Ah summer.  Warm, and at times so unbearably humid you can’t stand to head outside.  With the lack of new shows, and episodes on tv, the thought t urns to Netflix, and the endless parade of Netflix Original series, and new entries from the television world.  I’ve been watching a few good ones.

1. Jessica Jones: Season 2– An entry into Marvel’s Netflix universe Jessica Jones follows the adventures of a powered Private Investigator through New York.  Season 1 was about the establishment of the character.  Season 2 is about characters finding themselves.  The main delves into Jessica’s backstory of how she got her powers, and features a turbulent reunion.  But as always with these shows, the secondary characters have compelling storylines as well from Jeri Hogarth’s struggles with a fatal diagnosis, and Malcom, and Trish’s struggle to find out where they fit in.  It is a little unclear as to how it fits with season 1 of the Defenders.’  I’d like to think the sense of “what now?” these characters are going through was caused by the Defenders.

2.  Homeland: I’m almost through the second season of Homeland.  A series following Sergant Nick Brodie as he returns from eight years of captivity.  He returns a man changed by his circumstances, and challenges in adapting to life post-captivity.  Damian Lewis is fantastic the way he manages to somehow  play three different sides of the same character sometimes within minutes of each other.  He is, and probably will remain my favourite part of this show.

3. Midsomer Murders: A British village mystery series starring John Nettles as local DCI Tom Barnaby.  It started in 1997 and is still airing new episodes over 20 years, and two lead characters later.  The true test of a good mystery for me is that it keeps you guessing right until the reveal.  And this series meets it while combining an endless stream of quirky characters.

4. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: The premise is exactly what it says.  Jerry Seinfield picks up some of his favourite comedians’ in an amazing car, and takes them out for coffee.  They talk about the guest’s career, and what makes a good comic sometimes with some interesting results.  My highlight episodes so far have featured President Barack Obama, Carl Reiner/ Mel Brooks, and Bob Einstein.