By Vantage Staff
Between studying and working and practicing for sports, many Newman students have little time to watch television. So when they do, they want to watch something worth their time. This week, members of The Vantage staff share what they’re watching and loving:
“The Runarounds,” Amazon Prime
Anna Corbett-Neal, Opinion Editor
Recently, I have been in a drought of shows that I find enjoyable, especially after the series finale of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” After hours of searching, I saw an ad on Instagram featuring a member of my favorite band — Axel Ellis of Ax and the Hatchetmen — and that ad led me to a show on Amazon Prime called “The Runarounds.”
Written by Jonas Pate and David Wilcox, the series follows a group of friends who recently graduated from high school as they build their band from the ground up. Their goal is to make it big before college and avoid a dreary future. The story depicts each of the five friends navigating through conflict, love, self-discovery and so much more. It’s a perfect coming-of-age story.
This show is a hidden gem that’s been overshadowed by Amazon's bigger projects. One of the best parts about the show is that the band in the show is made up of members of real bands who are actually touring together as The Runarounds. I highly recommend this show if you are looking for a story with a balance of complex themes and lightheartedness.
Amazon Prime has one season of the show, which includes eight episodes, and all are up and available to stream.
“Black Rabbit,” Netflix
Aime Rutayisire, Sports Editor
Jason Bateman and Jude Law star as brothers in the Netflix series “Black Rabbit. Law plays Jake, a restaurant owner in the heart of New York. Bateman plays Vince, his troubled brother, who has a plethora of problems. This series is a brotherly love story that showcases what we do for our families.
Chaos ensues when Bateman’s character, Vince, returns home and sees his brother. Old debts and violence chase Vince, but he’s savvy and runs faster. The show dives into New York’s criminal underbelly by giving rich visuals of the city and anxiety-inducing dialogue.
I loved Bateman’s performance in the show, as he is typically typecast as the composed, dry witty guy. But in this show, he transforms into a hornet's nest of nuisances. The cinematography in the show was done by Peter Konczal, who provides gripping shots of the city with simmering shadows that swallow the screen. The look of the show leans more towards grime and grit than glitz and glamor.
The eight-episode first season is now streaming.
“The Rainmaker,” Peacock
Matthew Fowler, Managing Editor
As a child, I loved watching the legal drama “Matlock” starring Andy Griffith because of its folksy style and personable, down-to-earth humor. While I still enjoy watching an old episode every now and again, I need a little more sharpness in my limited pre-med-free time to live vicariously through a hot-shot, never-give-up lawyer willing to fight tooth and nail for his clients.
“The Rainmaker,” based on the John Grisham novel, is currently streaming its first season on Peacock, and it is just that.
The show follows a recently graduated and dangerously confident young lawyer played by Milo Callaghan as he battles for a grieving mother against the biggest law firm in the city. The catch: he was fired from that very law firm minutes after starting, and his girlfriend is working against him.
Although the ubiquitous modern relationship drama and coarse language leave some scenes needing to be skipped to maintain some semblance of Catholic modesty, “The Rainmaker” is a punchy and thrilling, yet grounded, exploration of what it means to sacrifice in defense of justice.
If you cannot swindle a Peacock membership login from your family or friends, it is well worth the $7.99 per month (with ads) to watch.
New episodes air on Fridays, and seven episodes are currently available.
“Tell Me Lies,” Hulu
By Denise Neil, Vantage Adviser
I’m probably too old to enjoy shows about the tortured relationships of people in their 20s, but I use the fact that I have a 20-year-old daughter as my excuse.
I have loved these types of shows ever since I was in my 20s and 30s, hooked on “Melrose Place,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “The O.C.” and “One Tree Hill.” As an expert on the genre, I can tell you that the production value, scripts and acting in these shows has just gotten better as each year goes by.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” was a great one, especially the third season. But earlier this year, my daughter recommended that I watch “Tell Me Lies” on Hulu, and I cannot lie about this: I loved it. Warning: It’s pretty steamy, and it also can be kind of harsh and sometimes hard to watch. The plot follows a college student Lucy, played by Grace Van Patten, who moves into the dorms and meets Stephen, a mysterious but alluring junior.
The two fall into a hot and heavy relationship, and he’s a major love bomber — until he’s not. Then, Stephen shows himself to be an atrocious narcissist who Lucy (and the audience) can’t help but kind of love anyway.
Stephen is played by Jackson White, the son of famous “Married With Children” actress Katey Sagal, and in real life, he’s not an atrocious narcissist. In fact, the two main actors met just before filming started and have been in a real-life relationship ever since.
Now would be a good time to catch up on the first two seasons of “Tell Me Lies.” Filming has just wrapped up on the third season, and it will likely air sometime early next year. The first season had 10 episodes, the second had eight, and all are streaming on Hulu.
PHOTO: Courtesy, Amazon Prime
