I’m not a big TV person. This is mainly because it’s usually a large time commitment, and I’d simply rather be playing games or watching movies, which are a significantly shorter time commitment. That said, I do still check out a handful of shows every year, and boy, have I seen some good TV this month. Let’s talk about Yellowjackets and Peacemaker.
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets is a Showtime original series that follows the story of a girl’s high school soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness of Ontario during their trip to a national tournament. With little resources and no sign of help coming anytime soon, the girls do what they must to survive. I love consuming media about people in wildly unlikely situations, because it’s fun to ask myself what I would do. This show dives deep into human behavior, and how the morals and principles we hold so dearly can do out the window when it’s a matter of life and death.
What’s really cool about Yellowjackets is that it also tells a dual story. While half of it is set during the time that the teenagers were stranded in the wilderness back in 1996, the other half is set in modern day, as they try to live a normal life as adults while dealing with survivor’s remorse, as well as dealing with the fact that some of the secrets of their past are coming back to bite them. There’s great intrigue and mystery, and the full 10 episode season is available now!
Peacemaker
Was there any doubt that this James Gunn written and directed Suicide Squad spinoff series was gonna be dope? Okay, I may have doubted it at first. When they originally announced it, which was before The Suicide Squad even came out, I was super skeptical. John Cena is passable at best as an actor and nothing about the character seemed compelling enough to carry an entire season of a show. Four episodes in and damn what a show!
Peacemaker is hilarious as hell, which we expect from Gunn at this point. There’s great commentary on the DCEU, as well as comic book adaptations as a whole, and some deep pulls for characters and storylines. Cena is probably the biggest pleasant surprise of the whole thing. Dude really brings a lot to the role. It reminds me of what Cena was able to do with Bautista as Drax in the Guardians movies - he’s not necessarily the most talented actor, but the material focuses on what he does best, and you can feel his dedication and care for the character.
Unlike Yellowjackets, Peacemaker hasn't finished its season yet. New episodes air on Thursdays, so I recommend jumping on ASAP as it’s truly getting better with every new episode.
If you guys have checked out either of these shows, I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Also, let me know if there’s any shows that I need to put on my radar.
P.S. I’ve also been watching The Book of Boba Fett but it’s pretty mediocre so far! If the last couple episodes are spectacular and my tune changes, maybe I’ll write a longer piece.
