Two highly-anticipated series returned to television this week: The Walking Dead and Stranger Things. Did they live up to the hype or fall flat on their faces? In addition, we're also taking a look at two new series that aired this week--one of which is a game show hosted by Snoop Dogg.
Over the course of the past couple of months, we've been looking at a selection of new and returning shows and giving you a quick breakdown of what is worth watching and what you should pass on. This week, we're talking about The Walking Dead, At Home With Amy Sedaris, Joker's Wild, and Stranger Things.
The Walking Dead
The AMC series entered its eighth season this week and starts the march to an all-out war against Negan and the Saviors. Rick and his group go on the offensive with a very intricate plan and give Negan the chance to surrender in the 100th episode of the series.
Season 7 was a drag. It was slow-paced and tried to build tension towards a battle with The Saviors; however, it failed to keep the interest of many fans. Luckily, the opener to Season 8 is a whole lot better. We get to see Rick and company's first strategic move and a good half of the episode has some awesome action sequences. The flashforwards were a bit confusing but weren't featured enough to deter from the main story. It's too early to say whether or not the show has gotten back its footing, but this episode is a good start on the long road to redemption.
Check out a more in-depth review of the episode here.
Is It Worth Watching?: As a fan of the comic book series, I have a lot of hope for this new season, so I say put the show back on your DVR schedule, with caution.
The Walking Dead airs on Sundays at 9 PM ET on AMC.
At Home With Amy Sedaris
What do you get when you mix a daytime cooking/crafting series from the Food Network with Comedy Bang Bang, a dash of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and outdated '50s stereotypes? You get At Home With Amy Sedaris. The new TruTV show parodies shows you know exist but have never watched.
The premise of the series is pretty brilliant, since these shows, like ones starring Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, or the Barefoot Contessa (my mom keeps telling me about her) are very dry and dull. TruTV aired the first two episodes of At Home With Amy Sedaris, and very quickly, the segment "Crafting Corner" became my favorite. It's a chaotic mess of failure, sadness, and regret, as Sedaris attempts to create terrible at-home crafts and is nowhere near successful because there is always some sort of problem. Not every joke is a hit, but the comedy has a broader appeal than shows with the same tone, like Comedy Bang Bang, which seemed to alienate those who weren't comedy nerds. Sedaris's series is fun, inclusive, and weird.
Is It Worth Watching?: Yes, but keep in mind the concept is a bit bizarre, and the first episode has a slow start.
At Home With Amy Sedaris airs on Tuesdays at 10:30 PM ET on TruTV
Joker's Wild With Snoop
Snoop hosts the new, revamped Joker's Wild, a game show that ran during the '70s. Contestants spin a giant slot machine with numerous categories on the wheels, and they have to answer questions based on what pops up on the slot. This is all hosted by Snoop, so you know there are quite a few mentions of pot.
I love game shows, within reason. Joker's Wild isn't interesting, and while there are a few laughs, it's incredibly repetitive and the fun feels forced. Even the inclusion of Seth Rogan and Wiz Khalifa doesn't help make this entertaining. Plus, it doesn't help that one of the contestants is insufferable and overreacts to everything. It's a revamp that tries to cover its flaws with a coat of paint, but everything bad about it bleeds right through. The biggest laugh came unintentionally, as Snoop was counting out $100 bills for the winner and slapping them on a podium. They were terrible-looking fakes, and the look on the contestant's face said it all, "Am I supposed to pretend this is real?"
Is It Worth Watching?: No matter how much you love Snoop, this is not worth your time.
Joker's Wild airs on Tuesdays at 10 PM ET on TBS.
Stranger Things
Taking place one year after the events of Season 1, the boys are back in town, getting ready for Halloween, and a new mystery arises: who is beating all of Dustin's high scores at the arcade? Additionally, Will is seeing the Upside Down in the real world, so he may be having PTSD or visions of what's to come.
Don't worry, we're avoiding big spoilers while talking about this. While the series primarily plays to our sense of nostalgia, which some critics have railed on, the first episode of the newest season is fantastic. The cast is at a place where they're trying to get back to some sort of sense of normalcy, but it's almost impossible because they have to keep what happened to them a secret, since the reality of the situation is completely unbelievable. The opening episode sets the tone, but it's not as dark--so far--as the Duffer Brothers claimed it would be. The only wrench in the episode comes from the cold open. It feels very out of place, although I'm sure later episodes will explain this more.
If you're looking for more info on Stranger Things, check out our reviews, highlights, and theories.
Is It Worth Watching?: Yes. The new season captures the things we love about the first season and pushes forward the narrative.
All of Season 2 of Stranger Things is currently available on Netflix.
Come back next week for a Halloween-themed special and figure out which one of the shows we're covering isn't spooky: Helltown, Stan Against Evil, Ghost Adventures: Museum of Madness, and Total Divas.
