425. Web-series Reviews – 233

More web-series reviews…

The Studio – Came out in 2025. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it's the job Matt's been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.

A review from IMDB...

Apple TV+ brings us one of the great comedy series of 2025, and it's done so under the guidance of a duo that has been nailing it for several years with their projects, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. This time, they take us into the film industry's core with a series that addresses Hollywood behind the scenes with satire and physical humor, with an intelligence that allows itself to laugh at the industry while also paying beautiful homage to the seventh art.

The series explores the Continental studio to introduce us to the film industry, with all its madness, satirical egos, and wild moments that make it a constant work of laughter and dark humor, accompanied by the physical humor that Seth Rogen also masters. The series never limits its absurd parody of the Hollywood we don't see; it takes us on a journey through classic cinema and also through current cinema that addresses the industry, and does so in an intelligent and sarcastic way that, among its critiques, also lends a layer of homage to this art form that has enchanted us for more than eight decades.

With absolutely charming characters, including Seth Rogen himself, Catherine O'Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, and Chase Sui, Wonders, all shine. However, the series also draws on several stars who play themselves at their most unbridled, such as Dave Franco, Zoë Kravitz, Zac Efron, and Ice Cube. A special mention goes to Bryan Cranston as the studio owner, whose anthological comedy performance in the final two episodes.

The series is pure comedy, the absurd yet funny kind that, while often using crude and sexual humor, is truly well implemented, allowing the series to be a constant hub of laughter and pure comedy. In any case, the series isn't just a comedy; when it tackles drama, it does so with prowess, especially through the eyes of its protagonist, who is the soul of the series and provides the counterpoints and humanity in a series that places us in the dreams of people who love cinema and live for it.

It's a series that, in its humility, becomes the perfect Hollywood of intentions. A series that grows as it progresses. While its first two episodes are brilliant, it's in its final stretch that the series finds the necessary maturity to give us an absolutely overwhelming first season and the best of the year. With its final three episodes, the series consolidates itself with pure, well-crafted comedy, with a season finale featuring a double episode that is pure magic and a harsh, unadulterated homage to the film industry, making The Studio a great bet for 2025.

It may be excessive at times and truly crude at other times, but it is an entertaining series that always manages to be fun and rewarding, which tinges its humility with a great tribute to the film industry with all its nuances and all its drawbacks, but which establishes the seventh art as the perfect life companion for those who love cinema, and this series is a free tribute to films and to all those who participate in the spectacle called Cinema.

My Take – An excellent series!

 

Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders – Came out in 2025. It explores 1980s Chicago deaths from cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. The case led to tamper-proof packaging and became one of America's largest criminal investigations.

A review from IMDB...

Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders is, without exaggeration, one of the most captivating and well-produced true crime documentaries I've seen in a long time. From the very first scene, it grabs you with a sense of dread and intrigue, and it doesn't let go. The story, already infamous in true crime circles, is presented with such nuance, care, and compelling structure that even if you think you know the case, you'll be surprised at how much you didn't know - and how much the mystery still lingers.

What sets this docuseries apart is its atmosphere. The direction leans into cinematic storytelling, with eerie visuals, chilling audio design, and a level of production quality that rivals high-end scripted thrillers. The tone is somber without being sensationalistic, which I really appreciated. This is a story about real people, real loss, and real consequences - and the filmmakers never forget that.

The pacing is excellent, slowly peeling back layers of the case while maintaining steady momentum. You're not just bombarded with dates and names; instead, you're drawn into the timeline and psychology of the case through thoughtful interviews and carefully curated archival footage. The series strikes a rare balance between investigative detail and emotional depth.

The interviews are among the strongest aspects of the series. Survivors, journalists, law enforcement, and even people loosely connected to the case all offer a wide range of perspectives. There's a deep respect in how these people are portrayed, and the documentary doesn't push a single narrative. Instead, it presents the information and lets the viewer draw conclusions, which to me is the mark of truly intelligent storytelling.

Also worth noting is how the series explores the broader implications of the case - not just the horror of the poisonings, but how it changed consumer safety, packaging regulations, and even the psychology of public trust. It situates the murders in a wider cultural context that makes the story feel even more relevant today, decades later.

Another strength is how the filmmakers deal with the unresolved nature of the case. There's no neat conclusion, no tidy ending - and yet, it never feels unsatisfying. On the contrary, it leans into that ambiguity in a way that's haunting and powerful. You leave the series feeling unsettled, not just because of what happened, but because of how little closure there really is - for the families, for the investigators, and for society at large.

This isn't just a recounting of a crime; it's an exploration of the ripple effects of fear, trauma, and unsolved justice. It respects your intelligence as a viewer, doesn't spoon-feed you theories, and trusts you to engage deeply with the material. For me, that's what elevates a documentary from good to unforgettable.

My Take – An excellent documentary.

 

Murder, She Wrote – Ran from 1984 to 1996. Former high school English teacher and famed mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Dame Angela Lansbury) has a gift for solving mysteries. You see, it seems murder follows her around, whether it be to the houses of her seemingly endless number of friends, nieces, and nephews, or right in her hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine. Jessica is sometimes assisted by her friend Dr. Seth Hazlitt (William Windom) or the local Sheriff, Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley) and Tupper's successor, Mort Metzger (Ron Masak), a former New York City cop. Sometimes, later in the series, Jessica would only serve as narrator. In later seasons, Jessica moved to Manhattan to teach criminology at Manhattan University.

A review from IMDB...

I absolutely love this show. Angela Lansbury was great as Jessica Fletcher and made the show her own.The weird thing about this show is that Jessica Fletcher rarely had a love interest. She may not have had a love interest but she did have a lot of male companions who would regularly help her solve the murders, like for instance Seth Hazlet. She would be pondering about the murder and Seth would say something and suddenly everything would fit together and she would have the murderer.

The show can be enjoyed by all but only if you see it as escapist fun that is not taxing on the brain. It shouldn't be seen as a realistic TV show, if viewers watch it expecting it to be realistic then they will be sorely disappointed. For instance to obtain evidence Jessica would break into offices, people who watch a lot of murder mysteries(like me) would know this evidence would be inadmissible in the court of law and the killer would get off scot free.

The show ended in 96 but I normally catch it on reruns. Although I am a fan of the series but I still feel it should have ended after the 93 season. After the 93 season the plots became increasingly tired and predictable. In fact I thought the story lines became far more soapy, it became more about the characters and less about the murders.

Out of all the murder mystery shows I watch I like this the most. It was fun to spot stars like Ceasar Romero (the Joker from the Batman T.V. series. Over the years most stars came on the show more than once but in different roles.

My Take – An excellent series!

Adios till next time😊!!