Thursday Movie Picks: Television Edition: 2020 Freshman Series

a weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves

I don't know how it is even possible since I watch TV series all the time but whenever it's time for me to pick new series from the previous year, my brain goes numb and I even forget about the most beautiful series I've seen lately. One of those I picked today I mention all the time and yet I remembered it was a 2020 series only when I accidentally stumbled on it on Apple TV. Anyway, without further ado, here they are. 

Defending Jacob (2020)

Based on William Landay's novel of the same name, this Apple original series stars Chris Evans as Andy Barber, an assistant district attorney who finds himself on the other side when his fourteen years old son, Jacob (Morten Tyldum) is investigated and then tried for the murder of one of his classmates. It's far from being perfect, but I really enjoyed it. And I loved that Apple didn't give a damn about the source material and instead of giving us the middle-aged Andy Barber from the book they gave us Chris Evans.

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

Based on Walter Tevis's novel of the same name, this Netflix original stars Anya Taylor-Joy in the role of Beth Harmon, an orphaned chess prodigy who makes her way to the top of the chess world while struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. It took me forever to watch it because I thought there was no way a series about chess would be interesting but I was proved wrong. It took me a while to get into it but when I did, I couldn't take my eyes off of it. And Taylor-Joy's stunning performance. 

Ted Lasso (2020- )

Another Apple original series, this is based on a character Jason Sudeikis plays years ago to promote Premier League coverage on NBC and follows Ted Lasso (Sudeikis), an American college football coach who moves to the UK as he's recruited to coach a Premier League club, AFC Richmond, despite knowing nothing about soccer. This one also took me forever to watch because I love really like Sudeikis and it turned out to be by far my favourite series of the year. It is funny and full of heart, Sudeikis plays such a sweet and likeable character, and the first season doesn't end as any other underdog tale would have. 

8 comments :

  1. I didn't finish Defending Jacob but I loved the other two! I almost used Ted Lasso here but I saved it for another week. I liked Defending Jacob but I heard they changed the ending from what it was in the book so I quit watching because I'm petty.

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    1. They did change the ending but I read the book after watching the series so it really wasn't an issue for me.

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  2. Nice picks! I loved Defending Jacob. It could've fit into a two hour movie, but I liked having a new episode to watch every week and wanting to know what happened next. And the way Chris looked almost topped Infinity War. I'm definitely going to check out Ted Lasso and The Queen's Gambit this year.

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    1. I'm glad the hear I wasn't the only one who enjoyed Defending Jacob. I agree that it was a bit stretched and the novel could have easily been adapted into a movie but, like you, I really liked having a new episode to look forward weekly. Especially since lockdown life was very uneventful.

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  3. I've only just started watching Ted Lasso and I'm OBSESSED. I've always been a Sudeikis fan but it's been a long time since a TV show pulled me in so quickly.

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    1. It is so good, right? Every time I eat peanut butter I think of him always leaving it open and that's just a brilliant idea.

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  4. I enjoyed Ted Lasso. I can't stand the way AppleTV+ releases an episode each week rather than everything all at once. I understand when HBO does it since they still have their cable channels, but AppleTV+ is only a streaming service. They're basically stretching out their content since they have so little of it.

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    1. I watched Ted Lasso recently so I didn't have to wait a week for each episode. But it didn't bother me at all with Defending Jacob. I really liked having something to look forward to.

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