Back to the Movies...

Tonight, as Australia has embraced Halloween ahead of Australia's big day to drink, spew and gamble as it's Melbourne Cup Eve!

I am off to see Marvel's latest Dr Strange. I know after Luke Cage I needed some Mavel space but anyway it's on like Donkey Kong tonight! After surviving needles and camera down my mouth and up my ass it's time to treat myself so I am doing a similar thang to Gold Class.

So it's Melbourne Cup Eve, Halloween and we are totally on the homeward stretch to Christmas...

This week over on Flashing off the Record we are celebrating the latest release from Birds of Tokyo and last night we got down with TKAY! So have a peek over HERE.

Until That Movie Gay returns tomorrow, laters and Happy Halloween...

Just over 2,400 Posts now...

It's Sunday, I look down the barrel at 2,400 BLOG posts, some small, some large, some about film, some about music and mostly some just keeping it random.

Back in my hey day 2007 was the year this BLOG first hit the intranet, a lot has changed since then.

I created another little BLOG all about music Flashing off the Record but one thing remains the same, no social media and I pose the question is it worthwhile dropping the whole no social media to get my rambles out there?

I have no real interest in social media right now nor have I recently so I am leaning towards no. Organically I would love to grow readership but wouldn't every blog, every newspaper?

Anyway today I have to fast for a few gross tests tomorrow, so it's TV, TV and more TV today, I feel that I have lost my love for the movies lately. School Holidays was a wasteland for films and now I just can't get my movie groove back on.

Insecure is the latest 30 minute HBO comedy that I am catching up on today, here is a sample below.



I finally finished up Luke Cage this morning which was enjoyable but given me another reason to stay away from the cinema this week, I think I have had my quota of Marvel this weekend and honestly I could not do Doctor Strange on top of 13 almost hour long Luke Cage eps.

I did absolutely love the Girl on the Train but for some reason I am enjoying my cinema break and Netflix n Chill sessions.

2,400 posts in with Halloween tomorrow, Melbourne Cup Tuesday, what a delightful week we have ahead. Look out for another 2,400 coming to y'all soon!

Blindspot Season 2.

After seven episodes Blindspot season 2 has ditched the tattoos and introduced Jane's mothers terrorist group Sandstorm. Another Aussie Luke Mitchell has joined Sullivan Stapleton for this NBC carbon copy of the Blacklist.

This show has serious parallels to the Blacklist replacing Reddington's Blacklist with Jane's Tattoos for each case/episode.

Once the tattoo is cracked, clues are put together, case solved, no good guys harmed, credits roll, next episode. Rinse & repeat.

Like the Blacklist this grew tired and the Blacklist has since evolved and truly become one of my favourite US shows over there main TV season. With a spin off in the works for the Blacklist I wonder whether Blindspot will get the same treatment with the introduction of Sandstorm.



One can not confuse this terrorist organisation Sandstorm with the below Darude classic!



What a Saturday anthem hey!

So Blindspot it's still a ratings success compared to some already flatlining new US shows (looking at you Notorious) and for NBC these procedural crime shows are the only thing keeping them going. Remember when they took a gamble on musical dramas like Smash, FAIL!

Tomorrow I hope to conclude the sex on legs that is Luke Cage and I am desperate to dip my toe in the new HBO waters with Divorce and Insecure.

The Wrong Girl - Watching Live

Does Channel Ten think I am stupid? Rather than watching the Wrong Girl on a catch up device or something I watched it live to air. Man the Bachelorette promos were off the chain!

I know it's the final tonight after the explosive and romantic episode I saw the last drab five minutes of.

Selling romance on reality TV shit, I always knew it was a little off but not full on rancid off.

But back to the Wrong Girl and watching live, that will definitely be the last time. The ridiculous number of ads, the speedy way once one show is done the next comes straight over the top, like I tried to take in whats coming up next week promo and Madam Secretary was look BOOM!

The episode on a whole last night was a build up episode, with Jack and Lily finally getting it on. Jack is a dish AKA Rob Collins from Cleverman some time on stage in the Lion King Musical and now a Channel Ten drama they are actually getting right.

Like Secrets & Lies Channel Ten have got drama right. Despite it being leaps and bounds more fun and real than Doctor Doctor and the Secret Daughter this is the worst rating of the three however if Nine are keeping Love Child afloat, surely this will be back for another outing.

So a lesson learnt, not to watch live TV, always aim for iView or whatever the platform Channel Ten use.

The Walking Dead, returns for a 7th outing

The Walking Dead has been in the headlines all week long after it's shocking return to the screens on Monday (Australian time). The ABC posted a brilliant article about this violent, torture porn first outing for the apocalyptic horror drama.

Two main characters bite the dust (no spoilers here) BTW, but the way they died the lack of drama or story for twenty minutes and the sheer horror and torture porn for the other half of the episode.

This is a show (like Game of Thrones) that has pushed the envelope for a while now, with Glenn almost dying a graphic and painful death last series, zombies dying with almost every piece of garden equipment and the spin off series Fear the Walking Dead taking zombies to Mexico and on the high seas.

We are set to see Negan the new villain run hell through the seventh series and possibly the eighth according to a comic book fan I was talking to about this character.

I do not offend easily but man it was hard to view some of this episode, the sheer brutality of the killing and the aftermath will be burnt onto my eyes for a longtime to come.

It's up to Game of Thrones to go out with a bang because with 17.03 million US viewers tuning into this first episode The Walking Dead is here to stay.

Heres a brief look at episode two.

Another Scream, this time to MTV, the Halloween TV Movie

MTV has given the late 1990's horror slasher film series a good hard crack with it's second season of Scream (the TV series) wrapping up in August and then a new 2 episodes aired recently for Halloween.

Adding a new Murder Island to the mix Scream went walkabout and added a new horrific tale and some new characters to be brutally murdered.

A cliffhanger leaves the viewers on the edge of their seats for a shorten (and most likely final) third season.

The third season will be aired in 2017 and we hope to eventually find out who the killer is and how they link it all together.



MTV has been ramping up their drama series with Teen Wolf existing since 2011 and a few other shows on their books. I think Scream has been a bit of fun over the US Summer and I do look forward to seeing how they will drag out the film series into a third and I would have to think final outing.

Ryan Murphy turns a corner, whilst at the same time going off course

I'll look at the take on the Scream franchise's TV movie made for Halloween tomorrow as my movie drought continues but today (tonight) lets head to another bunch of screamers, Scream Queens.

Also I will touch on the mid season reboot of American Horror Story - Roanoke.

Scream Queens is the on again off again show that FOX (in the USA) screen every now and then when they feel like it. If it's not a VP debate, it's world series and after 7 weeks you'll be lucky enough to see 5 ever so random episodes.

This last weeks episode saw the series shrink to under 1.5 million US viewers. Terrible.

We have seen a major cast member killed off and I have a feeling this show will also be killed off soon leaving Ryan Murphy with his American Crime Stories and Horror stories. Not to mention the upcoming Feud on FX with an awesome all star cast and a first season 8 episode run.

Murphy like the end of Glee seems distracted, all these projects and all these characters (based on real life folk or made up) are starting to all feel a little too camp.

When Murphy nails it like with American Crime Story, he kills it, but when things start to go pear shaped like Nip/Tuck Season Six, they really lose the plot.

Scream Queens was always going to struggle in a second series, being a horror show (like horror movies) there are only so many cast members you can kill off without the audience completely abandoning the series.

I love the high camp, culture references from week to week (or fortnight to fortnight) but do all middle Americans get all the culture references and snippy side comments if they are Trump voters? If Murphy wanted to make a smart and witty teen/horror series maybe FX, Showtime or HBO would be a better fit than US Network TV.

So Scream Queens in my spilt personality vote, is impressive yet the Green Meanie is a super shit villain compared to the more believable Red Devil.

With added Green Slime it almost makes the show a little comical.

The cast is outstanding, but the story lines in this series really need some work. Scream Queens could be Murphy brilliant instead it's Murphy distracted and not on par with the brilliant new series of American Horror Story - Roanoke which has turned yet another amazing corner.

Creating a show in a show and using the already outstanding cast in this way has boosted my interest in this already brilliant chapter. And 6 episodes in this year the show has not yet jumped the shark. Every year around this time (or earlier in Coven's case) the show loses the plot however this year we are on track.

Last week beating Scream Queens by almost a million viewers this series is the third best from the AHS franchise. Already renewed for a seventh outing I have a feeling Murphy is onto his longest living and best series to date here. As long as he doesn't get TOO distracted.

Supergirl Season 2.

Supergirl has found a new home for it's sophomore season and she has also found her cousin Superman.

With all these additions and filming moving to Vancouver (like the Flash) Supergirl is almost like a new series and that's not mentioning the fact it's shifted networks in the US of A.

The main drawcard to this superhero series is still Calista Flockhart, her one liners and outfits are outstanding and one of the most positive elements of the first season when we are offered so many options in this genre.

Yes the Superhero market is packed but like Jessica Jones it's brilliant seeing a lady on the screen kicking serious ass. Even though in the first two episodes Superman did equal butt kicking.

I enjoyed the first season of this show and two episodes in (of the 22 order this season) so I am in for the long haul this season, Melissa Bonoist you are my Supergirl.

Secrets & Lies (US Season 2)

An one season Australian show makes it double time in the USA, this time a new case and a new cast of suspects.

Juliette Lewis is the only returning character from the first series and the delightful Michael Ealy (The Following) takes over Ryan Phillippe main suspect role.

Also joining the cast this year are Terry O'Quinn (Lost), AnnaLynne McCord (90210 & Nip/Tuck) and Jordana Brewster (Dallas).

The Australian series was a short sharp 6 episode season, in the USA the ABC has drawn this out to a 10 episode anthology series. Like American Horror Story, American Crime Story, American Crime and a long line of anthology series in the USA this show has the luxury of hitting resetting the show at the start of every series.

I liked the first season however this second season seems to be stuck in a wee bit of a holding pattern. The show has stalled and I don't know how it can get itself out of first gear. Not only is the show not really moving along but the audience is not really growing.

Not to mention audiences had to wait over a year for the second series to land on our screens. However I want to know who or how this years murder happened so unlike American Gothic I will stick this one out.

Luke Cage - First Reaction ( I Know I'm Late to this....)

I usually use my subject line of That Netflix Gay when I talk about the king of streaming but today I am only two episodes into this latest Marvel series airing on the giant.

Following on from 2015 hits Daredevil and Jessica Jones (where we meet Luke Cage), Luke Cage is one more of the Defenders who we will see in 2017 where they join the Iron Fist to battle crime.

Based in Harlem this is sexy, fun and has a whole lot of style, just think the Get Down as this also features some great artists including Faith Evans in episode two.

I do love me some Faith Evans and she drops one of her biggest tracks to date Mesmerized.



Mike Colter is super sexy as the lead and is a great superhero who works multiple jobs and is fairly invincible.

Fighting crime in Harlem and building on the Netflix Marvel empire seems like a breeze and no doubt a second series will be greenlit as like Jones and Darecevil this is classy TV.

The Punisher, Iron Fist and The Defenders along with continuations of the the above mentioned shows are also heading to Netflix meaning every comic book nerd has hours of time to waste and more reason to sign up to a $10 a month deal now.

I recommend this show highly and like me if you were waiting for some good word of mouth here it is, Luke Cage is not over the top like some previous comic book stories have been and it works well. The characters are well developed and the binge nature of Netflix also suits this sexy stylish crime show.

Yes it's mostly about crime and a bit about race, but as I start on episode three I think I have a few more hour on the couch smashing this series out!

Deep Water Concluded and SBS did a brilliant job, brilliant!

SBS has been a champion of local drama of the past few years with East West 101, The Principal and now Deep Water will surely be a big favourite for the next ACCTA awards.

Yael Stone in all honesty never caught my attention in Orange is the New Black however Stone was outstanding alongside her real life husband Dan Spielman in this four part drama series.

Now talk about binge watching this series, with only four episodes under an hour this is a late night easy watch affair. It was so compelling and so moving as the story reached it's dramatic climax.

The real life component to this drama series just adds to it's brilliance.

Deep Water will go down easily as one of this years best Australian dramas, real gritty and shocking. Challenging at times to watch as a gay man who back in the day used apps to socialise so this was a bit confronting but very real.

I know my posts have been light this week and Deep Water has been heavy this week, that's because it's that good. I have more to talk about but time has been a little light this week.

Until next week (or maybe tomorrow) enjoy the weekend folks!

Westworld Season 1.

HBO has it's new Game of Thrones. Huge cast, huge amount of nudity, 100% amazing production values WESTWORLD is set to be the next big thing on HBO.



Like Netflix, HBO has had for some years the strangle hold on drama and adult comedies. HBO basically created the "Golden Age of Television".

Westworld is yet another sci-fi series based on a 1973 film and with J.J Abrams in the production team this is set to be a big hit. With over 3.3 million US viewers tuning into the first episode this could grow viewership quicker than it's HBO stable mate Game of Thrones.

With Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden & Luke Hemsworth (not Thor) leading an all star cast it's hard to imagine this show (if it gets a second series, which no doubt it will) will attract more high profile stars in the future.

TV really is the latest home for a lot of Hollywoods biggest and most notable stars.

Westworld really looks a million bucks and like Game of Thrones the action sequences are delicious.

With a lot of sex thrown in for good measure and nudity galore this will also attract another kind of HBO regular viewers.

I enjoyed the first episode and eagerly await tomorrow's second, as it's a holiday in the USA and Donald Trump looks set to get thumped in the next debate Quantico and Secrets and Lies are off, BOO! Y'all have been back for two weeks and your on a break already. That's why I love cable TV in the USA, holidays or not the shows generally run straight through!

Westworld, the next title in the USA Golden age of TV.

Deep Water, SBS strike GOLD with another mini-series about..

Gay men.

In place of Grindr a gay app is being used by a murderer and the murders seem to resemble murders in the late 80's to current cases.

Aussie Yael Stone returns from OITNB to an all star cast featuring the most fabulous Danielle Cormack. Not only is Bea Smith one of Aussie TV's best characters in years but Cormack has been all over Rake, East West 101 (former SBS program which was beyond brilliant), Underbelly: Razor and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

Noah Taylor also a former Rake star returns to Aussie TV after some time on Game of Thrones, William McInnes is hiding something and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Dan Spielman, Craig McLachlan & Simon Burke  all add something to this outstanding mini-series.

SBS had a hit in my books with The Principal a while back (also featuring a gay man) and Better Man was outstanding.

It is a hard topic the film makers target in this series and it is well handled, Yael Stone as the lead is simply divine. I highly recommend drama lovers catch the remaining two episodes this week on SBS or SBS on Demand.

SBS you have really delivered here well done and please keep up the good work with dramas on local television.

That Netflix Gay #2016

Following my rave reviews of Netflix documentaries and the brilliant recent relationship comedy series release Easy, we now go to a Netflix film TALLULAH.



The official trailer has clocked in at over a million views and no doubt this film has done well for the streaming giant!

An all star cast follows Page's bad decisions and lies to kidnap a child in New York. That is a basic summary of the films major plot. But the cast is really key to this film, Ellen Page is vulnerable and outstanding as the lead and Alison Janney (like my previous review for The Girl on the Train) is outstanding.

With an all star cast from the TV (Dexter, The Big C) and the film world this movie is big budget stuff and if great stories like this continue to come from the streaming machine expect the film studios to start to panic.

Ellen Page as an adult is a real little star and her and Janney are just brilliant as this odd couple wrapped up in all the lies and deceptions that just spiral out of control.

If your a mother this might be tough viewing, if you a gay with no kids like me I wouldn't understand what it was like to lose a child. However if someone took my dog, SHIT would get real!

Tallulah like The Girl on the Train explores simple, everyday human emotions but this raw insight into these natural emotions is the real key to why this film works. From divorce to poverty, to child abduction and fear this film covers a lot of ground.

Impressive stuff and well worth a peek on your monthly Netflix subscription, 3.5 Stars.

That Movie Gay #2016

Around two years to this day I saw a film that changed thrillers and the way I enjoyed the cinema experience, that film was Gone Girl, almost exactly two years after that comes THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN.



I have longed for the cinema after a woeful few weeks of School Holiday releases and this week one of the most anticipated films of 2016 hit the big screen.

Look I get it parents need shit for there brats to do during the holidays but really Hoyts, Greater Union and other cinema sites, can you remember you core audience 18-49 year olds plus the grey haired brigade. Seniors have time a plenty and young people have disposable cash and need to be attracted from their homes and Netflix subscriptions, because honey boo boo Netflix is turning out some top notch films as well as brilliant series and documentaries.

Sp after my social commentary it's time for me to sing the praise of this outstanding film. OK I am biased this film made me feel things, this film changed the way I viewed relationships, this film shined the light on the ugliness of domestic violence and the treatment of some women in horrific relationships.

The original book was written by a woman and the women in this film (particularly lead Blunt) was outstanding.

This movie used no special effects, no gimmicks, no superhero powers, no nonsense just human nature, real human emotions.

All the cast were outstanding and it's so refreshing seeing so much of Alison Janney on Netflix and the big screen. Justin Theroux was also great on the big screen after I have spent two years trying to work out the Leftovers and thinking fuck this man is good looking in a dirty, creepy and would probably fuck you nine ways into Sunday kinda way.

So The Girl on The Train, I loved it, the audience I saw this with I hear some dodgy remarks about casting and god knows what other small technical faults but for any faults this film has it makes up with it's raw message and it's building of tension and pure brutal honesty.

I loved this and will go so far as to say after Snowden the other week these are two outstanding films. Thank god School Holidays are over so we can see brilliant pieces of cinema like this, like Gone Girl I am going rogue for a rating, 5.5 Stars.

Hyde & Seek

What is this, two GOOD and strong new Aussie shows on at once? WHAT! Plus the Code wrapping this week on ABC? After Channel Nine greenlit Doctor Doctor for a second series I was a little uneasy going into their next venture Hyde & Seek, however it was brilliant.

More edgy and fast paced than The Wrong Girl but again with a strong cast and current issues explored. Looks it's no Foxtel original nor HBO/Showtime drama but it is outstanding in the current climate of Aussie drama.

Matt Noble continues his run of good roles after the swim coach in ABC's brilliant mini series Barracuda and Tai Hara, HUBBA HUBBA! And then there Love Child favourite Rhonda from Bali, less Ketut.

Channel Nine has a fairly weak drama schedule at present with the very ordinary House Husbands, shocking Doctor Doctor, Love Child which needs to be cancelled after the rushed and very average third season. And that said most of the Love Child cast have moved on anyways, including Rhonda in this show, Marais in The Wrong Girl and the hot LaPaglia hosting over on Ten.

The House of Bond is set to land in 2017 and they seriously need a replacement for Love Child in their schedule however with House Husbands banished from the screens in 2016 this might be the replacement.

So back to Hyde & Seek, part terrorism drama/thriller, part cop show, this has hit written all over it. Well done Nine for going with this project as you really don't have a great record of late (if ever).

That Netflix Gay #2016

Netflix continues to dominate the streaming world (as reported this week, Presto it's time to go on Jan 31 2017) so it's no wonder I looked to EASY for my next binge fest.



This show (no pun intended) is EASY to watch, short, sharp and well written. I am 4 episodes in and just hit play on episode five (no Orlando Bloom yet) and I love the storytelling and the different stories represented in each episode.

I can see myself in several of the stories and great seeing the handsome Dave Franco on Netflix. Also great seeing Looking (HBO) star Raul Castillo as a straight controlling male in the Spanish heavy episode four Controlada. I feel Netflix is helping my Spanish language skills after this and Narcos.

Easy is a rare 30 minute series on the streaming service (yeah I gave Grace and Frankie a shot but mmmhhhhmmmm) as the service generally favours longer dramas and more gritty hour plus episodes of Marvel series.

Easy is a good watch and one I recommend dear readers.

Easy half way through gets a solid 4 Stars.

Netflix has a new weapon...

Killer documentaries. And as I started this post on the long weekend we started the week with Netflix killing one of it's two main competitors in Australia, bye bye Presto.

Presto had the square root of fuck all going for it, exclusive content included the axed US drama Aquarius which was so poorly viewed in the US and also a true life crime going nowhere, fast!

Mr Robot is also one of the most downloaded shows so ain't no one paying $10 a month for a show one can grab on the torrents.

The one thing Presto had going for it was Wentworth and some of the Aussie Foxtel dramas. Anyway back to why Netflix is slaughtering there competition. Not to mention competition in the same industry but live entertainment and people leaving the house in general. Thanks to Foodora and Deliveroo too I think. Not to mention Uber Eats, why next winter will I ever leave the house.

So over the long weekend I binged on documentaries on Netflix (and a little Easy, gosh that was all killer no filler so far!) I'll Sleep When I'm Dead and Amanda Knox.

Look Steve Aoki's music was originally for me but I haven't listened to a lot of his work lately but man his doco almost had me in tears towards the end, just brilliant and Amanda Knox. Well I heard about this obviously as I love ABC News 24 but this case was trial by media and also so badly handled.

Like the Jon Bonet event, only the people at this Italian place will now what truly happened that night. As I watched the doco I was nowhere near convinced of anything. But what I loved was the variety the the superior quality of these Netflix documentaries.

Luke Cage, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Bloodline and more all draw viewers and subscribers a like to this wonderful entertainment hub but this line of quality original programming is an added dimension that shows Presto would never last in this game. Foxtel unless you also lift your game, you could be next.

Stan maybe hurry up and renew Wolf Creek and start creating new original material or otherwise Fairfax and Nine Ent Co you have another dog on your hands like the frequently decreasing pages in the SMH or Channel Nine's ghastly Block series number 150.

The Wrong Girl + Aussie Drama OVERLOAD!

I recently (like mid last month) laid shit on Doctor Doctor it was awful and despite my criticism Doctor Doctor has received a second series despite the show dropping in ratings and being beaten by today's subject The Wrong Girl.

The Wrong Girl is actually outstanding and although it is light n fluffy and nowhere as gritty as Wentworth or the terrific Secret City on Foxtel. The Wrong Girl is actually a step in the right direction.

Jessica Marais is divine as the less than perfect lead and the support cast are actually not 100% irritating.

Australian Drama seems to be exclusively for after the sports seasons with Ten launching this series, Nine launching the god awful Doctor Doctor and last night Hyde and Seek commenced. Seven gave the Secret Daughter a go after Jessica Mauboy after her interesting performance at the NRL grand final.

Deep Water is showing SBS will also have another go at Australian drama in the mini series format and ABC are wrapping up The Code this week.

The Wrong Girl to me has a few things going for it, one a good lead in with the Bachelorette, two a strong lead, Craig McLachlan and some strong supporting cast and a story we can all relate to in a setting not all of us are used to.

With all this drama on offer, the US drama shows almost all in full swing, its a busy time for the most expensive television to produce, I feel the Wrong Girl should definitely be given another go with a second series and a good replacement on Ten with Offspring smelling a bit past it's used by date.

Ten is celebrating a bit of return to form with some reality shows firing, Studio Ten actually gaining audience numbers and with their lack of news and sports offerings they somehow manage to have a competitive schedule now.

So well done to Ten I wrote you off but the Wrong Girl shows someone there is making decent decisions.

Empire Season 3.

This season (the third of Empire) has opened up all Black Lives Matter guns a blazing with the big reveal of who fell from the roof and bit the dust.

Empire has been one of those rare success stories in recent US Network TV history. Like Glee it mixes music with drama and unlike Smash it doesn't suck and get all lost in it's storytelling.

Smash was a massive disaster for NBC in it's poorly viewed second season, after starting with over 11 million viewers in it's first episode of season one, the show slumped to below 2 million in it's second outing.

Empire on the other hand started at just under 10 million viewers but when it returned in it's second year it was up to almost 17 million viewers.

Yes it's slightly down this year but for Fox it's still the jewel in the crown of a network with some real drama (no pun intended) on it's hand. Scream Queens is rating less than 2 million viewers in it's last poor outing, Gotham has failed to gain over 4 million viewers this season and there other DC series Lucifer is also under the 5 million viewer mark.

So Empire looks extremely healthy in comparison to it's other Fall season shows. With newcomer Star by Empire creator Lee Daniels looking to be another Star performer for the network new series Pitch is off to a rather pitchy start.

Lee Daniels is a visionary and the guest stars on Empire to date have been nothing short of amaze balls. Let's hope this series of Empire continues the great music and great guests. I would love Kendrick, Anderson or Chance the Rapper to have a bit of a crack in 2016-2017.

The first track Freedom from episode one was another great Jamal joint whilst Hakeem continues to only get better looking. Cookie continues to steal/own the show and even young Precious is coming into her own.

Look if you want drama plus some Timbaland produced beats EMPIRE is the show for you (and me), still (along with How to Get Away with Murder (also in it's third outing)) one of my favourite US dramas right now. Boundary pushing and touching on the real issues of the world, Empire is a star studded tour de force!

The Blacklist Season 4.

The Blacklist is entering a huge year, not only is it it's fourth season but it's spinoff show The Blacklist: Redemption is set to air sometime this year.

This show started off with huge ratings and a very predictable procedure storyline per episode. Blacklisted bad guy named at the start of the show, Red makes the chase with Elizabeth Keen, they chase, they catch and then the next episode is the rinse and repeat start again.

Somewhere during season 2/3 the format started to drift and major storylines started to feature throughout the series. Liz Keen died, then what? Liz Keen went to the dark side, then saw the light again (literally) and her boyfriend/whatever Tom Keen, then multiple new names throughout series was a good guy, bad guy then the new lead in the spin off.

Along with Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold) Famke Janssen will be the main talent in the new spin off. Remember her from Nip/Tuck (when Ryan Murphy was a little more consistent), the Taken film series and X-Men films.

I have only watched the gripping first episode of this series with the second ready to go this NSW long weekend of sport, sport and more sport! But this series is lining up to be absolutely brilliant.

Action series are tricky you either like in the old days have a formula you stick to per episode or you go rogue and aim for almost movie like big action sequences. The second is where I believe The Blacklist is headed which is good news in my eyes.

This series has growed and unlike others in it's genre, has only gotten better with age. NBC has a winner on it's hands here and I hope Blindspot also takes a leaf out of the Blacklist and starts to drop the tattoo per episode formula and move more into series long storylines.

The Blacklist is now airing in the US on NBC.