Looking at the week ahead, notably Twinless hits Hulu on friday, the same day Black Phone 2 hits Peacock. This week marks the return of the probably unnecessary second season of Hijack, and the premiere of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Tonight, venerable PBS dramas miss Scarlett and All creatures Great and Small return, as does HBO’s Industry. Netflix closes The upshaws on Thursday. What are you excited for?

TV Shows Watched: The Traitors: S4E2 and S4E3 (Peacock) with audio description, Runaway: S1E1 (Netflix), Squid game: The Challenge: S2E4 (Netflix) with audio description, and loot: S3E9 (Apple) with audio description

The Traitors- I’m all caught up. No spoilers from me, but I just needed to get to these reveals. I’m hooked. Michael is such an excellent grab here, because he’s so hard to read. he’s obnoxious, but I also think he’s brutally honest to a fault. he’s not hiding his opinions, and he’s dominating every room. My other favorites are Monet, Momma Kelsey, Rob fro Love Island, and maybe Candace? Least favorites are just the ones getting little to no screentime or making an impact, plus jam Jam. How did he win Survivor? was it pulling a name out of a hat? I find him grating, perhaps more so than Michael. Also, Ron is not as funny as I hoped he would be. note to casting directors, if you plan on bringing in a comedian, make sure it is someone who stays funny, and doesn’t deflate in episode two.So many comedians could do this, and so many famous ones who need the work. Peacock- if you read me, call Dane Cook stat. He’s big enough to make noise, cocky enough to cause chaos, and clearly isn’t doing anything right now.

Runaway- Someone needs to explain Harlan Cobin to me. I launch into each one of his shows, and they always feels like they are this typhoon of nonsense, lacking establishment of any kind. We always get thrown in. Who are these people? Why should I care? Why does this script feel like it was written by someone with oppositional defiance disorder, who refuses to conform to any norms, and relies purely on confusion to drive the narrative. Backstory is a bitch to lay out, because it could draw out the pacing, or lead to awkward dialogue and scenes full of explanation. It doesn’t mean we also just don’t do any of that. I can’t even gauge the AD for his shows, because they often fail to make any sense. Agatha Christie, he is not. I liked one show I remember, and that was Shelter on Amazon. this is already making me want to run… away.

Squid Game: The Challenge- Numbers dwindle, and people refuse to finish a challenge, so the fake head of this thing comes in and tosses some marbles at them. Now, they must eliminate those closest to them. the AD here is really, as I always say, as good as it can be for a show with hundreds of people, and the expectations that without numbers, I’ll remember #181 or #38. No. No Ma’am. It’s hard enough with this many people and basic first names, but numbers? I could skip the first half of the season, and finally invest myself in a manageable number of players. Maybe.

Loot- Emotions rise as the season finale progresses. This is where I point out that this is the most Ron Funches I’ve ever consumed in one day. he’s fine. But I have my limits. I kicked off with two hours of him, and closed with another thirty minutes. While he never stars in anything, his voice is unmistakable.