So here’s a fact about me, like a lot of  millenials   people, I don’t really watch TV in a traditional sense, I can’t remember the last time I sat down in front of a TV and watched a show all the way through with *shudder* commercials. (This could also partially be because I have been living in another country for the past 5ish months, but I digress).

Most of my television watching is via Netflix or watching the highlights the day after on YouTube. However, I miss the rush of filling up a week’s worth of new shows on my DVR and slowly weeding out the terrible Fall debuts like my own personal Hunger Games. 

And it seems the networks are trying their hardest to make sure I was aware of their new shows. Billboards, ads before I’m trying to catch up with my favorite YouTubers, ads before I’m trying to watch a movie in the cinema, etc., etc.

I have hit a bit of a slump, so used the majority of my Christmas iTunes gift cards to experiment with a few new shows. I tend to give shows a little leeway and won’t make final judgements based on their pilot (everyone deserves a second chance). However, there are shows that have immediately captured my attention and I actually rewatch the pilot (I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched the pilot for Suits). Here are my initial thoughts about the shows I purchased (in no particular order):

American Horror Story: Hotel (Season 5)

Total Episodes Purchased: 3

Total Episodes Watched: 2

My relationship with AHS is a bit love-hate: I loved the first and third seasons, but couldn’t get into the second and fourth. I think having horror as a television genre is really gutsy (no pun intended) and the majority of the time AHS pulls it off really well. I was immediately intrigued by AHS: Hotel because of the star power (Gaga! Bomer! And all my favorite regulars!), but didn’t really know much about the story. I got a brief rundown from a friend because I wanted to know how terrified I was going to be: all your basic terror except this time the general plot follows a serial killer with the classic AHS twists and subplots. Initially I was really scared by a terrifying jump scare, but then after that it kind of just turned into the regular, gruesome, gory AHS that I know and love. I think Laga Gaga is fantastic, like, Honestly where has she been for the past five seasons? She is perfect for this. And her outfits are killer (pun intended). Also, just a quick shout out to Max Greenfield because I absolutely loved his character. Overall, the show is cheeky, sexy, and gory: an unexpected combo that just works. I will be watching the third episode (and the rest of the season) as soon as I summon up the courage.

Blindspot (Season 1)

Total Episodes Purchased: 10

Total Episodes Watched: 10

Okay, so I got sucked into a total vortex by this show. It’s not exceptional in any way and kind of reminds of The Blacklist, Captain America, and Black Widow (just think about it for a second), which is maybe why I liked it so much? It’s very easy for me to watch and I like the (unrealistic) fact that every episode is taking down the bad guys in 40 minutes. There are (predictable) tropes, but not enough that I don’t want to continue to watch (clearly). Aside from Jane’s gorgeous tattoos, my favorite aspect of the show is Jane’s struggle to figure out who she is, and (spoiler alert) how even when she does, she still grapples with being the person she was and the person she is now. I think Blindspot is a good attempt at illustrating who we are and what exactly makes up our identity. (Sidenote: I have this on my mind because I recently watched the Netflix documentary My Beautiful Broken Brain, which was absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend.)

Mr. Robot

Total Episodes Purchased: 3

Total Episodes Watched: 1

Again I wasn’t exactly sure what this show was about (maybe the advertisements aren’t working after all?), but decided to give it a shot. It seemed different to what was on TV and that was immediately appealing to me. Plus, when doing when one of my clip catchups on YouTube, I stumbled across this adorable interview with Rami Malek and was immediately enamored. Another key selling point for me was Christian Slater (or as I like to say, Slay-ter).

I watched the pilot and was drawn into Rami Malek’s character; I mean, monologues directly addressing the audiences, a chance that it’s all made up, a critique on the world we live in. I’m trying to think of a good word to describe the show and all I can come up with is “edgy”, which society has belittled into pure sarcasm (fsociety). In any case, it’s really good and I’m intrigued: the only reason I haven’t watched the next two episodes is because I am stuck in a Blindspot vortex.

I hope this has given you some ideas about what to watch next if you were in need of some inspiration. I’ll probably come back and do some more in depth reviews about my favorite episodes (if only so I can justify my numerous hours of TV watching to my parents) because I like writing/talking about TV. I always looking for something new to watch, so if you have any recommendations feel free to leave them in the comments below!