

The best part is that this series was renewed for a second season just before the series premiere. What perfect timing for this series to come on the airwaves, with the internet hacking of Sony and Ashley Madison situation.

You can watch the show on demand and catch the series finale this Wednesday night at 10/9c on USA Network.

Bloodline 

You can see where I've been staying most of this summer, at the Netflix Inn. This series, Bloodlines, was such a thrilling and gripping series I've seen.

The series is about a family whose eldest son comes back and brings hell and threatens to bring the family down. He was starring Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) and Linda Cardellini (ER and Freaks and Geeks), along with a great supporting cast.

The show was such a delight,t with enough thrill and suspense that I wanted more. I recommend this series. The series was renewed for a second season that will air sometime next year. Kyle Chandler received an Emmy nomination for his role in this series, and don't be surprised if he wins because he's outstanding.

List of recommendations:

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Netflix
Aquarius, NBC
The Flash, The CW
The Liaison, Showtime
The Americans, FX
Sirens, USA/Netflix
Playing House, USA
Chipped, TBS

So I guess most of my summer I spent watching on Netflix. And now that the summer is over and only a month away, the new television season begins. I'm looking forward to recent seasons of these shows and others in the coming months