Three recs, green shoots edition

A Japanese historical epic, a delightful rom com, maybe my fave network show ever

Got some real gems for you guys this issue, but don’t have an essay, I’m afraid. Thank you to everyone who responded to the last issue – turns out I’m not the only one feeling burnt out these days, nor will I ever struggle to find travel buddies on a three-week walking trip. Which is all, honestly, quite comforting.

To help with the burnout, at least, enjoy the recs and your weekends. May you get some spring sunshine with your stories!

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Rec 1
Shōgun (TV)

I wasn’t planning to start a trend, but yes, you’re reading this right: You’re getting recs for series set in feudal Japan in back-to-back issues. And yes, they both deal with Westerners in Japan, but that’s about where the similarities stop.

Let’s start at the beginning: Technically, this FX series is an adaptation of the 1975 novel by James Clavell, first turned into a TV miniseries in 1980, starring Richard Chamberlain. I haven’t seen the first series, and I haven’t read the novel, so if you have feelings on those, I’m afraid I can’t weigh in. It’s also based on real history. Unfortunately, if I told you what it was based on, it would kind of give away the ending, but I did find it really interesting to know that all these characters were inspired by real people – even though their names (and plenty else) were changed in order to allow for creative freedom.

But that’s all background. The series starts in 1600, when a Dutch ship runs aground in Japan, which, up to this point, has had an exclusive Western trading partner in the Portuguese. The ship’s English pilot, John Blackthorne, is the only one who speaks Portuguese (none of them speak Japanese, of course), so he becomes the de facto spokesman. Naturally, he hates the Portuguese (this is peak Catholics vs. Protestants warfare) and wants to make the Japanese switch their trading allegiances from Portugal to England/Holland. He thinks he can do this by giving them cannons and building an armada.

Naturally, he is myopic and chauvinist, and thus completely clueless about the fact that he has just walked into a dangerous power struggle happening in Japan as the five regents left in charge of the crown prince fight to edge each other out and take control of the fractured country. As a result, he becomes a clueless pawn in power plays, and is only able to communication with the handful of people who speak Portuguese – who of course all have their own agendas.

Despite the set-up being about Blackthorne – and the fact that he’s the character we discover the world through – the series isn’t really about him (and his journey from total outsider to someone caught between worlds). Rather, it’s about Toranaga, the powerful and seemingly omniscient lord he ends up “serving,” for all intents and purposes, and Mariko, the aristocratic lady and Catholic convert who is assigned to be his translator. Yes, this is an American show, but it follows in the tradition of Pachinko (another fave show!) – it’s set entirely in Japan, with almost exclusively Japanese stars, filmed almost completely in Japanese. The sensibilities, like Blackthorne, feel somewhere in between Western and Japanese, and even the storytelling style isn’t completely what Western audiences are used to – in the best way.

Honestly, I could gush about Shōgun for so long that you’d all be tired of me. Stunning cinematography, heart-wrenching performances, perfectly woven storylines that never give you quite what you’re expecting, and everything in between. There hasn’t been a political-meets-personal epic like this since Game of Thrones, and I’d argue that the restraint and focus of Shōgun makes it the better series. I’ve also been watching a lot of historical shows and films lately, and this is the first one in a long time that at no point felt like it was hamstrung by the facts. Maybe if I read the book I’d feel differently – but maybe that’s a reason to not read the book.

All I know is that I wish this weren’t a limited series – but that I have nothing but respect for the creators’ choice to build it as one.

Where: FX (US), Disney+ (UK)

Rec 2
Evvie Drake Starts Over (book)

Before three months ago, I had basically never read a rom com or romance novel. Yes, I read Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy last summer when everyone was gushing about it, and I clearly enjoyed it enough to rec it. Still, it didn’t inspire me to get into the genre much beyond that. But then, some work stuff happened in January, I suddenly found myself having to be immersed in the genre. Honestly, no one was more surprised than I.

Now, 30-40 romances and rom com novels into my research, I feel like a low-key expert on the genre(s). I’ve read some duds, plenty of ‘fine’s, and a few genuine delights. Since my criteria for recs here is “I really enjoyed it,” that’s how you ended up with A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting back in February. And it’s how you’re now getting Evvie Drake Starts Over: it’s a genuine delight.

The 2019 debut from Linda Holmes, of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, this one is solidly a rom com. (Read: when it comes to the romance vibes, you’re here for witty banter, sexual tension, and people falling for each other.) Perhaps unsurprisingly – considering the author is a bona fide rom com expert – it also happens to be an excellent demonstration of the form. In fact, it’s so good at hitting all the right buttons you want from your favorite rom com movies in both fresh and familiar ways that I’m surprised it hasn’t been turned into a film yet.

Real fast: Recently widowed 30-something Evvie Drake lives in coastal Maine (picturesque, charming vibes already), pretty fucked up from her husband’s death and the fact that she didn’t actually love him. Her best friend convinces her to shore up her finances by renting out the apartment behind her house…to a super hot former MLB star pitcher whose career just cratered when he got the ‘yips’ (a real thing) and his life fell apart. You know where this is going. We love to see it.

What makes this one a cut above many of the contemporary rom coms I’ve read recently is 1) the laugh-out-loud dialogue, 2) the well-rounded characters and arcs beyond the romance, 3) the fact that it doesn’t rely on stupid miscommunications and characters overthinking in ways that feel manufactured for the sake of drama. Oh, and the writing. I did audiobook this, which allowed me to blast through it as quickly as I wanted to – it did everything really well, and I didn’t want to put it down. What more can you ask for?

(A quick coda: If you’re interested in more romance/rom com recs, let me know!)

Where: Borrow it for free from your local library, or buy it from your non-Amazon bookseller of choice. (Here’s the Bookshop US link, and here’s the Bookshop UK link.)

(In the name of full transparency: I’ve included affiliate links to Bookshop.org – if you’re going to order from them anyway, please use my link so I can make a little extra cash! If you want to see/order any/all of my book recs, I’ve made lists on Bookshop, too: US version, UK version.)

Rec 3
The Good Wife (TV)

I know, I know. This is a deep cut legacy rec. But I have several friends who have watched it for the first time recently (and a few who are re-watching, too), and not only am I incredibly jealous of them getting to discover one of my all-time favorite shows, but it also means that I’ve gotten to talk about it more than usual of late. Oh, and, also, apparently Josh Charles is in one of Taylor Swift’s new music videos (with Ethan Hawke!), and he will always been Will Gardner in my head. So it just felt like the universe was conspiring for this to be the rec we need right now.

If you somehow have never heard of this CBS series from 2009-2016, created by my TV showrunner idols (Robert and Michelle King), here’s the deal: A politician has a sex/corruption scandal and ends up in prison, so his wife goes back to work as a lawyer after 13 years as a stay-at-home mom and professional Wife.

It’s a hooky premise, of course, but this logline is a launchpad for so much more: Explorations of women in the public eye, of women’s ambition, of coming of age in your 40s, of the power dynamics in a public marriage – to name a few. On the legal side (because it is a legal procedural, if admittedly a very smart one), it looks at politics and timely conversations about things like tech and race and civil rights in a way few other shows ever have. It often pulled stories straight from the news that seemed too hot for any other show to handle.

Lest you think it’s all a bit worthy, as the British say, don’t worry, it’s not; it’s got a hefty dose of melodrama and the will-they/won’t-they relationship is one of my all-time favorites. Could there be a better setup for ongoing steamy drama than a famous wife who’d screw up a lot of things if she got caught with someone other than her husband?

And then, of course, there’s the cast! There’s the always-great Josh Charles, as mentioned, and Julianna Margulies plays the titular wife, but, even more exciting are Christine Baranski, Alan Cumming, Archie Panjabi, and, later, Matthew Goode and Cush Jumbo. Because it was a long-running show shot in NYC, it also got basically every Broadway actor ever to guest star, from Nathan Lane to Renée Elise Goldsberry.

In this era of short-order streaming shows, it seems impossible to imagine a genuinely brilliant 22-episode network show. But that’s what the Good Wife was. It did all the nuanced character arcs and smart thematic explorations that the 8- to 13-episode prestige series do – but it did it backwards and in heels. (By which I mean, with an episodic structure and the challenge of maintaining pace and attention over a nine-month season.) Sure, not every episode, or even every arc, is a home run. It has its ups and downs. But its highs are so much higher than almost anyone else’s, so I don’t mind. There’s a reason it’s one of my all-time faves.

(And yes, someday I will get around to reccing the inimitable Good Fight!)

Where: Paramount+ (US & UK), All4 (UK)

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That’s all for this week! What are you reading/watching/listening to that I should be aware of? Drop me a line (or comment) to let me know if you check out any of my recs and what you think.

Please spread the word and I’ll see you in a couple weeks.

xo
Kate

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