What We're Watching (And You Should Be Too)

Ellis

So the thing with me is that I watch quite a lot of shows, but there are only a few I keep up-to-date on. The rest I save until the full season - or, in some case, full half of a season - has been broadcast, so that I can binge-watch. For some shows, such as Scandal and Elementary, this is because they are at their best when binge-watched. Others I save for when I'm in a reading or life slump, or when one of the regulars decides to go on a random hiatus of a few weeks. This is maybe one of the few things in life I actually have a system for. Today, I'm only going to talk about five of my regulars.

Keep in mind that this is a list of shows that are currently airing. Otherwise, Suits and Rizzoli & Isles would have been on here for sure.

Teen Wolf

Everyone who knows me, even if it's only a little, should have seen this coming. Teen Wolf is not just one of the regulars. It is The Regular. I've recently started rewatching the show from the beginning, and it's so much better than I remembered it to be. For me, Teen Wolf belongs to that category of obsessions that kind of creeps up on you, but at this point, I'm not even trying to hide, let alone deny, it anymore. 

The cast is racially and sexually diverse - though it does have some problems with queerbaiting certain characters - there are some excellent friendship and romance dynamics, and every single female character puts her male cast members to shame (but not really, because most of them are fabulous, too). Honestly, I could write an entire discussion post on this show alone. Maybe I will. Someday. Oh, and Mama McCall wins everything. Naturally.

To maximise the Teen Wolf experiences: check out the recaps over at The Mary Sue and Heathicorn. They only start at season 3, though. 

The Fosters

This show is probably not that well-known and honestly a little cheesy occasionally, but it's worth watching for several reasons. Here, too, there's some excellent representation of racial and sexual diversity, and it also deals fairly well with the topic of foster families and the foster system in general. (Bet you couldn't guess that from the title.) One of the things I love most about The Fosters is actually its intro. It is so incredibly corny in its imagery of the All American Family but HELL YES. Who says the Fosters can't be a legit representation of the standard American family? So yeah, maybe not the biggest fan of the intro itself, but very much so of the message behind it. Also, Lena and Steph (the moms) are my OTP and Lena just my idol in general. 

Nashville

What I love about Nashville is that it can get super formulaic, but never in a way that it actually feels clichéd. I'm usually not a fan of music being performed on drama shows, but here it works. The characters are genuine, the acting is amazing and this show gets serious cookies for featuring one of the best and most realistic redemption stories I've ever seen in fiction. I'm looking at you, Avery Barkley. 

Switched At Birth

I'm in a bit of an on-and-off relationship with Switched At Birth, because it likes to pull some shenanigans every once in a while and I am so very not amused when they do that. This show started out strong, with great consideration of class issues and the deaf community. Then it started to get all political and decided to move the focus to John, which, please don't ever do that again. However, it's finding its roots again, thus why it still belongs to the regulars. One of its definite strong points is the use of ASL and the willingness of the characters to learn in it order to communicate with their friends and family.

The Originals

The Originals kind of is what The Vampire Diaries would be if those characters finally decided to grow up a little. What I'm saying is that it's BETTER. So much better. It's grittier and there's actual plot that isn't all centred around love/destiny crap. (I'm just really angry at the direction TVD has taken, okay?) Also, WITCHES and PLOT and SHENANIGANS and NEW ORLEANS, which I actually like much better than Mystic Falls - or wherever this show now (partially) takes place. It definitely has its flaws but I ship Rebekah and Marcel like nobody's business and, okay, I'll admit it. Honestly? 

YES. MORE PLEASE.

Blythe 

One thing you should know about me is that I'm really, really bad at keeping up with TV shows as they're airing. I'm usually fine, right up until I miss an episode, then it turns into two, then three, etc. This is why Netflix is my best friend, but sometimes I'm even bad at binge-watching and find myself setting shows aside. Either way, here are some of the shows I am watching and currently am not falling behind on, and they're all shows you should watch.

Teen Wolf

Of course Ellis and I agree on this one; this show is seriously one of the best things I'm watching at the moment. Everything Ellis mentioned above is absolutely, entirely accurate, and it's all amazing. The show gets off on a rocky start, but once a certain ship ends, it's smooth sailing. And from then on, it's amazing characters, fantastic ships, and awesome plot twists. If you like ships and feels and also some scary stuff to go with that, you need to watch Teen Wolf. Pretty sure I have about six or seven ships total with this show. Watch it. Thanks. 

Star-Crossed

You guys, this show really, really surprised me. I expected this to be so bad; star-crossed lovers, but one is an alien! And it's forbidden! But seriously, this show is really freaking good. I still need to catch up on the latest episode (so much for the intro I wrote), but I think this has the potential to be a favorite with a few more episodes. The characters are likable, the world-building is really good, and the love interest is wonderfully snarky. But there are, of course, things to be expected in a CW teen drama. So keep that in mind, maybe. 

Breaking Bad

BREAKING BAD. What are you even doing with your life if you're not watching it? It takes a little bit of patience in the first few episodes, but oh my god holy shit this show. If you like shows that are intense practically every single minute, you need to watch Breaking Bad; if you like shows that will give you anxiety and make you hyperventilate, you need to watch Breaking Bad. 

If you want an excuse to look at Aaron Paul's face, you should probably watch Breaking Bad. And I mean, who doesn't want an excuse to look at Aaron Paul's face? He's Aaron Paul. 

UNF UNF UNF UNF 

What are you watching? Anything in common with us?