During lockdown, it seems that television is my only break from the movies - theatre, museums, just walking through the city are out! And with all the movies streaming online, the only thing different about watching TV is that it doesn't feel like work. We said goodbye to a few favourite shows recently, even as we are making quite a few new discoveries. And with streaming services multiplying, it's not easy to keep up. But I'll do what I can...
WAVE GOODBYE
Schitt's Creek: series 6
This Canadian comedy seems to have snuck up on the world. While the first two seasons were a little uneven, I've stuck with it simply because comic geniuses Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy are on peak form. Meanwhile, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy and the surrounding cast have turned potentially cartoonish roles into their own loveable icons. Each year the show got better - deeper, funnier, more resonant - and it's a rare series that has gone out at its very best. It's also unlikely that we'll see another show that so adeptly mixes absurd humour with sophisticated comedy while continually surprising us with earthy emotion. It's already missed.
The Good Place: series 4
Funny and fiendishly smart, this inventive comedy left us wanting more even as it wrapped up its four-year, 50-episode run in a beautifully imagined series finale that will likely make this show a cult classic. The frankly awesome cast (Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto and especially D'Arcy Corden) deserves to be haunted by these roles for the rest of their lives. Each episode is bracingly intelligent even as it retains its riotously silly approach, and the series ended in a way that was hilarious, full of emotion and bursting with profound insight into the meaning of existence. Indeed, shows rarely go out on such a delirious high. Heaven indeed.
Future Man: series 3
Continuing at its breakneck pace, this insane sci-fi comedy thriller just keeps throwing Josh Hutcherson's hapless Futterman from one high-energy crisis to the next, barely pausing to catch a breath amid a constant barrage of outrageous verbal and visual humour. Along the way, Hutcherson has developed a terrific sense of camaraderie with costars Eliza Coupe and Derek Wilson without ignoring their distinctive character flaws. From a trio of bickering idiots, they've become an endearing bickering family. This final season features a lot more shameless galloping through timelines than before, which gives the show a deranged Quantum Leap sensibility. Thankfully, it's as profane as ever. And the finale is brilliant (shout-out to composer Halli Cauthery).
Modern Family: series 11
It's been a long run for this family, and some of the later seasons have been a little uneven. But there are moments of classic comedy in every episode, and perhaps the most notable thing about the show is how the expanding cast has aged so well, especially the children who grew up on-screen to skilfully steal scenes from the adults. Having the same writers since day one has helped, making serious themes accessible through silly character-based humour. This final season gave each actor a lot to play with, plotting journeys for each character as they head off into various carefully crafted directions. They may have ended up scattered all over, but I wouldn't bet against a reunion.
SAY HELLO
Tiger King
It took me awhile to get round to watching this, and when I did I instantly understood why the buzz was so strong. For a documentarian, these big cat obsessives were a gift, providing constantly shifting stories and an excess of personality, crazy hair and multiple spouses. Each of these nasty people has his or her own brand of insanity. Some are stubbornly likeable (Joe Exotic) while others are inexplicably despicable from the get-go (Carole Baskin). That the audience feels so strongly about them is part of what makes this such compelling television. And the way each episode deepens the craziness as well as the mystery makes it almost impossible not to binge. Brilliantly shot and edited into a must-see.
Star Trek: Picard
There's a freshness to this show that breathes life into an entire franchise (see also The Mandalorian), simply because it never takes itself too seriously. Patrick Stewart is terrific revisiting his iconic character, pulled out of retirement for a rogue mission with a ragtag team of people in need of redemption. The evolving plot is fascinating, especially as it so stubbornly refuses to go in the direction we (or indeed Picard) expect it to, spiralling off into new directions, crossing paths with favourite characters from the past, and remaining beautifully grounded in the people rather than the settings or ideas. That said, the ideas are big ones, echoing current events in subtly clever ways.
Devs
Alex Garland carries on his existential tone with this series about a tech company that's exploring the very nature of reality to predict the past and future. Or something like that. The central idea is very fuzzy, but the way the show spirals out its narrative is clever and involving, with strong characters that provide big emotional kicks along the way. Nick Offerman has a wonderfully woolly presence as the company founder whose oddly overwrought obsession with his daughter's death drives the premise. Alison Pill gives another coolly intense, vulnerable performance (see also Picard). But the show's heart is the awkward connection between Sonoya Mizuno's central character Lily and her ex-boyfriend Jamie, sublimely underplayed by Jin Ha.
Unorthodox
Based on a true story, this four-part series is insightfully made, getting into the head of teenage bride Esty (Shira Haas) as she escapes from an ultra-orthodox Jewish community in New York. It's easy to understand why she might sneak away and run to Berlin. The sideplot in which her husband (Amit Rahav) and his rather shady cousin (Jeff Wilbusch) come after her feels a bit dramatic, but it's delicately underplayed. Much more gripping is Esty's own journey of self-discovery, not just of this big, strange world but also of her place in it, and who she actually is aside from the locked-down version of herself she was always told to show.
Quiz
The true story of the "coughing major", this three-part series makes the most of its fragmented structure, spiralling around to assemble the story from two primary perspectives. Most impressive is that it never actually takes sides, presenting the known facts and letting the audience grapple with the implications. Performances are simply awesome from Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Sheen and Sian Clifford. And it's finely directed by Stephen Frears to dig far beneath the headlines and the period (including the fact that the notorious Who Wants to Be a Millionaire episode was taped the day before 9/11). It may not be the final word on the ongoing legal case, but it's thoughtful and provocative.
The Outsider
Murder mysteries aren't usually my thing, but this one stars the unmissable Ben Mendelsohn and Cynthia Erivo. It's also based on a Stephen King novel, so it's packed with flawed characters in a story that continually takes unexpected, horrifically incomprehensible turns. The snaky plot offers a clever slant on the monster-predator premise, which keeps it riveting even when the writing, direction and editing become a bit indulgent, deliberately making things far more confusing than they need to be. Thankfully the ace cast members create complex characters we can really root for, even amid some dark personal issues.
I Am Not Okay With This
There's a refreshingly snarky edge to this brisk comedy about a teen trying to work out a sense of who she is and how she's connected to the people around her. Sydney (Sophia Lillis) loves her best pal (Sofia Bryant) but instead finds herself in a relationship with a cute-dork neighbour (Wyatt Oleff). She's also discovering that she has some rather outrageous super powers. And she's afraid to tell anyone about any of this. The way the story develops has a wonderfully off-the-cuff sensibility, remaining carefully within the perspective of these messy teens, while referencing classics from The Breakfast Club to (ahem!) Carrie. Where it goes bodes well for a second season.
COME BACK
Ozark: series 2
Diving immediately into this family's intense life in southern Missouri, this show gets scarier with each episode. The key shift this season is the way Marty and Wendy (Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, better than ever) take their separate agendas to a whole new level, ultimately ending up in battle with each other even as they're pinched by both a nosey Fed and an escalating drug cartel war. It's beautifully written and played with complexity and intrigue. And the fabulous Julia Garner and Janet McTeer get to root around in their characters too. There's a tendency to over-egg the knotted plotlines, but don't worry: just relish how these people deal with the double-dealing.
The New Pope: series 2
Paolo Sorrentino continues the photogenic, surreal journey of Pope Pius XIII (played with wry glee by Jude Law), which began with 2016's The Young Pope. Having received a heart transplant from a Muslim, Pius lies in a coma, so after a riotous false start the Vatican cardinals appoint a new Pope (John Malkovich, no less). And just as he gets into his stride, Pius wakes up. The witty scripts swirl around issues of power and faith in wickedly clever ways, and the cast is excellent across the board. With flat-out spectacular imagery, Sorrentino has a terrific skill for bringing modern touches into this fusty world, playfully pointing out the difference between what the church is and what it should be.
Sex Education: series 2
Carrying on from the moment it left off, this show might have improved by becoming even more unapologetic about its title topic. Instead, the usual TV prudeness seems to be creeping in, as the scripts feel oddly embarrassed about sex and sexuality while still being rather pleased with themselves for having the nerve to touch on hot potato ideas. Thankfully, the cast is still superb enough to bring the interaction to vivid life, with Asa Butterfield offering even more layers to Otis, and Gillian Anderson continually surprising us with Jean's droll straight-talking. The side characters are nicely developed much deeper as well, so let's hope the writers have the nerve to push them further.
The Trip to Greece: series 4
After Britain, Italy and Spain, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (with director Michael Winterbottom) find another sun-drenched corner of southern Europe to visit. This time the show has echoes of Ancient Greek history, myths and philosophy woven in among the improvisational goofiness, as the duo visits insanely delectable restaurants, picturesque locations and historical sites. The odd black-and-white mythological flashback feels a little out of place, as does some generally murky meta-plotting. This is echoed in how Coogan seems unusually downbeat all the way through this series, which adds a hint of moody darkness to his banter with Brydon.
Grace and Frankie: series 6
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin continue to find comedy gold as this sometimes daft show taps into properly meaningful issues without ever getting too serious. The chemistry between Fonda and Tomlin (and Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) is a joy to watch, whether they're giggling or crying together, and everyone in the surrounding cast has also deepened their roles beyond initial stereotypes. Some of the plotting feels badly contrived, perhaps overreaching for such a cheerful little show. But the ideas, humour and emotion are consistently engaging, adding thoughtful topicality and emotional resonance to the laughter. Alas, next season is set to be the final one.
CATCH UP
Unbelievable
Simply stunning, this devastatingly powerful drama traces the case of a serial rapist through the eyes of two detectives (the towering duo of Merritt Wever and Toni Collette) and one extremely complex victim (a bravely nuanced Kaitlyn Dever). Based on true events, the show unfolds with bracing authenticity, taking an angle rarely explored in a crime series: namely, a purely female perspective that is nuanced through the eyes of various characters. And there isn't a moment that exploits or sensationalises the crime. So not only is this finely written and directed, engaging and intensely emotional, but it's also deeply, powerfully important.
The Kominsky Method: series 1-2
I watched the entire first series on a flight from London to Los Angeles, wondering why I'd never seen it before. Then when I got home, I binged the second season. Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin are on peak form as an ageing actor and his agent struggling to keep up with life in Hollywood, generally making their own problems worse in the process. The writing is often laugh-out-loud hilarious, with some properly astute touches, and the guest stars are a lot of fun too. Each episode is a joy to watch as it spirals around the edges of standard sitcom territory, adding smart observations into each scene.
Castle Rock: series 2
With a plot that's only tangentially connected to the first season, this series ramps things up quite a bit. The dense storyline is much more action-packed and also rather less internally engaging. But the enjoyably mashed-up echoes of Stephen King's novels are still very clever, with the best connections being the subtlest ones. And the cast is excellent, anchored by Tim Robbins, Lizzy Caplan, Barkhad Abdi and Elise Fisher. So it's perhaps forgivable that the writing has a tendency to slip into simplistic hyper-violence rather than grappling with the intriguing themes that are gurgling loudly under the surface.
GIVE UP
Avenue 5: A rare misfire from Armando Iannucci, this space-set comedy seems to continually miss the point of its own premise. Characters are enjoyably annoying, but all of them are loathesome. Even the gifted Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad can't make much of these idiots. Maybe it gets better, as it's been renewed for a second season. But no.
Kidding: Sorry, I recognise the genius of how this show is put together, and Jim Carrey's performance is seriously great (as are those from Catherine Keener, Judy Greer, Frank Langella). But the relentless sadness of the show just wore me out, and I simply couldn't get back into it when I started watching the second season.
NOW WATCHING: Little Fires Everywhere, Tales From the Loop, Outer Banks, Feel Good, Run, Dave, Homeland (8), One Day at a Time (4), Insecure (4), Killing Eve (3), What We Do in the Shadows (2).
COMING SOON: Hollywood, The Eddy, Space Force, Fargo (4), Star Trek Discovery (3), Dead to Me (2).
