The Binge List – April 03 2020

There’s no movies out today, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t grab some solid entertainment this weekend! There’s a binge to be had, recommendations to read through and some old favourites to catch up on. Here’s what Critical Hit recommends for a few days of rest and relaxation via a digital eyeball injection of entertainment.

Brooklyn 99 – Netflix

There’s only one word that can be used to describe Brooklyn 99: Noice. Starring Andy Samberg, Terry Crews and  whole other ensemble cast of talent, Brooklyn 99 is what would happen if the cast of Scrubs were given police badges and guns. It’s wild but not too crazy, just mad enough to make you believe that New York’s finest could have a team fronted by a man-child with hygiene issues, his food-obsessed best friend/lackey and fellow officers who run an entire gamut of personality disorders yet somehow still manage to keep the city safe. Mostly.

There’s five seasons of the show on Netflix, the chemistry between the cast is undeniable and the plots range from proper action to wacky hijinks gone awry with a touch of harsh reality thrown in for good mix. Throw in some tight editing, memorable guest stars and a legion of memes, and you’ve got yourself a police procedural winner right here!

Tuca and Bertie – Netflix

I’ve never dropped acid once in my life, but I’m pretty certain that Tuca and Bertie is a visual explanation of what being high as a kite is really like. The initial show premise is already wild (Two best bird friends live together and run into all kinds of madness every day), but the quirky animation pretty much lets loose with a barrage of graphical insanity that hardly ever slows down to catch its breath. All that, a charming cast and genuine heart that makes me wonder how this show was only given one glorious season with which to burn its memorable appeal straight into your retinas.

Community – Netflix

Hey, you know those Russo brothers? You know, the guys who gave us the most epic comic book movies in history with their work over at Marvel? And you know Dan Harmon? The guy who also gave us Rick and Morty? What about Donald Glover, the insanely talented rapper/actor/writer? Know what all of them have in common? Only one of the greatest comedy shows in history! And now it’s all on Netflix!

As of the start of this month, all five seasons of beloved comedy series Community is available to binge on the streaming platform. And if you haven’t seen it before: Shame on you! Filled with more witty and meta jokes in one episode than most shows have in a season, Community was one of the best things on TV bar none during its initial run. The story of a group of misfit students, led by scheming ex-lawyer Jeff Winger, at an absurdly low-tier community college boasted star-making turns for its cast and kicked off more memes than I can remember. It was streets ahead of the competition. In short, it was incredibly cool. Cool cool cool. Hey maybe if enough people watch it, we could even get those six seasons and a movie!

Euphoria – Showmax

We were very reticent to put Euphoria on a list of shows to binge. After all, binging implies watching episodes back to back, but that’s something most will find rather difficult when it comes to this critically acclaimed drama. In a word, it’s rough. In more than a word? It’s f–king rough!

Starring Zendaya as a recovering 17-year old drug addict, the emotionally-heavy Euphoria digs deep into the insane pressures and dangers of sex, drugs, social media, and identity crisis experienced by suburban teens in Middle America. And it does it all without flinching one damn bit, pushing the boundaries of what you would normally see in a television drama. Comparisons have been made often with Harmony Corine’s groundbreaking 1995 teen-drama Kids, and it’s easy to see why. The difference is that Euphoria is so, so much better. It’s an intense, eye-opening, and heartbreaking, but utterly brilliant season of storytelling.

The Orville – Showmax

Let me be honest upfront: The first few episodes of The Orville suuuucked. What we thought would be a Galaxy Quest styled sci-fi spoof from funnyman Seth MacFarlane ended up being a blatant Star Trek rip-off, except with of dick and fart jokes all over the place. That forced, cringy toilet humour put off a lot of viewers, but luckily MacFarlane and co saw the criticisms and course-corrected.

Dialling back the stupidity and focusing on the type of fantastic throwback sci-fi TV storytelling that many of us grew up on, The Orville ended being more traditionally Star Trek than the actual Star Trek shows currently airing. There were still dick and fart jokes, but they were few and far between as we got to know and love the crew of the titular starship, and experience some damn good adventures across the stars. Both seasons of The Orville can be found on Showmax so you have no excuse to not be up to date for when season three eventually beams in.

Last Updated: April 3, 2020