I've written a lot about why you might want to cancel Netflix, all in the pursuit of making sure we all make the most of the streaming services we pay for. All along the way, though, I was writing with a specific point of view: analyzing what's new on the streaming service. Even with all of the best Netflix shows, I didn't have one that kept me coming back. Until now, that is.
This is the latest edition of a column where members of the Tom's Guide staff share what they're watching and enjoying right now, with the goal of helping you find great shows and movies that you may have missed. Be sure to check out our previous entry, where we talk about Prospect.
I was already familiar and something of a fan of Netflix's I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (one of the best Netflix comedies). I'd watched both of its first seasons, and laughed a fair bit here and there. I knew the memes, and the show's most memorable lines turned into inside jokes with a few friends (and the Xbox Twitter account manager). I thought the first two seasons were good, but not something I'd want to rewatch over and over.
Then I Think You Should Leave season 3 arrived and changed the way I see Netflix.
What is I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson?
First, a bit of context for those who never crashed a hot dog car before. I Think You Should Leave is a hilariously bizarre sketch comedy series that aims for an all-killer, no-filler offering. Each season is a brisk six episodes, which are between 14 and 18 minutes in length. Yes, you can binge a whole 'season' in less than two hours.
As for the segments themselves? You're probably most familiar with the aforementioned hot dog car crash sketch, wherein Tim Robinson plays a dude wearing a hot dog suit is at the scene of a hot dog-shaped car crash, and demands to figure out who's responsible. The genius of Robinson's comedy, though, comes in after the initial 'joke,' as the hot dog suit guy almost monologues his way out of the situation.
I've got plenty of new shows to stream, but instead opt to watch I Think You Should Leave season 3 over and over again
And while ITSYL shifts its pace throughout each short episode, it hits the mark far more than it misses. As someone who remembers watching too many SNL sketches filled with ... stuff I'll politely call filler ... I Think You Should Leave offers the perfect alternative, as it's not live, and edited within a second of its life.
But while the first two seasons of I Think You Should Leave are very good, it feels like its third run is arguably its best. Or at least it hits stronger with me than any before it. This could be recency bias talking, but when I've got plenty of new shows to stream, but instead opt to watch I Think You Should Leave season 3 over and over again? I'm impressed, because I haven't watched a show like this in ages.
I was almost worried about ITYSL season 3 — until I couldn't stop laughing
The weird thing is that I almost didn't wind up writing this story at all. When I hit play on season 3 episode 1, I found a series of sketches that didn't exactly click with me.
The opening about a TV pundit who loves his phone more than doing his job was good, but it didn't really wow me. The rest of the segments didn't exactly hit the show's past heights (for me) either. All the while, my best friend was raving about how the episode-ending segment about a designated driver with a secret side hustle was peak-ITYSL.
And then I watched episode 2, which utterly broke my brain with a segment about virtual reality. The twist of the segment is so utterly illogical and bonkers that I was wheezing and practically making honking noises as I laughed. And, then, there's the Eggman game:
If this bit doesn't have you cackling (or at least laughing), ITYSL may not be right for you, but then again, one viewer's favorite can be another's 'skip.' Which is why I say watch at least two episodes, that way you'll know if it's definitely not for you.
In addition to the skits where one person (often Robinson) is being socially awkward and annoying, the other kind of fantastic ITYSL moments come from how others react to him. In particular, I'm thinking about a scene at a sitcom taping. Robinson is in the audience, and right when the crowd is done laughing to a moment, he starts to vent about those who wronged him.
This goes about as well as you might expect, until the crew working on the set manage to surprise you. Additionally, bizarre reenactment scenes visualize the moments he's upset about.
Outlook: And I keep going back
One of the best parts of I Think You Should Leave is how segments improve when you know what's about to happen next. For example, rewatching the season 3 premiere I didn't love the first time, I watched Robinson with a keener eye in the segment where he's a designated driver.
And since each season is less than two hours, a season of ITYSL is the perfect solution when I'm trying to find something to watch when nothing's on or truly intriguing me. When I Think You Should Leave is this good? It will be a long time before I even think about canceling Netflix again.
Of course, I'll still make sure you know what's coming up, because we don't all have that one Netflix show we keep coming back to.
