When I first started this Dark Forest blog for my non-tarot musings I was going through my “Glee” phase.

I haven’t had cable TV or even broadcast TV in almost twenty years. I really do think TV is basically a terrible drug. But there have been some shows over the years I have liked. I watch them on Hulu, Amazon and Netflix, at my convenience.

Recently, I’ve noticed something new afoot on my dependable entertainment websites.

Now, they have original programming!

That’s right. There are now original series that you can only watch on Hulu, on Netflix and on Amazon.

Even more amazing, some of these shows are really good and really popular. Some of them feature talent you already know, like John Goodman on Alpha House.

I am particularly enjoying “Deadbeat” on Hulu. It’s the story of a pot-smoking ne’er-do-well who happens to be a talented psychic medium and a lousy businessman. He has a crush on a famous TV psychic whom, he discovers, is a fraud. I always enjoy an arch-nemesis and romantic interest rolled into one. The TV psychic has an assistant who is played by Lucy Devito, the talented daughter of Danny and Rhea.

This show, like many others of these new, original series, is fresh, funny and unexpected.

There is something about TV series that are produced independently of the traditional networks that makes me really happy. The fact that the shows are truly worth watching isn’t bad, either.