Four TV shows you should watch this winter

Latest series’ range from delightful to downright weird

Image by: Josh Granovsky
Shows like Russian Doll and The Other Two will premiere this winter.

If you’re like me, you probably took one look at the winter snow and thought,  “Wow, I’m not going outside again until spring.” Luckily, there are plenty of new TV shows coming out over the next few months to keep us company as we lay in our beds wrapped in three layers of blankets.

Here are some of the most exciting TV shows coming to screens this winter.

The Masked Singer, Wednesdays on FOX

The winter’s breakout television hit came early, and it’s a weird one. 

FOX’s The Masked Singer, which premiered on Jan. 2, is an American adaptation of a Korean singing competition. In the show, anonymous celebrities compete while dressed in full-body costumes. The contestants’ true identities aren’t revealed until they’re eliminated. Meanwhile, a panel of debatably unqualified judges—including Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy—try to guess the contestants’ identities after each performance.

A large part of The Masked Singer’s appeal is the mystery element of guessing which celebrity is behind which mask. But the show’s production elements separate it from similar series. Each costume looks fresh out of a steampunk Alice in Wonderland, and the background dancers often wear morphsuits featuring only a massive eye over their faces. 

The show’s singing skills are well below any other competition show on television, but I’m guessing the first episode’s 12 million viewers were focusing more on the spectacle than the contestants’ voices.

The Other Two, Jan. 24

When 13 year old ChaseDream’s debut single “Marry You at Recess” went viral, it turned him into an overnight sensation. Meanwhile, Chase’s older brother is fighting for the role of ‘Man Who Smells Fart’ and his older sister is squatting in the houses she sells.

This is the set-up for Comedy Central’s The Other Two, a sitcom helmed by former SNL head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. As expected, the show’s jokes are fast and funny, anchored by performances from comedy legends Molly Shannon and Ken Marino. The Other Two also brings anunexpected depth to its plot by simultaneously critiquing today’s youth, millennials, and Gen X-ers.

If you want to spend half an hour laughing at how ridiculous everyone in the world is—and how unaware we are of that—The Other Two will do the job perfectly.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Thursdays on NBC

This past May, Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans received the worst news possible: FOX had cancelled the show after five seasons. But shortly thereafter, those fans’ angry sobs became tears of joy, as NBC announced it had saved the show and picked it up for a sixth season.

Back on television, New York’s 99th precinct is jumping in right where it left off after a Jan. 10 premiere. If you’re new to the show, you could probably watch it and easily cling onto the plot. If you’d rather start from the beginning, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s first five seasons are streaming on Netflix.

Russian Doll, Feb. 1

Have you ever wished you could watch a show with the quirky hijinks of Groundhog Day and the no-holds-barred humour of Orange is the New Black? Enter Netflix’s Russian Doll.

Starring Natasha Lyonne as Nadia, this Amy Poehler-produced series follows its protagonist at her birthday party, which is thrown against her will. Just when she thinks her night can’t get any worse, she dies. Just when she thinks her death can’t get any worse, she’s forced to relive her party over and over again, ending in death each time.

The time-loop heavy show is a great way to celebrate the real Groundhog Day, with the first season dropping in its entirety on Feb. 1.

Tags

Pop Culture, TV

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