2024 TV Highlights Thus Far, Pt. 3 | Review Compilation

(L-R, top row) HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (Max); THE ACOLYTE (Disney+); THE BOYS (Prime Video).
(L-R, bottom row) THE BEAR (Disney+/Hulu); THE RINGS OF POWER (Prime Video); SUGAR (Apple TV+).

In the final of the three previously announced ‘2024 TV Highlights Thus Far’ review compilation articles, I take a look at some of the most high-profile series of the year, including two dueling fantasy shows, but also an underseen Apple TV+ gem with a plot development you have to see to believe.

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2023 TV Catch-Up / Backlog: The Greats | Bite-Sized Reviews

(Clockwise L-R) Natasha Lyonne in POKER FACE (Peacock / SkyShowtime), Harrison Ford and Lukita Maxwell in SHRINKING (Apple TV+), Carla Gugino in THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (Netflix), FOR ALL MANKIND (Apple TV+), and THE BEAR (Disney+ / FX).

Just like with the previous edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, the point of this post is to function as a review compilation, if you will, of some notable 2023 television series that I’ve either just caught up with or which I never found the time to write about when they were released way back when. For this post, I have specifically highlighted five of the past year’s best shows. For quite a few of these, I had initially intended to write extensive, long reviews, but time flew by and now I just feel the need to get my thoughts out there on some of my favorite shows from 2023.

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‘Next Goal Wins,’ ‘Wonka,’ and More | Bite-Sized Reviews

(Clockwise from top left): Next Goal Wins (Searchlight Pictures); Wonka (Warner Bros. Pictures); Fingernails (Apple TV+); Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount Pictures); Sleepers (Warner Bros. / PolyGram Filmed Entertainment).

In this edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, I give you my thoughts on 1) a film about football that underwhelmed me, 2) a prequel that surprised me positively, 3) a so-so Apple TV+ Film, 4) a film starring Robert De Niro and Kevin Bacon, and, finally, 5) a sequel to a film series that has pretty much lost me at this point.


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Casting Ideas | James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy

James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 has been released, Gunn has finished his trilogy, and his time at Marvel is seemingly in the rearview mirror whether we like it or not. Warner Bros. and DC made a good decision to allow him to guide the direction of a shared universe of films based on DC Comics, which was something I advocated for in my review of his excellent The Suicide Squad film. Although his first DC film as a director, Superman Legacy, is still a couple of years away, now is as good a time as any to have a look at what actors would be good fits for the most iconic characters in Clark Kent’s corner of the DC Universe. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at some casting ideas for the upcoming Superman: Legacy film.

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REVIEW: The Bear – Season One (2022)

Tensions can sometimes reach a boiling point in THE BEAR, in which a star chef takes over a dirty Chicago family restaurant — PHOTO: DISNEY+/FX.

Series Created by Christopher Storer.

In Christopher Storer’s The Bear, we follow the employees and cooks at the dirty, failing Italian beef sandwich shop, the Original Beef of Chicagoland, as its owner has died by suicide and his brother, Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto (played by Jeremy Allen White), takes over. Carmy, an experienced chef with fine-dining experience, wants to change the way things are done in the restaurant much to the frustration of some of its employees, including the de-facto manager of the shop, Richie (played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who is the most unruly of the bunch.

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