📺 30 Rock (2006) 7 seasons / 138 episodes – a fast-paced NBC sitcom created by Tina Fey, who stars as Liz Lemon, the head writer of a chaotic sketch show called TGS. Set behind the scenes at a fictional network, it blends sharp satire of television, corporate culture, and celebrity ego with absurd humor and rapid-fire jokes. Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy, a polished and manipulative executive, forms a hilarious dynamic with Liz as they navigate egos, deadlines, and bizarre workplace antics. Supported by a memorable ensemble, including Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski, the series is known for its clever writing, meta humor, and relentless pacing, earning critical acclaim and multiple awards across its seven-season run.
📺 The IT Crowd (2006) 4 seasons 25 episodes Roy and Moss are relegated to the basement of Reynholm where they maintain minimal social contact. Their new department head Jen although her CV indicated a great deal of familiarity with computers, in reality, she doesn't have a clue. 👍
📺 The Pickwick Papers (1985) 12 episodes – In Charles Dickens’ comic masterpiece, Mr. Pickwick and his three colleagues set out on a hilarious and revelatory journey through Victorian England.
📚 The Pickwick Papers (1836) by Charles Dickens – a lively and episodic novel that follows the humorous adventures of Samuel Pickwick and his companions as they travel across England. Originally published in monthly installments, the work blends satire, social observation, and comedic misadventure, capturing a vivid picture of early Victorian life. Through a series of loosely connected episodes, Dickens introduces a colorful cast of characters, from the loyal Sam Weller to various eccentrics encountered along the journey. Beneath its lighthearted tone, the novel critiques legal absurdities and social pretensions, while celebrating friendship, kindness, and curiosity, establishing Dickens as a major literary voice. 👍
📺 The Inbetweeners (2010) 18 episodes – Will McKenzie is on a bad run. His parents have just divorced and, to make matters worse, his mum has moved him from a posh private school and into the sixth form at the local comprehensive. Despite the twin handicaps of being the new kid and carrying 'an actual briefcase', Will quickly makes new friends - Simon , Neil and Jay Unfortunately, they are far from the coolest kids at school.
📚 Mary Roberts Rinehart (1926) Two Flights Up – follows an unnamed narrator who becomes intrigued by a reclusive couple living above her apartment. The pair, an elderly man and his much younger wife, live quietly, yet their presence sparks curiosity and suspicion among neighbors. When the young wife suddenly disappears, speculation grows, and the narrator becomes increasingly convinced something sinister has occurred. However, as events unfold, assumptions are challenged, revealing how easily appearances can mislead. Rinehart builds tension through subtle clues and social observation, ultimately delivering a twist that underscores themes of judgment, privacy, and the dangers of imagination unchecked by truth. 👎
📺 Friday Night Dinner (6 seasons, 37 episodes) – For the Goodman family, Friday night dinner is just like Sunday lunch: just take two days away, add on an extra course and you've pretty much got it. Adam and his brother, Jonny, view Friday night dinner as a necessary annoyance. Necessary because they get fed, and annoying because, well, they have to spend the evening with Mum and Dad. 👍
📗 Matthew Pearl (2003) The Dante Club – a historical mystery set in post-Civil War Boston, where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, and their circle work on the first American translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. As the literary group pursues its ambitious project, a series of brutal murders begins to mirror the punishments described in Dante’s Inferno, forcing the scholars to investigate before more lives are lost. The novel blends literary history, suspense, and gothic atmosphere while exploring ambition, grief, prejudice, and the power of classical literature to shape modern life. – Boring as shit 👎
📺 Scott & Bailey (2011) 5 seasons – a British crime drama that follows Manchester Metropolitan Police detectives Rachel Bailey and Janet Scott as they tackle serious cases within the Major Incident Team. Balancing intense investigations with complex personal lives, the series explores themes of loyalty, ambition, and the emotional toll of police work. Rachel is impulsive and driven, often letting her private struggles affect her judgment, while Janet is experienced, methodical, and grounded. Their contrasting personalities create both tension and deep mutual respect. With strong performances and realistic storytelling, the show stands out for its focus on character development as much as crime solving, offering a grounded, human perspective on modern policing. 👍
📕 Save Our Souls (2025) Matthew Pearl – a nonfiction account of the 1888 shipwreck of the Wandering Minstrel and the Walker family’s struggle to survive on remote Midway Atoll alongside a mysterious castaway with a deadly past. Blending research with the pace of a true-crime adventure, the book explores isolation, deception, and endurance in one of the Pacific’s most unlikely survival stories.
🎦 Gretel & Hansel (2020) – A long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil. 👍
📺 Bookish (2025) – A British crime drama set in post-war London, following Gabriel Book, an unconventional antiquarian bookshop owner who uses his knowledge, connections, and sharp instincts to help police solve difficult cases. Created by and starring Mark Gatiss, the series blends mystery, character drama, and a richly atmospheric 1946 backdrop, with story threads involving Book’s marriage to Trottie, his complicated interest in Jack, a young ex-convict who joins the bookshop, and the shadow of a past shaped by secrecy and wartime experience. The show also features Inspector Bliss and a strong supporting cast, giving each episode a period feel that mixes clever detective work with emotional tension and understated humor. 👍
📺 Black Work (2015) – In this fast-moving police thriller, Jo Gillespie searches for answers after her husband is murdered working undercover.
📺 Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991) in 3 parts – Holmes and Watson are brought out of retirement to find the stolen prototype for an electro-magnetic bomb detonator. 😃 I don't know if this show was meant to be funny or not, but it is hysterical.
📕 Matthew Pearl (2015) The Last Bookaneer – – in this bizarre novel, the author creates this scenario, which is totally on historical, of pirates that steal books from an author after he's completed the work, but before he sent the book to the publisher. It's the craziest story. Plus, if this story, there are two different teams of pirates, waiting for an author to finish the book so that they can steal it. And they both know the others exist and are trying to do the same thing. It's the most bizarre plot I've ever heard of. 👎
📚 Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1930) Dark Power – a suspenseful early detective novel that shows her shift from romance to darker crime fiction. It centers on a tense family situation shaped by manipulation, psychological pressure, and hidden danger, reflecting the gothic-leaning unease that later made Holding influential in noir.