Broadchurch

And we're back to the doom and gloom. Crime and drama, depression, deep dark secrets--this show has it all.

--BUT--

Broadchurch is completely bingeworthy. Despite the weight of the content, it keeps you wanting to know what happens next.

My biggest complaint was the gap between the end of season one and season two being released. Many questions were left unanswered in the first season. The main plot of the series was well concluded, but some character development seemed to be lacking. All fears were allayed when season two came out, but boy was it a long wait.

Then there's this...

I don't even have to tell you, he said it himself.

But for real, David Tennant is fantastic. Many are familiar with him now because of Jessica Jones, Doctor Who, or Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Some may be surprised to find that he's also a Shakespearean actor... or maybe you're not surprised, because he's so freaking good. Regardless of whether you're familiar with him or have never heard of him before, he alone is worth sitting down and watching this show from beginning to end.

Olivia Colman plays the foil to David Tennant's character so that you can't imagine anyone else being in the part. Her character anchors the show to a kind of reality most anyone can relate to. 

And she's so darn likable!

The chemistry between the two characters is what keeps this show from being entirely too dark. There's humor in the doom, and it works perfectly. 

Coming up: House of Cards

The result of the poll of what show I should watch next is House of Cards. I started it, and I have to say, it's looking good.

He does have a way with words.....

Psych

In case you think I only watch heavy, emotional, dramatic, heartbreaking, therapy-requiring shows, I'm happy to say that's not true.

The thing about Snapchat is that anyone can, with very little effort, be very entertaining. Oh, wait, I was blogging about Psych, not my new favorite social media. I guess I'm easily distracted, like the main character, Shawn.

This is one more of those Sherlockian characters that it seems the world just can't get enough of. (See Elementary, or The Mentalist, or Sherlock, or maybe even Chuck.) One character, endowed somehow with supernormal* abilities of deduction and crime solving, joins up with law enforcement to do what they can't... catch bad guys. The concept doesn't have much bearing in the real world, but it makes a fascinating fictional study. What if there was that one person that could solve the unsolvable?

*Supernormal: a word I made up meaning more than normal, but lacking the connotation of something unexplainable by science.

Silliness aside, there's more than one reason to watch this show. For one--well, the silliness. The show is full of gags and jokes. The two main characters, Shawn and Gus, play off each other well in every circumstance, whether they're getting along or fighting. They depict a kind of friendship that is refreshing to see on a TV show. 

Two friends who are wholly committed to their friendship. They're not without their trials, of course, which leads to the next point. The show has subtle depths that are well illustrated in the relationship of the main characters and their relationships with others. It's almost a coming of age story for the millennial who has fought adulthood tooth and nail. 

So, to binge or not to binge? Binge, definitely. Maybe even watch a few episodes between episodes of one of those darker, heavier, depressing shows that I keep loving. 

Wallander

First of all, the fact that I googled "Wallander gifs" and there were only gifs of Tom Hiddleston is both sad and fantastic.

I know no one cares as much as I do.

In general, I don't expect that most people are aware of this show. It has a weird description -- a Swedish crime drama cast with British actors and produced by BBC.

What?

Here are a few fun facts about it.

1. It did the three one-and-a-half-hour-episodes-per-series thing before Sherlock. Because it worked for them, Stephen Moffat did it with Sherlock.
2. It was the second time Tom Hiddleston and Kenneth Branagh worked together before Hiddleston was cast in Thor, which skyrocketed his career. (Feel free to fact check that, I'm now questioning whether or not it's technically true.)
3. Nicholas Hoult guest starred on the show, also toward the beginning of his career. 

I'm going to give this show the same caveat I gave Luther. Binge with care! It's an emotionally wrecking show. 

In a good way. 

Similar to Luther, it follows the events in one Swedish law enforcement officer's life. (But Luther isn't Swedish. It's not similar in that way.) I keep throwing out that it's set in Sweden because I think that it's intriguing, but it's not a distracting factor of the show. Every once in a while a character will have a name I'm not used to hearing, but all in all, it's a wonderful, subtle aspect of the show. 

And last, but most definitely not least, there's great news! A fourth season will be released in May after being off the air for four years. If you're wondering where you can watch this, it will premiere on Masterpiece Mystery on PBS May 8. 

After that I'm sure it will be on Netflix at some point.