Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

This fight is for everything.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

We won’t go back.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

It looks like winning debates is a black job!

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

I really should read my own blog.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Giving up is unforgivable. ~Joe Biden

We still have time to mess this up!

Not all heroes wear capes.

You are here: Home / TV & Movies / I Need a Show for Walking on the Treadmill

I Need a Show for Walking on the Treadmill

by | 198 Comments

This post is in: 

I just finished watching Bad Sisters.

I Need a Show for Walking on the Treadmill

Willing to help me find a really good show to watch while I walk on the treadmill?

Only 3 shows have worked for me so far to keep my interest while on the treadmill:

  • Longmire
  • Bosch
  • Bad Sisters

I only stream:

  • Netflix
  • Prime
  • Apple TV Plus

If you don’t have something better to do, I would greatly appreciate suggestions for something that would keep my interest that is also in line with my interests – from whatever you can discern from my list of successful treadmill shows?

I have been walking nearly every day for 3 weeks and I don’t want to screw it up now.

pddate: If you suggest a show, can you tell me a little about it?

Reader Interactions

198Comments

  2. 2.

    Argiope

    Ted Lasso! Assuming you haven’t already finished that one.  It even has a sports theme to keep the fitness goal at top of mind.

  7. 7.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Try The Lincoln Lawyer series on Netflix. From the same universe as Bosch (Michael Connelly wrote both).

  8. 8.

    Starfish

    Okay, we are recommending funny comfort watches, which may or may not be aligned with your interests. Schitt’s Creek.

  10. 10.

    Starfish

    Lincoln Lawyer and Lupin were both good.

    Lupin is about an extremely competent criminal trying to stay ahead of the law.

    Lincoln Lawyer is about this lawyer who was out of work for reasons, but he gets left a major law firm when someone dies and leaves him his firm.

  11. 11.

    dc

    Sagrada familia. Netfix. Short episodes. Off the wall. Directed by Manolo Caro with a great cast of Spanish actors.

  15. 15.

    Quiltingfool

    Have you watched Man in the High Castle (Prime)?  I know it’s dystopian, but the characters are interesting, particularly how they changed over time.

    I also liked Blacklist on Netflix.  James Spader was excellent; and the characters in the show also change a bit.  I liked the first three seasons the best.  The last two seasons, not so much.

    Maybe Grimm (Prime)?

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    @Quiltingfool: I liked Blacklist and watched for awhile on network TV.  But they were killing major characters that I liked so I gave up on it.  Is it still on?

    edit: I should have said “not creepy” and no subtitles!

  22. 22.

    Shana

    I’m going to suggest you get into Korean Dramas. There are TONS of them on Netflix. You could start with Crash Landing on You, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Hometown ChaChaCha, Romance is A Bonus Book, Because This Is My First Life.

    They’re usually 16 episodes of an hour or so, self contained. You know how you read a novel and then they make it into a movie but they have to leave out all the subtlety and it seems flat and lacking? They don’t do that with Kdramas. Because you have 16 hours-ish you have time to  explore all the secondary characters an how they fit into the main narrative, what their motivations are, as well as the main characters and all their motivations. They’re lovely. Historical, rom-coms, adventure. tons of genres to choose from. Highly recommended.

  23. 23.

    Jackie

    I’m not sure where it’s streaming – I DVD’d it, but Pete Sousa’s documentary “The Way I See It” is awesome and inspiring. It’s his photos and videos of the Obama’s eight years in the White House. I’ve watched it multiple times.

  26. 26.

    Shana

    @WaterGirl: A little bit of both. It’s set in a French talent agency so you get stories about the agents and their personal and professional lives. Interesting French actor special appearances. Lovely show.

  28. 28.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WaterGirl: ​
    Yes. With a dog named J’accuse.

    ETA:  It hits a lot of my hot buttons.  It’s mainly in Paris.  It has heists and capers.  It has Ludivine Sagnier. And Omar Sy is an awesomely charismatic lead (a French Idris Elba even for those of you who might like that).

  29. 29.

    Suzanne

    I second (third? fourth?) Lupin. It was so good. I, like, never watch TV, but I definitely binged that one.

  30. 30.

    thruppence

    I think The Peripheral on Prime is very good, though A) It’s got one and a half feet rooted in science fiction, which may not be your thing, and B) It’s currently an episode per week, so it may not fit your watch it every day walking needs.

  31. 31.

    Bostondreams

    If you don’t mind audiobooks, you might get a kick out of The Locked Tomb series by Tamzin Muir. Gothic lesbian necromancers in space (but so much more). Also, God is a murderous Maori Kiwi with bad dad jokes and an understandable hatred of billionaires. It is so so good.

  32. 32.

    Austin

    The Outlaws on Prime and Shetland (also on Prime via Britbox).  Yes, both set in parts of the UK and wildly different in tone, but excellent characters and situations.  Highly recommended.

  33. 33.

    Layer8Problem

    The first things that leap to mind are Borgen and The Bureau (Le Bureau des Légendes) but both are going to have subtitles, I’m afraid.

    We just finished Bad Sisters here and really liked it, but god I hated that bastard.

  35. 35.

    RaflW

    @WaterGirl: I’ve watched several episodes of Call My Agent. I like it, but I can’t really imagine it being a treadmill show. And yes, subtitles.

    So now the show I was gonna recommend doesn’t make sense either: Occupied (Netflix) Norwegian with subtitles. Storyline is that Russia ‘softly’ occupies Norway.

    I also quite liked Borgen (Netflix), which can be watched dubbed, but I found the dubbing irritating and watched it subtitled. Danish. Political drama following a dynamic but self absorbed female Prime Minister.

  36. 36.

    JAFD

    I actually first read the title as ‘I need a shoe’, and thought ‘with my odd-size feet, can’t provide useful advice’.

    Can’t help much with TV shows, either. Sorry.

  37. 37.

    zhena gogolia

    @WaterGirl: There’s a new movie called My Policeman that’s on Prime. I was going to watch it with my husband because I got the impression it was a romcom, but it looks as if it’s a romdram, so not up our alley, but maybe you would like it. Looks like a period gay romance, with Harry Styles and Emma Corrin. (It’s a movie, not a series, I guess.)

  39. 39.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @WaterGirl: It’s about a Paris talent agency. It’s a French production (subtitles or translation available, I think). Comedy-drama-slice-of-life. I’ve worked off-on-on for a couple of decades in the City of Lights, and this really captured what I experienced as an American in Pars (just a hick from sticks), working with them, watching them closely, having failures and successes. The production is all French, all the time – how they interact with one another, how they see themselves, how they see the world. Lots of characters with lots of foibles. Fundamentally funny, not cynical.

    Really well written and acted.

  41. 41.

    RaflW

    @thruppence: I don’t have Prime, but omg I read The Peripheral right near the beginning of the pandemic and it haunted (and compelled) me.

    I’ll read the new Jackpot book in the series, but Gibson’s books always tick off my partner because I read them obsessively and I end up in extra-dark moods for a stretch after.

  42. 42.

    currawong

    I’m in the middle of ‘Kleo’ on Netflix at the moment. It’s in German if you can handle subtitles while on a treadmill and is about an ‘informal’ Stasi assassin at the time the Berlin Wall came down.

  43. 43.

    FelonyGovt

    Acapulco, on Apple TV. Cute, funny, and light. It’s currently in Season 2.
    And echoing the recs for Extraordinary Attorney Woo, but you’ll definitely need subtitles.

  44. 44.

    cope

    On Apple, “Loot” with Maya Rudolph’s recent divorcee trying to figure out what to do with her ginormous settlement and “Slow Horses” with Gary Oldham as one of a group of fired MI-5 agents who discover a major crime.

    ETA “The Afterparty” also on Apple, a who-dun-it set at a high school reunion with funny people in it.

  45. 45.

    Suzanne

    If you want a podcast recommendation, y’all here will probably enjoy Talking Politics: History of Ideas. It’s a series of talks by David Runciman (who used to do the Talking Politics podcast with a partner, and they focused on current affairs in Britain). But these are really focusing on major works in political philosophy. For those, like me, who didn’t major in this stuff and therefore have some gaps in knowledge, it was so, so helpful. And despite being a stuffy Oxford (ETA: OOPS, CAMBRIDGE, MY BAD) professor, Runciman is profound but not inaccessible. He did two seasons and I hope he’ll do another.

  48. 48.

    Grumpy Old Railroader

    @Shana: ​ I’m going to suggest you get into Korean Dramas.

    I have been working my way around the world via movies and series. I got hooked on Korean drama series for about 6 months

    One Spring Night
    Mr. Sunshine
    Something in the Rain
    Heaven’s Garden

    Lots more too but these I really enjoyed

  49. 49.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    I’d also second the recommendation for Mrs. Maisel on Prime. It’s a funny period piece with great characters. Mr. Monk is it as the main character’s father

  51. 51.

    Wag

    I’m not sure how you feel about Star Wars series, but Andor is amazing.  It tells the story of Andor, the antihero of Rogue One, so I guess it’s a pre-prequel.   It is complex and lots of interesting characters that become important in the middle (original) trilogy.   I think it’s the best Star Wars storytelling ever.   And it’s geared towards adults, not kids.

  52. 52.

    Wag

    @cope:   I agree 100% about Slow Horses. I thought about suggesting it, but I’m not sure how it would do in the treadmill.

  56. 56.

    Starfish

    @WaterGirl: Some of these are dubbed. We are watching The Extraordinary Attorney Woo right now.

    It is both cute and also a little uncomfortable.

    Woo is an attorney with autism. She is basically Rain Man, an autistic savant doing quirky autistic things. But it feels uncomfortable, like autistic people are little boxes of many autistic traits, and that they have to be savants, so we can see them as people. We know too many autistic people at this point for that to be the case, but it seems like people might know less about autism in Korea.

    Anyway, when it comes to focus on special interests, Woo is interested in whales, so she has to remember to knock off the enthusiastic whale talk except with that one handsome dude from her work. 😍 And “Will they or won’t they?”

  57. 57.

    Kelly

    Second, Lupin

    Also Russian Doll, a couple of people find themselves popping back in time inhabiting folks already there.  Netflix

  58. 58.

    Jay

    since all threads are open threads,

    I had another good day at the new job. 2 weeks, 0 stress. Gio bought us lunch yesterday, good lunch. Bunch of attaboys, no being taken for granted. Get to do CSI repair, actually have time for that.

    We ran out of work today. Sue and Baily left at noon, Brandon left at 2 to recover his wallet, (lost and found on the bus). I cleaned everything I could clean until 2:30, then Gio, Barbara and I bs’d about hot springs, 4×4 Toyota’s and mods until 3:15, when I left to catch a bus.

    We all get paid for a full day. Now I have a weekend, 2nd in 2 1/2 years.

    There is about 6 weeks worth of tools stacked up waiting for parts, which can take these days up to 4 months or more.

    T’s now worried that I will get bored, (no challenge) but I don’t think so. Gio introduced me to a customer today, I fixed his “jetter” a $35K machine he thought would have to be scrapped. Drove in from Grand Forks to test it and pick it up. He had had it “fixed” at a shop in Trail, for $1200, still didn’t work. Cost him $215 for us (me) to fix it and we still made out like bandits.

    Weird, working and working hard, and I am happy any un-stressed.

  60. 60.

    Percysowner

    I like Cobra Kai on Netflix It’s what happened to the main characters from Karate Kid 40 years later and it’s surprisingly good. I mean as long as you can accept a world where a Karate tournament is high stakes. But really the characterizations are good and it’s a fun ride.
    Drama rec Call the Midwife, a British show about midwives serving a poor section of London starting in the 1950s and continuing on. They are somewhere in the 1970s in the current season. Netflix.
    I’m a fantasy girl, so my next recs are from that genre, which may not be your thing at ALL and all on Netflix; The Magicians, which is a magic school for older, college aged kids. There is a lot of depth to the various characters. Legends of Tomorrow a CW show about time traveling heroes who “mess up time for the better”. It really is a lot of fun and takes risks other shows just don’t. The first season drags and is unnecessary. In the second season the show runners said “to hell with it” and just decided to have fun. On the animated side of fantasy is She Ra and the Princesses of Power (I know, but it really is fun), The Dragon Prince and Star vs the Forces of Evil (which is actually light and fluffy, but with forces of evil thrown in.)​

  61. 61.

    SpaceUnit

    I thought Money Heist on Netflix was good.  It’s about a ragtag group of bank robbers pulling off the biggest job in history.

    I also liked Anne With An E (also Netflix).  I wouldn’t have necessarily thought it would be my cup of tea, but I found it incredibly sincere and charming.  It’s basically Anne Of Green Gables stretched out into a series.

  62. 62.

    BlueGuitarist

    Looks like you can watch Lupin dubbed, a great show, as many have said.

    and second RaflW on Borgen and Occupied

    and cope re Slow Horses.

    Did you like The Wire?

  65. 65.

    Eolirin

    The Good Place maybe? If you haven’t seen that already.

    I have so many other suggestions but they’re all creepy. >>

  66. 66.

    hells littlest angel

    Line of Duty is on Prime. In my opinion, the best cop show ever. Even the final season is good!

  68. 68.

    Betsy

    This is not a creative or fresh take, but is offere only because it is among the most watchable  productions ever made for television:

    Pride and Prejudice

    the BBC 1996 6-hour version with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth

  70. 70.

    btom89

    Durrels on Corfu (played on PBS, produced by BBC) on Amazon Prime.  Multiple season.  Also Corner Gas (cute Canadian comedy set in Saskatchewan).  Also on Amazon Prime, and also revived as an animated cartoon.  Really avoids those sitcom stereotypes on that show.

  71. 71.

    AnnaN

    It’s Okay to Not Be Okay

    Netflix

    It’s about two brothers , the older one is on the spectrum, and a female children’s author that falls into their midst. It is AMAZING.  It is beautifully filmed, and there are many animated sections that are phenomenal; essentially it is a fairy tale.  There are full fledged characters and typical of Korean dramas which usually only run for one or two seasons.  It has murder!  mystery!  jealousy! painful personal secrets!  wild comic relief!  and manages to maintain the humanity of the three lead characters as well as the dozen supporting characters.  The two trailers really capture the varying mood of the series.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50ek4HQo0Bc  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89i-Fn2CqQg

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    @Layer8Problem: I wanted to kill him myself!

    Pure evil.  All the awful things he just to hurt people, just because he could.  I think what he did to Roger was right up there with what he did to … never mind, every single think he did was awful.

  78. 78.

    mali muso

    Count me in as another vote for Call my Agent and Lupin. But I do speak French and don’t pay close attention to the subtitles, fwiw.

    For something funny, quirky and uplifting, Kim’s Convenience follows the lives of a Korean immigrant family who own a convenience shop in downtown Toronto.

  81. 81.

    Kelly

    Russian Doll, season 1 stuck in time loop as self, season 2 popping back in time to be other people

  82. 82.

    James E Powell

    @WaterGirl:

    Andor is a series & one of the best things to ever come from the Star Wars universe.

    Scott & Bailey, Outer Range, and River (Amazon Prime)

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    @BlueGuitarist: I started The Wire, got through maybe 4 episodes, and I really wanted to like it.  I found it hard to track who was who, maybe because so many of the people are stars now.  The lawyer from Suits is a detective in The Wire, etc.  So I would unconsciously expect him to be a lawyer, but he wasn’t. That happened with a bunch of the characters  I felt like I would need to watch 6 episodes and then start over to really catch everything.

    And I stopped walking on the treadmill, so it obviously wasn’t engaging enough for me.  Maybe it’s a slow staring show?

  84. 84.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    Thanks, after the Orange, I was ground down

    Plus, we have Romeo, a part time office dog and Alaska, a Mucky Muk’s dog with some issues quite often,

  89. 89.

    Gretchen

    I love Bad Sisters! I’m watching Afterlife on Netflix now. Ricky Gervaise plays an angry widower trying to figure out how to move his life forward.

  91. 91.

    Martin

    Honestly, the best drama on right now is Elon Musk Meets Twitter. This is literally the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen.

  93. 93.

    WV Blondie

    Not to seem lowbrow to y’all, but Lucifer on Netflix is distinctly fun, with a lot of character growth – and a dollop of very untraditional theology. A … hopeful show.

  94. 94.

    Mo Salad

    Also second or third “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”. I found her to be adorable.

    The other K drama I liked on Netflix was Hellbound. A dark sci-fi drama satirizing religion. Recently renewed for a second season after a long hiatus.

  95. 95.

    trollhattan

    Loved “Bad Sisters.”

    If you’ve not watched “Derry Girls” fix that immediately, if not sooner.

  99. 99.

    Wag

    @WaterGirl:   No. A series, so far 9 episodes, I think out of 10.   It is amazing. My son (16 yo) and I are watching and are enthralled.  I forgot it is in Disney +.  You don’t get that for free in Florida?  I blame DeSantis for that…

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    @Eolirin:

    That’s what I was afraid of.  Hardison is my favorite character on the show.  I know he’s busy with other things, but I haven’t seen him in anything else, so I don’t know what he’s up to.

  101. 101.

    SpaceUnit

    @WaterGirl:

    I believe there are four seasons now.  Yeah, it doesn’t sound like a great premise but this show is fire.  Danny and Johnny reacquaint and become frenemies with competing dojos full of teenagers.

    They bring back as many of the original actors as possible.  It’s the most binge-worthy, action packed show I’ve ever seen.

  102. 102.

    prostratedragon

    @Martin: ​ Movies and tv shows are going to be made about it for years.

    A series I found this year that was more engaging than I expected going in was Mr. Selfridge. It’s an Edwardian period piece about Harry G. Selfridge (Jeremy Piven), who made his career in Chicago (his wife was one of the Buckinghams, as in Fountain) building up the innovative retail operations of Marshall Field’s department store. Midlife, he packed off to London where he founded the similar Selfridge’s. The show uses the store as a way to consider the rapidly changing times of that era, and has a terrific music score that’s more backward-looking than period. It’s all about everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

  103. 103.

    WaterGirl

    @Wag: I’m in Illinois!  Betty’s in Florida.  Do we know the states where all the front-pagers live?  Cole is WV.  TaMara is CO.  Anne Laurie is MA. mistermix is NY, I think.

  105. 105.

    Eolirin

    @WaterGirl: Black Adam, for one. And he’s going to be staring in Prime’s adaptation of Alex Cross. He will be there, he’s in the trailer for the season, just can’t swear to him being in every episode.

  108. 108.

    Mo Salad

    And a second on For All Mankind.

    I watch too much fucking television.

    Also, “Weird: The Weird Al Story” debuted tonight on Roku.

    Hilarious.

  110. 110.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Godless (Netflix)-  My fave western series (after Deadwood).  Done by the same team that did Queen’s Gambit so very girl-power-y and the cinematography of Northern New Mexico (around Taos) is beautiful and Jeff Bridges is a killer bad guy.

    Dickinson (AppleTV)- Super fun and funny period/historical drama/comedy that has wonderfully good performances, especially from the women.  Great music too.

    Sex Education (Netflix)- Best comedy out there nowadays, imo.  Super intersectional and progressive but also hilarious.  The whole cast is really superb.  It’s very moving and sometimes heart-wrenching but also fairly feel-good without being too sappy.

    GLOW (Netflix)- The story of the Gorgeous Women Of Wrestling from the 1980’s.  Very nostalgic but also very funny and quite moving.  Pretty damn feminist and celebratory of women too.

    Tales From The Loop (Amazon)- Really cool style, sorta sci-fi.  You can watch episodes as standalone but there are also some connections between them.  Kind of hauntingly dreary but beautiful.  Hard to really explain in a sentence or two but one of the most original series we have watched in a while.

    Too bad you don’t like sub-titles (I get, especially for on treadmill) because there are several K-dramas that would keep you busy for a LONG time.  We are currently obsessed with Little Women.

  111. 111.

    Wakeshift

    i’m way late to this thread (as usual), but i must recommend Spaced which is early Simon Pegg and lovingly hits all the 90s-nerd pleasure centers in my brain, along with Black Books which hits all the 90s-cynical-misanthrope pleasure centers in my brain.

    Also Wolf’s Rain, but I can’t find that ANYWHERE

  112. 112.

    WaterGirl

    @Eolirin: Google was very confusing re: where to watch Black Adam.  Doesn’t look like it’s on Netflix or Prime. :-(

    Can you remind me where to find Leverage?  I watched redemption, i just can’t remember.  It must be Netflix or Prime?

  113. 113.

    Eolirin

    Oh, an actual suggestion: Feel Good, Netflix.

    Synopsis absolutely stolen, because my brain is pretty broken right now: “Feel Good is a charming, if sometimes uncomfortable, British comedy/drama about a comedian and recovering addict named Mae (Mae Martin) and her relationship with a repressed woman named George (Charlotte Ritchie). Mae struggles with her sobriety while George struggles with coming out to her friends and family.”

  114. 114.

    Eolirin

    Oh, an actual suggestion: Feel Good, Netflix.

    Synopsis absolutely stolen, because my brain is pretty broken right now: “Feel Good is a charming, if sometimes uncomfortable, British comedy/drama about a comedian and recovering addict named Mae (Mae Martin) and her relationship with a repressed woman named George (Charlotte Ritchie). Mae struggles with her sobriety while George struggles with coming out to her friends and family.”

  116. 116.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Mo Salad: For All Mankind is the most underrated/overlooked show on tv.  How it doesn’t get multiple Emmy nominations every season is really beyond me.

    For WaterGirl: FAM is by the same guy who did Battlestar Galactica, so it has a similar pacing, lots of twists etc.

  119. 119.

    piratedan

    @Mo Salad: another vote for Extraordinary Attorney Woo, while it shows that she has autism in a way that allows her to be functional, it also demonstrates that she is on one end of the scale and its very much ymmv as far as to where you end up on the spectrum.  It has some sections that drop it right out of cutesy and into incredibly poignant. It does its best to not gloss over autism and the ride is not always a smooth one, for which it gets points imho.

  121. 121.

    WaterGirl

    Have any of you watched The Take?  I was just adding some of the Netflix recommendations to my list and I spotted his face?  Looks to be a 2016 movie.  I 💕 Idris Elba.

  124. 124.

    Eolirin

    @WaterGirl: It’s not going away, so much as it’s being merged with Discovery’s app. So the app name may change, but the service won’t.

    If you have HBO Max you might want to check out Euphoria and Our Flag Means Death.

  126. 126.

    UncleEbeneezer

    If you don’t mind renting a series on Amazon, I cannot speak highly enough about Underground.  The only show about US Slavery that was heavily centered around Black perspectives and had a ton of Black writers, show-runners etc.  Misha Green went on to do Lovecraft Country but Underground is better, imo.  It celebrates the strength, guile and resistance of enslaved people and while it doesn’t cut corners on the horrors of slavery it also doesn’t feel like it glorifies it into torture porn.  It’s a series that truly celebrates Black Resistance in a really powerful way.  And it came out early in the Trump presidency and there are some pretty clear indications of that context in the show.

  129. 129.

    Eolirin

    @WaterGirl: It’s unclear. They haven’t said that, certainly, so you might still get it, plus all the Discovery+ stuff. But it’s all vague still.

  130. 130.

    RaflW

    @UncleEbeneezer: Sex Education is amazing. I still occasionally struggle with the Gillian Anderson character, but the entire rest of the cast is perfect. (eta: Seeing @Eolirin‘s post, lol. This is what makes the world go ’round, as we used to say. Glad she works for you!)

    Not sure if I’ll also end up watching the Ncuti Gatwa Dr. Who eps when they’re out, but maybe, just because I like him so, so much in Sex Education. (I haven’t really watched since the 4th Doctor, Tom Baker. Yes I’m getting kinda old).

  132. 132.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Eolirin: Agreed!  Another show that is criminally overlooked come Emmy time.  I love Gillian Anderson but let’s be real, she’s like the 5th funniest character on the show.  I simply adore Maeve and Otis and Eric and even Adam.  Even the characters who seem like total assholes (like the really popular girl) end up being so much more than what you think at first.  And it’s such an incredibly moving show about the challenge of adolescence, especially for girls, LGBTQ people, PoC etc.  It makes us absolutely bawl, frequently.  All while being one of the few shows that actually makes us laugh out loud.

  134. 134.

    JoyceH

    Since I don’t think it’s been mentioned, would highly recommend Counterpart, on Amazon Prime. Two seasons, sort of a cold war drama with the two sides being earth and an alternate universe earth. JK Simmons is a mousy little clerk (our universe) as well as a coldly efficient lethal operative (other universe).

  137. 137.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Another Scott: God I wish they would do a re-make or at least re-master it to HD quality.  Such an incredible series, as is The Day The Universe Changed.  I’ve always been surprised that Burke doesn’t have a series now (assuming he’s still alive).  This seems like the kind of time when people would really embrace a show like those.

  143. 143.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Esme: We sorta lost interest after starting the 3rd season but I just started it up again and I forgot how much I love it.  Such great characters, funny writing and really heartfelt relationships.

  145. 145.

    zmulls

    I’ll add to the folks recommending Slow Horses.     It would be a very good British Spy Show on its own terms, but every second that Gary Oldman is on screen it becomes sublime.   One of his best performances.   The “Slow Horses” are all rejected MI-5 agents, resigned to “Slough House” where they do crap work.   And they get into something big.   Worth watching because it is a series of six books, and this is the first one, second season coming very soon.

     

    As for The Wire, yes, it is a slow start.   It is very unlike any other series, they give you so many characters and plotlines and drop you in the middle.   I watched three episodes and then went back and watched them again because I was starting to get the “language” of the show.    And just about every season clicks on around episode 5 — suddenly all the details that have been piling up start to criss cross and create a world of events.     It does require work on the viewers part, but it all pays off in the shank half of each season.

  147. 147.

    BlueGuitarist

    @WaterGirl:

    Oh no, I should have said, it will take about 5 episodes of the wire to feel like you have a sense of what’s going on. You were almost there. It’s a lot; thought the Alan Sepinwall commentary would help.

    there’s  an English version of Call My Agent called ten percent.

    Fun with subtitles and dubbing:
    i think it was Borgen that had American subtitles and English dubbing English (maybe the other way around) but the differences weren’t always trivial.

    Dark Winds is streaming on prime – based on the Tony Hillerman novels about Navajo Tribal Police Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Sgt. Jim Chee. I loved the books (with  a couple of exceptions) and liked the show.

    eta: I now see zmulls made the 5 episodes point better

  148. 148.

    NotMax

    No subtitles? Hmmm. A mixed baglet:

    Tried Mozart in the Jungle? Or Goliath? The City and the City? Corner Gas (live version, not the animated one)? Dubbing into English of A Private Affair isn’t too terrible. All on Prime or its accompanying with-ads service Freevee.

  150. 150.

    Jim Bales

    @WaterGirl:

    We used the subtitles. It’s possible it’s dubbed in English, we didn’t check. It hadn’t occurred to me that subtitles may not be optimal went on the treadmill!

    The cliffhanger at the end of season one is brutal, fortunately I didn’t find in the series until after season two had come out!

    Jim

  152. 152.

    Starfish

    @WaterGirl: I could have sworn that Lupin was also dubbed. I have struggled with subtitles since getting my progressive lenses, so I usually don’t watch stuff dubbed. This thing where we have to look at text on people’s phones in shows is annoying me too.

  154. 154.

    Craig

    Late as usual. I’d recommend Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix. An Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Twilight Zone kinda show from the Mexican Maestro. Extremely well made 40 min. episodes of creepy goodness. The first season of Goliath on Prime is a gem. Billy Bob as a broke down genius litigator who lives in a motel by the Santa Monica Pier and has crawled into a bottle at the bar nextdoor. Circumstances connect him to a fantastic wreck of a gutsy low rent ambulance chaser from the Valley. William Hurt is his old partner whose massive firm is trying to roll over the ambulance chaser. Oops, they pissed off Billy. Great show. Prime also has Broadchurch, David Tennant as a overconfident, but unsure cop investigating a murder with his much smarter junior partner (prefame) Olivia Colman in a small seaside town in Britain. Good stuff.

  156. 156.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    And two more innocuous sitcoms on Freevee you might find watchable enough to stick with:

    Step Dave and also Nothing Trivial.

  159. 159.

    randy khan

    If you have the PBS option on Prime, Thou Shalt Not Kill (Italian crime drama, subtitles) and the Belgian version of Professor T (also a crime show, but of the quirky type, but not the newer British version).  (I’d also add that if you’re a member of your local PBS station, you can stream a lot of shows, including both of those, or at least I think you can get all of Thou Shalt Not Kill).

  161. 161.

    Chetan Murthy

    A long time ago, I got a rec for _Brokenwood Mysteries_ here.  I really enjoyed that: police procedurals in a small New Zealand town.  It’s … twee, I guess.  Easy on the brain, too.

  166. 166.

    NotMax

    When you say watch while on the treadmill, is that watching on a tablet?

    Before I forget, let me put in a plug for the totally free (but with ads) streaming service Tubi. Surprising amount of good stuff, including some currently found nowhere else. Only caveat is to recommend (although it is not required to watch anything there) going online to their web site and creating an account. That unlocks some handy features (such as Tubi remembering where you left off within a movie, program or series).

  167. 167.

    frosty

    @Starfish:I don’t know if it’s good for the treadmill, but I really liked Schitt’s Creek. You have to get through the first half of the first season with the cringey lead characters but it gets much better. Catherine O’Hara was over the top!

    I suspect you and I are the only people who liked it.

  168. 168.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Martin:

    Honestly, the best drama on right now is Elon Musk Meets Twitter. This is literally the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen. 

    Massive Douchecanoe Meets Reality

  172. 172.

    prostratedragon

    @WaterGirl: ​ On Prime as of a few months ago. I rather enjoyed it; it was twee only around the edges a little. There’s a kind of magic Maori character, but he’s admittedly rather charming, and as I recall there were some hints of the tensions between groups.

  177. 177.

    Gretchen

    Kim’s Convenience on Netflix. Korean born parents, kids Canadian born young adults run a store. Pleasant. Nice for a calming episode before bed.

  178. 178.

    zmulls

    It sucks that The Americans only has Season 4 on Prime.  It is one of the great series of our time, and largely ignored.   It is on Hulu, which is not on your list of services.   Worth the watch, though.

     

    And I see that Friday Night Lights is on Prime.   If you have not seen it, it should be on your list.   S1 is just about perfect.   S2 is an atrocity, clearly the network wanted more “exciting” storylines, and every single storyline is an abomination.    When they get to S3, they pretty much pretend S2 never happened (nothing is ever referred to again.  S3 is good but it was truncated by a writers strike.     The series reinvented its premise with S4 and S5, and brought in Michael B. Jordan, and came to a rousing climax.

  179. 179.

    Ha Nguyen

    Dead Like Me and The Dead Zone are both on Prime. Dead Like Me is about how a recently dead teenage girl deals with life after death. The Dead Zone is based on Stephen King’s novel where someone who died briefly and was brought back to life now get visions of other people’s future which he tries to fix. Also, Good Omens and The Tick are also on Prime.

    On Netflix, there’s The Sandman based on the comics by Neil Gaiman.

  180. 180.

    HeartlandLiberal

    Netflix, Extraordinary Attorney Woo. South Korean, subtitles. Young autistic girl becomes lawyer. Great acting by the lead, great stories. One of the best South Korean shows we have watched.
    Netflix, The Perfect Match, Taiwanese with subtitles. Young woman street vendor meets rich successful chef. Many insights into culture, food, and love. I watched this one TWICE!​
     
    P.S. Good on you for the treadmill, I try to do it for at least an hour five days a week, you have reminded me I have been slacking. My body lately has been telling me I need to resume core mat exercises, to, and hand weights. Getting old is hard work.

  182. 182.

    UncleEbeneezer

    If you have HBOMax:

    Boardwalk Empire– 1920’s Atlantic City, mob drama starring Steve Buscemi.  Amazing costumes, performances, cast, twists/turns.   One of my all-time fave binge-worthy series.

    Winning Time– About the 1980’s Los Angeles Lakers franchise.  Very funny but also really moving.  You don’t have to be into basketball at all to enjoy.

    We Own This City– David Simon drama about the Baltimore PD corruption scandal.  Similar to The Wire and even has a couple familiar faces from that series.  Really well done series that shows just how fucked up US policing is.

    White Lotus– First season was really one of the more original comedy series I’ve seen in a long time.  It’s about shitty, white people visiting Hawaii and the toll they take on the native hotel workers.  Had us laughing out loud frequently.  And really cool cinematography/score.  Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria actress) has surprisingly great comedic timing and does great mean-girl/deadpan humor.

  184. 184.

    Rodger French

    “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” on Netflix. Korean, with subtitles. Utterly charming, funny, and sometimes poignant as well.

  185. 185.

    Percysowner

    @WaterGirl: ​
    I’m a little late to respond, but yes, there is enough to sustain the now 5 seasons. Interesting fact, season 5 came back the around the same time as House of Dragons and Rings of Power. It had more viewers than both of those series, and almost more than both of those series combined. Now it 5 seasons of episodes, so a lot of that was people rewatching, but still more than the big guns.

    Also, you have HBO MAX! That changes my rec to Babylon 5. The story of a space station in the 23rd century. It deals with issues that we still have today. It has great characters, that have great character ARCS. It has action. It has depth. It is one of my all time favorite shows. If you lose HBO Max you can buy it on Prime, Apple and Vudu. Apple and Vudu are significantly less expensive than Prime. As a note, the first season is a bit slow and is definitely finding its feet while world building, but season 2 takes off like a rocket and doesn’t stop.

  189. 189.

    wenchacha

    Inside Man is new on Netflix. Stanley Tuck and David Tennant. Only four episodes, but dark and captivating, for me.

    Summary: Death Row Tucci likes to solve murders for people. Vicar Tennant has a big problem. The two intersect, across the pond.

  190. 190.

    VOR

    If you like SciFi, The Expanse on Prime. Six seasons

    Season 4 of Manifest just dropped on Netflix. Final season.
    leverage and Leverage: Redemption on Prime.
    Lupin on Netflix. I’d swear it was dubbed into English.

    I like UK detective shows. DCI Banks was on Prime, IIRC. Happy Valley on Netflix. Luther w Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson, can’t recall if Prime or Netflix. Unforgotten on Prime, a team led by Nicola Walker solves cold cases.

  193. 193.

    JCNZ

    If it’s audiobooks you’re after, try the Sean Duffy novels by Adrian McKinty (“Gun Street Girl” etc) – a Catholic cop in a Protestant precinct in Belfast during the Troubles. Very good – narrated in a dour Northern Ireland accent which underscores the humour. You won’t want to get off the treadmill…

  194. 194.

    ray

    Used to watch Orange is the New Black only when treadmilling – a treat so that I would be inspired to treadmill.  Don’t remember why I stopped treadmilling or how many seasons I watched but if I ever do treadmill again, I’ll start from the first season.  There are 7 seasons on Netflix.

  195. 195.

    NotMax

    Majority of the titles I mention above were chosen because they are a pleasant pastime to which one needn’t pay rapt attention in order to enjoy. Neglected to mention there’s also a treasure trove of films from the 30s, 40s and 50s on Prime, ranging from the well-known to the obscure, from the staid to the quirky (also from the well-produced to the truly wretchedly slapped together).

    The ‘Customers also watched’ listings underneath the ‘Play now’ area when you first click on a title is a fine resource for ferreting out both hidden gems and clunkers, although under the newest way Prime is configured it is more slanted to non-free fare than it previously was.

  198. 198.

    whatsleft

    I did not see anyone recommend The Morning Show on Apple+, but I really liked it. Also Peaky Blinders on Netflix.

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