Wearing pants is so boring. During my holiday time off these are the MUST SEE shows to binge-watch.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I caught up on a couple shows that I love, and here is what I think of their current seasons.

The Crown, Season 5:

Well, it’s the ’90s now at Buckingham palace, and beyond. Charles, and particularly Diana, take center stage as their marriage literally falls apart in public 9as we all know). Camilla, Dodi, Panorama, Tampongate— season 5 delves into all of it. What it doesn’t spend much time on is the Queen herself. Which might be fine.

I’ve been impressed with the way the show rotated the stars of The Crown in and out.  The new and tentative young Queen Elizabeth was brilliantly portrayed by Claire Foy, and it gave way to Olivia Colman’s stubborn, middle-aged horse loving gal. They were both amazing!

Imelda Staunton, a huge, and accomplished star of stage and screen, seemed like the perfect choice to play Queen Elizabeth in her golden years. But for some reason, there is just something missing. Foy and Colman had layers beneath that “Queen” surface. Staunton is a little flat. Even in an emotional episode that deals with the Queen’s infamous 1992 “annus horribilis” speech, the character feels a little removed.

The Crown has always been a pleasure for me to watch. After all, even in real life the Royals have been a soap opera since the beginning of [their] time. Season 5 is good, but for different reasons. The acting is fine, but Queen Elizabeth no longer dominates the story. The story itself is the star. It definitely shows the changing of time, and the family’s intergenerational tensions.

Jonathan Pryce did a great job as Prince Phillip, Elizabeth Debecki knocks it out of the park as Diana, and Lesley Manville is flawless as the Queens sister, Princess Margaret!

As always – I anxiously await the next season, which I fear will be the last.

Four out of five stars.


Dead To Me, Season 3 (Final season):

Has it really been two years since season two? I have to be honest – I’m still processing everything that happened in this last season. It’s hard not to.

It starts right where it left off, which is right after the hit and run Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardelinni) got into – where Ben (James Marsden) was the one hitting them. They’re taken to the hospital, and it’s non-stop from there.

The writers definitely didn’t hold back, and there’s a lot packed into each episode, but it works. And the humor is better than ever, even in heaviest, and most serious of situations.

There are many plot twists, and revelations (that I won’t give away), and they  definitely keep the final season from being predictable. Jen and Judy even acknowledge how much is suddenly happening to them.

This season  adorably calls back to earlier moments in the series, such as Jen and Judy cuddling up with The Facts of Life, and their love of wine. This season definitely reminds us why we fell in love with Jen and Judy in the first place. Each episode will hit you like a ’66 Mustang – especially knowing what Christina Applegate is going through personally.

Five stars!

-Carla Rea

 

  • Christina Applegate get star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

    Christina Applegate

  • Christina Applegate with Katy Sagal - her "Married with Children" mom

    Christina Applegate with Katy SagalKae

  • Claire Foy played young Queen Elizabeth in "The Crown"

    Claire Foy

  • Claire Foy as young Queen Elizabeth in "The Crown"

    Claire Foy in The Crown

  • Olivia Colman plays the forty something Queen Elizabeth

    Olivia Colman

  • Olivia Colman and "The Crown" co-star Peter Morgan

  • Imelda Staunton plays an older Queen Elizabeth in The Crown

    Imelda Staunton

  • Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown

    Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth

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