Shows To Check Out: 'This Fool' Season 2, 'Twisted Metal' And 'Good Omens' Season 2

It’s both a blessing and a curse that we’ve reached a time where there’s just so much television to experience but so many different places to find it. It makes scrolling across your streamer of choice an inconvenience that doesn’t offer as much of a payoff if you try a show half-heartedly and are disappointed.

That’s where I and some friends step in as a Deus-ex-machina of sorts, a way for you to resolve that inner conflict of what to choose and make sure it’s something worth investing in.

On LAist 89.3’s AirTalk show, we bring television critics every week to give you a rundown of those shows that are fresh out of the oven. They’ll serve you a taste of what to expect and from there, you can choose whether or not you want to eat the rest.

Along with that, I’ll add to their topline thoughts and give some insights based on my experience watching the show. I may not have TV critic as my title but I have enough knowledge as a fan of film and television to at least give you an informed perspective. And as a member of Gen-Z, I’ll be able to add an extra filter you might get from someone on Twitter but with much less toxicity tied to it.

Sound good? Are you hungry now? Well, while you wait for your food to be ready to eat, read through what we got to tell you.

This week, AirTalk’s Larry Mantle talked about the latest on television and streaming with Inkoo Kang, TV critic for The New Yorker, and Dominic Patten, senior editor and chief TV critic for Deadline.

This week’s shows included:

• This Fool [Season 2] (Hulu)
• Good Omens [Season 2] (Amazon Prime Video)
• Dark Winds [Season 2] (AMC)
• Twisted Metal (Peacock)
• Harley Quinn [Season 4] (Max)
• The Righteous Gemstones [Season 3] (HBO & Max)
• Survival of the Thickest (Netflix)
• Secret Invasion (Disney+)

Listen here

This Fool [Season 2]

Streaming on Hulu

This Fool -- “Feel the Payne” - Episode 204 -- Cashews are the perfect meal. Julio (Chris Estrada), Minister Payne (Michael Imperioli), Luis (Frankie Quinones), and Chef Percy (Jamar Malachi Neighbors), shown.

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“The second season is just building up on what was like really strong foundations of the first. I actually put season one on my top 10 list of 2022.” – Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker

First impression: Julio looks to help his cousin Luis adapt back into society after serving jail time. The start of Season 2 sees Julio trying to piece his life back together after his job closes due to a lack of funding.

Lasting impression: Don’t want to spoil too much, but I will say that this show’s humor is still firing on all cylinders. After the events of Season 1, it’s nice to get a new dynamic between the two cousins as Luis is doing relatively well for himself while Julio is floundering a bit.

The overt aggression and sometimes out-of-pocket nature of Luis is still very much there, however, which ends up making for some entertaining situations like in the two-part “Bonnie & Clyde” saga.

As traditional, episodic comedies go, this show is the cream of the crop for me. It’s also nice to see areas I grew up around in Los Angeles get some love and little tributes to the community go a long way in making this show as cool as it is. Also want to shout out the folks behind the show for memorializing the beloved mountain lion, P-22, who passed away last year.

Who's behind it: This Fool is a brainchild of four folks: Chris Estrada, Pat Bishop, Matt Ingebretson, and Jake Weisman. The trio of Bishop, Ingebretson and Weisman have worked together before, on the Comedy Central show Corporate. Estrada, of course, is the person who plays Julio and he’s also a stand-up comedian.

When and where: All 10 episodes are streaming now on Hulu.

Twisted Metal

Streaming on Peacock

“You know, sometimes in the dog days of summer, this is exactly what we wanna watch, and this is a show with an incredibly talented lead and a very strong cast.” – Dominic Patten, Deadline.

First impression: In a post-apocalyptic world, we follow John Doe as he looks to ditch his caravan lifestyle and settle down in the rebuilt city of New San Francisco. What’s the catch? He has to do a delivery job across the raider-laden roads to reach New Chicago in a limited time in order to be admitted into this sanctuary in the Bay he wants to call home.

Lasting impression: The show does definitely want to pay homage to the video game franchise it’s based on. You’ll see a copy of the original 1995 game, there’s a reference to the iconic PlayStation remote, and there’s of course the appearance of multiple characters in the franchise, including Sweet Tooth.

I will admit that it’s really nice to revisit this world having been a kid who held some level of fear due to character designs like Sweet Tooth. That being said, the experience one got from playing in this post-apocalyptic demolition arena made for a fun time as I got older.

The one issue for me is that the show, in its lightheartedness, doesn’t capture the horrifying nature of the game. This felt like it could’ve taken many different paths, and maybe a gritty horror adventure was too much to ask for.

I’m not sure if this is a show I’d necessarily recommend, but the B-movie horror elements it uses in the show I think makes for a good casual watch.

Who's behind it: The show’s creator is Michael Jonathan Smith. Smith has a fair amount of writing and producing credits, his most notable being his written work for the show Cobra Kai.

When and where: All 10 episodes are streaming now on Peacock.

Good Omens [Season 2]

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Michael Sheen and David Tennant in 'Good Omens' Season 2.

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“It's just two blokes having an amazing time together, and ultimately it's actually quite a lovely testament to love.” – Dominic Patten, Deadline.

First impression: So for those not familiar with the show or who need a refresher, David Tennant plays a demon and Michael Sheen an angel, both have their respective agendas as the apocalypse approaches. Well at the end of Season 1, we see attempts for a war of good and evil flop, and the fallout of that is what allows Tennant’s character Crowley and Sheen’s Aziraphale to settle down on Earth.

Season 2 offers a glimpse into their new lives on Earth and the unexpected surprise they get when Sheen’s former colleague in Heaven, Gabriel (played by John Hamm) arrives on Earth with no recollection of his past and who he is.

Lasting impression: This second season in some senses feels a little off, mainly because Season 1 ended in such a climactic fashion. To me, it felt like an expansion pack to a video game story, where you’ve wrapped up the main story but the world is cool enough to where you add to it through side quests and events with different stakes. I don’t think it helps that this second helping of the show is an original story not found in the 1990 novel that Season 1 adapts.

That being said … the elements that made the first season successful are alive and well. Its special effects truly stand out through its use of lighting. Having seen so many projects as of late feel a couple of notches too dark, it’s nice to see lamps and skies to provide additional vibrance to the screen, along with spells that pop out of the screen.

And of course, there’s also the chemistry between Sheen and Tennant, playing a duo on-screen that seemingly love one another, bordering on romantic in some moments. I think the silliness both bring to their respective performances adds a lot to the show and never gets excessive in an off-putting way for viewers.

Who's behind it: The creator of the show is Neil Gaiman, who of course was one of the authors of the 1990 book the show is based on. Not only that, but he also wrote the great fantasy horror novel Coraline, which of course was also adapted into a film.

When and where: All eight episodes are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.