There's Another Severance. It's Animated.

2.11 HYPERFIX - #004

Author

Ashley Ray
February 11, 2025

#004

Happy first month of HYPERFIX!! I hope my fixations have made you feel less alone. Or inspired you to learn a language, watch a documentary or climb Mt. Everest. I’m excited about a lot of things right now, so we should probably just get into it.

Also, again: Are you following me on Bluesky? Or Threads? or Substack? Or TikTok? Or beehiiv? Or Patreon? Or hell, even Rednote? You can even hit me up on Duolingo. Or anywhere that is not Twitter.

Upcoming Comedy Shows

COMMON SIDE EFFECTS (Hulu w/ Live TV, Max)

I don’t count weeks in days anymore. I count how long I have until I can watch Severance. It’s been a long time since a Thursday night meant anything important to me in the world of TV, but right now we have Invincible, Traitors, Severance, School Spirits (ok, maybe that one is just me), Ghosts, Elsbeth, and Scamanda. It’s almost like we’ve looped back around to real, actual primetime must see TV. Everyone is watching stuff at the same time every week. In the streaming age, only HBO has managed to accomplish this on Sunday nights.

With White Lotus returning, we’ll even have that family night back. Though if you’re a real TVhead (and I know you are, because you follow me,) Animation Domination has been holding you down on Sunday nights. We’ve had back to back episodes of shows like Bob’s Burgers, Rick and Morty, The Great North, and Krapopolis for years now. Now, a new great show has entered the arena: Common Side Effects on Adult Swim/Max.

Actually, Common Side Effects demolishes the arena. They are so outside of the arena. The whole doesn’t feel like something you’ve seen before, despite the parts feeling reminiscent of your favorite ‘70s movies and David Lynch moments. It’s a Severance-like experience. You know what the show is referencing, but it provides no real context for the show’s narrative. The last animated show that made me feel like this was Carol & the End of the World (Netflix). If you were a fan of that, you’re gonna love Common Side Effects. Martha Kelly is even in it.

The show is about a scientist who discovers a life-saving mushroom. The pharmaceutical industry is on the hunt to destroy the mushroom and the scientist who found it. That’s all you really need to know. It’s one of those shows you should just start watching. The animation is refreshing and gorgeous. It’s hilarious.

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NECESSARY DOCUMENTARIES

I watch too many documentaries. Here are my thoughts.

Bridge, 2020 (Tubi)

Actually, you should NOT watch this. I don’t know why I watched this. It’s about the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis. They interview survivors and detail why everything happened. With all these plane accidents, do NOT watch a documentary all about how our roads and bridges are failing too. It’s well done and won some awards, but it’s not what you need right now.

WHY did I watch this?

Surviving Black Hawk Down (Netflix)

I typically do not like documentaries about war that seem to celebrate the military industrial complex. Surprisingly, that’s not what this is! I was hesitant to start when I saw it focused on the narratives of American soldiers, but it mostly shows us how ignorant and cocky these young kids were when they were sent over there. They also interview Somali militia members, teachers and community members. The first month, they truly felt like America was there to help. Then it became clear these white guys were there to terrorize and flex their power. There are no heroes in this documentary. It ends up being a fair breakdown of the event.

TV AND FILM

Want weekly TV reviews and episodic coverage? Follow TV I Say on Patreon. Below is a quick look at the stuff I’m watching.

  • Below Deck: Down Under (Peacock) - Head to Patreon for my full thoughts, but guess what? I hate this sous chef!

  • Severance (Apple TV) - I knew things would slow down after the insane events of ep 3. I loved this winter “wonderland” episode. No spoilers, but we all must bow down to Irv. What a guy. What a man. What a diva.

  • St. Denis Medical (Peacock) - NEW EPISODE TONIGHT! I loved the Yelp review plot from the last episode. This show continues to be a delight.

  • School Spirit (Paramount+) - The whole twist with the keys? I love it!! Ugh, this show is so good. I wish everyone believed me.

  • Traitors (Peacock) - Our long national nightmare is over and has returned to Boston. God bless.

  • Apple Cider Vinegar (Netflix) - I loved this show so much, I finished it in a day. I thought it was better than Inventing Anna, even though it takes similar liberties with the truth. It’s a great look at the health influencer industry.

  • Invincible (Amazon Prime Video) - OUR BOY IS BACK. Those three episodes? Fucking delicious. I love Omni-Kid, sorry.

  • Ghosts (Paramount+) - New episode this week! I am loving this new season and Pete’s new power. It’s really spiced up the narrative.

  • The Z-Suite (Tubi) - This show is funny!! I think it’ll get buried on Tubi, but it’s about an ad agency that fires all the boomers and promotes three Gen Z’ers to the c-suite. It really pokes fun at every generation and highlights the similarities (none of us know what we are doing.)

  • Let’s Start a Cult (Hulu) - Finally watched this movie! Loved it! So many of my favorite people and faces were in it! Hi, Joe Pera!

RANDOM

The more out there stuff I’ve been fixated on lately.

-The Super Bowl

I watched it! Loved Kendrick’s show. Enough has been said about it: bootcut jeans, what a cutie, look at that smile, of course he was gonna tease “Not Like Us!” I do not think it was meant to be a huge revolutionary statement. I think it was mostly a very cool, Kendrick music video but live. It certainly wasn’t supportive of America as I’ve seen people say, but is another work in the long history of works that references Spike Lee and Gil Scott-Heron as aesthetic.

The right team won! Go birds! Taylor Swift did not deserve to be booed. I loved the Shaboozey Nerds commercial and the Dunkin Donuts one. I hated the Mt. Dew seal one and the flesh hat one. Thus concludes my thoughts on the Super Bowl.

-Duolingo Diamond League

I FINALLY MADE IT TO THE DIAMOND LEAGUE! Next up is the Diamond Tournament. On Bluesky, they tried to say I cheated because my XP was so high. NO! I do not use timer boosts. I am saving all my gems for the tournament. The key is XP boosts, baby.

-Taking A Break From Weed

We are so close to this actually happening, I feel it in my bones.

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