This is my streaming tip of the weekend.

There are four seasons and last night we only finished the first, but I want to tell you about the show because I couldn't wait to watch it last night. That's what I'm looking for in a series, the same thing I'm looking for in a book, something that calls out to me throughout the day, that I just can't wait to get back to. That's the experience I had with "The Convict."

It's a Polish prison drama on MAX. Turned off yet? The funny thing about watching something with subtitles is after a while, you're convinced the actors are speaking English.

Anyway, "The Convict" is a women's prison drama. But this ain't no "Orange Is the New Black," with elements of levity, no, this is much darker, much more real, more akin to "Oz." However "Oz," although intense, never really escaped from the screen into your heart. You knew you were watching a show. And you could tell that they were making the show for you. This is American television. Whereas "The Convict"? It plays that much more real.

Then again, "The Convict" is based on a true story. How true? It's very rare that a movie or series is faithful to the source material, the truth, but it does add a level of gravitas, the far-fetched premise doesn't seem so far-fetched.

So at first you're concentrated on the workings of the prison.

It's all the things you've heard about, are familiar with, the cellmate who dictates, the clique that's in charge, but the inmates are much more believable, and much more malleable. Instead of being baked into their identities, they waver and then change.

And the warden...he's in control. The outer world doesn't matter much.

But then the outer world starts to intrude. This is what makes the series so great. What exactly IS happening outside the prison walls, what is the truth behind the surface? There's a tension between these two locales, these two stories, that raises the show above the traditional prison drama.

They've made them since the dawn of movies. Usually broad and titillating, in the Howard Stern adolescent way. But not "The Conflict." These are definitely women.

There's so much more... One thing that struck me is how much someone in regular life can change while you're incarcerated. It's kind of like when you break up with someone and then reconnect, even months later, especially years. They're different. They've had different experiences, it's changed them, they're no longer on your path. You meet at a moment in time and merge your pasts and enter the future together, bonded. But you can't recreate that moment in time once it has passed and there's been a period of time away from each other...this series demonstrates this concept better than most, it stimulated my thinking, let my mind wander into the past and the future, pondering the puzzle of my life.

Now this couldn't be further from July 4th or politics. Doesn't matter if you're a Trumper or not. You can dig in and enjoy "The Convict."

How did I know it worked? Because I was suddenly wary of opening our front door, wondering what would be outside, whether I should trust the person ringing the bell.

And since you don't know the actors, they seem to be the people in a way they are not in American productions. We see Meryl Streep in that role. Even Sydney Sweeney. But in "The Convict," that's really them, right?

Feels like it.

"The Convict" is entertainment. At times intense, never boring. I don't know what the following three seasons will bring, but this one...like I said, how great is it to be almost unable to wait 'til the end of the day so you can turn on the TV? That's the feeling "The Convict" inspired.

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