Pasckie Pascua's Nerdy Squirrel Reviews: TV Series.

“Boy Swallows Universe” (Netflix) Australian coming of age miniseries . Set in 1980s working-class Brisbane, Australia. It follows a precocious teenager who navigates a chaotic life with an incarcerated mother, an alcoholic father, a heroin-dealing stepfather, and a mute brother who communicates by writing in the air.         Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Trent Dalton and collectively or separately (per episodes) directed by Bharat Nalluri, Jocelyn Moorhouse, and Kim Mordaunt, from a script by John Collee , “Boy…” could be a top 5 TV series treat on my 2026 list. Definitely a recommended family weekend binge-watch entertainment.         The mood is a bit melodramatic but neatly orchestrated. Although I have seen so many dysfunctional family dramas in my lifetime, this gem is told with fresh warmth and adorable humor. Most of the performers won awards in Australia's Logie Aw...

“Search Party” (Netflix) Season 1 to Season 3. D ark comedy . A group of friends who become involved in the search for a missing young woman and the events that result from their involvement.        I really enjoyed Season 1 of this series. The script was tight and full of intrigue and mystery, plus very funny. Alia Shawkat possesses the charm and allure that drove the interest high. Her Dory is an unending creativity. Plus, John Early's Elliott was simply hilarious. Elliott is gay but John's gay, despite the cliche mannerisms, is still original.        However, in Season 2, following the “solution” of Season 1's search for Chantal, things started to crumble. The fun waned into contrived seriousness. Worse, in Season 3, the premise sunk into dark confines that aren't even “dark comedy” So by episode 3 or 4 of S3, I gave up. I can't imagine, this series went all the way to Season 5. I don’t want to know why and how. 🎥...

“Legends” (Netflix) British crime thriller. A dramatisation of the true story of British undercover Customs investigators, relatively inexperienced, who infiltrated the drug world in the early 1990s. The cast includes Steve Coogan , Tom Burke and Hayley Squires .         The fundamentals of the genre are well-served sans the action bombast and overwrought drama of most Hollywood thrillers. The narrative is clear-cut without being contrived. The dramatic tension is felt but not too hysterical. And the ensemble performance is remarkably restrained but they delivered the point across. 🎥💻📽 “Malpractice” (Hulu) British medical drama . Season 1 stars Niamh Algar as an embattled doctor embroiled in a medical scandal. Season 2 stars Tom Hughes as a psychiatrist under investigation by the Medical Investigation Unit (MIU) after a new mother commits suicide following a missed diagnosis.         Both in relativel...

“After the Flood” (Britbox) Season 2. British crime mystery thriller . Stars Sophie Rundle as a police officer investigating the death of an unidentified man after a flash flood strikes a small English town.         The six-part second series/season follows Detective Jo Marshall as she investigates a baffling double murder following a catastrophic flood.         With global warming as the larger narrative, the plot threads that weave around pursuit of DS Phil Mackie's string of crimes is the provocation and attraction of this show's second installment. A typical British police procedural but “After The Flood” is low-key, dramatically restrained, but focused. Topmost credit goes to Sophie Rundle, whose PC/DC Joanna Marshall evokes persistent charm, warm vulnerability, and unswerving insistence. 🎥💻📽 “From Darkness” (Britbox) British psychological crime drama . A former police officer, who moves away to ...

“Tehran” (Apple TV+) Season 3. Israeli spy thriller about a Mossad agent of Iranian Jewish descent on her first mission in Iran's capital Tehran , which is also the place of her birth.         Season 3: Mossad agent Tamar Rabinyan returns as a rogue, traumatized operative following the assassination of her boyfriend, Milad. Hunted by both the IRGC and Mossad, she hides in a women’s shelter while discovering evidence that Iran is smuggling nuclear warhead parts. The season introduces Hugh Laurie as Eric Peterson, a South African nuclear inspector who is forced into the conspiracy.         Niv Sultan , as in the first two seasons, breathes fire into this series as Tamar. But the conflicts that were ably and quite entertainingly previously gave us are gone. Writers should develop a “Homeland"-like plotpoint if they need to resume this series, onto Season 4. Otherwise, that's it. Message delivered. 🎥💻📽 “Crimina...

“The Glass Dome” (Netflix) Swedish crime drama . The series takes place in a tiny fictional community in Sweden called Granås, the home town of the series' protagonist, Leijla, who is a behavioural scientist and criminologist .         The grey, frozen atmosphere is typical Norse noir but still a finely-written mystery. Leonie Vincent as Lejla Ness creates chilly tension without screaming or opening her eyes wide. Remarkably restrained dramatic flair. 🎥💻📽 “Land of Sin” (Netflix) Swedish crime drama. Two detectives investigate the murder of a local teenager from a rural community. Krista Kosonen is Dani Anttila, the police officer.        This grim series explores parenthood and original sin in an understated, minimalistic dramatic manner. I can appreciate the non-hysterical navigation of the crime but, in all, this drama still bored me, without undermining Ms Kosonen's concentrated performance. 🎥💻📽 “The A...