PHOTO BY , COURTESY OF DUPLASS BROTHERS PRODUCTIONS
BINGEABLE: SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE (2022-)
Where is it playing?: HBO Max
What's it rated?: TV-MA
This may be my favorite new series out there. Charming and funny, this story of small-town America and prodigal daughter Sam (Bridget Everett) is both joyous and tear-jerking. Sam works in a job she doesn’t feel any passion for but also doesn’t want to lose, sleeping on the couch in a home inhabited by her family still living in the wake of her sister’s death and not doing it very well. Worse still, Sam can’t seem to make a true connection with friends.
When coworker and forgotten childhood classmate Joel (Jeff Hiller) convinces her to attend a church service, Sam realizes that this “church” is actually a home for a lot of people who feel like misfits and “others,” and a place where she can finally find her voice again after many years’ hiatus from her passion, singing.
Everett is wonderful in this role—complicated and super funny and a total treat to watch. I love Hiller as Joel as well, and their dynamic as friends is especially endearing. These are quick episodes, and while I admit I always wanted more at the end, it wraps up its first season in a wonderful way. If you have HBO Max, be sure to check out this slice-of-life comedy that keeps it real and will certainly touch your heart. (eight 30-minute episodes).
—Anna Starkey