Carlos Cuevas as Alex

S01E04 Smiley

New recommendation: Smiley on Netflix, a Spanish LGBT series. It features enemies to lovers greatness. So good.

I absolutely loved Smiley. I have a few reservations, but generally: yay.

(More on this; spoilers ensue.

I desperately want a sequel now in which Ramon and Ibra get together because they’re both very lovely, esp. Ibra who is an angel, and they both deserved much better. They can have Pokemon dates. :D

I so so so wanted Vero and Patri to work it out and aaaaaaah my heart hurts.

I adored Alex and I’m delighted for his happy ending but I still have a few reservations about Bruno. Alex treated Ibra poorly but at least he genuinely fond of him; it was an error of self-knowledge. Bruno clearly never actually *liked* Ramon that much and just OUCH. Worried he’s still holding on to that snobbery. Bruno you had better treat so much Alex better omg.

I loved that while it was overall focused on romance, there were so many other kinds of love around, and that both Alex and Bruno showed up best when in non-romantic situations (and that for each of them, that became part of the attraction of the other). Alex is a wonderful friend and (especially) son, deeply kind and warm. Bruno is a dedicated friend and uncle and dog-dad. The complicated friendship between Rosa and Ramiro was so moving and made my heart hurt, and Rosa being just the best (if occasionally most over-enthusiastic) mum to Alex was so lovely. The father-daughter-ish relationship between Javier and Vero was the fricking *best*. Patri’s parents made me so happy.

Julia’s letter to the Three Wise Men was just... so damn on point. The overall “why can’t adults say what they mean” thing applied throughout all of the adult characters. Wise and excellent kid; I’m glad she got her skateboard. :D

I’m glad that Albert grew so much and that he and Nuria worked it out, but ooof I wish that he had apologised more thoroughly for his microaggressions towards Nabat. If there’s a sequel there needs to be more of her, and more of her having her own story, rather than just doing childcare and putting up with nonsense.

Javier is an angel and I adore him. <3 <3 <3

I’m not a huge city fan generally but Barcelona is *gorgeous*.

Overall? Flawed but superb. Controversial opinion but I found this everything that “Love Actually” tried to be but actually wasn’t. And so beautifully, blessedly queer. <3

It's almost 7am, just binged Smiley the all night through but god do I have NO REGRETS

Smiley is easily the best show I’ve seen this year! Everything I could’ve asked for and more from a queer romantic comedy!

Es que estoy que flipo, con este show. “SMILEY” - NETFLIX.

CARLOS CUEVAS & CEDRICK MUGISHA 2022 • SMILEY Netflix [TV Series] • RomCom • S01.E08

I won't be wrapped around your finger. "Icarus's Wings" — Smiley (1.02)

Carlos Cuevas and Cedrick Mugisha in Smiley 1.04 “Volver a empezar“

Carlos Cuevas and Miki Esparbé as Álex & Bruno

SMILEY - La fiera de mi niña (1.03)

Carlos Cuevas as Alex

S01E08 Smiley

CARLOS CUEVAS as Álex in Smiley (Netflix, 2022)

Lockwood & Co. s01e05: “What the hell was that?… You were practically begging him to kill you.“

“I see you Nimona, and you’re not alone”

Time taken : 3 Hours

Can I just say, the way TV shows work now is so disheartening. I just read an article about another queer show being cancelled after one season and it's just really sad. There's no more of just shows coming out on TV, or other services , being not so popular at first but then at like season 3 they get immensely popular or maybe they don't but they're still loved by a group of people even if it isn't the biggest crowd. There are so many shows that you definitely have heard of that were not the most popular when the first season came out, for example the office didn't peak till like the fifth season, breaking bad gained popularity just before the fourth season, and game of thrones peaked at about season five. I haven't watched any of those but they are some of the most popular TV shows I can think of and so imagine if they had been cancelled after one season?? just because they hadn't quite reached a zillion views yet.

I was watching this lovely show called night sky on amazon prime, It was a refreshing and original Sci fi show choosing to follow two older protagonists rather than a young couple. And I thought that was awesome and I really was enjoying this show, till it ended on a cliff hanger and then I found out there was never going to be a second season.

No more hidden gems, no more chances for shows to build up a plot and an audience over time just one season and if it doesn't get stranger things big then it's over, doesn't matter how much story was planned out or how much is left unsaid. Sometimes they get more than one season but often they still never get to finish their story.

So many shows potential for representation and great stories are thrown down the drain when the big boss decides it isn't making them enough money. Because that's just it, it's always about money. Because if it's not making the multimillionaire streaming services richer then what's the point?

Ok rant over.

mackenyu: this is my real hair. what are you talking about?