What I've Watched | The Americans, Big Little Lies, and 13 Reasons Why

There are a lot of good shows to binge-watch (or regularly watch if you prefer!) and most of them came recommended to me. So now I'm going to recommend them to you.

The Americans

The Americans is one of those shows that I kept meaning to check out due to high praise and the fact that Felicity – err, Keri Russell – is on it. But I rarely watch anything on FX and honestly, too many shows, too little time. But when a friend and two co-workers encouraged me to check it out, I did. And proceeded to binge through all 4 seasons on Amazon Prime just in time to catch up for season 5. It's set in the 1980s and is centered around Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple living in the suburbs of Washington, DC with their two kids (and yes, they're really their kids). There's a ton of action, intrigue, politics and everything you'd expect from a show about spies. But it's just as much as about marriage, family and the constant questioning of your own morality. And I think it's the latter, more than anything, which makes it a great show.

Big Little Lies

One, I'm a sucker for anything that's based on a book and two, it's hard to ignore a show that features an amazing cast like Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgård and more. But I kept waiting for no real reason until my work buddy said I had to watch it and convinced me by mentioning that it's only 7 episodes total. I caught up quickly (although as I'm writing this, I have yet to watch the finale) and while I can't say I was immediately hooked, I got there quickly enough. The acting is phenomenal, the soundtrack is on point and I seriously can't wait to find out how it all ends.

13 Reasons Why

This is one show I did not need a recommendation for. It's been years since I've read the book (back in 2011!) so I didn't remember much of the details. But I remembered the big things: a girl named Hannah Baker commits suicide and she leaves behind 13 tapes for the 13 reasons why she decided to kill herself. Clay Jensen, the other main protagonist, finds these tapes on his doorstep because he is one of those reasons. I had liked the book and found the bullying Hannah endured awful and gut-wrenching but I didn't love it. That said, I think the show actually executed better what the book meant to. Nearly character is three-dimensional and complex. Clay becomes more than just the nice guy stereotype. Actually seeing on the screen the bullying, violence and cruelty of these kids hit me so much harder especially as the story got modernized a bit to fit 2017. I started watching Friday night and by Sunday afternoon, I was done. It is such a powerful show that didn't shy away from the tough scenes at all.

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Have you watched any of these shows?