SHRINKING: SEASON THREE Starring: Jason Segel, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley, Devin Kawaoka, Wendie Malick, and Damon Wayans Jr. Creators: Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel NICK Although Shrinking remains one of my favourite shows on television, this season doesn't always know where to place its focus. Some storylines stay on track, but some feel rushed, while others feel underdeveloped. As usual, there's no issue with the main cast's performances and some of the new faces (particularly Michael J. Fox and Sherry Cola) are great additions, the story just isn’t as tight this go around. I love the feel-good nature this show can provide, but if we’re getting another season, it needs to bring a little darkness back into this world to maintain its realism. AMARÚ Shrinking makes the darkest subjects so wonderful and entertaining to watch, and Season Three is no different. Even through conflicts that are slightly too easily resolved in a pile of (I really hope it isn’t a) wrap-up season story, I couldn’t wait to cackle and cry at each next episode. The ensemble’s charismatic, multi-layered, and fantastically fucked-up faults are on full display for our enjoyment, and it’s bolstered by the enhanced role of the level-headed-amongst-the-chaos Derek (show MVP Ted McGinley). The mark of an amazing show is loving it through its flaws, and even Shrinking ’s “least good” season is a must watch. ROBERT After two seasons of trying to pull so many characters back from the brink, I wondered how Shrinking would operate now that everyone’s primary trauma wasn’t kicking them in the side quite as prominently. Well, I found the drama somewhat lackluster, especially in comparison to the previous turmoil, but while not reaching its highest highs, it chugged along consistently, even including some great additions in Michael J. Fox and Jeff Daniels. By the end, I was emotionally compromised all over again, but not to where I needed to be scraped off the floor. Also, Harrison Ford still deserves his Emmy. Fuck Parkinsons but not Shrinking . Check out our reviews for Season Two HERE . Want to hear even more of our thoughts? Nick and Amarú join Matt to take A Bigger Bite out of Shrinking: Season Three HERE .

TEACUP: SEASON ONE Starring: Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman, Rob Morgan, Chaske Spencer, Diany Rodriguez, Kathy Baker, Boris McGiver, Caleb Dolden, Luciano Leroux, and Emilie Bierre Creator: Ian McCulloch QUENTIN Bear with me because Teacup is hard to review without spoilers, and Peacock gave a lot of “don’t mention X” guidelines. That aside, Teacup isn’t without moments of intrigue, but the pacing doesn’t do the series any favors. The first half sets up a very compelling “what the hell is going on!?” mystery; however, after a mid-season, hour-long episode full of explanations (all other episodes are 30ish min), that mystery fizzles out in favor of lackluster character development. The problem is the characters aren’t as interesting as the mystery, so with a cliffhanger finale setting up a more character-centric Season Two, I probably won’t stick around. NICK Teacup shares many similarities to the Stephen King adaptation Under the Dome , and much like that series, it struggles to do anything great. Be it the performances, the pacing, or the mystery itself, nothing blew me away. It's intriguing, sure, but never gripping. Any chance at that was quickly halted thanks to an elongated, exposition filled episode midway through the season that conjured memories of some of The Walking Dead 's weakest points. If this were a mini-series, I could be more forgiving, but considering the fact it sets itself up for future seasons, I think this is where my Teacup journey ends.

BLOCKBUSTER: SEASON ONE Starring: Randall Park, Melissa Fumero, Olga Merediz, Madeleine Arthur, J.B.Smoove, Tyler Alvarez, Kamaia Fairburn, and Leonard Robinson Creator: Vanessa Ramos NICK Although I had hope for this Netflix offering, this series puts the "bust" in Blockbuster . It’s supposed to be a comedy, yet the laughs are few and far between (and mainly provided by J.B. Smoove) thanks to its lackluster writing and underwhelming cast. Randall Park has given us some entertaining side characters in the past, but he wears on you in a lead role, while Melissa Fumero lacks the charm she showed in Brooklyn Nine-Nine . This one is just a misfire, and as for the "Blockbuster" aspect…if you're looking to satisfy your nostalgia for video stores, check out I Like Movies when it's released. AMARÚ At times, Blockbuster is an okay show, while at others, it most certainly is not. When it’s good, it serves as noise to put on in the background, with chuckles coming often enough that you laugh a little louder than expected. When it’s forcing you to finish a hard-to-watch episode, it’s wasting a cast full of extremely likable actors (Olga Merediz deserves her own damn show). There’s potential to the gimmick of the last video store on earth, but the visible heart of the cast isn’t enough to make this lackluster show anything more than another one-season bust.

LOKI: SEASON ONE Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, and Tara Strong Creator: Michael Waldron QUENTIN While WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were more concerned with developing sidekick characters for future movies, Loki uses a fully established A-lister to push the MCU and Phase 4 forward by leaps and bounds. Tom Hiddleston is obviously great in the role, even as we spend time rehashing some of the character development we've already seen. Personally, I think it's the best MCU show yet, but that will ultimately come down to whether you prefer character or story more. Notably, the fifth episode is peak nerd, as the episode is literally littered with awesome Easter Eggs throughout.

SLOW HORSES: SEASON ONE Starring: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Olivia Cooke QUENTIN The synopsis for Slow Horses includes the following language: “MI5 rejects (read: failed spies) must endure dull, paper pushing tasks and their miserable boss, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who expects them to quit out of boredom and frustration.” Surely it wasn’t by design, but the series seems to want the audience to do the same. The central story is blandly unfocused, which, when coupled with the British dryness of it all, makes it tough for the audience to become invested. I admit Oldman is fairly entertaining as a flatulent old curmudgeon, but he can only take the show so far by himself.

IT: WELCOME TO DERRY: SEASON ONE Starring: Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, Stephen Rider, Matilda Lawler, Amanda Christine, Clara Stack, Blake Cameron James, Arian S. Cartaya, Chris Chalk, Thomas Mitchell, Peter Outerbridge, Kimberly Guerrero, Joshua Odjick, Madeleine Stowe, James Remar, and Bill Skarsgård Creators: Jason Fuchs, Andy Muschietti, and Barbara Muschietti ROBERT I’m not a purveyor of Stephen King lore, but the IT films were simultaneously accessible and high-concept horror done successfully. When Welcome to Derry came to my attention, it seemed like director Andy Muschietti was wading back to his main life raft before the dregs of The Flash . How much could still be unpacked about Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård)? As it turns out, quite a bit, as the showrunners weave in a few King properties to tell a compelling story to build on the mythology. Skarsgård is as unhinged and maniacal as ever in his comfort role, and while schlocky, the show is thoughtful and refreshingly emotional. QUENTIN When it comes to horror television, genre fans are often left wanting because networks tend to keep scares tame to appease broader audiences and advertisers. Thankfully, HBO’s Welcome to Derry isn’t concerned with that. From a pure horror perspective, it’s terrifying and unsettling in all the ways Chapter One is, full of atmospheric dread and gruesome delights. The Stephen King Easter Eggs are a nice touch, too. However, as a beginning-to-end narrative, the story has enough scattered lulls that one’s attention might wander. It also somewhat reduces Pennywise’s (Bill Skarsgård) fear factor by overexplaining his origins. Still, evoking a sharper-edged Stranger Things , Derry is worth visiting. PAIGE Welcome to Derry is a bonkers addition to the IT franchise. Admittedly, its plot is scattered, and some of the CGI is downright horrendous; however, when creator Andy Muschietti and team lean into the suspenseful score, practical effects, and real life terrors, the nightmares come to life. You'll really feel like you’re stuck in Derry too. The series also does a compelling job of building the mythology surrounding Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). While the mythos may take away some of the mystery that makes him so daunting, that expansion manages to deepen the intrigue about the entity. Another thing the series has going for it is that it does a killer job of weaving in lore from other Stephen King properties.

SERVANT: SEASON FOUR Starring: Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free, and Rupert Grint Creators: Tony Basgallop and M. Night Shyamalan QUENTIN One universal complaint about M. Night Shyamalan’s body of work is his propensity to deliver bum endings after intriguingly terrific set ups, and Servant , which was meant to be six seasons before being culled down to four, is yet another victim. Truth be told, this series has become less and less interesting with each passing season, and this final group of episodes struggles to maintain momentum, answer questions proposed over the entire series’ run, or make the viewer care about the fact that this story is ending. It just fizzles out, like Shyamalan ultimately got bored with the series, which is fair because so did I.

Previous Next September 28, 2025 In a year where Warner Bros. has brought hit after hit, they have seemingly released another critical hit with One Battle After Another, an action-crime drama from the mind of Paul Thomas Anderson, featuring the talents of Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Benecio Del Toro, and relative newcomer Chase Infiniti. Join Nick, Amarú, and Matt as they dive further into the twists and turns the story takes, the performances from this star-studded ensemble, and what this film could potentially do come awards season. Click HERE to subscribe to our YouTube channel for all of our latest video content including our interviews, and be sure to give us a thumbs up and comment your thoughts!

DUTTON RANCH: SEASON ONE Starring: Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Finn Little, Juan Pablo Raba, Jai Courtney, J.R. Villarreal, Marc Menchaca, Natalie Alyn Lind, Ed Harris, and Annette Bening Creator: Chad Feehan QUENTIN Even as a Yellowstone fan, I can admit the latter seasons came with diminishing returns on most every front, with Cole Hauser’s Rip being perhaps the lone exception. As such, centering a spinoff around him and Beth (Kelly Reilly) made perfect sense, and thankfully, it works. New showrunner Chad Feehan skillfully blends familiarity with freshness, and putting Hauser, Reilly, and their tremendous chemistry front and center — alongside sparkplug Jai Courtney and icons Annette Bening and Ed Harris — reinvigorates the troubled franchise. Granted, bitch-ass teenager Carter (Finn Little) wears thin, but overall, the new sandbox and absence of Yellowstone creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan has done wonders.

MARE OF EASTTOWN Starring: Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, John Douglas Thompson, Joe Tippett, Cameron Mann, Jack Mulhern, Izzy King, Neal Huff, James McArdle, Guy Pearce, David Denman, Evan Peters, Cailee Spaeny, and Robbie Tann Creator: Brad Ingelsby JACOB You'd be hard-pressed to find something to dislike about HBO's Mare of Easttown . The detective procedural, directed by Craig Zobel, is the perfect vehicle for a miniseries of this scale. It's never grandiose and seldom epic, but it's always engaging, consistently challenging the characters and never seeking easy routes to resolution. It's Spotlight by way of True Detective , a combo that works brilliantly as the writing supports every facet of Kate Winslet's Pennsylvanian detective, a performance Winslet genuinely pulls off perfectly. Nothing about this series is meant to be mind-blowing, but it's as excellent (and excellently-crafted) as it is believable.

Previous Next March 10, 2024 WRITTEN BY: THE BITESIZE CREW Time for the Bitesize Crew to predict the 96th Academy Awards. Which film is walking away with the most hardware? Will it be Emma or Lily? Do you even care, or are you just watching to see Ryan Gosling sing?

Previous December 31, 2024 Next A BITESIZE CHAT WITH BRANDON CRONENBERG Filmmaker Brandon Cronenberg (Possessor) joins us to talk about his newest release, Infinity Pool , the current state of horror, and the future of his burgeoning film career. BB: You experimented with the visual language of [Infinity Pool ] quite a bit, which made it really exciting to watch. Were there any scenes in particular that were difficult to shoot, but turned out better than you had hoped for? BC: It was all kind of difficult to shoot because we were on a pretty tight indie schedule, and that was more challenging, I think, than the kind of hallucinatory scenes, the more formally stylistic stuff. That stuff was fun, but a lot of it is done [with] you taking material and re-photographing it, so it was a bit more leisurely whereas the main shoot was a bit hectic. I think, to me, the hardest sequence was probably the home invasion. We had one day to do that whole sequence, and it’s probably, you know, two and a half days of shooting if we were able to take our time. But, yeah, I’m really happy with how it turned out. BB: With Possessor and Infinity Pool , there is this power dynamic between the elite and the lower body person. Has this concept always grabbed you, or would you like to deviate from that discussion in subsequent films? BC: It isn't the case that I think about it on a film-to-film basis. I mean, I wrote Infinity Pool before we shot Possessor , but after I’d written the script for Possessor . So, maybe there were certain thematic elements that made their way into [Infinity Pool ’s] script that I wasn’t sure I was going to even be able to tackle in Possessor because that film kept falling apart, over and over again, for the better part of eight years. So, there’s some overlap, probably. In that sense, that was where my head was at. But at the same time, I also think that the power dynamic of the economic divide is something that’s only becoming a more difficult-to-tackle issue. So, you know, you kind of pull the tensions that you see around you in the world into your work and process them in that way. BB: The rating of the film was brought down from an NC-17 to an R rating. What was the process like for you to make those changes to kind of fit those guidelines? BC: It's a process that very directly involves the MPAA because you send a film to them, they tell you, “this would be NC-17,” and you say, “okay, give us some feedback.” [Then] you work with an MPAA consultant…actually, Neon has an MPAA consultant who I work with…[he] sort of interprets their feedback for you in a way that’s hopefully a little bit more specific and practical. Then you just go back and forth. In our case, we tried to appeal at one point. So, I actually had to fly to LA, go to Sherman Oaks, to the MPAA headquarters, and it’s like putting your film on trial a little bit. They have a room full of people…apparently, there’s a priest there, that’s part of the requirements…and you screen the film, and you sort of make a case for why this should be R. Actually, weirdly, the MPAA representatives agreed with us in that case, that we had made our case, but we split the room five to five, and you need two thirds. So, we made a couple of minor tweaks after that. BB: You got to work with a modern day scream queen in Mia Goth prior to what has become her breakthrough 2022. What was the experience of working with her and the rest of the cast? BC: Interestingly, she was shooting Pearl when we first spoke, when we sent her this script. Those films hadn’t come out when I cast her in the film, and I don’t think we actually saw them until after we had shot. It’s fantastic that she’s having such a big year. I think she’s brilliant. I’ve been wanting to work with her for years. Everything she’s in is another example of how exciting she is as an actor and what a talent she is. It’s funny that she’s had this run of horror films, and is now, you know, the big scream queen because it wasn’t the case when we were shooting or that hadn’t happened yet. But, I mean, she’s an absolute delight to work with and obviously brilliant. BB: Working with actresses like Andrea Riseborough, and now Mia Goth, do you find their performances to be more horrifying than your body horror sequences or vice versa? BC: You know, I don’t know. I lose all perspective as I’m working on it. Certainly, with actors like those, the performances are the exciting part to me. I mean, it’s fun to do the horror stuff. We get incredibly giddy on set and start laughing maniacally when the prosthetics come out and everybody’s being squirted with blood just because it’s… as disturbing as those scenes are for some people to watch, when you actually shoot them, they’re incredibly funny. It’s sort of like playing Halloween. I mean, those are, in a way, the most lighthearted scenes to shoot, so they’re very enjoyable. That’s kind of basic nerdy stuff that is fun, but you can kind of just do it with your friends. To bring on an actor who you’ve never met prior to the film, to have someone inject that kind of life into your characters and into your stories, [is] thrilling in a very particular way. BB: I know a lot of films have working titles when creating them, but I know with this film, the title Infinity Pool has some subtle context. I was wondering if you had any other ideas for titles for this project? BC: No, it actually was the working title. I mean, it was based on a short story, and at one point, there was a kind of short comic version while I was writing the script that came out. It was a very short comic in an anthology comic, and that story was called, I think, “Death in Lee Tolka.” But that was never gonna be the name of the film. BB: How do you feel about the surge of love for horror in recent years? And has the genre changed at all? BC: I’m not sure if it’s [changed] necessarily. I don’t know. I feel like there’s always a market for horror, like from a film industry perspective. Certainly, a lot of my friends are horror fans, and so maybe my perspective is skewed, but it doesn’t seem like anyone has lost a love for the genre. I don’t know. It’s interesting. There’s this move now in the industry to embrace some pretty arty, intriguing horror, and they’re coming out of, you know, Neon and A24. So, I don’t know if it’s just because a market has been carved out and now there’s more interest in making films like that? I’m not sure. But I don’t think that those films are new. I think there has always been arty horror, and there has always been this love for horror films. I think we’re in a pretty interesting place right now because there’s a lot of visibility both with the more mainstream horror and this kind of stuff, but I don’t know that it’s necessarily a completely new thing or that those kinds of films stopped being made at any point. BB: Are there any horror films that stuck out to you over the course of 2022 that you really enjoyed? BC: You know what? I’m just starting to catch up on that stuff. I mean, this is hugely biased, but obviously Mia’s work has really stuck out. But there’s a lot of stuff that I just haven’t [seen], like I’m just now finally catching up to because the editing process was very long and intense on this one. So, there’s a kind of a year’s worth of film that I haven’t had a chance to engage with. So, it seems so self-serving to say X and Pearl , but they were quite good. BB: With both your films being body horror films, the elephant in the room is that your father has a historic legacy in the genre. How has your father impacted your love for body horror as a sub-genre? BC: I don’t know if he has. It’s hard to say. You know, I can’t see my father’s films with any kind of perspective because I’m too close to him. I’m too close to his films. So, I can’t watch his movies the way that normal people watch movies and be influenced in the way that people generally mean by that. Obviously, we’re related and he was a big part of my childhood and still is a big part of my life, but just as a human being. So, as a person, obviously, he influenced me genetically and in terms of my upbringing, but as a filmmaker, it’s hard to say. I can’t really unpack that in the normal way. BB: Are there any films that Inspire your work? BC: The problem is… I watch a bunch of films, usually with Karim Hussain, my cinematographer. He lives pretty close to me, and he’s an encyclopedia of film knowledge. My knowledge is all over the place. I have hugely embarrassing gaps, but he’s seen everything and knows everything. So, we usually will sit down and watch a mass of stuff, and I kind of just pack it into a weird loaf that sits somewhere in the back of my brain. So, it’s kind of hard to remember what we were watching when we were doing marathons in 2020, or 2019, when we sort of started this. I think some of the Steadicam and macro-gore stuff has definitely come from some [Dario] Argento films, you know, Opera and that kind of stuff. But that’s not something specific to this film, those are just incredibly formally stylish genre films. It’s not a very good answer, not a very interesting answer… BB: No, no worries! I appreciate your work because it feels original, and I feel like that’s the twist that you bring to the table with all of your horror films. So, thank you for that. For your future projects, would you ever get into any other genre and try something new? Does that interest you? BC: Absolutely! I mean, I love horror films. I’m happy to be a horror filmmaker. But I’m not trying just specifically to work in that genre. It’s just where my head is at. I’m happy to work outside, I’m just kind of taking these projects one at a time and following my interests. I do have… one of the things I’m working on is an adaptation of a book called Super-Cannes as a limited series, and that’s more of a weird detective story in a way. It’s somewhat horrific, but it’s not necessarily a traditional horror story. It’s a bit more of a surreal procedural. BB: Well, DC just announced they’re doing Swamp Thing . You should definitely throw your name into the ring to James Gunn! BC: Haha, let them know that! I don’t know if Infinity Pool is winning me fans at Warner Bros., but we’ll see. Make sure to check out Infinity Pool now in theatres. Interview conducted on February 2nd, 2023 by Paige Frabetti. Photo Credits: Banner - Rich Polk/Getty Images; Photo 1 - Neon; Photo 2 - Caitlin Cronenberg/The Globe and Mail