A Post In the Machine.

A show from France. A show from Korea. A show from...New Zealand? Post Olympics thoughts. Live music. Updates. Trips. Tripping. Airports. Immaculate vibes.

What does one call a series that’s not technically a “guilty pleasure,” which is a thing I associate with mediocre or worse overall quality but also has some undefinable thing/zing that makes you love it and is, thus, something you have to apologize for in public if you mention it.

But what’s the other option? What’s the not guilty pleasure?

“An entertaining show.”

I think that’s the answer. Because it has no qualifier — good, mediocre, etc. It can’t, of course, be mindlessly entertaining. That’s another qualifier. In an argument, I would say that “an entertaining show” can also be good, but the person lobbying for it chooses not to use “good” because then their friends watch and invariably counter with, “That was categorically not good. It was mediocre, if I’m being charitable.”

And then you’re stuck in this gray zone that doesn’t include great, very good, good, bad, terrible, sublimely horrible, etc.

Why does this matter? It doesn’t. Surely you know this by now. It’s just on my mind. This is essentially a blog (stated proudly!) about television and existentialism, so nothing matters. It’s kind of the whole point.

Anyway, digressions are free, so let’s move on to two international series that I would describe, since I haven’t finished either yet, as “entertaining shows.”

One is “Furies,” the French series on Netflix from this year. And the other is “The Tyrant,” the Korean series that just dropped on Hulu/FX/Disney+ (although I can’t confirm the latter and it makes me laugh thinking it’s on there, since “The Tyrant” is nothing if not a bloodbath.

Critically, each of these two series have numerous problems. Massive problems. Problems bigger than the point I made previously about “Furies” that the ass-kicking heroine can’t run properly.

I mean, “The Tyrant” has so many logistic and continuity issues it gave me a migraine and, halfway through it, I will charitably say that not only do I have no fucking idea what’s going on, I’m pretty sure the creators don’t either.

But right now, I don’t care. There’s a tattooed woman who will take all of her (rough-guess) 105 pounds and cut you to fucking ribbons in the coolest Zen way possible. I will watch that, as I am on record having said many times.

I also don’t care that “Furies” cribs so much from American gangster movies that its fingers are cramped, and I also weirdly think that “Furies” is almost accidentally a great Marvel movie, but they don’t know it and bless them for not realizing that and leaning in.

Which means, yeah, I am into both shows. They are both entertaining series.

But I also think their flaws are kind of accidental magic, which is making the experience kind of mind bending, and so I will let you know soon if that translates each to “creatively good shows you should watch.”

Doesn’t really seem like a Disney+ series. Mind the kids.