What to watch this weekend

Colin Firth on (peak) TV and even more true crime!

May 6

Hi friends,

First, some exciting news: next week, we’ll be launching Projektor, a publication that will house thoughtful essays on all things international, non-English cinema. It won’t be far off from A Good Movie to Watch’s own recommendations, but these takes will be longer and more in-depth, and we’ll be welcoming even more obscure stuff that might’ve escaped our attention. We have some beautiful, passionate writing coming up, and I can’t wait to share them with you all!

Second, you may have noticed an excess of TV recommendations in these newsletters. In my defense, there is so much (perhaps too much) good TV lately, and it’s getting harder to keep up! Apparently, we’re in an era of “peak TV,” and some critics fear that overwhelmed audiences, instead of getting the good stuff, might turn away and return to what’s easier, safer, and familiar.

I hope this won’t be the case though, and that we remain open to underrepresented stories. But as long as spaces like this newsletter exist, I suppose there’ll always be room for those who deserve to be heard.

As always, I wish you a good weekend!

OUR TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEK

My Liberation Notes

On Netflix 🍅 rating: —

My Liberation Notes follows three siblings in their mid-to-late twenties, thoroughly mediocre and unhappy with their humdrum lives. They don’t do much to protest their sorry fate, that is until one of them, having finally had enough, steps up and decides to turn their lives around.

My Liberation Notes doesn’t shy away from topics like classism and depression, and it never verges on weepiness despite this. It has a quiet and raw dignity to it, which is kind of rare for K-dramas. If you don’t mind a bit of slowness and seeing “the outer side of Seoul” (that is, its less glamorous aspects), then you just might enjoy this sedate but sweet show.