What to Watch: The White Lotus, The Chair & more

A few weeks have gone by, and while it was a little quiet on the “good TV front” for a while there, I’ve managed to round up a few more that I’ve really enjoyed. So, kick back in your cabin Adirondack and enjoy these four shows.

The White Lotus 

I’d heard a few mentions about The White Lotus on Twitter (namely from impression/reenactment Queen Sarah Ramos) and decided to check it out. The show is a quirky comedy from Mike White, set at a fancy Hawaiian Island resort, that features a plethora of well-known actors including Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Molly Shannon, and Jennifer Coolidge. The plot provides Hawaiian Upstairs, Downstairs routine that toggles between the lives of the guests and the lives of the staff whom cater to them. For me, however, the show is stolen by two calculating college girls played by Sydney Sweeney and Brittany O’Grady who are constantly skewering their parents and their privilege. Watch now on HBO/Crave!

The Chair

I’ve heard that The Chair has some of the most accurate depictions of academia that TV has ever seen. Sandra Oh plays the first female Chair of a university English department, and as she says, “(She feels) like someone handed (her) a ticking time bomb, because they wanted to make sure a woman’s holding it when it explodes.” The six episodes are only ~24 minutes long, so it’s easy to burn through. 

Nine Perfect Strangers

Full disclosure, I’ve only seen one-and-a-half episodes so far, but I spent most of those 50 minutes LOLing at Nine Perfect Strangers’ subtle hilarity – namely delivered by Melissa McCarthy. The show centres on nine strangers who have arrived at a wellness retreat to have their lives transformed by Masha (Nicole Kidman); a mysterious, assumed Russian, wellness guru described by Melissa’s character as an “Eastern Block unicorn.” With three episodes out already on Amazon Prime/Hulu, I think this will be one to watch.

High Fidelity

I’m late to the party on Zoe Kravitz’ version of High Fidelity, but I’m glad I went back to check it out. Fittingly, for a show that centres on the owner and workers of a record shop, it has one of the best TV soundtracks I’ve ever heard. Right off the bat, I should tell you that this show only got one season, but I think it’s worth watching. And, yes, it is based on the Nick Hornby book (and movie) if you’re thinking this sounds familiar. 

What TV shows have you been enjoying lately?