Everything I Watched in November 2023
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Back with another monthly watch list recap!
Once a month I send out a list of everything I watched the previous month to give you some ideas of things to add to your own watch lists, so I’m here to share the rundown of all of the stuff I watched in November.
Also note that I only include seasons of TV shows that I finished in any given month — if it’s still on or I’m still currently watching it, then I’ll include it when it’s over.
RELATED: Everything I Watched in October 2023
You’ll find that my reactions to things lean positive, because 1. I actively try to seek out stuff that I expect to be entertaining, has been well reviewed and/or has value to me — I’m not just going to watch the most popular show on Netflix because everyone else is if I don’t think I would like it — and 2. I’ve given myself more leeway recently to give up on shows that I’m not enjoying (here’s the list of all the shows I dropped last year). I used to force myself to finish things even if I hated them, which is truly unnecessary and a waste of time.
Keep scrolling for the list of everything I watched in November 2023 (and here’s the list from October if you want more ideas for things to watch):
I really enjoyed this documentary about restauranteur Michael Chow, the man behind the upscale Chinese chain Mr. Chow. I had no idea he’s lived such a colorful life or how eccentric he is — or how tied the restaurant’s rise was to fashion and art and Hollywood.
One of the most insane shows on all of television, which sometimes feels like the writers filled out a MadLibs to plot each season’s narrative arcs. Jon Hamm joined the show for its third go-round, which proved to be its most enjoyable yet. While I didn’t love how it ended, there were some genuinely great moments this season, especially that episode centered around Nicole Beharie’s character.
I was looooving this season of “Big Brother” for most of its run — between “Survivor” legend Cirie Fields managing to run the house for a bit and the comedic genius that was Felicia, it proved to be fun to watch for a while. But then the longer-than-usual season started to drag and drag and my favorites all got evicted and I found myself more disinterested in it by the end.
This Paul Giamatti joint about the kids who stay over at a boarding school during winter break was such a delight. It’s an awards contender, and rightfully so — Da’Vine Joy Randolph has already been recognized for her supporting performance, which is absolutely deserving of accolades. Highly recommend this one.
“Selling Sunset” delivered yet another solid season last month. If you’d told me when it first started that it would continue to be quality reality TV this far into its run, I wouldn’t have believed you. Chrishell’s growth as a reality star, in particular, has been really fun to watch, and I love how savage she can get these days. Same with Amanza stepping into her own; I get more and more impressed by her as time goes on, too. Chelsea and Bre are also so good at what they do, even if I don’t always agree with the points they’re trying to make on the show. I’m good on Nicole and Mary, though!
This intimate film with a high concept came and went on Apple, but I decided to check it out during a quiet weekend night in. While it has a great cast — Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White and Annie Murphy are all in it — I felt as though it couldn’t figure out its tone, proving to be fairly forgettable.
I loved this movie about the origin story surrounding BlackBerry, which had a great pace, fun performances and is a great addition to the tech founder movie niche. It’s like “The Social Network” but with a Canadian sensibility.
A wild docu-series about a cult called Twin Flames, in which members believe that they have one twin flame that they’re destined to spend their lives with. This takes some really unexpected and dark turns that I don’t want to ruin here, but I will say that usually I can see the appeal of a charming leader during these cult docs we keep getting and, I’ve gotta tell you, I didn’t understand it with this one.
The first four episodes of the final season of “The Crown” focus almost exclusively on Princess Diana’s final days and, while there were some solid moments and it packed the necessary emotional punch, it felt as though this arc didn’t need to be spread across four episodes. It felt like they drew it out to milk the intrigue around how they would address Diana’s tragic end on the show, which left a bad taste in my mouth.
I wanted to love this docu-series about L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who was at one time the richest woman in the world, but it lost steam as the episodes went on. The premise is intriguing, as it tracks how those around her took advantage of her in her old age as proven by hidden recordings taken by her butler, but it gets bogged down in legal stuff that lost me.
It felt like everyone was talking about this cult docu-series for a while, and I can see why: The first scene is one of the more shocking starts to a series that I can remember seeing for quite some time.
The Kardashians are more or less figuring it out when it comes to what we want to see from their Hulu show, but there ended up being a little too much Tristan Thompson in this season for my taste. They’re either trying to clean up his image, prime us to accept Khloe getting back together with him or prove once and for all they’re not together. Whatever it is, I’m kind of over it at this point. Bring back Jordyn woods for season 5!
This first season of “The Golden Bachelor” is one of the best additions to reality TV this year. I hadn’t tapped into Bachelor Nation in years before it debuted, but I’m so glad I decided to tune in to Gerry Turner’s quest to find love after the loss of his wife — every week delivered compelling. emotional, heartwarming TV that had an inherent authenticity that is hard to come by these days. Loved it from start to finish, but now we need “The Golden Bachelorette!”
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