Down To Watch

Down to Watch rides West this week with a couple of episodes of American Primeval! Dan and Raul watched the first two eps of the Netflix series set in the Manifest Destiny days of America, as a woman and her son race between camps and forts in an attempt to catch up to the family's patriarch (or is he?). After their last shot at a guide out of Fort Bridger, a mountain man raised by natives who turns them down (or does he?), Sara puts her "faith" in some Mormon settlers heading to their Utah settlement. That plan goes South rather than West when a group of natives (or are they?) absolutely massacre the travel party. The mysterious mountain man saves the pair of travelers but a bunch of plots are launched as various groups seek fortune, lost family, and freedom in the Wild West. Does this new look into American expansion amaze and entertain? Your intrepid pod hosts know the answer (or do they?)!

It's the shortest month of the year but Down to Watch found plenty of TV treats to get you through Feb! Dan showed up to the pod with true stories and returning favorites while Raul shipped in a mix of new and off-the-beaten-path picks. We've got docs about taking down black hawks, bad brotherhoods and family burdens. Returning to screens, there's Reacher, some more White Lotus, Cobra Kai ends it's run and SNL celebrates on a "Super" Sunday. Intensity seems to be the key for Prison Cell 211, but also maybe boxers and lady thieves from jolly old-timey England get wild, and the robot named Cassandra is probably bad news. Plenty more than that is waiting for you on the pod and throughout the next month, so check it out! 

This week, DtW watched the next entry into the live-action Dune adaptation with Dune: Prophecy! HBO heard about another prince that was promised and decided they wanted to tell the tale of how the search started in this six episode series. Dan and Raul checked out the first two eps and dip into the greater universe lore as they discuss the story of palace intrigue and military posturing in the new show. Does the fresh look into the distant past of the films pierce their critical holo-shields and hook them into an ensemble epic in the vein of the big Max dramas? Whatever you do, don't ask the thinking machines!

This week on Down to Watch, it's a kickback to the 80s with The Karate Kid! Dan and Raul returned to the source material for the hit series Cobra Kai and the 2010 Jackie Chan remake to see if Daniel-san's tutelage under handyman Mr. Miyagi still holds up after all these years. Iconic lines and enduring images fill this classic coming-of-age story of beating back the bullies with bravery and determination, and performances from established actors and one-hit wonders manage to keep this high-kicking classic from growing stale. Come for the hand-to-hand heroics and blossoming romance and you might find a surprising amount of heart and humor. At the very least, you might get some chores done!

New year, new shows, and Down to Watch is back at it again in 2025! Dan and Raul brush confetti out of their hair and put away their Santa hats to welcome a brisk January on television. Early in the month, we see a number of doc series about living forever or making a killing on the air with Jerry Springer as well as a doc spoof with returning historian Philomena Cunk. Mid-month we're catching up with the split personality cast of Severance and redefining what good cop/bad cop means, alongside a Western that isn't made by Taylor Sheridan and a Japanese drama that might get messy but sure looks cool. Rounding out the month with big dramas around the President's security, a grounded Cold War Soviet sub, and whatever Prime Target might end up being a great start to the year. Listen up and decide for yourself!

Down to Watch is all about a royal rumble this week with Kings of Tupelo! Dan and Raul watched all three episodes of the new Netflix documentary series from the creators of the series Wild Wild Country and from the studio that made Tiger King if the trailers are to be believed. It's easy to see how the shows relate, as the Kings are mostly self-centered monarchs of tiny empires who all end up tied in some way to the star of the show, Kevin Curtis. KC is a wingnut conspiracy theorist who drives everyone around him insane and quickly dismantles his own life before finding himself behind bars for trying to assassinate the US president. This series promised a Mississippi feud that included guns, poison, severed limbs, a lot of network news coverage, and a little dog named Moo Cow. Does it deliver? Better listen to the pod!

The small screen is covered in spycraft at the moment and DtW is sneaking up on a couple of new shows! Dan and Raul combed the monthly TV premieres microfiche to find that most streamers are sending out a spy series or two this season and picked the pilots of The Agency and Black Doves to see if they self-destruct or accomplish their mission. The Agency's A-lister star Michael Fassbender displays the meticulousness of a field agent of a non-murderous sort (so far) as the show displays how a man can balance the clandestine with a love story amidst looming international chaos. Meanwhile, in Kiera Knightly's Black Doves, she's lost her love to mysterious circumstances at the end of a sniper rifle, and she needs the help of old friend Ben Whishaw to get to the revenging for her extramarital paramore. She's also balancing a regular life with this cloak and dagger shenanigans, although she's built a loving family out of a sham marriage that was once deep cover but may end up with her next to the UK Prime Minister.

The 'most wonderful time of the year' comes with new TV like any other month, and Down to Watch is unwrapping the upcoming offerings for you! Dan and Raul checked the list twice to make sure they cover all of December, and the DtW Gift Guide is chock full of docs and dramas, with the true stories including Churchill doing war, silly Florida crimes, serious parole boards, and whatever the deal is with Polo. On the dramatic side, we travel to Canada for something Sticky, to the UK for spy vs crime-syndicate action, and return to the worlds of Dexter and Squid Game. Books and games are being adapted to visually striking stories, the Star Wars and DC worlds check in and the Simpsons cross with the NFL in a wild ending to 2024. Come listen to it!

As the year approaches it's festive finality and the warming glow of the living room draws us closer together, Down to Watch has a couple new series to get cozy around. Dan and Raul saw the first episode of Day of the Jackal, a book made and remade into films until finally landing on an Eddie Redmayne led show about an international assassin and MI6 agent on his tail. This one is dripping with style and talent, with plenty of fan buzz after premiering. They also caught the premier of an anticipated oddball show called Interior Chinatown, another book adaptation about a waiter who feels like a background character in a crime drama, with the added hook that the show within a show rules seem to affect his life as well. Spoiler, the shows are worth the conversation and will probably come up again so check this pod out and get in the know! 

This week on Down to Watch... blasphemy on the big screen! Dan and Raul went out to the cinema to see if one Mr. Hugh Grant could summon enough acting chops to pull off the horror in a new horror movie called Heretic. Two young Mormon girls are responding to inquiries made to their church with hopes of growing their ranks when they discover the final name on the list was the last door they should have knocked on. The doors lock, the lights go out and conversation becomes menacing as the host manipulates his victims with mockery of their beliefs and generally chews the entire set as only a legendary British actor could. Did the movie get lost in the speeches or make believers of these podcast hosts? Blueberry pie, that's right!

Down to Watch is sticking to scary for a week longer as the Halloween vibes bleed into November with two new Peacock series: Hysteria and Teacup! Dan and Raul made a trip through the NBC streaming site to see what was up with these new horror-adjacent stories they're serving up and the gore was definitely present in Teacup. There's a trio of families trapped on a farm when a man draws a blue line around the property and anyone who crosses it becomes mulch. Internal drama and a seemingly possessed boy ratchet the tension but there might not be enough meat on the bone, so to speak. Then the guys talk about Hysteria, where the 1980s satanic panic might be the actual demonic presence spreading, but one high school kid is dead set on making things worse while choosing to become a 'Satanist', promoting his sick guitar skills and launching his band into black metal. This show definitely zags when zigging seems par for the course, so it might get very interesting. How interesting? These guys know!

This week DtW is capping spooky season with a cult classic vampire flick full of wild practical effects from 1985, Fright Night! Dan and Raul couldn't let October end without seeking some scary tales and this definitely delivered. This borderline schlock dips into sexy thrillers and TV history with its mix of rear window snooping, lamp-shading old-school horror presenters, and dance floor danger that may hold up better than expected. Is it enough to get past some of the more dated and hokey ideas that come with throwback genre movies? Ask the boys on the pod!

If for whatever reason you wanna take your mind off of the world's troubles this November, Down to Watch has some worthwhile distractions to de-stress or displace that anxiety. Dan and Raul checked out the upcoming schedule and found plenty to fill your TV tray as we head into the holidays. We've got more Yellowstone, a new show from Taylor Sheridan, another look at the assassin, The Jackal, and a series of creepy Creep Tapes. In theaters, we see Jesse and Kieran being real pains, Hugh somehow being scary and Denzel being Denzel in a gladiatorial setting. There are shows made from books, a doc about music, and more! Come get your gifts early! 

This week it's the first two episodes of the sequel series to The Batman and DTW is down to waddle! Dan and Raul both love the new HBO series on Max based on Batman's old school villain The Penguin and Colin Ferrell is a big part of it. The Irishman has tackled what could easily be a throwaway genre cliche with artistic aplomb. The result on paper is a straightforward crime story, but in live action is revealed to be a layered story built around an excellent performance. Ferrell is in good company with solid character actors, new faces, and the titular mother from How I Met Your Mother (Cristin Milioti), but this corner of the DC Universe is all about Oswald Cobb and can absolutely hook you after only two eps. What are the chances we'll see a gas umbrella or a duck boat though???

Another spooky season sneaks up on us and the DtW crew checked out the tricks and treats being handed out all October. The guys catch up on last month's hits and misses before knocking on next month's door and getting a mixed bag of fun size, full-sized, and sharing size! Dan's bag is overflowing with reality and documentary TV like Starting 5, a Netflix look at NBA lives, or This is the Zodiac Speaking, a dive into the mind of a mysterious killer. Raul's bucket of treats is all dramatizations like the criminal boxing world of La Maquina, The Franchise's MCU send-up, and Hysteria inserts read demons into the satanic panic. We got a ton of FBI checking the candy, some Halloween specials and what's so scary about a Teacup? You haven't seen Get Out, have you?

September is getting spooky sooner than expected this week on Down to Watch! Dan and Raul are happy to have Jonnie back as usual and he's got some thoughts on the latest nostalgia sequel in theaters, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The ghost with the most is back and the reception has been mostly positive but it's time to see what DtW thinks about Keaton wigging up again. Of course, no visit from this pod favorite guest is complete without a peek into the MCU and the guys are ready to talk spells, psychics, and scarlet witches because Agatha All Along has arrived to scare up some good old witchy fun with that Disney superhero studio money. Does it add up to the Marvel equivalent of TV magic or are we watching illusions and misdirects? These guys might know!

This week we're Down to Watch a buncha punks! Dan and Raul take a trip back in time with The Decline of Western Civilization, a 1981 doc filmed from within the Los Angeles punk scene as it was cresting on a wave of drugs, violence, art, and energy so potent the LAPD chief at the time forbade the film's screening. Through interviews, gig footage, and crowd interactions, filmmaker Penelope Spheeris managed to capture one of the most authentic portrayals of a musical movement ever seen on film and does it impressively despite such an unwieldy and abstract genre. This pod is a conversation in admiration and fun for sure, but if the documentary sounds interesting, it's free on YouTube!

Time to look ahead to September with the Down to Watch crew as the fall TV season starts to get in gear. Dan and Raul scraped the internet's endless lists to figure out the best in new streaming and even some old-fashioned network shows. There's plenty of real-world drama in docs like Mr. McMahon, Child Star, and American Sports Story, big moments at the Emmys, and more funny news from Roy Wood Jr.  Lot of tough guys coming back, too, from Tulsa Kings to an Old Man and even a Walking Dead. We got Japanese women's wrestling, modern British court drama, Colin Farrell's Penguin, so much Ryan Murphy and was it Agatha All Along!?! Maybe! Better listen! 

Deep into August, the DtW team treks into the 80s with a film that resonates with an audience of a certain age, The NeverEnding Story! Dan and Raul are both interested in the legacy left by one of a few fantasy flicks they remember as formative for their age group and dove into the world of Fantasia. Old-school fantasy story beats mix with ahead-of-their-time tropes like meta-narratives and crossing realities when a bookish kid hides from the world with a stolen book that literally places the reader at the center of the story. Does it hold up? Can it live up to the memory of one host and the expectations of another after a lifetime of hearing about Atreyu and Artax swashbuckling across our imaginations? Is there... an ending??? These guys answer some of those questions, maybe!

Summers in Florida are sweaty and sweltering, so this week, DtW is watching a new Sunshine State series on the TV with the A/C cranked! Dan and Raul caught their old friend Vince Vaughn sneaking around outer Miami in search of clues on Bad Monkey, a sunny murder mystery with the A-Lister as a motormouth detective who's off the force for a litany of reasons. The first two episodes have dropped to more than some acclaim while drawing comparisons to a number of previous shows that might denote a little less quality. So, did AppleTV+ manage to sneak in some quality noir around the fast-talking banter and baby turtle facts, or should this show have been successfully delivered to the gators only a few feet from the highway? Mayhaps the hosts can shine an unconventional streetlight on this!