In the not-so-distant past, I was very much an advocate for cord-cutting. Everyone likes to bag on the cable companies, but to be honest, the only real issues I’ve had with them my entire life are cost and channel selection. The former always goes up and the latter never seemed to include exactly what I wanted. Cord-cutting seemed to be the solution – just let me pay for the channels I want. Unfortunately, the TV provider also being the internet bandwidth provider makes it difficult to get one without the other. The last time we moved, Comcast basically offered me internet plus a bunch of channels for the same price as just internet (which also turns out to be a very good deal if you like live sports).

Today, I seem to have a bit of everything (and the amount I pay to Comcast continues to rise). I have an old AppleTV connected to our Sony set, which streams multiple services that I get billed for in addition to Comcast: Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Disney+ and CBS All Access (which we just added so Colleen could watch The Stand). At some point, I need to catalog all of these accounts, see how much I’m paying in total and decide if we really get that much value out of them. In normal times? Probably not. During a stay-at-home pandemic? Likely a bargain.

My list of lists page has always had movies and TV shows I want to watch. Here are some recent things I’ve finished (or just started) since my best of 2020 post:

• Dark, Netflix (seasons 1-3): Armon told me to watch this German science fiction series about murder and time travel. It’s got subtitles, so you really have to pay attention. That’s good advice even if it was in English, as there is a large cast and it gets confusing very quickly. I did like it overall, but to be honest, it was a battle to finish all three seasons.
• Letterkenny, Hulu (season 9): I love this Canadian comedy and was super excited for a new season, but flew through all seven episodes in one sitting and now it’s gone again. Pitter Patter.
• Disenchantment, Netflix (part 3): Matt Groening’s medieval cartoon series is more Futurama than Simpsons, but the trio of Bean, Elfo and Luci make me laugh. Similar to Letterkenny, season/part 3 was over way too fast.
• Lupin, Netflix (season 1, part 1): Another foreign language Netflix original (France), this mystery thriller with subtitles demands attention. With only five episodes online now (out of ten shot for season one), it’s a quick watch. Cliff hanger warning: hopefully the second half of the season gets released soon so we can find out what happens to Omar Sy’s excellent character Assane Diop.
• Kim’s Convenience, Netflix (seasons 1-4): this Canadian comedy series set in Toronto has some of the best husband-wife and parent-child jokes of any show we’ve watched. Almost done with season four (and very happy to read there will be at least two more seasons coming).
• Night Stalker, Netflix: The New York Post (of all places) said this four-part true crime documentary about serial killer Richard Ramirez was “too graphic,” but we found it very interesting. I believe most of this happened while Colleen and I were in high school, but I only had a vague recollection of the case.
• Snowpiercer (movie): This 2013 science fiction thriller was on my watch list for a long time, as part of our recent Bong Joon-ho kick (Parasite, Okja, The Host). Can’t remember which service it popped up on, but we recently learned this is now also a series on TNT (with two seasons).
• Peaky Blinders, Netflix (season 1): With five seasons of this BBC show available, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit the time to a period piece set in post-WWI Birmingham, but now it’s almost like a British Sopranos for me, to be honest. Will continue onward.
• The Aristocats: I like that Disney+ has almost all of the old Disney animated movies to watch whenever you want (no more “available for a limited time on VHS” crap). When I read that some of the old movies now have disclaimers at the beginning, I decided to re-watch this one first. More details can be found on their “Stories Matter” website.
• Behind the Scenes of The Mandalorian, Disney+: I know I just linked to something different on the Star Wars website, but the behind the scenes series on Disney+ is really good (after you’ve watched both seasons). This franchise is in such good hands: Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Carl Weathers, Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau (who was a guest on Letterman the one time I got to see it in person) all seem like such cool, dorky people.

Thinking back on how many hours I’ve spent watching these, it’s a good thing at least some were also spent on the treadmill…

UPDATE: Per Kid Two, *she* pays for Hulu and also said I forgot about Amazon Prime Video…