10. What We Do in the Shadows
“WWDITS” is a hilarious documentary-style series based on the 2014 movie of the same name. Created by “Flight of the Conchords” writers Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, the show is centered around four Staten Island vampire roommates, ranging in ages between 760 and ~96 years old, along with one vampire’s “familiar,” a human who, in exchange for their time and services, expects to one day be turned into a vampire.
These vampires are on a century-long quest to conquer the “New World,” starting with the forgotten borough, but the group have rarely conquered anything – specifically technology but also basic everyday life. It’s their inability to navigate the world in which they live that makes for great TV. Nothing is predictable in this environment that is very different from the vampire-world we think we know, though many of the same “common” rules apply.
Season 5 features these charmingly clueless immortals – once again masterfully written and acted out by an incredible ensemble cast – navigating a still-unconquered Staten Island, participating in a pride parade and experimenting with cross-pollinated nightmare creatures the size of household pets that are … kinda cute? And also immortal. Stop reading, and just go watch it. It’s available on FX/Hulu. Next season, the final one, will premiere at a yet-to-be-determined date on FXX. – Rebecca Hines
9. The Curse
Nathan Fielder has delivered with his first scripted television show and his first performance as an actor in “The Curse.” He chose to dive into the deep end by starring in the Showtime series opposite Oscar and Golden Globe winner Emma Stone. He is definitely outclassed by his co-star, but he performs capably. The show follows Fielder and Stone as newlyweds making and hosting an HGTV show called “Flipanthropy” that follows them as they put a positive spin on their efforts to gentrify a Hispanic neighborhood.
In true Fielder fashion, this show lives in uncomfortable moments. “The Curse” will probably make you cringe as much as laugh, but the show still manages to pull you in. It’s definitely got a message to deliver, but the plot comes first, and the show never feels preachy. It certainly is one of the year’s best dark comedies and even worth springing for a month of Showtime. The show got very little press due to the timing of its release and the Hollywood strikes, but it’s fantastic and unlike anything you’ve ever seen. And Fielder has proven he’s at least a two-trick pony. – Zac Fallon
8. Perry Mason
Well, I’m upset. Just when “Perry Mason” was really hitting its stride, HBO cancelled it. The show, a remake of an American classic, was evidently quite expensive to produce, and the powers that be just didn’t see the value in keeping it going. What we’re left with are two seasons of brilliant prestige television that rank among the era’s finest.
Mason and his capable but ragtag group of fighters face the longest of odds throughout the series run, and while they don’t always win in the traditional sense, they always make a positive dent in the seedy world in which they live. If you’re looking for a new show to stream through without making a huge commitment, give this a shot knowing that the second season is even better than the first. – Rusty Odom
7. I’m a Virgo
This show watches like a cartoon. The visuals are so surreal and otherworldly, it’s hard to believe it’s a live-action show. “I’m a Virgo” follows a 19-year-old, 13-foot-tall Black man as he starts to explore the world from which his protective parents sheltered him. All the visuals showing him interacting with normal-sized people and things are fun to look at. Props to the prop department for the all the tiny hamburgers, iPads and comic books.
Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”), the show’s creator, made a world that can handle a 13-foot-tall lead. Neighbors’ houses are precariously lifted into the sky with elaborate elevators. There are actual comic-book hero vigilantes freely roaming the city streets. Even the “regular” characters might surprise you with a 6-foot vertical leap. The whole package comes together in one beautiful, surreal package.
This is a show about fitting in and finding your place in the world. While that’s not exactly an original idea, it’s being done in the most original way possible here. Add in the great performances from the cast and a solid script, and “I’m a Virgo” is easily one of the best shows this year. – ZF
6. Fargo
Although the finale won’t air until a few days after this goes to print, the “Fargo” showrunners would have to lay one heck of an egg (dontcha know) in the last episode to undo all the careful groundwork they’ve erected to establish the fifth season as one of the Noah Hawley series’ best and most riveting. One of the plumpest hot dishes on modern television, highlights thus far have included tremendous individual performances from an all-star ensemble cast; gorgeous cinematography and art direction; and the liberal and effective use of literary devices to link characters, themes and storylines. – Matt Rankin
5. Barry
The fourth and final season of the HBO black comedy comprises only eight episodes, but it encompasses a multi-year stretch in the lives of its protagonists, all of whom experience massive change throughout the course of the campaign’s closing arc. And while all of those characters are extremely flawed individuals, the outcomes of each are seemingly interchangeable, suggesting that drastically different destinies might have been actualized had contrasting decisions been made. Hilarious in its execution and sardonic in its ramifications, the final plot twist is an endorsement of the power of free will, and it nicely wraps up the underestimated series. – MR
4. The Righteous Gemstones
(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.) The affluent, egocentric, televangelist Gemstone clan is back with a third season of more witty comebacks, zany hijinks and a wild ending that leaves you hoping they make 10 more seasons of the show. The Gemstones, having just escaped yet another attempt on their lives at the end of Season 2, are reunited with some old family members that once again lead them down a road of hilarity and just a few short inches away from their demise.
Uncle Baby Billy makes his return, this time as a self-anointed game-show host of the hilarious “Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers.” Jesse shows out in a monster of a truck, Judy grapples with infidelity and Kelvin discovers something new about himself. All the while, they embarrass a newly retired Eli, who is watching from a distance but still mourning the loss of his wife.
The three siblings have been put in charge of courting Dusty Daniels, a longtime parishioner and wealthy racecar driver who is leaving his will to the megachurch of his choosing. The dysfunctional trio battle the Simpkins, another televangelist trio which threatens the payoff to the Gemstones. If you love hilarious one-liners, unpredictable outcomes and heated sibling rivalries, this is the show for you. – Daniel Fluitt
3. The Bear
The second season of Christopher Storer’s FX comedy-drama “The Bear” traced a very different trajectory than the first, taking the rough-and-ready Chicago diner crew we came to love in the first season and watching them remake themselves and their restaurant into a high-class operation. Not all of it worked – the season finale in particular laid on the metaphors a bit too thick – but most of it did, and the cast remained a joy to watch throughout. Jeremy Allen White’s soulful eyes and perpetual worried frown provide the anchor, but the series let most of the supporting cast step out into spotlight episodes, as well. And the episode-long flashback to an almost unbearably tense past family dinner was as gripping as it was emotionally hard to handle. With many of its overarching tensions and conflicts seemingly resolved by the end, it’s hard to know what Storer will use to generate drama in Season 3. But the good news is that we’ll get to find out. – Jesse Fox Mayshark
2. The Last of Us
If you were around me at the beginning of the year, you either gave in and watched “The Last of Us” or ran when you saw me coming. I just couldn’t shut up about it.
I’m not a big video-game person, but when the pandemic came calling, I searched for ways to pass the time and there, on the PlayStation store, I found “The Last of Us 2.” I thought it might be one of those Street Fighter II deals where there wasn’t really a first one, so I downloaded it and dove in. Having not partaken in gaming in years, I was immediately impressed with the storyline and the play itself. It became my second-favorite game ever (Mario Kart 4 lyfe!) over the course of a couple of weeks, and I was pleased to discover that there was indeed a first installment that I then picked up and swept through.
Fast forward a year or two, and news came that the game was being adapted for TV.
These things don’t typically go well, but I had a feeling that the subject matter would give it a chance to be decent. Then I realized it would be an HBO show. Then I heard that Pedro Pascal would be one of the leads. I was all in.
What resulted was one of the finest dramas in recent memory, and Episode 3 of the first season is as good an episode of television as I’ve seen. In some ways, this material works even better as a TV show than it does as a video game. Stories from the original content are expounded upon in great detail that would have stalled the game. Things that seemed forced in the game make more sense in the show.
The setting is post-apocalyptic, sure, and while zombies pose an omnipresent threat, this is not “The Walking Dead.” This is a show that examines relationships, many of them extremely unlikely, and the bonds that people in trouble are forced to make. It’s hard to talk more about this one without giving anything away, but know that it’s worth your time. And if nothing else, watch that third episode, which is mostly a standalone chapter. – RO
1. Succession
(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY SEEN IT, STOP READING RIGHT NOW, AND GO WATCH IT!) Yes, “Succession” is No. 1. Logan Roy wouldn’t tolerate anything less. Of course, the combative Scottish patriarch at the heart of HBO’s family saga didn’t survive its fourth and final season, checking out via an airborne heart attack in Episode 3 and leaving his squabbling children and hangers-on to spend the seven remaining installments scrabbling and clawing over his legacy. Created and guided throughout by British showrunner Jesse Armstrong, the cringe-inducing, quasi-satirical soap opera about a wealthy media mogul and his clan – loosely modeled on the Murdoch family – never turned soft, anymore than Logan himself.
Every time the show nudged you toward sympathy for any of its deeply damaged characters, it would quickly undercut the impulse by reminding you how craven, clueless and selfish they really were. And whatever it may have to say about wealth and privilege in the 21st century, it was mostly always reliably entertaining, with some of the sharpest writing and most wicked performances ever bequeathed to us by a TV series. I missed it as soon as it ended, but I also respect Armstrong’s instinct to wrap it up and go out on top. – JFM
