Confession: I watch a lot of TV. Like heaps and heaps. Not actual live TV but I’m a Netflix, Stan, HBO and SBS on Demand junkie. I’m constantly looking for new TV shows to watch. I know I’m making it sound like I’m Mike TV from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Favourite but honestly it’s not far from the truth. The thing is, I very rarely sit still and watch TV without doing something else. I’m always crocheting, scheduling social media, replying to blog comments, re-seoing old posts, cooking dinner, folding laundry. The TV is on in the back ground most of the time. So really, when you think about it it’s a productivity amplifying tool… STOP JUDGING ME!
Recently Kelly (Straight & Curly co-host) was asking on Facebook for new TV shows to watch and she asked if Breaking Bad is as good as Suits. I nearly choked on my almond milk flat white. I consider myself to be a bit of a TV connoisseur so after I schooled her hard on how those two shows aren’t even comparable (Suits is good but Breaking Bad is outstanding), I thought it was about time I popped together a list of the best shows I’ve been watching recently.
I’ve teamed up with Fetch (a cute lil’ box that brings cool stuff to your TV) to bring you my favourite TV shows of 2017. Getting the damn thing in my house was a struggle because I’m actually cursed when it comes to things being posted to me so my little Fetch box was shipped all over Australia before it landed in my hot little hands half an hour before I went to Indonesia for a month. Fetch were excellent during this whole process and I had to reassure them it wasn’t them, it’s me and my crappy post office karma. I set it up super quickly before I left for overseas and our AirBnB guests LOVED it. You get access to over 6000 of the latest and greatest movies and over 100 of the hottest TV shows to watch, but you still get access to free to air TV and it even records up to 6 shows while you’re watching another one. This is super excellent because I’ve been wanting a way to record Judge Judy off the TV FOR YEARS and now is my chance. You have entered the courtroom of Judge Judith Sheindland. YEAH I HAVE! It also means that all the TV lives in the one spot and you don’t have to switch inputs on your TV to find what you’re looking for. It’s all in one place, with one handy remote.
With my impeccable taste in TV shows, here’s a list of things your eyeballs want. All available to buy on Fetch.
1. Big Little Lies
I had heard some excellent things about this show but I didn’t see it pop up until I set up my Fetch. It’s based on Laine Moriarty’s novel of the same title and it’s got Reece Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in it. I don’t want to sound like a special snowflake here but I’m very rarely into ‘popular’ things. Like Scandal and pretty much any cooking show. I’m a bit meh about stuff like that so when people started talking about Little Big Lies I put it in the same category. Mistake. This show is awesome and full disclaimer – I haven’t finished it but I can say with certainty it’s awesome. Extremely watchable so make sure you have time to watch at least the first few episodes before you start. It’s seriously addictive. The first season is already available to buy on Fetch.
2. Girls
I’ll be honest, I lost interest in Girls when it hit season three but I persevered and this latest season is extraordinary. So, so good. The episode American Bitch is one of the most important episodes of modern TV I’ve seen this year. Shoshanna’s reckoning in her final episode had me fist bumping in my lounge room. If the sickly narcissism and total pain-in-the-assery had you hating Girls after season 3, get back on it. The final season is bloody excellent. Also I just love watching Jessa exist. She’s my physical, emotional and spiritual opposite and I’m totally fascinated by her.
3. Fargo
First things first, if you haven’t watched the movie Fargo, do that. Secondly start in season 1. Each of the seasons are stand alone but you just have to watch them all because they’re excellent. Martin Freeman is brilliant as always in his season with Billy Bob Thornton. Yes that’s right – Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton in THE SAME SHOW. Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons (Landry from Friday Night Lights) are life in their episode. They are also a couple now in real life which is just about my most favourite thing ever. The third season just got released so Mr Smaggle and I have cleared our weekend to knock that right over.
4. Better Call Saul
If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad – this is a must watch. It’s the story of Saul Goodman before Breaking Bad. You don’t even need to have watched Breaking Bad to get it. It’s solid excellence and Brian Odenkirk is insanely amazing. Light spoiler alert (but not really), if you’re a BB fan you get to see a lot of your favourite characters again. I’ll say no more. It’s available on Stan which you can easily connect to your Fetch box.
5. Game Of Thrones
If you haven’t delved into the game yet, get on it. Tips –
- Concentrate – it can be really hard to keep track of everything.
- Have a watching buddy – super helpful when you forget stuff.
- Don’t get attached to any of the characters. Seriously, no one is safe in that show.
- Read the map in the opening credits – it’s actually super helpful to remind you what the frick is going on.
- Don’t Google anything ever until you’re totally up to date. The internet loves GOT and you don’t have to delve far into the internet before you ruin it. You can grab all the seasons on Fetch.
6. You Can’t Ask That
This is one of my favourite shows ever. They get people to submit anonymous questions for marginalised Australians and ask them these questions on camera. There have been episodes with people with downs syndrome, facial differences, drug addictions and fetishes. It’s just presented in such a beautiful, respectful, human and conversational way. The episode on Muslims was particularly excellent and one a lot of Australians would benefit from watching. I can’t get enough of this show, I simultaneously belly laugh and tear up through the whole thing. You can watch this via ABC iView Catch up which is available on Fetch.
7. Westworld
This is the most bingable show I’ve watched this year. When it’s 2am on a Wednesday and you’re considering watching ‘just one more’ epsiode, you know it’s a goody. This show is full of twists and turns much like Harry Potter books that have you clutching your head and shrieking ‘WHAAAAAAT???? I saw that in the first episode and I had NO IDEA IT WAS CLUE!!!!!!’ . It’s awesome.
Bonus Terrible But Awesome Show…
Pretty Little Liars
Yes this show is terrible. It swings from drama to crime drama to romance to shitty teenage drama and occasionally it goes in a weird occult direction for no other reason that it’s Halloween but it’s bloody good fun. I’ve watched every episode and it’s absolutely bat shit crazy. The premise is that you’re supposed to find out who ‘A’ is – a stalker person that has been torturing the 4 main characters and every time you think you’ve found out who A is, it turns out to be someone else. My favourite thing about Pretty Little Liars is how everyone is related to everyone else and you can try to run over and kill someone in your car but they’ll totally forgive you and be your best friend later. Anything is possible in Rosewood.
So I have another confession to make. I don’t know how to make TV happen in my house. I can use Netflix and Stan but that’s about it. If we’re going to watch something that’s not on Netflix, Mr Smaggle clicks around and plugs things in and and has to get programs things to make it happen and it’s all very complicated. This is why the Fetch is so great because it has all the things on it – Stan, Netflix, on demand and you can purchase shows straight from it as well which is excellent because stealing shows is very, very naughty. The Fetch box is great for people who can’t figure out all the hard internet TV show things like me.
So how does it work? You can buy Fetch outright for $399 for the Mighty and $149 for the Mini and then it’s a $1 one off activation fee for a starter pack where you can record, You can download shows to watch them on the go with the free Fetch mobile (which is ACE if you’re a tight ass traveller like me and you fly AirAsia where they don’t have TVs on long haul flights. I downloaded some shows on the mobile app before I left. Thank god. That would have been a LONG 7 hour flight without any entertainment).
You can also add extra packages if there’s something particular that you’re into. Whatever you’re after they’ve got a package to suit you.
So tell me… what’s your favourite TV so far this year?