Do none of you people have Showtime? Someone tell me about The Trade. I have seven episodes on the dvr and I need to know if it's worth my time.
So y'all broke dicks actually don't have Showtime. Anyway I did watch The Trade this weekend, this show is incredible. It's into the second season. The first season was an inside look at the heroin trade. It's a documentary series. There is no narrator, they have their cameras in all of these incredible places. They are with a Mexican drug cartel who grows the poppy, makes the heroin, and traffics it into the usa. They follow a couple of different law enforcement agencies, and a few addicts. The first season are five, forty minute episodes. The less is more approach is great.
The second season is current and they are exploring human trafficking and immigration. They are following a family coming to America from Honduras to seek asylum. They are again embedded with a few LEOs, and with a girl who was sex trafficked out of a church in Mexico. It's as powerful of a documentary as I've ever seen. They put their crew in some very dangerous situations.
My broke dick doesn't have showtime but I heard they're doing a 30 day trial or something during the quarantine. I usually pay $5 to sign up for a month via amazon and catch up on Homeland. I am curious about Black Monday too, and not will have to check out The Trade I guess.
As far as cable network series go, I think HBO has been passed by Showtime, particularly in the comedy and drama genres. If SciFi, mystery, fantasy is your gig then HBO is still the go to.
I will give a quick synopsis on all showtime shows I now watch, I've only had it for 16 months. Note, their three most popular shows, Ray Donovan, Homeland and Shameless, I don't watch. I just don't have time to binge as many seasons as I lost. My wife started binging Shameless during the COVID shut down and she loves it.
The Trade- Won't revisit my review. I will say that this is the best show on the network. I wouldn't recommend it more than anything else, just because the series has so few episodes. Easily bingable in half of a day.
The Circus- Another docuseries. This show has multiple political operatives just following campaigns and the president around getting really good inside info and footage. There is no slant and everyone, including the trump white house seem to love these guys and gals. Kinda like Axios but much more intended to entertain and inform.
Black Friday- It's a comedy but it isn't a slap stick comedy, nor is it irreverent like Veep. The comedy is very situational. It's a dramedy but doesn't hit you over the head, it's a very easy watch. Last night's episode might have been the best one and I didn't even chuckle on the inside. They nail the details of the mid 80's and the cast is awesome.
Our Cartoon President- This is my favorite show on television right now, well after last night it's gone until the fall. The show is written by Colbert and his crew. It started out as a comical look at trump and the white house. This season was primarily mocking the dems and it was fantastic. If you attempt to binge this show, start with season 3, then go to 2, then 1. The best work with this show is not with trump, because that's easy, it's the mockery of everyone else that is great. They also write these the week of they air, so the comedy is always fresh. The only other cartoon I watch is The Boondocks, but this show is the funniest on television, if you're into politics anyway. They kill everyone.
Billions- A phenomenal drama basically about a slimy hedge fund manager and a slimy prosecutor and his double slimy wife who works for the hedge fund manager. I didn't know a whole lot about hedge funds, and still don't, but you don't need to know to really get into this show, although I'm sure it helps. I've read the hedge fund aspects of the show are pretty realistic. The writing and acting are top notch. The person who wears the baby face title and the heel seem to swing each episode. I generally get tired of television dramas after a couple of seasons, even good ones like This Is Us, because the drama seems never ending and forced. This isn't the case for Billions, I could watch this show every single day for the rest of my life.
The Chi- This show follows the lives of Black Americans in the city of Chicago. Yes, there is gun violence, but the show doesn't focus on that. It is just a well written show, very funny at times, that explores the complex nature of black people in Chicago with a healthy amount of Black Excellence mixed in. This is not the show for KSUW.
City on a Hill- This is a period piece about crime and corruption in Boston in the early 90's, after the Charles Stuart incident. It stars Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Jill Hennessy. Pretty formulaic crime drama, but the cast is great, the writing is excellent, and it's Boston and the 90's , what a combo!
Couples Therapy- Exactly what it it says it is. A 30 minute look into couples therapy sessions, the season follows the same 3 or 4 couples as they attend therapy sessions. It is odd watching people in actual therapy sessions and you wonder about the ethics of this and what the couples are giving you considering there life is being shown to the world. One guy, you hope he is just an exaggerated version of himself, because it's hard to believe that someone could be so self absorbed.
Desus & Mero- Two dudes sitting around shooting the crap. If this is your thing, you already know about these dudes. The show isn't as good as it was on Vice.
On Becoming A God in Central Florida- A really rough ridin' odd but engaging show. It stars Kirsten Dunst. They sold it as a comedy, but it's definitely a dramedy. It's about a woman who becomes a single mother because of a pyramid scheme. It takes place in Florida. Often the joke seems to be at the expense of poor white people. The show is great, but a part of me feels uncomfortable essentially laughing at crackers.
They also have a lot of shows I like that aren't aired anymore:
Murder in the Bayou- A real life true detective, first season of TD, murder mystery. I have no idea how the story told wasn't more widely told in mass media, it's something.
The Loudest Voice- The story of the founding of Fox and Roger Ailes. Stars Russell Crowe and won a bunch of emmys and golden globes.
Escape at Dannemora- Drama about the prison escape at a New York prision, this one did get a lot of airtime, great cast.
Action- Docuseries about sports gambling, there are some interesting characters in this one, including our friend Kelly In Vegas, spoiler she is portrayed much differently than most here, including me, views her.
Long post summarized, Showtime is rough ridin' awesome. I watch it more than HBO, network shows, and netflix combined. This is even before they are getting Vice News from HBO starting next week.
Topic: Shows that have you by the balls, or vag... (Read 1253453 times)
