Media Diet: August 2025

Wow, I consumed a LOT of content this month! I got to spend a few weeks at home in October and also had sinus surgery at the end of the month. Recovery has been slow and has caused a LOT of TV & moving watching to happen.

📚 Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson - Fascinating reading about the creation of this book, where he took an existing short story and expanded it. Hadn’t read the original short story and found this very engaging! (A)

📺 Wednesday Season 1 - Completely missed the hype train on this one when it first aired. It was fine but nothing special. We’ll see if I make it through season 2. (B)

📺 King of the Hill Season 14 - I never watched the original show regularly, but enjoyed the bit I did. This was a great way to handle a time jump and continue a series. Thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. (A)

📺 It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 - The last few seasons have been pretty hit and miss, but this felt like a return to form—a bunch of callbacks to old episodes that worked perfectly. (A)

📺 The Bear Season 4 - Continue to love every season of this show. Somehow, it keeps getting better season after season. (A+)

📺 Family Law Season 4 - Just a solid comedy with some great actors shot where I live. Not a perfect show, but I always enjoy it. (A)

🎥 Jurassic World - What a terrible movie. Easily the worst of anything in the Jurassic franchise. It’s impressive how boring they made dinosaurs. (F)

🎥 Sinners - It wasn’t the film I expected from the trailer and all the hype I had heard about it, but I’ll always love Ryan Coogler working with Michael B. Jordan. (A-)

🎥 The Wedding Banquet - Sweet, fun, and perfect for watching on a flight. (A-)

🎥 Weapons - Absolutely loved from start to finish. What a wild ride. Don’t go into this one with any spoilers. (A)

📚 Icebreaker by Glynn Stewart - Not Stewart’s best work, but an easy beach read. (B)

📺 Fisk Season 1-3 - A solid Australian comedy series. Nothing mind-blowing, but I enjoyed it all. (A)

📺 Long Story Short Season 1 - Wow. Just wow. I had high expectations, given that the creator of BoJack Horseman created it, but it surpassed them. One of my favorites of the year so far. Must watch TV. (A+)

🎥 Bend It Like Beckham (Rewatch) - Just a fun time. Nice and light. (A)

📚 Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch - A weaker entry for a series I usually’ve enjoyed. Very forgettable. (C+)

🎥 KPop Demon Hunters - It was impossible to miss this one! Unexpected global phenomenon. I don’t think it lives up to its hype, but it is fun. (B+)

🎥 School of Rock (Rewatch) - I was discussing Richard Linklater and how great this film is with a friend of mine. I hadn’t rewatched it in years, and it still holds up. (A)

🎥 Thursday Murder Club - I loved the book series, but found the film adaptation just okay. For such an incredible cast, I was expecting more. (B)

📺 Dept Q Season 1 - Engaging British crime show. If you enjoy the genre, it’s worth a watch. (B+)

🎥 The Bad Guys - It was just OK. I can see why kids love it, but it didn’t have much of an impact on me. (B-)

🎥 Sovereign - What a different role for Nick Offerman, and he absolutely crushes it. Tense and engaging from start to finish. (A)

📺 Peep Show (Rewatch) - I watched the entirety of Peep Show while recovering from surgery—just the perfect show to rewatch. I fell asleep during episodes, but you always know what is going on—one of my all-time favorite TV shows. (A+)