Hot on the heels of IDMbTV+, Paramount+, and Discovery+, comes a brand new streaming platform: Craigslist+. Can the internet's favorite virtual bulletin board keep up in the age of scripted content? Here’s a quick overview of the new shows debuting this summer from the place where you got your couch.
Must Watch:
Missed Connections
A romantic comedy about two nameless young attractive strangers who exchange meaningful glances at a bus stop outside of Van Cortlandt Park. Each episode features a heartbreaking moment where the two leads possibly pass each other and lots of shots of the backs of heads. Can’t wait for the finale, where we may finally get eye contact.
Writing Gigs
A real tearjerker of a drama that takes place entirely during a job interview that turns out to be for freelance work. We watch helplessly as the editor (a terrifying Milo Ventimiglia) extols the virtues of “work experience” while our applicant (Alex Newell) nods silently. Anyone who doesn't cry at the ending either has no soul or didn’t major in English. We may have a serious Emmy contender here.
Services: Labor/Move
Wilmer Valderrama stars as a former army truck driver who will move anything… for a price. The premiere features a thrilling race to dismantle a dining room table before the new renters arrive. Chi McBride steals his scenes as a no-nonsense cardboard box supplier. Already greenlit for 36 episodes.
Good:
Rooms Wanted
Fun, breezy sitcom features Jane Levy looking for an affordable room before May 1. Each episode ends with Levy discovering a new room with slightly bigger dimensions, in the hopes that it will one day be 80 square feet. Hilarious cameo from Dean Winters as the OP demanding a 24-hour wire transfer. Originally set in Tribeca, but changed so it could have a happy ending.
For Sale: Materials
Educational documentary series has Mike Rowe showing you where to get the best granite, masonry, and more. Unfortunately, the bowling alley wood Rowe acquires in the pilot turns out to be fake, making the table he builds with it far less impressive. He fares better in the second episode, where he acquires a crate full of door hinges from Staten Island in excellent condition. Promos indicate he will build a custom bathroom later this season, so we’re sticking with it until then.
Free Stuff
Horror anthology in which naïve Manhattanites innocently go to pick up used items and find they are in much worse condition than they thought. Pilot episode, “Perfectly Fine Mattress,” is a little too predictable (spoiler: the mattress is NOT perfectly fine). However, the finale, “Box of Umarked CDs,” shows some promise.
So-so:
Rants & Raves
Opinions-driven show tackles a wide variety of topics, including segments on “My Landlord,” “Food Poisoning at Bob’s Diner,” and “Guy Looking for 3sum.” That last one seems like it was meant for another show. More rants from them will mean more raves from us.
New York Musicians
Ho-hum talent search contest sees local hopefuls trying out to be the fourth member of the next big indie band. The catch? They have no idea what kind of band it is! This leads to a few too many middle-aged men describing themselves as “virtuoso metal bassists.” Watchable but hardly groundbreaking.
Paid Opportunity
This underwhelming Carlton Cuse-penned mystery has already got Reddit abuzz with theories. What is the opportunity? How much does it pay? Why is the reply email a Hotmail address? It seems viewers have to wait at least until Season 2 to find out…but will they?
Not worth it:
Boat Parts
Action-thriller starring Tommy Lee Jones as a man desperately looking for a Yamaha outboard motor for under $2,000. Fistfights ensue when the motor is actually revealed to be a Johnson Ocean Pro instead. Long, boring, and too similar to Jones’ previous movie, “Auto Parts.”
RoFo
Appalling reality dating show starts out as a competition but turns into everyone complaining about their exes. They seem to have spent more time on the credit sequence than actual filming. At least one of the cast might be a bot.
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