Critical Week: Executive action

This has been a quiet week for press screenings, so I've enjoyed having some time to catch up on other things that have been pressing. It also helps that the weather has been sunny and nice, our first proper London spring in three years. The biggest film I watched this week was a bit of wishful thinking. In the action thriller G20, Viola Davis plays a no-nonsense US president fighting some nasty baddies. Essentially a revamped Die Hard, the movie is familiar and very silly, but also a solid guilty pleasure.

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Other films this week included two offbeat music documentaries: Kevin Macdonald's One to One: John & Yoko follows a couple of pivotal years for the artists in protest-filled New York, adding a skilfully kaleidoscopic context to the music. And The Extraordinary Miss Flower is a beautifully swirling concoction exploring how Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini was inspired by a letters that revealed another woman's passion-filled past.

There were also a few things outside the regular release schedule. I attended a terrific screening and Q&A for the new Black Mirror episode Hotel Reverie, with Charlie Brooker, Emma Corrin and others. It's a gorgeously surreal love letter to classic movie romance. I finally caught up with Pedro Almodovar's involving, beautifully made Western short Strange Way of Life, starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke as cowboys who can't admit they love each other. And I attended two stage shows: lockdown drama Jab at the Park and the raucous Jane Austen adaptation Plied & Prejudice at the Vaults.

This coming week, the films I'll be watching include Michael B Jordan in Sinners, the tennis drama Julie Keeps Quiet, Norwegian horror movie The Ugly Stepsister and the sailing documentary Wind, Tide & Oar.

Screen: Autumn TV Roundup

Watching an episode or two of a TV show in between movies, or between writing a review and proofreading it, seems to help reset my brain. So the more escapist, the better! This summer summer felt a bit thin for good television, so I'm surprised to see how much I watched over the past four or five months...

ALL NEW

The Boys

Taking a bracingly honest approach to the superhero genre, this show dares to present these heroes as deeply flawed humans who have let their power go to their heads, even as they're being manipulated by the giant corporation that's making a fortune off of them. The characters are complex and messy, and the escalating nastiness of the plot is superbly unpredictable. So it's a shame that the show has such a generic title, smug attitude and frenzied love of grisly violence. The relentless toxic masculinity begins to feel oppressive by the end, on both sides of the battle. And much of the more provocative material feels like it was designed to shock rather than to build characters or story. But the show's driving central narrative is riveting.

Euphoria

Because it dares to break rules, this show stands out from the crowd. Its depiction of that teen sense of immortality is frankly astonishing, showing sex and drugs in ways that are frighteningly honest while refusing to vilify the way young people use devices and social media. It's rare to find a movie or TV series acknowledge so skilfully that the world has changed and the older generations need to get up to speed rather than pointlessly trying to drag everyone back. The cast is note perfect, both teens and adults. And the show is gorgeously well shot and edited, even if its structure sometimes becomes indulgent as it over-explains the cause of each character's vices. This was most noticeable in the season finale, which was edited into a chaotic jumble to leave each plot thread dangling at just the right angle. It's occasionally stunning, but also naggingly pretentious.

Catch-22

Joseph Heller's spiralling WWII novel is adapted into a beautifully focussed miniseries set mainly around the experiences of a young officer (Christopher Abbott) at a US airbase in Italy. The continual ironies make it well worth a look, as it adopts a snappy M*A*S*H tone with added dark absurdities. It's a lacerating look at the true nature of war, in which no one is a winner. And it features some superb supporting actors (Kyle Chandler is particularly notable), plus a continual stream of heart-stopping moments. George Clooney and Grant Heslov led the charge on this show, directing and appearing in various episodes, and the high production values make it feel timeless.

The Other Two

Sharply well written and played, this comedy hilariously scrambles the idea of celebrity. It's about two 20-something siblings (Drew Tarver and Helene Yorke) who are still struggling to find their way in life, and now they also have to grapple with the sudden viral fame of their younger 13-year-old brother (Case Walker). All three actors are perfect, with impeccable comic timing. And the great Molly Shannon shines as their hilariously involved mother, who takes a journey all her own (and deserves awards-season attention). These episodes go down so smoothly that the season ends far earlier than we want it to. But the writers finish on a very funny twist that sets things off in a new direction for the second series.

What We Do in the Shadows

Basically transplanting the hilarious New Zealand spoof film to Staten Island, this witty documentary pastiche follows a group of over-earnest vampires as they fail to grasp the complexities of modern society. Each of the half-hours features yet another ridiculous challenge for people stuck in the middle ages. And the addition of energy and emotional vampires is a stroke of genius. Performances are spot on, never winking at the camera even as they acknowledge the presence of the crew, which gets itself into trouble now and then. It's all a bit fluffy and absurdly silly, but that's just what you want from a TV comedy.

The Name of the Rose

With its medieval setting and triumphant opening theme, it's clear that the producers were going for a Game of Thrones vibe. Sure, it's packed with oddly named characters who are impossible to remember, but the story is more singular, zeroing in on brainy monk William (a wonderfully lively John Turturro) trying to solve a series of murders in a monastery. With its shifty characters and maze-like library, the show pulls us into the mystery through the eyes of William's young novice Adso (Damian Hardung), who's in love with a peasant girl (Greta Scarano) in the woods. Then the vicious papal henchman (Rupert Everett) arrives to complicate things dramatically. 

STILL GOING STRONG

Pose: series 2

Shifting the story forward to 1990, and diving right into the Aids epidemic, this show starts strong but quickly begins to get bogged down in special conceptual episodes (including far too many maudlin after-death fantasies that are overwritten and overplayed). By contrast, when the show focusses on its characters and their everyday issues, it shines. The period is the moment this subculture hit the mainstream with Madonna's Vogue, and the cast is incandescent as ever, with compelling storylines and riveting performance pieces. Moving forward, let's hope the showrunners remember that it's the smaller, personal moments that provide the sharpest observations and emotional high points. And frankly, Patti LuPone should sing in every episode of every TV show ever.

Big Little Lies: series 2

This is a lot more soapy than the first season, simply because the writers are now trying to stretch things out. Thankfully, the cast is so good (with an added powerhouse performance from Meryl!) that it never feels trite. Indeed, the entangled drama expands in unpredictable directions that continually keep the viewer on his or her toes, as each of the central characters faces surprising situations that shake them to the core. This offers plenty of grist for the almost obscenely talented likes of Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, Adam Scott and more. But this is The Meryl Show all the way. There's even a great cliffhanger.

Stranger Things: series 3

Progressing even further into horror, this third season is a full-throttle adventure that once again cleverly maintains a character focus while a high-concept plot unfolds. Alliances are shifted around now that we're in 1985, with the older and younger teens working together on two fronts to figure out what's going on: one group chasing a monster and the other spying on Russians. Meanwhile, Joyce and Jim (Winona Ryder and David Harbour) are on their own trajectory. It's a beautifully produced show with an attention to detail that goes far beyond production design. And the cast is excellent, bringing these realistically messy people to vivid life.

The Handmaid's Tale: series 3

This show continues in thriller mode, while the pressure of stretching one book into an ongoing series sends plots spiralling out to cover more characters in increasingly melodramatic gyrations. This waters down the show's kick, because the first season was so astonishingly focussed. But it's still bold and provocative, with storylines that twist and turn through some genuinely nasty and emotionally devastating events. As ever, the cast is excellent, anchored by a powerhouse Elizabeth Moss in full-glowering superhero mode. And the wonderful Ann Dowd gets some back-story this time, even as she's less central.

Easy: series 3

This comedy-drama ensemble is back with their separate, occasionally loosely connected dramas. Sometimes creator Joe Swanberg's offhanded attempts to shock feel pushy, for example presenting an open marriage as an everyday situation. But a moralising undercurrent gives away the game. The Chicago setting at least makes the show look different from other things on the air, and the actors bravely tackle the roles without worrying that all of these people are deeply unlikeable. They're realistic, so there are things about each of them that we can sympathise with, but it's difficult to care. 

Black Mirror: series 5

There are only three episodes in this season, and the high quality of the productions will leave the audience wanting more. Charlie Brooker happily pushes his characters to the brink with the help of on-the-edge technology that feels like it might be introduced tomorrow. Anthony Mackie and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II play out a fiendishly clever variation on the usual bromance. Andrew Scott has a harrowing stand-off with the cops, which gets increasingly entwined technologically. And Miley Cyrus is terrific as popstar Ashley Q, whose life is hijacked by her assistant, while a loyal fan (Angourie Rice) has an unexpected connection with an artificial-intelligence toy. They way these two strands converge is fiendishly clever.

Younger: series 6

A guilty pleasure, this dopey comedy continues to be just right when you don't want to think: hot people angsting about inane dilemmas in situations that bear no resemblance to the real world. And the way the show tries to be hip about social media is deeply amusing. Watched this way, there's quite a lot of fun to be had in the quirky characters, even if it's impossible to care what happens. But it doesn't help that the show's star (Sutton Foster's Liza) is the dullest character, and her romance with Peter Hermann's Charles is a non-starter. She's clearly destined for Nico Tortorella's gorgeous young single-dad tattooist. So just get on with it.

ON A BINGE

The OA: series 1-2

Created by and starring Brit Marling, this show is a clever prism of reality that's challenging but never tries to outfox the audience. It's rare to find such a mind-bending premise that's so bracingly coherent, packed with sequences that send exhilarating tingles up the spine. And where this season ends makes it even more essential, so it's sad that the plug was pulled. 

Derry Girls: series 1-2

This raucous half-hour comedy is perhaps a bit too broad for its own good, but it is amusing as it follows a group of Catholic teens as the conflicts of early 1990s Northern Irish unfold in the background. The girls (and one boy) are pretty ridiculous in their naivete, but their interaction is generally hilarious. But this knowing, funny show is stolen by Siobhan McSweeney as the deadpan Sister Michael.

Call My Agent: series 1-3

Not sure why I hadn't discovered this French comedy (now made by Netflix) before, but it's seems made for me! At a top Paris talent agency (with clients playing themselves, often riotously so), the out-of-control staff members get more engaging with each episode. It's a terrific combination of snappy humour, soapy plotlines and knowing industry pastiche. The Isabelle Huppert episode is essential.

Superstore: series 1-4

Over the dog days of summer, I was in need of a half-hour comedy to fill in the corners between work projects. And it didn't take long to get through all four seasons of this breezily silly sit-com set in a Walmart/Target like warehouse store, anchored ably by America Ferrera. It tackles big issues (immigration, un-liveable wages, sexism) but is refreshingly offhanded about pretty much everything. 

Succession: series 1

The cast and sharp writing make this show essential. There's a bit too much swaggering masculinity on display (the female characters need to be beefed up), and the mashup of Murdoch, Ailes and Disney sometimes feels a little forced. But it's fast and ruthlessly nasty, which is something rare on television. The question is whether they can sustain this pace into another season.

The Haunting of Hill House: series 1

Bearing almost no resemblance to the source Shirley Jackson novel, this series spin an elaborate horror story over several timelines, This Is Us-style. It's beautifully put together, with a superior cast, although everything is rather too scary-looking. Still, it's packed with solid freak-outs. Some of the cast will return for the second season, a variation on Henry James' iconic The Turn of the Screw.

REALITY BITES

Clearly the most escapist of all TV genres, reality shows are such vapid fun that they help provide a break from, and some perspective on, actual life events. I enjoyed Love Island this summer for its collection of too-beautiful people who aren't stupid but don't seem to understand what's actually important. I'm currently keeping an eye on guilty pleasures The Great British Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing, two shows that feature big personalities and nothing else I'm remotely interested in. See also The X Factor: Celebrity, which just launched, and I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, coming soonish. RuPaul's Drag Race UK is off to a great start, combining huge characters with social importance and sassy colour. But the best reality show this year, perhaps ever, is A Very Brady Renovation, reuniting all six iconic child actors with an army of renovation show hosts to merge the exterior of the famed house with the 1969 interiors that only ever existed on a soundstage. It's the perfect combination of nostalgia and ingenuity, and staggeringly well put together. And now that house exists for real. This was pure television joy!

I GIVE UP

Sometimes you get into a show and begin to wonder why you're wasting your time, so I stop watching. Russian Doll was not my cup of tea from the start, with its abrasively heightened drama, pushy convolutions and acting that's too deliberately over-the-top. Brassic is a shameless variation on, well, Shameless that's far too wacky to be engaging, so the strong underlying themes ring hollow. Lodge 49 had a meandering, loose first season, but the show-runners went bigger with season 2, and the overly messy structure leaves the superb Wyatt Russell with nothing coherent to do. And I only made it through a couple minutes of the dryly overserious The Hot Zone.

NOW WATCHING: The Politician, Unbelievable, Living With Yourself, Succession (series 2), The Conners (2), Bless This Mess (2), The Good Place (4), This Is Us (4), Superstore (5), Mom (7), Modern Family (11).

COMING SOON: His Dark Materials, The Mandalorian, The Loudest Voice, War of the Worlds, State of the Union, The End of the F***ing World (2), Castle Rock (2), The Crown (3)...

Shadows on the Screen: Winter TV Roundup

I had some time over the holidays to catch up on TV shows I've been following over the past few months. Results have been mixed, but there have been some great small-screen gems in here to help me recover from the big-screen movies...

Stranger Things: Series 2

The Duffer Brothers step things up a notch with a bigger, much scarier story arc that feels much more finely tuned to the characters and the actors. Everything in these nine episodes fits together beautifully, deepening the connections and unnerving the audience. References feel somewhat more grown-up this time, from X-Men to The Exorcist, and the scale of events is genuinely enormous, with deeply personal touches. All of the cast is excellent, from adults like Winona Ryder and David Harbour to the older and younger teens, who mix beautifully and end up nowhere near where they started. It's also refreshing that they ended on such an open note: anything can happen next year. 

The Crown: Series 2

Basically an anthology series, each episode takes an aspect of Elizabeth II's life from her second decade as monarch. So there are episodes on JFK, sending Charles to school, the Profumo scandal, modernising the monarchy, confronting the family's Nazi past and Margaret's romance with Lord Snowden. But the season's through-line centres on Philip's indiscretions and how the couple weathered those various storms to solidify their relationship as a marriage rather than an arrangement. It's grippingly well written and played, but this structural approach makes it feel rather, well, episodic, without much momentum as a series. It's almost more like an unusually well-produced educational film. And these actors are all so good that next season's all-new cast (as everyone ages) has a lot to live up to.

Easy: Series 2

The second season of this anthology show revisits all of the overlapping characters, finding moments of proper comedy and drama along the way. Although most of the humour is of the bitter sort. Episodes all stand alone but loop around to touch others, and the characters all feel enjoyably realistic. The main problem is writer-director Joe Swanberg's relentless sexualising of females (for example, when artists are struggling, the man becomes an Uber driver, the woman becomes a prostitute). In isolation, none of this feels excessive, but when every episode features a scantily clad woman it becomes a little obvious. That said, there's equal opportunity nudity. And the characters are all complex and involving.

I'm Dying Up Here

The 1970s Los Angeles stand-up scene is the setting for this solidly produced hour-long drama, which follows a group of comics as they traverse the ups and downs of their careers. The show is packed with terrific characters, all superbly played, from mother hen Melissa Leo to a varied bunch of hopefuls played by Ari Graynor, Andrew Santino, Michael Angarano, Clark Duke, RJ Cyler and Al Madrigal, to name a few. The political aspects of the comic scene are a little dull, but the personal journeys taken by each person are compelling, and the period detail is a lot of fun. There are also some terrific stand-up routines along the way.

The Deuce

The 1970s New York sex industry is the setting for this solidly produced hour-long drama, which follows a group of bar owners, prostitutes, pimps and pornographers as they shuffle through the crime-ridden streets. The show is almost incredibly murky, with corruption everywhere and such a huge range of detailed characters that none of them really stand out. There simply isn't time to properly develop each of them into a sympathetic person we can identify with in some way. But the acting is superb, anchored by James Franco as a rather too identical pair of twins and Maggie Gyllenhaal as hooker with a lot of personal issues. It's also refreshing to see a show that lacks the usual American hang-ups about sex and sexuality.

Black Mirror: Series 4

Charlie Brooker's slick, technology-themed variation on The Twilight Zone continues to tap into very current fears with its only slightly futuristic stories. These new Netflix episodes are produced like mini movies (the first episode is feature length) and have A-list Hollywood casts and crews. The plots sometimes have lapses in logic, but the themes are powerful, exploring how technological advances play into the darker urges we already have. This means that some of the stories are downright bleak. For example, Jodie Foster's episode Arkangel is deeply unsettling not because of its child-spying implants, but because of what it says about today's overprotective culture. And the best episode, Timothy Van Patten's Hang the DJ, mixes gloominess with hope as it plays with the concept of dating apps.

Transparent: Series 3

Thankfully less gloomy than the last season, these episodes saw the astonishingly dysfunctional family travelling to Israel as they connect with a long-lost relative. There were quite a few genuinely hilarious moments along the way, and most of the outlandish slapstick was reined in this time, even if each person's personal crisis seemed like the end of the world, to them at least. Of course, the setting gives the show's writers plenty of scope to play with political ideas. And they also cleverly infuse this entire season with songs from Jesus Christ Superstar. This is perhaps a little on-the nose as far as irony goes, but it grounds the family in a shared experience that connects them to this place. 

You're the Worst: Series 4

What was once a caustic, brave show has clearly reached the limits of its premise. this season, the writers struggled with what to do with a couple that needed to get together for the audience's sake, but were designed to be thoroughly toxic. Instead of playing on the codependent aspects, this season has them lashing out separately. But it felt like the wheels were spinning with nowhere left to go. All of the actors continue to approach their broadly ridiculous characters with an intriguing sense of emotional honesty that makes them sympathetic and unlikeable at the same time. But I don't think I could take one more half an hour with any of them.

Episodes: Series 5

The final season of this loose-limbed sitcom circles back to end exactly as you've always known it would. And along the way there are plenty of ridiculous antics for Sean and Beverly (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Grieg) and their circle of hopelessly neurotic friends, including Matt LeBlanc, who is now hosting one of the most hilariously appalling game shows ever imagined. The show has always had a way of lampooning Hollywood by playing everything just a little broadly. But there's also the definitely sense that pretty much everything they've ever depicted has actually happened. And the characters really grew on us.

SEASONS IN PROGRESS

This Is Us: Series 2

In this second season, the writers are taking things very seriously, piling lots of big themes into each episode. Life for these people feels a little too difficult this year, at each of the various periods in their lives. And the show has introduced yet another timeline that lets the main cast get a bit more screen time while playing their characters a little younger and hotter. But the real thing, of course, is that the writers are now torturing the audience mercilessly with the possibilities about how Milo Ventmiglia's Jack dies, setting up a potential calamity in each episode. It's getting a bit silly. Just tell us and get on with the story.

Jane the Virgin: Series 4

Fiendishly well written, this spoof of Mexican soap opera plays on its origins mercilessly. And some of the twists and turns are more than a little annoying. But the central characters are all so loveable that it's hard to mind. By now, the writers have milked several of the characters as far as they can (it's way overtime to lose Yael Grobglas' evil twin character Anezka), and there's only so long they can stretch the will-they/won't they romance between the adorable Gina Rodriguez's Jane and the ludicrously hot Justin Baldoni's Rafael. But every scene is still packed with such great touches that it's worth hanging in there.

Scandal: Series 7

True confession: I am only still watching this show because it's the final season, and I might as well see it through. Because this year's series is actually pretty bad, straining to shift Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope from hero of the peoiple to villainous mastermind (ie, she's become her father Joe Morton). This is so contrived that it's almost laughable, well it would be if it weren't so unnecessarily dark and violent. In fact, all of the subplots are grislier and nastier this year. The zing of, well, the scandal is gone. This is apocalyptic.

Shameless: Series 8

It's amazing that this show can carry on, throwing the Gallagher family into even more spiralling mayhem without feeling contrived. Some elements are infuriating, as they're meant to be, while others leave us wondering what the writers were thinking when they came up with this. William H Macy is clearly relishing this new phase in Frank's life, and the undulating feud between Emmy Rossum's Fiona and Cameron Monaghan's Ian has been played with surprising texture. Even Vee and Kev (Shanola Hampton and Steve Howey) are still on fire. It's impossible to predict where any of the plot strands are headed.

Will & Grace: Series 9

I don't remember this show being quite so broad and smiley the first time around. Even the opening credits this time reek of fake camaraderie. And while the idea is amusing that, 11 years later, these people are basically back where they started, the writing really needs to push them forward rather than using each episode to revive one of the more memorable gags or side characters. And the actors need to pull back a bit on their broadly comical performances, stirring in just a bit of believability. Except Megan Mullally, of course. Karen is still one of the most amazing characters ever seen on a sitcom, and she's as funny now as she ever was.

Modern Family: Series 9

This show has had some weak episodes over the past couple of years, but this season the writing feels back up to par. Plotting is tight, weaving various threads together in each episode that build to a big punchline. Of course, better writing gives the ace cast a lot to work with, and these characters are proving to be a continuous source of comedy: people we think we know very well who continue to surprise us. And the increasingly number of characters, including the kids, all have ongoing storylines that are genuinely engaging and witty. Indeed, the children are growing into comedy icons themselves.

I GIVE UP

The Orville

Seth MacFarlane had a great opportunity here to make a full on satirical sci-fi series, and yet he seems happy to merely nod earnestly in the direction of Star Trek. There's the occasional great gag or inventive touch, but the plots and characters are never interesting or funny enough to care about. I stopped at about episode 5.

The Flash/Supergirl 

These were the last two shows of the DC Comics universe that I was watching, and they too have shifted into cheaply made, far too violent storylines that make absolutely no sense and have no angle on which the audience can find a connection. It's just gimmicky and grisly and angsty. Life's too short.

Empire

I was a big fan from the start of this show, and I hung in there even through some long dips into seriously silly storytelling. But this season simply lost all of the various plots, giving each character a drastic personality change. Nothing is happening here that's even remotely compelling. And the people are annoying. I'm done.

Shadows on the Screen: Winter TV roundup

There's been a lot worth watching on TV over the past few months, with a range of comedy, drama and anthology. As I've said before, watching television is a great escape for me from the work-minded approach I have to take to the movies. So here's what's been filling my spare time....

SOMETHING NEW

Westworld

Complex and twisty, this ambitious adaptation of the Michael Crichton thriller has an enjoyable Groundhog Day premise as it resets itself each morning while building the narrative entanglements. Led by a formidable Thandie Newton (above right), the cast is excellent, diving into characters who are either robots layered with identity issues, guests trying to live a fantasy or creators with god complexes. It's an often thrilling mix, although the open-ended nature of the premise means it could run for years without reaching anything like a sensible conclusion. Yes, it takes a rather too-clever approach that tantalises the audience without giving any proper resolution.

The Young Pope

It's nothing short of tragic that this show failed to spark solid ratings or awards attention. After seeing the first two astonishing episodes as a feature film at the Venice Film Festival, I was wondering if creator-director Paolo Sorrentino could sustain the mix of comedy, drama and surrealism. Indeed he did, and magnificently so. Where this series goes is nothing short of revolutionary. It's witty, disturbing and gorgeous at the same time, and it was impossible to predict how these events would play out. And the acting by Jude Law, Diane Keaton, James Cromwell and Silvio Orlando is some of the very best on TV all year. 

Victoria 

This ITV series starts out a bit dryly, packing in a lot of historical events into a melodramatic set-up, then in episode 4 it shifts up a gear into Downton Abbey guilty pleasure territory, with the involving, sudsy romance between the young queen and her cousin Albert (nicely underplayed by Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes, pictured). Sumptuously produced, this is light entertainment with just a hint of the weight of history. And it's so much fun to watch, that it doesn't really matter that it's not offering very much actual insight into the life of Queen Victoria. ITV should have no trouble with keeping this show running for several years.

The Crown

Like a 100-years-later version of Victoria, with a much brainier script, this series begins with the romance and marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip (the superb Claire Foy and Matt Smith), and quickly introduces the illness of George VI (the amazing Jared Harris). The second episode is nothing short of a masterpiece. Produced to a very high standard, it's the high-calibre writing and direction that elevate this beyond the more soapy Victoria. Netflix went all out on this series, and it shows. And as she demonstrated in Wolf Hall, Foy is one of the finest actors working today when it comes to conveying a lifetime in a glance.

This Is Us

Everything about this show feels a little pointed, but it's beautifully written and acted, with characters who are grounded and authentic. The inter-connections between the disparate members of this family are fascinating, put together in a way that pretty much anyone watching can resonate with. And the issues touched on are strong and meaningful, mainly exploring discrimination on the basis of everything from economy and profession to weight and race. The characters also have a complexity to them that makes them nicely unpredictable, even if the way the writers fit them together is a bit tidy, like a softer, kinder, easier variation on Transparent.

Easy

This lightly interconnected eight-part anthology series is very nicely written, shot and acted, although the attempt to cover a wide range of topics and situations feels a little stilted. Essentially everything comes from a straight-white-male perspective, including the two episodes with rather leery lesbian elements. But there are astute moments all the way through, with sharp casting that includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Orlando Bloom, Jane Adams, Malin Akerman, Emily Ratajkowski and Raul Castillo. The two most clearly connected episodes - about brothers (Evan Jonigkeit and Dave Franco) setting up a hipster brewery in their Chicago garage - are flat-out terrific. 

BACK FOR MORE

Difficult People: Series 2

Deranged, fast and very silly, this show uses dense 30 Rock-style delivery for its smart, snappy humour. Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner (pictured) are ridiculous as two struggling, unprincipled comedians in New York, willing to do pretty much anything for even a hint of success. And the great Andrea Martin as Julie's mum is a stroke of genius. The things they get up to are hilariously stupid, written with an inevitable sense of failure that's rather annoying. But what they say is laceratingly funny, naming names as they go after pop culture targets. And a string of starry guests (including, inevitably, Tina Fey) adds a terrific kick. 

Transparent: Series 3

This show showed a bit of strain in this season, both in the balance of comedy and drama and in the way it developed the central characters. The problem is that these people are becoming increasingly selfish and unlikeable. They're also turning on each other, which is dangerous in a show about a family. The actors are all so good that they continually remind us that they truly love each other, but the characters are feeling isolated, lashing out as they try to survive increasingly impossible situations. We may feel their pain, but it isn't easy to root for anyone.

Black Mirror: Series 3

Moving to Netflix, Charlie Brooker's technology-themed Twilight Zone-style series is seriously beefed up. At an hour long each (with a feature-length finale), these feel more like stand-alone movies than an anthology TV series, especially with the A-list cast including Bryce Dallas Howard (as a woman desperate to improve her social media rating), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (a party girl living in an alternate 1987), Kelly Macdonald (a cop trying to stop a mind-boggling tech attack) and Wyatt Russell (a tester trying a too-real virtual reality game, pictured), plus rising stars like James Norton, Alex Lawther and Sarah Snook. Each episode carries a serious wallop. Unmissable.

You're the Worst: Series 3

Continuing to tilt into the edgier areas of the characters lives, this stunningly well written and played comedy somehow managed to turn even bleaker this year. As their relationship grows, it's getting increasingly difficult for the central characters (Chris Geery and Aya Cash) to be quite so blithely self-involved. So the writers have spread out to indulge in the side characters a bit more, which is kind of distracting since they're all pretty cartoonish, and not nearly as interesting. But the central storyline is as heartbreaking as ever.

Please Like Me: Series 4

This extraordinary comedy from Australia continues to throw curveballs at the audience, with its gang of prickly, unpredictable characters veering from hilariously outrageous comedy to wrenching emotion. This series started off lively and silly, with the usual mix of romantic chaos and family strains. And then in the final episodes it turned astonishingly dark, grappling with serious emotions in a way that's meaningful and important. The mixture of highs and lows is daring, as is the fact that actor-creator Josh Thomas' protagonist isn't always very likeable. But we can't help but love him.

Masters of Sex: Series 4

This show continues to depart from real life with its soapy plotting, as Masters and Johnson (Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, still excellent) began the season feuding and sulking in opposite ends of their laboratory. Ho hum. The strain is also showing in the writers' feeble attempts to keep the superb Caitlin Fitzgerald (as Johnson's angry ex-wife) in the show, while they seem unsure what to do with the amazing Annaleigh Ashford (as Betty the feisty receptionist). It did snap out of the doldrums as it went along, but there clearly needs to be a rethink. And it needs to be sexier than this.

Cold Feet: Series 6

Like a British take on the classic series Thirtysomething, this hit comedy-drama ran from 1997 to 2003, then returned this summer for an eight-part reunion season. The set-up is more than a little contrived, with a sudden marriage and relocation back to Manchester for Adam (James Nesbitt) seemingly because no one ever considered that his friendless 15-year-old son could move out to Singapore with him. And how the plot developed was pretty ridiculous. Still, the chemistry between the actors remains engaging, and it's especially great to see Fay Ripley and John Thomson back in the show's most interesting roles.

Shameless: Series 7

This inventive show wobbled slightly as this season began, straining to find outrageous plots. Some of this was fun (like Frank's "new" Gallagher family), and the darker observations about things like teen parenthood and mental illness are still dead-on and surprisingly moving. A few episodes in, it regained its character-based stride, pushing each person into an all-new form of nightmarish desperation while somehow maintaining the pathos. And as always, the climax was the return of Hurricane Monica (the wonderfully slurring Chloe Webb) in episode 9. And it got better and better from there, right to another brilliant, shattering finale.

SEASONS IN PROGRESS

The Real O'Neals: Series 2

This smart-silly sitcom is expanding on its ensemble cast with spiralling narratives that are a lot of fun. Although it's odd that the show seems to be neglecting its central figure, the gay teen Kenny (Noah Galvin), this year. It's as if the writers can't think beyond the trite cliches they continually resort to, since his storyline is the least entertaining one in the show. It's a mistake to go down this road with a show that started out so fresh. The writing is still strong, and the superb cast keeps the characters endearing. But it seems to be pandering to the masses by simplifying everyone to just one or two personality traits.

Supergirl: Series 2

After Arrow went dark, fragmented and chaotic about a year ago, The Flash followed suit in the first episode of this season, bogging down in its unnecessarily murky convolutions. So their sister show Supergirl probably has one more year before it also heads into creator Greg Berlanti's murky bog. Worrying signs are showing already, with the departure of Calista Flockhart, the show's primary source of comedy sass. And the action is turning increasingly violent, grim and cheesy. But the lead characters are still engaging as they trade plenty of snappy banter, and there's still a whiff of a light touch in the writing, so I'll keep watching for now. But this is the last superhero series I can stomach.

Empire: Series 3

After that fiery first year, this series has struggled to find its stride. The 2nd season was bipolar, lost in messy storytelling in the first half before wrenching it back to the more colourfully entertaining fireworks later on. This season has shot out with a vengeance, thankfully maintaining the focus on characters rather than plot melodramatics. But after the nightmarish events at the end of the last season, everyone is a bit stunned and emotional. Someone needed to bring sexy back. Instead, the showrunners have simply into the boring criminal plots and counter plots, while stupidly sidelining the three sons as damaged souls. Even Cookie looks bored with this.

Modern Family: Series 8
It's probably inevitable that a show that sustained some of the best writing on television would have to decline one day. After the uneven 7th season, this year's shows feel eerily uneven. There is some great dialog, and a general sense of energy, but on the whole the plotlines aren't hugely inventive, leaving the characters spinning their wheels. This show has always been about the joy of developing these people as they grow older, but there's a sense that the writers are unsure where to send them, relying on old gags instead of inventing new ones as the family dynamics change.