In the “new golden age of TV”, there are a ton of new programs to choose from, but feel free to list any series – from any year – that you really enjoyed this past year.
One of my favs above. 🙂
Photo courtesy of HBO.com
Kat
Cubalibre
LOL
LOL
At Home in Decatur
Dan Whisenhunt
Cubalibre
J_T
FM Fats
Robert Butera
Steve
Walker1
My hubby would say Luke Cage.
1. Rectify:
This crime drama, which just concluded its 4 season run, was never really about “who did it,” and that’s one reason it remained a cult show. I’m by no means a religious person, but I admire the fact that this was the rare series that took religious belief seriously (and not just belief, but art, marriage, family, the effects of violence and incarceration, and forgiveness). It was also the rare series that was realistic about the small town South.
The rest in no particular order:
The Americans
Orange is the New Black
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Transparent
One Mississippi
Schitts Creek
Atlanta
Girls
High Maintenance
Better Call Saul
Shows I bailed on this year: The Walking Dead (just the same contrived misery over and over), Blackish (the Disney episode, ugh) Modern Family (way past its sell-by date)
One more note about Rectify, for those who watched it, has there even been so much beer drank in a series not set in a bar? Mostly Georgia beers too.
It’s crazy that “Rectify” doesn’t get more attention. And I noticed Teddy drinking Terrapin. Hadn’t paid attention to the beer before that.
Terrapin and Monday Night Brewery were the ones I noticed most.
Definitely Atlanta. The acting and the cinematography is beyond any show I’ve ever seen. Donald Glover, from Stone Mountain no less, is really amazing, and I will admit to being a bit envious of all that he has accomplished with his life in such a short time.
Yes, agree Susan. I think it’s great that two of the most critically admired series (this and Rectify) were shot and SET in Georgia. And of course people still watch The Walking Dead too.
Forgot to include Black Mirror on my list. Haven’t watched all of them yet, but what I’ve seen is scarily relevant to our current state of affairs.
Agree re Black Mirror. A few of the episodes I have seen are borderline brilliant.
Also forgot to include O.J. Simpson: Made in America, the 5 part ESPN documentary (I haven’t seen The People vs. O.J. Simpson). Does a tremendous job of putting the “trial of the century” in context in terms of race and the LAPD, though I thought it missed the mark in largely ignoring the “jock entitlement” that we continue to see in so many cases of domestic violence (perhaps because it was made for ESPN?).
The Night Of (HBO)
I’ve been waffling on whether or not to start that. Sell it to me!
I would watch The Night Of for John Turturro’s performance alone, but I thought the legal aspects were wildly unrealistic.
It’s a slow burn…until the last episode. Definitely worth a watch.
Gonna be one of the not-hip kids and go with Westworld. It is a masterful blend of action, mystery, drama, and stupidity.
Mr. Robot is also a blast, and is the closest thing that TV has come so far to making a technology show that is not a total insult to anyone with basic knowledge of computers and, like, the interwebs.
Westworld was tough going for me as there were no real characters to care about and it was often confusing. Felt more like a video game than a dramatic work of fiction much of the time, and I hate video games.
But, re Westworld, I did enjoy picking out the Radiohead tunes on the player-piano soundtrack.
I binged the entire first season of Mr. Robot, and, spoiler alert: no robots. WTH?
This Is Us is a true gift– great ensemble acting and compelling storytelling. (I haven’t made it through an episode yet without getting all teary-eyed.) Love all the characters; especially, William (played by the wonderful Ron Cephas Jones) who manages to tug every heartstring with his sweet, wistful smile.
That type of show is normally not my bag, but This Is Us is a beautifully done show. Emotional without being manipulative.
Rectify, but saying it is the best show of the year is doing it a disservice. It is one of the all-time greats.
This year’s GOT was pretty great.
A surprise pleasure was watching the first 2 seasons of Red Oaks (and Amazon Original).
I could not get past episode 2 of Rectify. Not trying to be that guy who poops on everyone’s parade, but I found it overbearing and forced. Does it loosen up a bit after the beginning? I’d love to give it another shot based on all the love it gets here.
Not really. It’s not for everyone. It’s a heavy series. Some incidents are given a weight they would never have on other series (coffee grounds…) The dialogue isn’t meant to be naturalistic (I believe Ray McKinnon, the creator, was influenced by Deadwood, which had very stylized (and profane) dialogue. He acted in a minor role in that series). You’re thoughts on Rectify sound like mine on Mr. Robot, which I thought seemed forced and predictable (season one was all I watched). One question I ask people who are considering watching Rectify is if they like reading Flannery O’ Connor. If the answer is “who?” or “no”, I’d guess the odds are they won’t like it.
I’m with you, Al. I gave it three episodes and decided it wasn’t for me.
I think I’m just getting bored with TV as a whole. There are many evenings now when I just don’t turn it on. I’m either reading, aimlessly surfing/playing on my phone or iPad, or just deciding to go to bed.
I think what I’m saying is that I’m getting old. 🙁
I love Rectify, but I thought it was a bit off this season. Thought Caitlyn FitzGerald’s character was out of the general context of the show, and too many scenes were over-scored. But then, Clayne Crawford in season 3 was just a towering performance, and nothing this season was going to match it.
1) The Americans
2) Black Mirror
3) Atlanta
You know, as much I love the series, I was struck by how structurally similar the finale was to the Mad Men finale, which I didn’t really care much for. Totally agree about Clayne Crawford’s performance, whose character’s arc turned out to be the most dramatic of the ensemble.
Regarding Clayne Crawford, I’ve never wanted to contact an actor and congratulate him so much as I do Clayne. Teddy’s growth in seasons 3 and 4 — just so good.
Stranger Things was so much fun.
My top 5:
The Get Down
Westworld
Sense8
Stranger Things
The Man in theHigh Castle
Stranger Things, Halt & Catch Fire and Rectify (all filmed in Georgia and all wonderful).
I just watched The OA on Netflix and enjoyed the middle episodes, but it was overall too silly.
Stinks we have to wait two years for the next season of Westworld. It’s not a perfect show, but I really like how much it makes you think.
Just started Stranger Things last night and really like it so far (first 3 eps.). The Crown is another excellent escapist period piece of a different sort.
Stanger Things.
I also appreciate no-brain comedies and love American Housewife and Speechless. Could watch actress Katie’s facial expressions all day long. Let me just say that I can identify with all 3 of these moms.
“Fleabag”, on Amazon Prime is excellent, if you don’t mind the potty-mouthing and sex. Not nudity, as I recall.
Here’s one of the more comprehensive lists of “best shows of 2016” I’ve seen. Top 100.
http://uproxx.com/sepinwall/tv-critics-poll-2016-best-shows/