{"id":4311,"date":"2026-07-05T10:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T10:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4311"},"modified":"2026-07-05T10:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T10:07:10","slug":"widows-bay-half-man-and-more-of-the-best-tv-of-the-year-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4311","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay,\u2019 \u2018Half Man,\u2019 and more of the best TV of the year so far"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>So. Much. TV. Every week. Every day. All the time. So we\u2019re going to keep this as simple as possible. Here are my 10 favorite new shows of the year so far. I wrote about many of them when they came out, anticipating that they might be worthwhile. What can I say? I have good taste. A quick glance will reveal that it\u2019s been a great half year for HBO, which claims half the spots on my list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4309\">A tradwife wakes up in 1855. What could go wrong?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>In alphabetical order:<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cBig Mistakes\u201d (Netflix) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>The screwball comedy is alive, well, and screwier than ever in this madcap, high-energy farce about two bickering adult siblings (Dan Levy and Taylor Ortega), their overbearing mother (Laurie Metcalf), and the low-level Russian mobsters they come to serve. We knew Metcalf and Levy were great, but Ortega might be the TV find of the year. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> Netflix.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cDTF St. Louis\u201d (HBO) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>A kind-of murder mystery that ends up being more of a complex portrait of loneliness and friendship, \u201cDTF\u201d never goes where you expect. Jason Bateman, Linda Cardellini, and David Harbour are excellent as the wobbly legs of a bizarre love triangle. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video. <\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cThe Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins\u201d (Peacock) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The mockumentary format has some serious tread on its tires. But \u201cReggie Dinkins\u201d flips the script by introducing a disgraced documentary filmmaker (Daniel Radcliffe) set on chronicling the comeback of a disgraced former football star (Tracy Morgan). Odd couple chemistry and second chances ensue. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> Peacock, Prime Video.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cHalf Man\u201d (HBO)<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>It may be a bit much for some, but Richard Gadd\u2019s follow-up to \u201cBaby Reindeer\u201d proves to be a relentless drama of family ties that can\u2019t be broken (even when they should) and the long-term damage of toxic masculinity. Gadd and Jamie Bell give searing performances as the two leads, as do Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson as the younger versions of the main characters. I devoured it. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> HBO Max, Prime Video. <\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms\u201d (HBO) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The latest \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d spinoff is, naturally \u2026 a tender-hearted buddy comedy, about a bumbling wannabe knight (Peter Claffey) and his wannabe squire (Dexter Sol Ansell), who turns out to have powerful family connections. It\u2019s got some grit, but a lot more wit. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> HBO Max, Prime Video.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4307\">22 bucket list activities in Greater Boston, for visitors (and locals, too)<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cThe Listeners\u201d (Starz) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Sneakily thoughtful, aesthetically daring, this British drama came over from the BBC (where it premiered in the UK in 2024). Rebecca Hall stars as a suburban London woman who can\u2019t stop hearing a mysterious hum, and encounters a cult-like group that claims to hear it, too. An unnerving meditation on the need for community and belief. <b>Stream it on: <\/b>Starz.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cMargo\u2019s Got Money Troubles\u201d (Apple TV) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Frothy but deceptively substantive, this David E. Kelley concoction (based on a novel by Rufi Thorpe) pairs Elle Fanning as a young mother who finds an OnlyFans following and Michelle Pfeiffer as her mother, who knows she\u2019s made some mistakes of her own. Nick Offerman is welcome as always as the estranged dad, an ex-pro wrestler with a heart of gold. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> Apple TV. <\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cMel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!\u201d (HBO) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Make that 100, as of last Sunday. Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio\u2019s two-part documentary on the enduring funny man is loving but not fawning, exhaustive but never exhausting. And it\u2019s not shy about observing, with help from Brooks\u2019s family, that he was never the easiest guy to live with. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> HBO Max.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cPortobello\u201d (HBO) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>In 1983, the enormously popular Italian TV variety host Enzo Tortora (Fabrizio Gifuni) was wrongfully arrested after a delusional mobster (Lino Musella) named him as an associate. This Italian language series, whip-smart and brilliantly acted, explains how it all went down. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> HBO Max. <\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>\u201cWidow\u2019s Bay\u201d (Apple TV) <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Sometimes tone trumps everything else. The term \u201chorror comedy\u201d seems to work as well as anything for this unique modern fable about a cursed New England island and the unpopular mayor (Matthew Rhys) trying to maintain calm, solve the mystery, and perhaps drum up a little tourist business. Meanwhile, Kate O\u2019Flynn all but steals the show as the mayor\u2019s awkward right hand. <b>Stream it on:<\/b> Apple TV. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4305\">At the MFA, the past and present converge in a fractious moment<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s a lot to watch out there, but these are the shows most worth your time in 2026 (so far).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay,\u2019 \u2018Half Man,\u2019 and more of the best TV of the year so far - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4311\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay,\u2019 \u2018Half Man,\u2019 and more of the best TV of the year so far - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There&#039;s a lot to watch out there, but these are the shows most worth your time in 2026 (so far).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4311\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-05T10:07:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4311#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4311\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay,\u2019 \u2018Half Man,\u2019 and more of the best TV of the year so far\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-05T10:07:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4311\"},\"wordCount\":769,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4311#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/843bac4e013c038b3399178e2c21c108.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Arts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4311#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4311\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4311\",\"name\":\"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay,\u2019 \u2018Half Man,\u2019 and more of the best TV of the year so far - 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