In lieu of more interesting content, let’s do a quick rundown of a few of the shows I’m watching lately:

• Iconic America – Our Symbols and Stories (PBS, documentary) – A surprisingly unflinching look at the varied aspects of some of the symbols, monuments, and so forth that make up parts of the USA’s cultural identity. Right out of the gate the Fenway Park episode points out toward the end, hey, one could easily argue that the ‘Curse of the Bambino’ had more to do with the team ownership refusing to hire black players than anything else. It’s an odd mix of soft historical tourism and biting sociopolitical commentary.
• My Happy Marriage (Netflix, anime) – Let’s try this elevator pitch: A Cinderella story set in Meiji Restoration times in Japan (19th century when Western cultural influences and technologies were getting blended into society) with supernatural elements. The heart & soul of the story is the core relationship between an abused and traumatized young woman and the intensely grumpy man she’s betrothed to. It’s a gorgeous show and I can’t help rooting for the two of them to sort out their issues and find happiness. Also, his maid is the MVP of the story, true facts.
• Horimiya: The Missing Pieces (Crunchyroll, anime) – With the manga now finished, someone decided it was time to go back to the anime adaptation and fill in the bits that the first season skipped over in favor of focusing on the core relationship. (Which was the right thing to do, let’s be clear.) There’s no rhyme or reason to it, each episode of “piece” is simply one or more vignettes taken from the manga pages. Anything not previously used in the main anime adaptation is fair game, and it’s a weird viewing experience if you aren’t already fully familiar with the characters. It’s very much a “time spent with silly friends” experience for fans of the story, though. Comfort food viewing.

That’s not everything I’m watching, but things like the vending machine anime are more idle curiosities than anything I would actually recommend directly.