Culture / Entertainment

Now Hear This — Our Current Binge Watch Obsessions: The PaperCity Dallas Office Chatter Reveals That Neflix is No Undisputed King

BY // 10.04.18

Binge watching is now officially my number one hobby. I grew up in front of the television set. Thank God I didn’t have parents that commanded me to “go outside and get some fresh air.” Television shows always provided me with an escape from my often humdrum life in a small Southern town.

The new era of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime allows for hunkering down for marathon viewings of an entire series, with all the episodes dropped on the same day. At this point, I should update my LinkedIn profile with a new skill: expert binger across numerous platforms.

Your PaperCity Dallas team has been spending lots of time in front of their television sets. Thus this week’s Now Hear This question: What’s your current favorite binge watch?

Take a read and hopefully you will be inspired to go home this Friday and watch an entire season over the weekend.

Rebecca Sherman, Home Design Editor

A Very English Scandal (available on Amazon Prime). This three-part British miniseries has all the elements I love: a true-life mystery, fantastic actors, stellar writing, a good music score, and rich visuals. Based on a book by John Preston, it retells the unbelievable and wacky true scandal of Parliament member Jeremy Thorpe, who is put on trial for ordering the murder of his gay lover, Norman Scott.

Set your Easter Table with Bering's

Swipe
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024
  • Bering's Gift's Easter 2024

Thorpe is played by Hugh Grant, who is utterly brilliant as an aging and ruthless politician. Scott is played by the very delightful and perfectly cast Ben Whishaw. I’ve watched the series three or four times already and I’ll probably watch it again.

Now that I’m a big fan of Ben Whishaw, I’ve been watching anything I can find that he’s in. On Netflix, I discovered him starring in London Spy, a five-part BBC thriller. It’s dark, with lots of twists and turns. There’s great acting from Whishaw, Jim Broadbent, and Charlotte Rampling.

Also, Broadbent, a talented actor who plays former MI6 spy Scottie, lives in a chicly designed modern house in the series, always a plus in my book, since I love to look at gorgeous interiors.

Billy Fong, Culture and Style Editor

Like a few of us here at the PC offices, I am a tried and true addict of Ozark and Schitt’s Creek. I could easily write a few thousand words as an ode to the Bird and Rose families. First-off, the dark nature of Ozark drew me in last year for season one. The blue and gray colors that permeate the landscape through sprawling cinematography is reason enough to watch

However, the performances turned in by Jason Bateman as Marty Bird, a money-laundering seemingly accountant next-door type, and Laura Linney as Wendy Bird, a real housewife with a penchant for delivering icy lines, is the number one reason to set aside a weekend to binge Ozark.

I want a pied-a-terre or at least a timeshare in Schitt’s Creek. The magical, if slightly dilapidated town where the Roses, once video rental store millionaires and now a down-on-their-luck family try to figure out what happens next in their lives. I started out with season one back in 2015 expecting something akin to a Christopher Guest-like series.

Two of the stars of Schitt’s Creek, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara, are part of the ensemble that has frequently appeared in Guest’s docu-comedy gems which include Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. What I’ve found most enchanting since that first season is that it never fails to deliver with laughs and memorable one-liners, but it also has a heart.

I have become emotionally invested in the growth and family bonds that continue to strengthen amongst the colorful characters: Johnny, Moira, Alexis and David.

I currently love Oceans 8. I rented it through my cable on-demand on a recent Saturday when I was feeling the effects of a few nights of too many Sancerres at various openings. That said, I ended up watching it three times in the same day! How can you go wrong when you have great ensemble cast (Bullock, Blanchett, Rihanna, Kaling) + great clothes (particularly Blanchett’s outfits, to-die-for) + Met Gala?

It’s a formula that works so I am hopeful for Oceans 9. Maybe the team of jewel thieves hits the Vanity Fair Oscar Party next year?

Kaley Hanna, Events and Partnerships Manager

So this isn’t a show per se, but Oh My God have you seen the newest Netflix rom-com To All the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before?!

Netflix is renewing my faith in the classic rom-com (let’s be honest though, nothing will ever top a Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks pairing). This super cute movie will steal your heart and inspire feelings for the romantic lead, Peter Kavinsky, who is played by the gorgeous, talented, hot, steamy (did I say gorgeous?), Noah Centineo (also sorry to my husband).

To All the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before is based on the book by Jenny Han and follows the lead character, Laura Jean, as she recovers from the fallout of five secret letters sent out to the loves of her life. Those former loves range from her childhood camp crush to the charming and popular Peter Kavinsky. If you are looking for a quick (the movie clocks in just under 90 minutes) and entertaining watch, then I highly recommend you give in to your vices, check out this gem and let yourself feel all the things.

BRB, I’m going to watch it again for the fifth time since last week.

Christina Geyer, Dallas Editor in Chief

I bet none of you will see this one coming. Sure, like everyone else around here, I’ve binged on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Schitt’s Creek (at least three times), and Ozark. That said, my most recent binge-watch moment came by way of a classic to which I am very late (as in decades) to the game

I’ve spent the last several weekends glued to none other than The Godfather… All of them. Parts 1, 2 and 3.

Yes, I have committed cinematic sin and waited until the ripe age of 30 to watch what many call the greatest film trilogy ever made. And so, I cozied up and lusted over young Al Pacino for what resulted in nine hours of Corleone drama. What did I learn? Simply this: Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.

Hillery Stack, Dallas Publisher

I’ve gone down a very dark hole and started watching 24. I know, I know, I am about 10 years behind, but I am completely obsessed with Jack Bauer and have been known to stay up until 2 am binge watching.

Lisa Collins Shaddock, Senior Editor

I just finished binging Maniac, a limited mini-series on Netflix, and I can’t stop talking about it. The 10-episode drama stars Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, and Sally Field, and was directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga — who is directing the next Bond film set to release in 2020. (Side note: he also sounds like one of the most interesting people ever.)

The story, which takes place in a futuristic, dystopian New York City filled with robots, 1980s-era video games, and gold wire-rimmed glasses, is about a group of people undergoing a trippy, experimental pharmaceutical trial. Delving into heavy subject matter like mental health, addiction, grief, artificial intelligence, consumerism, cosmic connections, and soul mates, we follow Stone and Hill’s characters along elaborate, drug-induced dream sequences, through which they find their journeys are inextricably linked.

Maniac Netflix
Jonah Hill and Emma Stone are linked in Netflix’s surreal Maniac.

For something that could be perceived as dark, Maniac manages to be funny, smart, entertaining, and ultimately, hugely uplifting. Please watch so we can talk about it until I find my next show to binge! That is until my beloved Schitt’s Creek returns next year for season five — it’s simply the best.

Linda Kenney, Account Executive

C.B. Strike. Based on the best-selling novels of Robert Galbraith (nom de plume of J.K. Rowling), war veteran turned detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant, Robin Ellacott, solve complex murders. There is also a bit of a romance as the protagonists become attracted to each other.

It is a British series filmed in London and available on Cinemax. The books were impossible to put down and the series is truly binge-worthy.

Samantha Olguin, Senior Account Executive

American Housewife and Splitting Up Together both on ABC because not all of us know how to use/want to use streaming services (#laggard). American Housewife is hilarious and so on point with how I am sure the housewife life feels at times.

Splitting Up Together is great also. Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson have awesome chemistry and Hudson is drool-worthy if I do say so myself. I’m still hoping for a reconciliation of their on-screen marriage, but then where would the show go? I just love a happy ending!

Clearly some of us like a break from the stressful life on the news and enjoy escaping to a sweet light-hearted classic television sitcom — it’s cheaper than therapy!

If you ever have something you want our team to address, shoot us your thoughts via social media or email (@papercitydallas on Instagram; facebook.com/papercitymagdallas on Facebook; or yours truly, [email protected]). Or, better yet send a message to the office, handwritten on the Smythson stationery of your choice — and feel free to include a bottle of Veuve. Champagne really helps get the ideas flowing.

Look for the next installment of Now Hear This from Billy Fong next Thursday.

Visit Dallas' premier open-air shopping and dining destination.

Highland Park Village Shop Now

Curated Collection

Swipe
X
X