2021: a reflection on streaming TV

[Willie Oleson]

With all the classic soaps and hit series still being omnipresent in our conscious lives I wonder how much of watching streaming TV has enriched your personal catalogue of entertainment TV.

Off the top of my head - something that wasn't already on my to-watch-list or something I wasn't already watching on TV or DVD, and something I wouldn't have discovered or tried without streaming TV, something that looked completely original and made a lasting impression - I'd say SLASHER and TYRANT.

I have been entertained by many other series and movies but...what was it? Which is sort of the idea behind this thread.
I need to re-read various threads to refresh my memory but I don't need to do that for all the great stuff I've watched on youtube. (because...?)
And I'm not suggesting that TV entertainment should have a lasting impression, but if there is a difference then maybe it's interesting enough to explore?

 

[Emelee]

I've found many new streaming favorites. Had it not been for having HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc etc, I don't think I'd like sci-fi or fantasy like I do now. I've broaden my horizon so much in recent year and years.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I've broaden my horizon so much in recent year and years.

To me, that certainly applies to tellytalk (f.k.a. soapchat) because of all the wonderful suggestions made by forum members. And in this regard I think the convenience of streaming TV has played a part in it as I wouldn't blindly go buying DVDs based on every great suggestion made on this forum. Although it's happened, and quite a few times, actually.
But just because a streaming service makes it easier/cheaper to check out something that's already on my radar doesn't mean I've discovered it thanks to said streaming service.

If I want it bad enough I'll move heaven and earth to get it, and with shows like THE GOOD WIFE, AHS and THE AMERICANS I had to resort to TV and streaming and DVDs in order to watch all of it. Oddly enough, streaming still hasn't been able to make it completely hassle-free.

 

[Emelee]

To me, that certainly applies to tellytalk (f.k.a. soapchat) because of all the wonderful suggestions made by forum members. And in this regard I think the convenience of streaming TV has played a part in it as I wouldn't blindly go buying DVDs based on every great suggestion made on this forum. Although it's happened, and quite a few times, actually.
But just because a streaming service makes it easier/cheaper to check out something that's already on my radar doesn't mean I've discovered it thanks to said streaming service.

If I want it bad enough I'll move heaven and earth to get it, and with shows like THE GOOD WIFE, AHS and THE AMERICANS I had to resort to TV and streaming and DVDs in order to watch all of it. Oddly enough, streaming still hasn't been able to make it completely hassle-free.

I know, some streaming services don't have the complete set of episodes of certain series. Drives me bonkers. So the series that I really want, I get on dvd. Just to be certain I still have it if the streaming service removes it for any reason.

I go through the "all series" lists on the streaming services now and then. Sometimes I come by a series that sounds familiar and I'll then add it to my to-watch list. I try to figure out why I've heard of it. Can be that I've seen a trailer or heard colleagues talking about it or heard some critic on TV discussing it etc.

Sometimes I just see an ad for a series on the streaming site on the front page. Just a really good picture can make me want to watch a series. Like this one that I added to my list just because of this pic:

I also add series based on really good books.

No wonder why my to-watch list consists of 158 series.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

While I stream a lot of films I've watched very few series this way.

Of complete series I've streamed this year, I'd have to discount The Man From Snowy River and The Trials Of Rosie O'Neill because I'd have sought them out on DVD had they been available* (and because I've seen Rosie before).

Which leaves:

Ghosts

and

Love & Marriage

and

I Know What You Did Last Summer

*Ironically, both Rosie and Snowy River were announced on DVD shortly after I streamed them. I like to think my streams helped prove there was a market for them.

 

[Emelee]

Forgot to add series that I've streamed this year, both those I've finished and those I'm in the middle of. (And these are series that didn't air on any regular TV channel that I have.)

Mary Kills People
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Bajillion Dollar Propertie$
La Casa De Papel
Squid Game
A Series of Unfortunate Events
The White Lotus
Killing Eve
Tales From the Loop
Emily in Paris
Home for Christmas
Succession
And Just Like That...
Dead To Me
The Chestnut Man
Schitt's Creek

 

[Angela Channing]

It's been a great year for streaming services and some of the best TV I've watched in 2021 has been on them. My top series (ranked with my favourite on top) are as follows. I tried to get to 20 but I can't remember everything I watched.

1. Squid Game - season 1
2. Money Heist/La Casa De Papel - season 5
3. Elite - season 4
4. Maid - season 1
5. You - season 3
6. Them - season 1
7. Lupin - season 2
8. Alice In Borderland - season 1
9. Sex Education - season 3
10. Midnight Mass - season 1
11. Heist - season 1
12. My Name - season 1
13. Who Killed Sarah - season 1
14. Sex/Life - season 1
15. Succession - season 3
16. WandaVision - season 1
17. Tiny Pretty Things - season 1