Tag: HBO

House of the Dragon – Season Three (2026) | TV REVIEW

Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon: Season 3 – Episode 3 — Photograph by Ollie Upton / HBO.

The following is a review of the eight-episode third season of HBO’s House of the Dragon — Series created by Ryan Condal and George R. R. Martin.

Nowadays, it can be difficult to remember just how big Game of Thrones was back when it aired, especially since the show is most often mentioned online for how frustrated fans were with the final season. But the continued success of the first spin-off show, House of the Dragon, is a testament to the fact that the original adaptation still holds a strong place in the hearts and minds of fantasy nerds (said and meant lovingly) around the world. I remember being wowed by the first season of the spin-off because it made me fall back in love with the world of the show that I had watched for so many years. When the second season finished in 2024, I wasn’t burnt out on it, but I noted the online frustrations and agreed with some of them. It did feel repetitive. It did feel rushed. It did feel like it didn’t actually have a proper season finale. Still, I was hopeful that the third season could win back some of the goodwill that the sensational first season had earned. Having recently finished the third season finale just last night, I can say that while I do think it is, in some respects, still suffering from some of the same issues that plagued it last season, the highest highs of the show keep me hooked. It is a show that can still wow you. It just doesn’t have as steady a hand as the early seasons of the original show did when it comes to building characters patiently, or when it comes to making story build-up feel purposeful rather than laborious. At its worst, it feels like the show is stalling. At its best, it feels like the show is not only delivering on the action but capable of doing something interesting with character focus.

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2026 TV Review Catch-Up, June Update | Bite-Sized Reviews

Top Row: The Chestnut Man (Netflix); DTF St. Louis (HBO); Fallout: Season Two (Prime Video).
Bottom Row: Ponies (Peacock); Rooster (HBO); Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (Netflix).

We’re right around halfway through 2026, and there have been so many shows to watch that I almost feel a little bit overwhelmed at times. Therefore, I like to do these TV Review Catch-Ups, so as to get my thoughts out there on a wide variety of shows that I watched and perhaps enjoyed, but which didn’t really inspire me to dedicate entire solo reviews for. So, instead, here I’ve collected my thoughts in bite-sized form in a review compilation. This time around, I’m giving you my thoughts on 1) a returning Danish Netflix series, 2) a very odd HBO dramedy, 3) a video-game adaptation whose second season may not have fully blown me away, 4) an underseen period piece spy-dramedy, 5) another Bill Lawrence comedy, and 6) an unsettling Netflix original series from earlier this year.

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The Pitt – Season Two (2026) | TV REVIEW

Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa in THE PITT (Season 2 – Episode 12) — Photograph by Warrick Page/HBO Max.

One of the biggest new TV hits of 2025 was HBO Max’s The Pitt, an American medical drama. Given its central star, Noah Wyle, and its creator, R. Scott Gemmill, both having worked on Michael Crichton’s medical drama classic ER, the ER parallels were unmistakable. The show was praised for a great many things, including a focus on realism, its 24-esque real-time season formula, and for how it felt like a return to a TV-season model that many of us are nostalgic for. Only eight months after the final episode of season one aired, the second season debuted in January 2026. It was a quick turnaround for the show, which, as the second season was being rolled out, had awards from multiple ceremonies thrown its way. Although the second season took some bold swings concerning challenging our relationship with its central character, the second season was largely more of the same (albeit with new cases and storylines), and, in the case of a television show executed at this high a level, that was mostly a welcome sight. It wasn’t without some notable missteps, though, and some of these were directly tied to the nature of its formula.

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Industry – Season Four (2026) | TV REVIEW

Myha’la and Marisa Abela in INDUSTRY (Season 4 – Episode 8) — Photograph by Simon Ridgway/HBO.

I don’t like to be out of the loop when it comes to great, big HBO shows, so one of the goals I set for myself in the first few months of 2026 was catching up on HBO’s Industry, Mickey Down and Konrad Kay’s acclaimed financial thriller-drama. which started way back in 2020 and has changed shape over the years. Back in the day, I tried to get into the show, but despite liking the first episode, I didn’t manage to make time for it then. The fourth season of the show, which I recently learned was going to be the penultimate season, premiered in January of this year, and I managed to catch up to it two weeks before the final episode hit in early March. I was really happy I made it a goal to find time for it, because this is a show that is much more than the ‘new Succession‘ that some have branded it. Although I see the comparison and acknowledge there are certain comparable elements (e.g., a race to the top of the ladder of one’s field, complex characters, and a focus on corporations, wealthy customers, and wealth management), it is very much its own thing entirely.

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TV Review Catch-Up – 2025, pt. II of II | Bite-Sized Reviews

Top Row: The White Lotus: Season Three (HBO); Dexter: Resurrection (Paramount+ / Showtime).
Bottom Row: Smoke (Apple TV+); MONSTER: The Ed Gein Story (Netflix).

Just like list time: It does what it says on the tin, as one might say. This is the second part of my TV review catch-up for 2025, which includes some of my thoughts on TV shows in bite-sized portions. There are still two other shows that I want to review from last year, but they’ll get their own full individual reviews sometime soon. Anyway, in this article, you’ll find my thoughts on an Apple show I had mixed feelings on, a Netflix anthology series that didn’t work for me this season, a show about a strong return for an iconic character, and a season of one of HBO’s most popular shows over the last few years.

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TV Review Catch-Up – 2025, pt. I of II | Bite-Sized Reviews

Top Row: Poker Face Season Two (Peacock); The Pitt Season One (HBO); The Studio (Apple TV+).
Bottom Row: Peacemaker Season Two (HBO); Severance Season Two (Apple TV+); Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV+).

It does what it says on the tin, as one might say. Look, in 2025, I was particularly pressed for time, and so I prioritized posting film reviews. That said, I saw a lot of television shows in 2025 (so many!), and I have a lot of thoughts on shows and seasons that I loved, liked, or was underwhelmed by, which I want to get out there before I post my list of the best television shows of that year. Do note that shows which are not referenced or listed in this collection of reviews or bite-sized reviews can still appear on the aforementioned future list, and that I did, in fact, review other television shows from this year, so please do seek them out on my all-time TV season review overview by clicking here.

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Mountainhead (2025) | REVIEW

Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, and Jason Schwartzman in MOUNTAINHEAD — PHOTO: HBO / Macall Polay.

Directed by Jesse Armstrong — Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong.

How do you follow up the wild success of audience and critic-favorite Succession, which earned its creator, Jesse Armstrong, four Emmys (one for each season) for writing? Jesse Armstrong opted for an HBO film, Mountainhead, that, although not explicitly connected to the universe of Succession, feels somewhat related to the corporate, capitalist, and inheritance satire that put him on the map globally. However, though it occasionally does capture the right feeling of that show, Mountainhead doesn’t quite manage to say anything new.

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The Last of Us – “Convergence” | REVIEW

Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: CONVERGENCE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the seventh and final episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the seventh and final episode of the second season — titled Convergencee — Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) and Jesse (played by Young Mazino) search the streets of Seattle for Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna. However, when Ellie sees something in the distance, she parts ways with her friend. Convergence was written by Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross, and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Nina Lopez-Corrado (Supernatural; Mayor of Kingstown).

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The Last of Us – “The Price” | REVIEW

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: THE PRICE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the sixth episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the sixth and penultimate episode of the second season — titled The Price — we get multiple flashbacks to various birthdays, as we see how the Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) dynamic and relationship changed over the years in Jackson. The Price was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), Halley Gross, and Neil Druckmann, and directed by Neil Druckmann, the co-creator of the games.

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The Last of Us – “Feel Her Love” | REVIEW

Ellie (Bella Ramsey) explores the body of an infected in THE LAST OF US: FEEL HER LOVE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the fifth episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the fifth episode of the second season — titled Feel Her Love — Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) and Dina (played by Isabela Merced) opt to move through a warehouse that WLF soldiers are strangely leaving unguarded. Meanwhile, WLF Sergeant Elise Park (played by Hettienne Park) reveals why she had to lock her own soldiers inside of an infected zone. Feel Her Love was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Stephen Williams (Lost; Westworld).

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