Sweetbitter

I just watched this to pass the time, but I thought it was intriguing enough and found myself finishing the first season. It has the sweetness of a chick flick and the bitterness of an angsty indie film. The main actress is very beautiful and she is captivating to watch. The supporting actors played their parts well. It leaves me feeling empty watching it...there's something sad about the atmosphere of the show...but at the same time it has a dream-like quality about it that makes me long for it. The only thing I don't like about it is how angry or tired of life everyone is, but I think that's what the show wants to evoke. I do look forward to season 2 and more character and storyline development. And I do crave the show.

Have made it through 3 episodes which I think is a reasonable shot but that's as far as it goes. Careers from one cliche to another. Perhaps in other hands a show set behind the scenes in an upmarket New York restaurant could yield something a little more than on offer here, but then again perhaps not. It looks great but moody lighting and sultry acting isn't enough. A sit com might have worked better with this material or at least a plot with somewhere to go.

I love a show that can make you feel something and this does not disappoint. It's about creating an experience. Feeling and learning new things for the first time and growing into the you that you want to become. Girl in the city working at a sexy restaurant growing into her own. I also love the breakdown of the taste and sexual sensation aspects. Can't wait for more.

I managed to watch the entire first season in one day. It was good. Not great. Not terrible. IMO, if you want a fair review of this series, ignore all the one and ten star ratings. They simply are not realistic. It moves a little slow at times but the characters all become likeable in their own way. Never having worked in the food service industry, I can't say how accurately life is portrayed. Most of the characters seem depressed and without hope (and high :) all the time however, so that seems a bit over-played. The one aspect I found exceptionally annoying is how Tess is constantly portrayed as the "wide-eyed country bumpkin" stepping foot into the big city for the very first time. It was sort of cute in the first episode. It gets pretty old by the 6th episode. Started Season 2. Seems on-track so far.

A marvelous series that shouldn't have finished (cut off) so soon and quickly. It was ripe for at least 4 seasons. The build up, endearing and juicy intriguing developments in that tight world and on top of that the acting and the marvelous score.

Loved Simone above all. Her magnetism, soft commanding voice and superb fragile presence. A pity that mumbo soap operas last for two-digit seasons while that gem of a restaurant world bearing so much dramatic realism breathed out its last gulp of air after just 14 episodes.

New York is magical. Even the poster makes you dream.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 7
• Production value/impact: 7.5
• Development: 8
• Realism: 7.5
• Entertainment: 8
• Acting: 8
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 8.5
• VFX: 8
• Music/score/sound: 8
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 5.5
• Flow: 7.5
• Psychological/workplace drama/coming of age/comedy/drama: 7
• Ending: 7.