https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstart_Crow

It's a couple of years old but I hadn't seen it before last week. Lots of fun if you're a fan of The Blackadder series, this is written by Ben Elton and stars David Mitchell as William Shakespeare 'before he was famous'.

Never heard of it.

Netflix recognizes it and shows items "like" it or related to it, but it doesn't have it.

Amazon has season 1, but in a region I don't think that plays well in the U.S.

So, I can't see it.

I think I'd give it a look, but with so much to watch . . .

If it ever shows up on BBC America, region 1 DVDs, or Netflix, I'll look at a few, at least.

Blackadder was pretty good stuff.

I see a couple episodes on YouTube. Quick! Before somebody notices!

Ah... they seem to be posting the episodes as small frames inside moving backgrounds, and sometimes with audio shifting, to keep from getting caught by the copyright bots.

Meh. It's no Blackadder, but it's not terrible.

Yes, it's different than Blackadder but still fun. I enjoy Mitchell's performance as a preening 'would-be celebrity' Shakespeare lording it over anyone he can, while criticising the aristocracy for doing the same thing to him. Also, his endless complaints about the traffic between London and Stratford-upon-Avon always make me laugh.

The line to Kate about how she can't be an actress because "...'tis forbidden by law for girls to do anything remotely interesting", and the constant references to men playing female roles on the stage, are all very well observed, as are the jokes about Marlowe's career as a spy. If you're even remotely interested in Shakespeare, you'll get a laugh out of it.

Ah, the first episode was O.K., though I imagine without the voice shift, it would have been better, too.

That looks like David Tennant?

Well, it's not. It's Kieran Hodgson, who has a passing similarity at best, for David Tennat would know better than to go gaga over Yara Greyjoy.

They have lots of fun with the conceits of that era and of the things scholars often comment upon regarding The Bard and his 'life and times' - such as the widespread belief in the existence of Wood Nymphs and Shakespeare's 'fondness' for young men, as well as how unusual Shakespeare's writing was/is for the era (Harry Enfield as Pa Shakespeare is excellent with his various criticisms of how 'the old stuff was much better' in reference to medieval style plays, etc). It's all done for laughs, but there's genuine social commentary hidden in there as well (constant references to the class system, and Shakespeare's insistence that it will cease to exist "in Centuries yet to come", or the way women are treated by men, etc).