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.

Shadows on the Screen: Summer TV roundup

I watch a range of TV series as an escape valve from all the movies, and I like most genres that don't centre on cops, lawyers or hospitals. And I'm about to add superheroes to that list. Anyway, it's been an enjoyable few months, with some solid quality and several guilty pleasures...

SOMETHING NEW

The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

With staggeringly sharp writing, direction and acting, this dramatisation of the notorious events of 1994 and 1995 is utterly riveting from start to finish. All of the actors are award-worthy; stand-outs include Sarah Paulson's beleaguered lawyer, Sterling Brown as her tenacious partner and David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian. And these were only the most complex characters in a show packed with memorable performances. Clearly, the most important thing about this heavily researched show is the balanced approach it takes to finally put the record straight.

The Five

Harlan Coban's mystery took a terrifically snaky path through 10 gripping episodes. Since so many red herrings and character dramas were stirred in, the solution was impossible to see coming, but the ending still managed to be solidly satisfying. Tom Cullen was terrific in the central role, ably supported by a varied, skilled cast including OT Fagbenle, Lee Ingleby and Sarah Solemani as his childhood pals (they are four of the eponymous five, possibly). It's a rare thriller that can deepen the characters even as it makes the central storyline increasingly knotted, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.

The Real O'Neals

A brightly silly play on the standard American sitcom, this genuinely hilarious series has five terrific actors playing the O'Neal family, each of whom goes through a sort of coming-out from their superficial good-Catholic appearance, sparked by teen Kenny (Noah Galvin) realising that he's gay. Where this goes is witty and smart, but played for very broad laughs, which cleverly undercuts a wide array of serious themes that gurgle through every scene. The dialog snaps with life, hysterically delivered by a cast we'd like to spend a lot more time with. As these characters mature, it'll be interesting to see how bold the writers are allowed to get within the US network formula. Because if they don't learn and grow, this show is doomed.

Flowers

This blackly comical 6-part drama is so relentlessly quirky that it quickly weeds out less patient audience members with the very first scenes. An eccentric story about eccentric people in an eccentric English village, it's so mannered that it struggles to generate any real emotional kick. Even so, the cast is excellent, anchored by the brilliant Olivia Colman, who makes Deborah Flowers an engagingly flawed matriarch who veers from chirpy optimism to wrenching despair. As her husband and children, Julian Barratt, Sophia Di Martino and Daniel Rigby are intriguing and often surprising. As is writer-director Will Sharpe in what turns out to be a key role. It's a shame the story doesn't quite hang together.

Flaked 

Will Arnett is reason enough to watch this show, although it's pretty insufferable. Centred on a group of losers who are in their mid to late 30s, this show doesn't really have a single likeable character. Much of the interaction is jaggedly resonant, and the cool Venice Beach setting is put to use for maximum hipster value. So it's frustrating that the show feels so stuck in a perspective that's relentlessly narrow: men struggling with identity issues due to a lack of direction caused by past problems. Ho hum.

GOING STRONG

Game of Thrones:
series 6

It became almost a cliche that each episode in this season would end with a major bombshell involving a nasty death or edgy triumph. Daenarys (Emilia Clarke) continues to dominate the show, and teaming her with Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) has created the most formidable TV duo in recent memory. The battles have been bigger and more violent, so much so that there hasn't been time for many sexual shenanigans this season. And since they keep killing off the vilest of the villains, there aren't many left to hiss at. As the plot threads begin to entwine, the show is growing more coherent and urgent. And unmissable.

Veep: series 5

Running in parallel with the American election cycle, this season had a lot of fun with the whole primary system, followed by a chaotic voting day. The dialog has been some of the best in the entire five-year run, delivered beautifully by the genius Julia Louis-Dreyfus and company. Although the plotting has a nagging predictability, including the documentary being made by first daughter Catherine (Sarah Sutherland), the shambolic campaign of the too-idiotic Jonah (Timothy Simons), and the backroom sneakiness of vice presidential candidate Tom (Hugh Laurie). The jaggedly hysterical dialog has been awesome this year, although the bittersweet ending felt like a farewell.

Girls: series 5

This series has been notable for presenting an ensemble of people who are so disarmingly realistic that they seem quirky and almost surreal in the generally accepted fantasy landscape of television. In this season, Lena Dunham and friends all acted on impulse, making sudden decisions based on no rationality whatsoever, which is fairly infuriating for audiences that are hooked on the trite plotting of most TV series. But this show is relentlessly fresh and funny, pushy and annoying, but always surprising, forcing both thought and uneasy laughter. And the final episode in this season is breathtaking.

Silicon Valley: series 3

Frankly, I wasn't sure I'd return to this series, but there wasn't much else on so I gave in. The problem is that the writers seem to only have one trick up their sleeves: make things as miserable as possible for these nerds and their supposedly amazing invention. Every time they get a break and things look like they might actually come together, there is a series of setbacks caused by ludicrous circumstances out of their control. This may comically reflect the reality of the IT sector, but it's annoying to watch a show in which everyone just runs in circles. Especially when the primary cause of most of the pain is TJ Miller's insufferable moron Erlich. Miller's a gifted comic, but without Erlich the show might actually be enjoyable.

BACK FOR SECONDS

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: series 2

This buoyant series continued with its breakneck pacing, zooming through 13 episodes in what felt like the blink of an eye. It was nice to see a bit of deepening for the side characters played by Jane Krakowski and Tituss Burgess - both play utterly ridiculous people, but this season revealed some surprisingly emotional sides. Ellie Kemper continues to be perhaps the most relentlessly likeable person on TV - adorable, hilarious, silly. Her story is superbly involving. Although it's probably too jarringly nonstop for some viewers, as Tina Fey recreates her 30 Rock formula of packing what feels like 10 comedy gags into each second of air time. 

Grace and Frankie: series 2

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin took their characters quite a bit further in this second season, pushing both their camaraderie and deep differences to various breaking points. The scripts sometimes felt a bit goofy, but both actresses are so good that it's hard to mind much. And there's fine support from Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, on their own journey as the coupled-up ex-spouses, plus Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, Baron Vaughn and June Diane Raphael as their complex kids. This is also a rare show that gives other acting veterans a chance to shine - Ernie Hudson and Sam Elliot both had great roles this season. Geriatric love has never looked so sexy on-screen: there's hope for everyone!

Empire: series 2

After a very rough first half, this season got back on track by concentrating once again on the soapy excesses rather than the grim criminal elements. And the stories mercifully reverted back to the tetchy members of the Lyon dynasty rather than those swirling around them. The big cliffhanger finale was perfectly played, Dallas/Dynasty style. And it suggests that things will continue to return to more camp craziness for the third season. Intriguingly, now that we're used to Taraji P Henson's outrageous attitude and costumes and Terrence Howard's squinty steeliness, it's the three sons who are emerging as much more complex, engaging characters. The question is whether Henson and Howard will let them share the spotlight.

The Royals: series 2

This oddly undercooked series continues with its cheap and cheerful style, mixing very badly written scripts with cheesy direction. The cast is adept, although each moment of resonance is undermined by something eye-rollingly stupid. Still, William Moseley and Alexandra Park manage to find depth in their twin prince and princess roles, while Liz Hurley and Joan Collins have a ball strutting around in high-fashion regalia with their diva attitudes and hidden agendas. And Tom Austen offers some terrific brooding-hunk moments. Trashy and pretty awful, really. But fun.

Schitt's Creek: series 2

After the gimmicky set-up in the first season, this one felt like it was kind of pushing it. A family of four millionaires stranded in a backwoods town, each of the characters pushed forward in his or her life, but without more interpersonal development, none of this quite makes sense anymore. That said, the four lead actors (Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy) are so engaging that the show is still hugely entertaining. (While Chris Elliott is still hopelessly annoying.) So if they try to stretch this premise even thinner, I'll still be watching. 

There isn't much on over the summer months - well, not that I've discovered yet - but I am watching the second season of Wayward Pines, enjoying Chelsea Handler's cleverly titled Chelsea, looking forward to the Looking movie and Sharknado 4, and catching up with less promising series I'd previously skipped, like Supergirl.