With the academic year over, many students are looking forward to having time to relax and unwind. Here are some recommendations for a few of my favorite shows that are currently streaming now.
Ted Lasso- Apple TV
“Ted Lasso” is an American sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt and Joe Kelly. Lasso, an American college football coach, is hired to coach the English soccer team, AFC Richmond.
What Ted lacks in experience and knowledge of English football, he makes up for in humor, optimism and determination. The Apple TV exclusive premiered on Aug. 14 of 2020, becoming an instant classic for viewers.
The second season premiered in July of 2021. While the show is about the uphill battle to success for AFC Richmond, the series takes time to develop and flesh out its characters with many great little moments the show has been known for.
Season three premiered on in March 2023. It is currenlty on its ninth episode for the season, with two more on the way before the series finale. Now is a great time to get into the show before its final season wraps up.
Invincible- Amazon Prime
“Invincible” is an adult animated superhero television series created by Robert Kirkman for Amazon Prime Video. The show is based on the comic series of the same name by Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, first published in 2003.
The series premiered on March 25, 2021 and it was met with high praise. “Invincible” follows teenager Mark Grayson, son of Omni-Man, the equivalent to Superman, in a world where heroes stop invasions and prevent crime in everyday life.
The show focuses on Mark when his powers first begin to develop and how he has to manage his everyday life. While this premise sounds familiar to your average superhero story, the show subverts expectations when the Guardians of the Globe, this world’s counterpart to the Justice League, is murdered by an unknown force.
This dark mystery is an overarching point that looms over the story as Mark becomes a hero under his father’s wing. While it only has one season consisting of eight episodes, the official Prime Video YouTube channel released a teaser for season two in January, hinting at a late 2023 premiere.
The Walking Dead- Netflix
“The Walking Dead” is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. The show has gained a wide audience during its over-a-decade-long run.
The series started airing in 2010 on AMC and just recently finished its eleventh and final season in November 2022. The series mainly follows Rick Grimes, a former sheriff deputy who wakes up from a coma months after the start of a zombie apocalypse.
The show’s focus is on how humans adapt and survive in this new world, making communities and fighting for supplies. Part of “The Walking Dead’s” success has been from the character writing and development on display. The show has a wide ensemble of characters and antagonists that all play big roles in the post-apocalypse scene.
The success and popularity with mainstream audiences have garnered multiple waves of spin-offs that take place at various times and locations in the same world while tying back to the original series.
Upcoming Spin-offs
The first of these was “Fear the Walking Dead.” First broadcast on Aug. 23, 2015, the show features a new set of characters during the early stages of the outbreak as they try to find refuge along the West Coast of the U.S.
The secondary character of Morgan Jones from the main series joins the ensemble in the fourth season. The last two seasons of “Fear the Walking Dead” take place directly after season 8 of the main series storyline.
AMC has been planning on making a few individual, small-scale series that focuses on some of the characters after the events of “The Walking Dead.” The first of these is “The Walking Dead: Dead City.” This series focuses on Maggie Greene and Negan Smith, played by Lauren Cohen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan respectfully, as they are stranded in post-apocalyptic Manhattan.
The mini-series will consist of six episodes and is scheduled to premiere on June 18 on AMC. The official “The Walking Dead” YouTube channel recently posted a teaser for the series on May 4, 2023.
The next short series like this focuses on fan-favorite Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus. The show follows Reedus’ character after he washes ashore in France and tries to find his way back home. AMC revealed the show’s official name as “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” in Oct. 2022. This series will also have six episodes in its run and will premiere sometime in late 2023.
The last of these six-episode series follows the characters of Rick Grimes himself and Michonne Hawthorne after the tenth season of the main series. Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira returned to reprise their respective roles. The show was revealed to be titled: “The Walking Dead: Rick and Michonne” in April 2023. The series is set to premiere sometime in 2024 on AMC.
Overall, I’m excited to see where these highly acclaimed shows will go next. These series are all great ways to spend some free time. These shows are great in their own ways. I hope this article has convinced some people to consider watching one of these shows, as they have bright futures ahead of them.