Stories to Round Out Your Summer (or Winter)

This post contains affiliate links.

“Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness. “To know all is to forgive all.” 

~ Dale Carnegie, How To Win Friends and Influence People

This will be last blog post for awhile, except for the Story-Power posts. I have many projects that need attention right now, but I will be back in a few weeks.

As you know, I love to use stories to understand myself and others better as Dale Carnegie said, so I will leave you with some story suggestions that you might want to check out while you wait for me to come back.

I love  consuming stories of all kinds, with a few exceptions, and analyzing them with friends and family. It doesn’t matter to me what season of the year it is, I’m always looking for the next book, TV show or movie to consume. This summer there have been a number of great stories that my husband and I have watched on the streaming services we subscribe to. I’m going to give a list of a few that you might want to check out.

The first is Ted Lasso on Apple+. The third and final season aired in the spring, but Barry and I plan to go back and binge watch all three seasons. We love this show because it’s about an American football coach who is hired to coach a UK futbol (soccer) team. He takes the job because his marriage is in trouble. But unbeknownst to him, the owner hired him because she wants to ruin the team to spite her ex-husband who cheated on her. Ted and his assistant, Coach Beard, are mature men. They encourage and support each other and their team through good and bad times and their positive attitude rubs off on everyone in the organization. It’s a hopeful and feel good series.

Another fun comedy on Apple+ is The Afterparty. Season two is still airing, but it’s just as quirky as season one. The premise is this: In season one, the characters have attended a class reunion. One of their classmates is now a huge rock star and he invites members of the reunion to his mansion for an afterparty, but unfortunately, he gets killed. Tiffany Haddish plays Detective Danner, who is told to wait for her nemesis to solve the mystery, but due to past history with him, she is determined to find the murderer before he arrives. 

In season two, two of the characters from season one are attending the wedding of the woman’s sister. Unfortunately, the groom is the murder victim. They call Danner to solve the mystery. However, they find out she is a retired. She’s supposed to be writing a book about the season one case, but she has terrible writer’s block, and so she’s determined to solve this case before the police show up to bolster her self-esteem.

Shrinking is another Apple+ comedy staring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, one of the creators and writers of the show. It takes place in a small clinic where the therapists need as much therapy as their patients. Jessica Williams portrays the third therapist in the clinic. There are other fantastic actors in the show as well. Jason Segel’s wife has died about a year before the show begins and he’s dealing with terrible grief. It sounds tragic, but Segel and Brett Goldstein, who is in Ted Lasso, do a fantastic job of making the angst, poignant and funny. You feel for the characters, but you also laugh because many of the things they do, we can relate to.

The last two I’ll mention on Apple+ are Silo based on a series of books by Hugh Howey. It’s a dystopian, Sci-Fi, mystery. There are more seasons to come, but the first one can be binged now. The premise is this: What would it be like to live in a huge underground silo with only a small view of the devastated outside world and a government that is turning more and more totalitarian every day?

The other Apple+ series is Foundation, based on the series of books by Isaac Asimov. Season two is playing now but won’t be finished until September 15. There is a fantastic accompanying podcast that Barry and I listened to as we watched the first season. It’s like a mini-course in storytelling and film making.

On Disney+, the most anticipated series is Ahsoka. She is a former Jedi who was Anakan Skywalker’s apprentice. The first two episodes will air on August 23. This fills in the gap between the end of the Galactic Empire and rise of a new threat. Barry and I are very much looking forward to watching that since we loved Andor another Star Wars continuation series.

If you’re not into Sci-Fi or Fantasy, you might like to check out several great offerings from Masterpiece Theatre on PBS. We are rarely disappointed by any of their offerings. Endeavour just finished it’s 9 season run. It’s a prequel to the Inspector Morse series from the 1980s and 90s. I’ve heard extremely enthusiastic things about Call the Midwife. Admittedly, I’ve only seen one episode, but it was high quality television. There are many years of Masterpiece Theatre shows you can watch on BritBox, or Acorns if they are not available on your PBS station.

As you can see, I’m not into the shows like Succession, or Breaking Bad, or any of those kinds of shows, but there are plenty of those which get high praise as well if that’s your thing.

Thanks so much for being faithful followers. I hope things are going well in your world. Feel free to add some viewing or reading suggestions of your own for your fellow followers. I’ll be back as soon as I can.

Blessings,

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2023

Story-Power on Patreon

I’m so passionate about stories and what I can learn from them that I created the Story-Power podcast and Patreon communities so I’d have an excuse to talk story. You may have seen my Story-Power posts here. You will find several of my Story-Power guests sharing extra content, about books and their creative projects for my patrons. If you’re passionate about stories too, and want to talk about your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower.

PodMatch

If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. I call them a dating service for podcasters. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.