In the midst of this pandemic one blessing is the streaming services of Netflix and Prime, other services as well. Especially during this time when prime time television shows are on hiatus (though they’re not all that great even when they’re new), the unbelievably numerous programming you can watch via this relatively new media is a godsend. And the number ONE program we and others agree everyone should watch is “Schitt’s Creek.” I’d ask you to pardon my language but, sorry, I won’t; that’s the name of the town. It has won numerous
Awards for very, very good reasons. This is the essence of one review we heard on an NPR program, “In this time of uncertainty, hatred and disease, (this program) has the sweetest characters with the sweetest episodes that just make you feel good.” Personally, the characters drive me crazy, each overdoing his/her persona, but it’s precisely that intensity that makes the program so magnetic.
Going back a number of months, “Kim’s Convenience” is an entertaining show about a Korean family’s escapades. They own a convenience store in Toronto and their semi-estranged son and brother works in an auto rental agency. By the way, both “Schitt’s Creek” and “Kim’s Convenience” are Canadian programs. So many are either Canadian or British.
Of course, “The Crown” is excellent. If you like to stick your nose into the business of the Royal Family, this is for you. And “The Queen’s Gambit,” a wonderful series about chess and mystery but not about royalty, is worth the watch. You need not even LIKE chess, let alone play chess, to be drawn into this series.
Suzy liked “Anne With an E” and “Emily in Paris.” They’re not necessarily chic-flix (well…), and I watched as well, but they weren’t my cup of tea compared to others. “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” is with Jerry Seinfeld and is an 84 episodes-show. He drives comedians and others around in fancy cars and has wonderful discussions with them. You’ll recognize most of his passengers, especially one named Barack Obama (the episode with the former president was voted the sixth best and, according to the president himself, his “most embarrassing presidential moment”). We only saw a few episodes, but they were excellent.
If you like musicals, you’ve got to see “The Prom” with Meryl Streep, James Cordon and Nicole Kidman and many other super actors. If you like detective/mystery genres, “Endeavour” (spelled correctly…it, too, is British) is for you (it sure was for me!); and if a more complex family series might be something you’re looking for, check out “Atypical.”
I’m sure some of you have your favorite Netflix/Prime programs. We could include a few in this column every now and then. You ask (as I’m sure you have on other occasions), “Rabbi, what do Netflix and Prime have to do with Judaism?” Well, it has to do with mental health, and since health in general is so vital in our tradition, it’s Jewish. Yet another answer: it has nothing to do with Judaism.