Genre: TV Series      

Grade: B+

Notable People:  Aria Maria Loberti, Louis Hoffman, Lars Derringer, Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, Created by Shawn Levy

Title: All the Light We Cannot See

Review: The four part limited series is an ambitious attempt to follow the wonderful and complex 2014 bestselling novel by Anthony Doerr about a blind French girl broadcasting coded Allied secrets from a remote town shortwave radio at the defining moments of the second world war. Set in the Nazi stronghold of St. Malo, France as it is being overrun by the advancing allied army, it is a powerful tale of perseverance and redemption. Loberti shines in the meaty main role and Ruffalo and Laurie are excellent as her father and great uncle. A poignant portrait of the heroism of the French resistance that dos not quite do justice to the elaborately conceived masterful novel, but is certainly worth consideration its own merit.

Genre: TV Series                            

Grade: B+

Notable People:  Samantha Morton, Barry Atsma, Kiruna Stamel, Senia Nenua, Created by Justin Haythe

Title: The Serpent Queen

Review: The series follows the story of Catherine de’ Medici, who marries into the French court as a fourteen-year-old teenager expected to bring in a fortune in dowry and produce heirs. Despite many challenges, a lifetime of clever political maneuvering allows her to rule France as queen for 30 years. Morton is devilishly devious in the title role and surrounded by treachery and deceit. Chilling portrayal of the lust for power and the non-flinching sacrifice of those in the way. Good cast. Good plot. Drags at times. Second season has been renewed.

Genre: TV Series    

Grade: A-

Notable People:  Sigourney Weaver, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Leah Purcell, Frankie Adams Created by Sarah Lambert

Title: The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

Review: Late career smash role for Weaver as the haunted and dominating matron of a remote flower farm that protects and engulfs abused women. Carey is wonderful as the young adult version of Alice Hart, the child who burns down her house with her abusive father and pregnant victim mother in it and is taken in by grandmother Weaver. The cast is exemplary, the story powerful and profound. This is not a show for the lighthearted – takes a very strong look at domestic violence and its very complicated inter-generational patterns. Could have benefited from more fleshing out of the suppurating characters- especially the wonderful Twig and Candy (Purcell and Adams).  The opine-off mins-series is based on the best-selling novel by Australian author Holly Ringland

Genre: TV Series   

Grade: A-

Notable People: Giuseppe Zeno, Giusy Buscemi, Alessandro Tersigni, Christiane Filangieri, Created by Gianandrea Percinelli

Title: Paradise- “Il paradiso delle signore”

Review: Small town girl from Sicily comes to Milan to help with her aunt and uncles’ textiles store and winds up as prestigious salesgirl at the magnificent “Ladies Paradise” shopping Mecca. Classic 1950’s post war Italy lighthearted drama from a 1980s Emile Zola set of novels. Fantastically done; the acting is marvelous; the people are exceedingly beautiful. A very nice show. Currently four seasons available on PBS, with four more in the hopper-so could be a winter watch. Like this a lot.

Genre: TV Series                 

Grade: A

Notable People: Michael Alona, Irit Kaplan, Swell Ariel Or, Hila Saada, Tom Hagi, Created by Oded Davidoff

Title: The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem

Review: Initially reviewed the first season of this series back in March and then they unexpectedly released a second season-which was magnificent. Original review is below- but this was so good I raised the rating to an A. Don’t usually review any series more than once- but this is an exception. Well, well worth it.

Based on the best-selling Israeli novel by Sarit Levy, Yes dram Israeli production company produced this as daily show with 44 episodes in the first two seasons. Netflix adapted it into on long season of 20 lengthier episodes. The series tells the captivating story of the Armoza family, intertwined with the history of Palestine during Ottoman rule and the British colonial empire It explores the family’s fortunes during the subsequent periods of depression and war. The series takes place simultaneously on two timelines wherein present and past stories are presented alternately (from 1919 thru 1942- encapsulating the role of both world Wars). Beautifully filmed, with intense dialog and action, the show dramatizes a very complex family living in very complex times and is wonderfully historical. Kaplan shines as the detestable “Bubby” and the cast is generally dead on. It won’t make you fond of the British rule. I found this show to get better and better as it progressed. As second season is in the works in Israel to pick up in the post war 1940’s and into the founding of the Jewish state.

Genre: TV Series      

Grade: A

Notable People: Created by: Ken Burns and Lynn Novak

Title: The US and the Holocaust

Grade: The latest (2022) piece of brilliance form Americas documentarian and conscience, Ken Burns. These has never been anyone like him in my book. A follow up to his masterful series on World War II, this focuses on the story we were not told in school about Americas role in ignoring and even supporting the Holocaust; through ignorance, naiveté, Anti-Semitism and the Isolationist desire to be separate from the rest of the world. It is not pretty and the footage of The Camps is the most harrowing I’ve ever seen. You will weep listening to the 90-year-old survivors tell their stories of horror. There is a lot for any true American patriot to be ashamed about here. Once again, unintentionally makes the case that the world owes an unpayable debt to Britain and Winston Churchill for being the last wall standing and saving us all when no one else would. This one is short by Burn’s standards- only three episodes and available in Spanish as well

Genre: TV Series  

Grade: A+

Notable People: Miles Teller, Matthew Goode, Juno Temple, Giovanni Ribisi, Dan Fogler, Burn Gorman, Colin Hanks, Patrick Gallo, Anthony Ippolito, Created by: Leslie Greif and Michael Tolkin

Title: The Offer

Grade: I never give anything an A+ rating but this rendering of Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy’s never-before-revealed experiences of making The Godfather (1972) is too good to be true. The story is almost defying believability and the backdrop of the imminent demise of the film industry and it’s saving by Ruddy, Bob Evans (wonderfully played by Goode), Coppola and the mob is brilliantly presented. The attention to detail is top notch and the casting beyond belief – Ippolito has clearly waited his whole life it appears to play Pacino playing Micheal. Teller flat out owns the role of the astoundingly driven Ruddy (who is still alive and co-produced this series), Fogler makes Coppola come to life and Gallo is too much Puzo even foe Puzo. Every part in what might be the greatest film ever is cast to perfection here, and the production is nothing short of riveting Hard to not binge watch and it’s a one and one, but brilliant. Admittedly, I may be biased, as a huge fan of The Godfather and what it means to contemporary American culture, but this show will be an “A” for anyone. The Brando scene where he spontaneously creates Don Corleone is one for the ages. LOVED everything about this show.  

Genre: TV Series   

Grade: B+/B

Notable People: Michael Dorman, Julianna Guill, Sharon Lawrence, Coley Speaks, Patrick Gallagher, Created by: Based on the novels of CJ Box

Title: Joe Pickett

Grade: this show is quite an enigma. As a big fan of Box’s Wyoming Game Warden novels, I was really psyched to see this move on to the small screen. But the casting is dubious and some of the key characters, which are very well conceived in the books, are quite shallow. The acting is uneven although Guill and Lawrence are quite good. Dorman and Speaks just don’t cut it as the two great characters that box had developed in his novels. That said, the stories are quite alluring and the scripts are goof- and it is shot in the beauty on Wyoming. Non Box readers may be less biased than those of us who have a higher level of expectation. Third season is in production-which shows how popular it is.

Genre: TV Series   

Grade: A-

Notable People: Jeremy Renner, Dianne Wiest, Hugh Dillon, Tobi Bamtefa, Taylor Handley, Emma Laird, Alden Gillen, Created by: Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon

Title: The Mayor of Kingstown

Grade: wow- talk abut intense. Kingstown is a mythical Illinois or Indiana town (where is irrelevant) that is the home of multiple out of control public and private prisons and a whole lot of mean streets. The McCluskey family, currently presided over by middle brother Mike, are the unofficial and de-facto fixers-which involves a whole lot of graft, violence and offers one cannot refuse. Very violent and disturbing but extremely well written and way dark/gritty. The casting is superb and the chemistry enviable. Hard not to be hooked by this latest from the current Emperor of Streaming TV, ‘Taylor Sheridan’s endeavors. Writing is magnificent, but you have to like an hour of pure intensity for each show. Renewed for third season but production held up by life threatening injuries to the now recovering star, Renner, who is priceless- check out the walk!

Genre: TV Series   

Grade: B+

Notable People: Lior Raz, Itzik Cohen, Netta Garti, Doron Ben-David, Yaakov Daniel, Idan Amedi, Created by: Avi Issacharoff, Lior Raz

Title: Fauda

Grade: Fauda (meaning “chaos”) is an Israeli television series developed by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff drawing on their experiences in the Israel Defense Forces. Every episode is filled with multiple Fauda cluster- f___s from start to finish. If you like Chaos-this is for you. The violence is constant, but accurately portrays the tremendous conflict and ennui that exists in this crazed relationship between ancient enemies. It never stops. The acting is pretty good (Raz and Cohen shine) and the dialog like a buzz saw. The stories are indistinguishable from one episode to the next: Arabs ambush Israelis, Israelis sneak around to get revenge, results in another total Fauda…. then reverse…and do it again. Despite the overkill, the show is well done and Raz is almost Eastwoodian in his stubbornness, quiet menace and heroic meltdowns. I liked this one in spite of of myself and it has been renewed for a fifth season, which seemed highly improbable at the close of season four. Worth a shot.