Now Watch This

I was something of a late adopter of streaming television, but last summer when I had foot surgery and was laid up for six weeks or so, my husband set up a TV in the living room across from the couch, and equipped it with a Fire Stick that let me stream both Netflix and Amazon Prime series. I binge-watched my way through the entire summer. And then when the pandemic hit and I was working from home, he set up another TV in my workshop and the binge-watching recommenced. So between last summer and this fall, I've binge-watched more series than I can count. Which means that in addition to popular, well-known series like The Crown and Call the Midwife, I've also dug into whoever-heard-of-that series like The Sniffer and The Bletchley Circle.

So if you've run out of things to watch and are looking for some series that are a little more off-beat or unfamiliar, here are a few that I've watched and enjoyed.

Police Procedurals & Detective Series

The Show: The Sniffer 
Available On: Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: House, CSI
The Face(s) You'll Recognize: Probably none, although star Kirill Karo bears a striking resemblance to Tim Roth, so much so that the series included a joke about it in one episode.
The Premise: This Ukrainian series is in Russian with English subtitles, which takes a little getting used to, but it's worth it. The main character has an incredibly acute sense of smell, which he uses to assist the police in finding evidence and solving crimes. It's a fascinating if slightly preposterous premise which could fall short if not for the deliciously anti-social and snarky main character (imagine if House were a detective instead of a doctor) and his interplay with his frustrated playboy of a best friend and handler at the Russian equivalent of the FBI. It's also an interesting look at how other countries' police procedures differ from American ones.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Marcella, Cadfael

The Show: Unforgotten
Available On: Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: Cold Case, The Missing, Prime Suspect
The Face(s) You'll Recognize: If you watch a lot of British TV, you may recognize star Nicola Walker from Last Tango in Halifax, Touching Evil, River, Collateral, or any of a number of other series.
The Premise: Each of the three 6-episode "seasons" covers a single case. In the first, the body of a young man is discovered during a building demolition and the detective assigned to the case is determined to find the murderer, despite the fact that the murder occurred 35 years ago.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Shetland, Broadchurch, The Dr. Blake Mysteries, River

The Show: New Tricks
Available On: Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: Grumpy Old Men, Prime Suspect, Spenser for Hire
The Face(s) You'll Recognize: Alun Armstrong is a perennial character actor (a.k.a. "Hey, it's that guy") who's been in everything from Downton Abbey to Prime Suspect to Van Helsing, or you might recognize him as Monsieur Thenardier in the 25th anniversary concert production of Les Miserables.
The Premise: A female senior police detective leads a cold case squad of retired policemen. The squad looks like a bunch of misfits, with each member fighting their own personal demons (alcoholism, mental illness, bad relationships, grief over a murdered wife, etc.), but use unconventional (and occasionally unlawful) methods to solve the case in the end. It manages to be both very funny and very moving at times.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Unforgotten, River, Hustle

The Show: Hustle
Available On: Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: Mission Impossible, The A-Team, White Collar
The Face(s) You'll Recognize: Robert Vaughn (The Man from U.N.C.L.E. plus about a hundred other movies and series)
The Premise: A group of con artists, along with their mentor, set out to scam those that deserve it by appealing to their greed. Their motto: You can't con an honest man. Clever setups, unexpected plot twists, and intriguing replays of previous scenes to show you exactly how they pulled off the con keep the show from being too formulaic. They even manage several significant cast changes over the course of several seasons but continue to make the ensemble work.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Leverage, Burn Notice, The Mentalist

The Show: Broadchurch
Available On: Netflix
You'll Like It If You Like: Doctor Who, NYPD Blue, Prime Suspect
The Face(s) You'll Recognize: David Tennant (Doctor Who), Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), Olivia Colman (The Crown, Fleabag, The Favourite)
The Premise: A heart-wrenching drama about police detectives investigating the tragic death of a young boy. Do I really need to say anything other than that it features David Tennant and Olivia Colman? It's worth watching if only to hear Tennant's Scottish brogue kicking into high gear when he addresses Colman as "Ellllllie Milllllllerrrr." Lots of tragedy but some nicely balanced hints of comedy as well.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Shetland, Wallender, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries

The Show: Father Brown
Available On: Netflix
You'll Like It If You Like: Murder She Wrote, Columbo, Monk 
The Face(s) You'll Recognize: Mark Williams (The Harry Potter movies)
The Premise: A Catholic priest lends his (usually unwanted and always unappreciated) assistance to the local police in solving cases. He's more interested in obtaining justice than in actually getting legal punishments, which leads to some clashes with the police. Father Brown is a very Columbo-like figure, whose rumpled appearance and seemingly bumbling investigations cover up a quick and insightful mind. 
Similar Shows to Check Out: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, The Bletchley Circle, New Tricks, Chuck

Period Pieces

The Show: The Bletchley Circle
Available On: Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: The Imitation Game, Call the Midwife, Hidden Figures
The Face(s) You'll Recognize: Probably none, unless you watch a lot of British TV, in which case half the cast will look vaguely familiar. (Also, Sophie Rundle is a dead ringer for a female Dominic Monaghan from Lord of the Rings and Lost.)
The Premise: A group of young women who worked as codebreakers during World War 2 reunite a number of years after the war ends when one of them recognizes a pattern in a series of local murders. The police refuse to listen to her so the women attempt to find the killer on their own.

Similar Shows to Check Out: Land Girls, Cable Girls, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

The Show: Land Girls
Available On: Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, All Creatures Great and Small
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Nathaniel Parker (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries)
The Premise: A group of young women come to work on a farm during World War 2, each with her own motivation (one to escape a bad marriage and another an abusive father, one to serve her country while her husband is serving as a pilot in the war and another because she was conscripted). It's a very different perspective from most series set during the war.

Similar Shows to Check Out: The Bletchley Circle, Bomb Girls, Home Fires

Dramas

The Show: Last Tango in Halifax
Available On: Netflix
You'll Like It If You Like: As Time Goes By, Coronation Street, Upstairs Downstairs
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Derek Jacobi (Cadfael, I Claudius, Gosford Park, and about a million other stage and screen roles), Nicola Walker (see Unforgotten, above)
The Premise: An older couple who were once sweet on each other reunites many years later, after they both lose their spouses. As they plan to get married, their very different families clash. Throw in subplots of a possible murder carried out by one daughter and a messy divorce followed by a complicated and tumultuous coming-out romance for another and the new relationship is sorely tested. 
Similar Shows to Check Out: Doctor Foster, Unforgotten, Thicker Than Water

The Show: The Blacklist
Available On: Netflix
You'll Like It If You Like: How to Get Away with Murder, White Collar, Criminal Minds
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  James Spader (Boston Legal, The Practice, Pretty in Pink)
The Premise: The FBI reluctantly agrees to grant clemency to a notorious criminal in exchange for him passing them information on other criminals. The twist: One of the agents on the team is his daughter. Or is she? Is she even who she thinks she is? And is HE even who she thinks he is? Spader plays the gray-hatted Reddington to the hilt without quite crossing the line into camp. 
Similar Shows to Check Out: Person of Interest, Gotham, Chuck


SciFi & Fantasy

The Show: Gotham
Available On: Netflix
You'll Like It If You Like: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Dark Knight, Jessica Jones
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Southland), Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix sequels, Ali, being married to Will Smith)
The Premise: I'm not a big superhero fan, but but this series provides an interesting backstory following the parallel stories of a young detective named Jim Gordon who later becomes the Police Commissioner, and a young boy named Bruce Wayne who later becomes Batman. The quality of the show varies significantly over the course of its five seasons, but it's still worth a watch. Robin Lord Taylor's performance as Oswald Cobblepot (a.k.a. The Penguin) is masterful.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Arrow, Titans, Lucifer

The Show: The 100
Available On: Netflix & Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: The Hunger Games, Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Paige Turco (The Agency, Rescue Me, NYPD Blue), Henry Ian Cusick (Lost, Scandal), Isaiah Washington (Grey's Anatomy)
The Premise: A group of earth's inhabitants escape to a huge space station before a nuclear apocalypse. Nearly a century later, the station can no longer sustain itself, and they send 100 teenage delinquents back to earth to test if it is survivable. It is, but the teens must fight off some survivors still on the planet.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Travelers, Terra Nova, Manifest

The Show: Merlin
Available On: Netflix & Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Charmed
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), John Hurt (The Elephant Man, Alien, 1984) as the voice of the Dragon, Richard Wilson (another British hey it's that guy)
The Premise: The Arthurian legend, but retold from the wizard's perspective during the time period when he was only a young man just becoming aware of his magical powers.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Grimm, Robin Hood, Locke and Key

Comedies

The Show: The Goes Wrong Show
Available On:  Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: Waiting for Guffman, Mr. Bean, Fawlty Towers, Noises Off
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Probably none
The Premise: Each show is an episode of a fictional television show where a group of actors puts on a weekly televised short play, in real time and with a live audience. Misbehaving sets, props, and costumes (not to mention actors and crew members) are only the beginning of the disasters and hilarity that ensues. Anyone who's ever been on stage will appreciate the actors' clever (and not-so-clever) attempts to make sure that the show does, in fact, go on, come hell or (sometimes literal) high water. 
Similar Shows to Check Out: There really isn't anything like it out there, but if Broadway ever gets going again, go see The Play That Goes Wrong. Or catch a local production of The Actor's Nightmare or Noises Off.

The Show: Miranda
Available On:  Netflix
You'll Like It If You Like: Fawlty Towers, Girls, Will and Grace
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Miranda Hart (Call the Midwife)
The Premise: Tall, plain, socially awkward (but hilarious and quite charming in her own nerdy way) Miranda attempts to manage her joke shop while also managing her relationships with her overbearing mother, her roommate and best friend, and her handsome crush.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Gavin and Stacey, The Vicar of Dibley

The Show: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Available On:  Netflix
You'll Like It If You Like: Will and Grace, Gilmore Girls, The Office
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Jane Krakowski (Allie McBeal, 30 Rock), Carol Kane (Taxi, Princess Bride), Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
The Premise: A broad comedy with a very dark premise, Kimmy is a young woman who moves to the city after having been kidnapped by a crazed cult leader as a child and raised in a bunker before being freed. But the charming Ellie Kemper is so sunny that you can't help but cheer her on, and Jane Krakowski as her wealthy trophy wife turned impoverished divorcee boss, Carol Kane as her wacky but endearing landlord, and Titus Burgess as her flamingly gay starving actor roommate work surprisingly well together to navigate the perils of modern city life.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Younger, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

Just for Fun

The Show: The Big Family Cooking Showdown
Available On:  Netflix
You'll Like It If You Like: The Great British Baking Show, Master Chef, Top Chef
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Nadiya Hussain (season 1 winner of The Great British Baking Show)
The Premise: A typical amateur cooking competition, except that the contestants compete in teams of 3 family members. In round 1, teams must cook a two-course meal for four people with a budget of only £10; in round 2, they make an entree and a dessert for the judges in the team's own home; and in round 3, they cook a showy appetizer and main course with no budget constraints. Winners of each episode then face off in the semifinals, where they make a main course from limited ingredients, a "family favourite" dish, and their own take on a classic British dish. At the end of the season, the top two teams each plan and cook a large, multi-course dinner.
Similar Shows to Check Out: Nailed It, MasterChef Junior

The Show: Upload
Available On:  Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: The Good Place, Quantum Leap, Pushing Daisies
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Probably none
The Premise: In a future world, a young man is in a tragic accident and his new girlfriend uploads his personality into a computer before he dies so he can live forever in a virtual world where she controls his finances and much of his "life". But he's more interested in the living woman serving as his "guardian angel" than in his controlling, self-centered girlfriend. 
Similar Shows to Check Out:  Dead Like Me, Russian Doll, Good Omens

The Show: Cutthroat Kitchen
Available On:  Amazon Prime
You'll Like It If You Like: Good Eats, Chopped, Iron Chef
The Face(s) You'll Recognize:  Alton Brown (Good Eats, Iron Chef America)
The Premise: Yet another Food Network cooking competition, this one adds periodic twists to the menu, including sabotaging one, two, or all three contestants with restrictions like cooking with oven mitts on, only using a single pot or utensil, or giving away or adding an ingredient mid-cook. Host Alton Brown somehow manages to make the show hilarious instead of contrived.  
Similar Shows to Check Out:  Nailed It, Worth It, My Kitchen Rules

Happy bingeing!

Peace on the Porch

I am not a morning person by natural inclination. But as someone who deals with insomnia on a regular basis, I have learned the benefits of early morning rising. This summer my family moved into a new house which features a glorious wraparound porch facing east toward a driveway island planted with a pyramid of trees: a tall, graceful red cedar at the center, with various smaller pine trees, flowering dogwoods, hydrangeas, and other bushes sloping down towards either side. The land slopes downhill, away from the house, with a large park and pond just past it, which means I have a beautifully uninterrupted, silhouetted view of the sunrise through the trees on the island. Over the past few months of living here, I have discovered the joys of getting up early to sit on the porch with a cup of coffee, watching the sun rise.

When I first developed the habit, the sun was already fairly bright by 6am, and the birds were busy at the feeder by the time I brought my coffee out to join them. It was often quite warm even at that hour, and I padded out to the porch in bare feet and my nightclothes. But as the months have slipped by, my 6am rising has brought me out to a nearly-completely dark world, tinged with frostiness, and I toss on socks and a jacket before braving the dark. 

This morning, I felt my way over to a porch chair by the subtle glow of a crescent moon peering hazily through the clouds over the island. The world around was nearly silent, with only a distant, background hum from the highway far across the pond. A large, brief crashing sound from the woods nearby broke the silence: was that a neighbor, or a deer? In the darkness, I had no way of knowing. 

Half an hour and a full cup of coffee later, the skies have lightened and a bright rosy glow at the horizon shows me exactly where "east" is. The birds are still silent, except for the forlorn peep of some kind of shore bird whose call I don't recognize. A single car has driven past. No people, no dogs, no voices. Just peaceful quiet, as I watch the world coming into focus with the almost imperceptibly-brightening sky.

I listen for other sounds of the world coming to life. I hear the birds before I see them; a quiet shuffling in the branches, the click-click of tiny claws landing gracefully on the feeder or the shuffling of small feet in the mulch, a slight whoosh of wings as they dart back to their homes. As the sky continues to lighten, I see the occasional silhouette of a bird darting across the sky. 

The sounds grow more slowly than the light. The rumbling drone of a truck, the blue jays scolding each other awake, the pad-pad of a jogger's measured strides, the voice of a few birds quickly joined by many, my children's footsteps inside the house.

The world awakens slowly, and so do I. By the time the light and the sounds have reached their peak, I am ready to face them. Reluctantly, I leave the peace of the porch and go inside to face the day ahead with a smile on my face. 

Life is good. Even when it's hard, it's good. Even when my mind is tossing with worries and plans and life, I know I can find peace on the porch.