Jan 29, 2018 - But I digress...
I ask because I inhaled seasons one and two of The Crown, and then watched Victoria—also quite good—but now I have to wait for new episodes of that (I have never been a big fan of the monarchy or period dramas, but now I can’t get enough. Go figure). Right now I’m catching up on season four of Broad City but not loving it as much as I’ve loved previous seasons. Suggestions?
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Kim France
I was born in Houston, Texas in 1964 and have lived in New York City since 1988. I had a long career in magazines, working at Sassy, Elle, New York, and Spin, and in 2000, I founded Lucky magazine, which I edited for ten years.
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I was born in Houston, Texas in 1964 and have lived in New York City since 1988. I had a long career in magazines, working at Sassy, Elle, New York, and Spin, and in 2000, I founded Lucky magazine, which I edited for ten years.
The Good Place. Have you seen it yet? A comedy that’s partly about goofy Ted Danson and Kristen Bell, partly about moral philosophy. I kid you not. So well-written, really fun.
Yes! Came here to recommend The Good Place. Speechless is also wonderful.
Ooh, I came here to suggest The Good Place. It is just delightful. I also highly recommend Speechless, One Day at a Time (the new one, on Netflix streaming), Brooklyn 99, and Parks and Rec. Have fun!
Yes to The Good Place! Soooo good!
The Good Place is great!
The critics LOVE it!
I am laughing my butt off at The Good Place. Such great writing and all key actors is fantastic.
My 12 yr olds are watching it with us and it’s a fun leap off for some ‘what would you do’ conversations.
Recommend it highly!
*are (eyeroll)
The Americans. Russian spies living in the US and working undercover in the 80s. The early seasons are particularly good because it delves into a lot if interpersonal relations, marriage, family, etc. so not just a straight spy thriller. I also like that it is interesting and gripping without being so complex that my work-exhausted brain can watch it and not fell like I need to take notes to follow it.
^A big yes to The Good Place and The Americans. Would also recommend Halt & Catch Fire (4 seasons on Netflix streaming) – starts in the early 80s, so lots of fun period references and clothes and music. Three very different personalities (all geniuses in their own ways) are pulled together as they work to develop a personal computer prototype (sooooo many floppy disk plot points!) in Texas. Great cast, great writing.
I adore Halt & Catch Fire!!
Peaky Blinders-just got into it and watched all four seasons in a week. The acting is excellent, the men are gorgeous as are the sets and costumes. It is set between WW1 and WW2 which is interesting as I haven’t seen much set in this period and it gives a lot of insight on how WW1 effected Europe. Also excellent sound track with great artists including Nick Cave, David Bowie and Radio Head. Terrific cast – Tom Hardy alone is worth watching.
Love Peaky Blinders. Even looking dissgusting I love Tom Hardy.
Agreed! Even Cillian Murphy in his Peaky Blinders Haircut.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime. It’s so good!
Yes, I powered right through that too, Jen. Loved it and think she is remarkably talented.,
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is so good! I agree!
yes!! the marvelous mrs maisel is so, so good. at first, i was put off by what felt like overacting, but then i realized it’s directed almost like a play, with big voices and expressions — even the street scenes are choreographed. REALLY loved the show and character. it’s hilarious.
Also the guy who is playing Lenny Bruce is really good (remember him from the first season of Slings and Arrows) – what an impossible iconic character to play and he does a stunning job.
I second the The Americans recommendation! It’s probably the best TV show of the last 4-5 years. The first four seasons in particular were just fantastic. The next season (7) will be their last.
If you’re looking for something less serious, then I would recommend Jane The Virgin. I think it’s underrated because it’s on the CW and people tend to write it off because its telenovela influence, but I think it has some of the best written female characters in TV right now. It’s “light” but they touch on topics like religion, immigration, motherhood, mourning, and even sex-positivity in well-thought out, non-preachy, realistic ways. I recommend it to everyone.
Another CW candidate is Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea and the lead character makes it hard to root for her but the songs and musical numbers are quite genius.
Yes to both of these. Jane the Virgin is one of the best shows on tv and pulls off comedy, family drama, and full on soap opera. The core is the relationships between Jane, her mother, and her grandmother, and even when they’re arguing they respect each other and try to understand each other. They model really good communication skills and as someone who’s terrible at it I’ve learned a lot. That sounds dorky, but it’s refreshing to watch people working to be kind to each other.
And Crazy Ex Girlfriend is geniusly undermining the concept of the romantic comedy and showing how screwed up it is, while having one of the best portrayals of mental illness on tv and being incredibly feminist. Both shows are very feminist, actually, I started watching them because I kept reading raves from all the women tv critics I follow on twitter.
If you haven’t watched Miss Fisher, you’d probably love that. Set in 1920s Melbourne with the most covetable costumes ever.
More love for Miss Fisher. It’s a bit formulaic, but she’s a great character, the costumes are to die, and there’s a Sexy Man Detective.
YES! Even when the Villanueva women ultimately end up disagreeing with each other,you can see the effort they all make to still understand and not judge one another for their choices. Even the relationships between the women who should be “rivals” or “enemies” are nuanced and rooted in real, believable motivations and insecurities. Women aren’t catty or petty for the sake of it.
Ok I’ll stop going on and on about JTV now…
Oh and Catastrophe! And it’s only 3 episodes per season, so it’s easy and quick to binge. Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney star and write the show. The show is hilarious.
Catastrophe is so good! They are both fantastic.
YES, it’s fantastic. Amazon has the best shows.
I find Netflix lacking these days. Loved the first seasons of House of Cards, but now (aside from the Kevin Spacey stuff), it’s just too real now.
– Catastrophe on Amazon
– Bosche on Amazon (police drama)
– Sneaky Pete on Amazon (Giovanni Ribisi, enough said!)
– Goliath on Amazon (Billy Bob Thornton and Maria Bello)
– Rosehaven (on SundanceTV for me) (this show is HILARIOUS and GENIUS and AMAZING)
– Crashing on HBO (another super funny show)
I watch way too much TV.
Offspring. Available on Netflix.
I just finished all 7 seasons and will have to wait a year for series 8. The best loving dysfunctional Aussie family ever. Pure escapism, and now want to go to Melbourne.
If it’s still on Netflix, I highly recommend Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s UK show Crashing. I enjoyed it way more than Fleabag, and the ensemble of friends is great.
Also, Search Party, Alia Shawkat’s show, reminds me of Paul Auster’s City of Glass in that it is ostensibly about a character trying to solve a crime, but is actually about the unraveling of her world. But it’s also really funny.
And The End of the F**cking World on Netflix is also great. It reminded me of Hal Hartley’s super 90’s film Trust, but less pretentious.
100% agree on all of this. (Also, John Early in “Search Party” is spit-take funny.) I’d also add “Chewing Gum” on Netflix — it’s so OTT but hysterical.
I agree with the other commenters on “The Americans” and “Peaky Blinders.” Both shows have excellent production design. Peaky Blinders in particular is beautiful in its own working class hero kind of way. I feel like it would be a solid companion piece after the beauty and opulence of “The Crown.”
Also, a name I haven’t seen show up here yet, but strongly recommend — “Rectify.” It just wrapped up on Sundance TV about a year ago and is now available for streaming in full on Netflix. It is, without doubt, one of the most moving and lovely things I’ve ever seen. I cannot recommend it enough.
yes to search party! such a hilarious parody. and john early is AMAZING.
also loved catastrophe, although i think you’ve seen that?
High Maintenance (on HBO) is really smart and surprisingly empathetic. It has wonderful story-telling, and isn’t really so much about pot as it is about the anxious, funny, oddball people who buy it.
LOVED High Maintenance when it was a web series. Haven’t watched the HBO version yet.
This show is just great art. Have you seen the first episode of the new season? It’s the day after the election last fall and everyone needs their weed. So good.
I just had this exact same problem over the weekend as I also finished up Victoria and the Crown. After my last episode of the Crown, Netflix recommended a show I hadn’t heard of before called Versailles. It’s about the early reign of Louis XIV. And while I won’t say it’s as good as the other shows, I did manage to get sucked into watching 3 episodes in a row.
I also found myself Googling some of the plot points (as in, I sat there thinking no WAY did that actually happen…because the show is a bit on the salacious side) and was surprised to find that most of the things I Googled were actually true. Which only makes me want to watch more.
I’ve been binging the History Channel’s Vikings and doing the same Google game. Extra fun since one of the characters is based on a historical figure who is my direct ancestor. It’s a little weird finding your 34th-great-grandfather (or the actor playing him anyway) super hot.
Another vote for The Good Place! A very different and thought-provoking show. Try not to read reviews before watching Season 1 — many of the reviews give away the shocker ending.
Other ideas:
The Nightmanager (a BBC series),
Frankie and Grace,
Land Girls (also BBC)
I love Grace and Frankie. Frankie is my #oldladygoals
Taking notes here. Thanks for the post, Kim.
My suggestion: One Mississippi, which is Tig Notaro’s series on Amazon Prime.
Absolutely criminal that it wasn’t renewed. Some of the best TV I’ve seen in recent years with a humanity and bravery you don’t usually see combined with such smart humor…
It wasn’t renewed? Crap. I love that show.
Lesser-known but great (or so I thought) on Netflix were Hinterland (very moody detective program set in Wales) and Lovesick (light rom-com set in London).
Umm lovesick is set in Glasgow not London, although all the leads are English. Not much in the way of sandstone tenements in London.
+1 for Lovesick (and The Good Place). On Netflix, I also really enjoyed Atypical, The End of the F***ing World (though the latter is quite dark). Also, I have been watching The Wine Show on Hulu and Matthew Goode and Matthew Rhys are so goofy and delightful (and this from someone who doesn’t drink alcohol).
I like but do not love Lovesick.
I have been watching Love Sick, and was sort of hate watching the first few episodes, but I’m now halfway through season 3, and it’s grown on me. I’m glad they fleshed our Luke’s character, because he was awful and annoying at first. I have a hard time truly enjoying shows in which the female love interests never act like real human women with a full range of complicated or ugly emotions. Abigail and Evie are always so sweet, and they never get angry or irrational, only sad. I find that super annoying. That said, I also really like both of them. Plus, Dylan is really hot, though he got himself an unfortunate hair cut in season 3. And I LOVE the Brit pop soundtrack.
Also, I remember when the show was called “Scrotal Recall,” which is just the best worst name for a series possibly ever.
If you’re looking for something light and heartwarming (I still really, really need escapism right now), The Durrells in Corfu is a delight. There have been two seasons so far (aired on PBS, and I think it’s on Amazon Prime). A British widow takes her four children to Corfu in the 1930s (two of the kids are Gerald, the naturalist, and Lawrence, the novelist.) The scenery is gorgeous, the family is delightfully dysfunctional, and it is just all-around charming. A world in which the daughter’s biggest problem is that she has a few zits is balm for the soul.
And, season 2 has otters!
loved all the previous suggestions! I would add Apatow’s Love, Travelers, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Episodes, Rita and Detectorists on Netflix…new series Corporate and Another Period on Comedy Central…
Here are a few ideas – none of which are very light but they are good!
Wormwood (Netflix) – amazing series by Errol Morris, part documentary & part drama.
Alias Grace (Netflix) – based on Margaret Atwood’s novel with Anna Paquin.
Broadchurch (Netflix) – there are 2 seasons of this show starring Olivia Colman (who will be replacing Clare Foy as the Queen in The Crown!). It is pretty dark but really good.
Brideshead Revisited (1981 version on Amazon) – if you haven’t seen this series it’s a must especially for fans of The Crown or anything British. Absolutely great period piece with Jeremy Irons and many many more.
More votes for Alias Grace and Broadchurch.
There are three seasons of Broadchurch! And all on Netflix still, I believe. A big big thumbs-up for this one–all hail Olivia Coleman.
I LOVED Hinterland, and basically anything that’s about a depressed detective solving murders on a semi-barren island inhabited by “sturdy people.” Which means I loved Broadchurch, Wallander with Kenneth Branagh, Happy Valley (which is really darned miserable but pretty exciting and emotional), and although I haven’t seen it, Mammon is supposed to be good.
Happy Valley is sooooo good, with bonus James Norton, even though he is the creepy bad dude. Have you watched The Fall, with another female badass detective, none other than Gillian Anderson?
Oh agreed, Happy Valley so good. Great acting and female characters. And James Norton…
Loved The Fall!
Then you should definitely watch Shetland. Loved it. The first episode was a little meh, but after that–great.
Agreed! Binged already and done. 🙁
I love Sarah Lancashire, back from the days when she played the ditzy aspiring model/supermarket clerk/barmaid Raquel on Coronation Street. Alas, Kuala Lumpur was calling, so Raquel was no more.
Last Tango in Halifax was another one of her showcases. Thank goodness for the Christmas special.
Despite her turn to the dark “Scandinavian noir” style cop character, Raquel is still my favorite Sarah Lancashire creation.
Of the flawed detectives who drive volvo station wagons across dreamy, rural, European landscapes shows (and I’ve seen most if not all), my hands-down favorite is Shetland with Douglas Henshall in the lead. His character is actually not so much as flawed as perfectly imperfect. This character and Philip Jennings from The Americans as played by Matthew Rhys are for my money two of the hottest male characters on television. I can’t wait for both series to come back. All of this fantastic television is sheer heaven for a pop culture junkie like me.
I second Wormwood.
YES to Broadchurch! Happy Valley also a great detective drama with a strong female lead! ( a netflix phrase)😊
Don’t know if this counts as tv…but the following shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, etc.
Underground
Underground
Underground (it’s so good, I had to list it three times. So good it got canceled after the second season, which is a travesty.)
Atlanta
Mozart in the Jungle (season four, Feb 15!)
Insecure
Oh yay for Mozart in the Jungle coming up! And Insecure and Atlanta are both fantastic!!! Will check out Underground, since I love all your other recs!
One Mississippi
Peaky Blinders
Grace and Frankie
Broadchurch
Search Party
Catastrophe
I’m Dying Up Here on Hulu, comedians in LA in the 1970’s I am a sucker for Michael Angarano. Better Things with Pamela Adlon. I like Shameless and The Americans and Halt and Catch Fire was awesome. I also just finished Homeland.
In a very different vein from the other recommendations: “Dirty Money,” Alex Gibney’s new six-part documentary series on Netflix. Each episode focuses on another corporate outrage, beginning with VW and Valeant and ending with “The Confidence Man” who now occupies the White House.
And if you haven’t yet seen “GLOW” (also on Netflix), see it.
To prolonge the royals kick: the documentary series The House of Windsor. Delicious. For really good drama: Broadchurch. Enjoy!
Godless on Netflix. An amazing, but violent, female centered Western. Even if you do not normally like Westerns, it is worth the watch.
Alias Grace also on Netflix and Divorce on HBO.
I hated this. It was sold as a female western.
But the two leads are dudes. It’s a father/ son story. Bait and switch on marketing.
I’d love a real female western though (like if Merritt Weaver had been the focus).
My daughter overheard two guys on the subway discussing “Godless”….er, how Lady Mary’s tits are on full display!
End OF The Fucking World – Netflix
Reinvents the ‘lovers on the lam’ genre. And the music is spot on.
YES to Broadchurch and Atlanta. Couldn’t be more different, couldn’t be more fantastic.
Something old = Golden Girls reruns on Hulu. For Bea Arthur and the pjs alone.
Something new = Schitt’s Creek on PopTV. Cathrine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, and Eugene Levy’s talented kids (his son created the show). It’s laugh-out-loud funny and definitely worth your time.
Schitt’s Creek is one of my new favorites 🙂
Schitt’s Creek is a show that you could easily overlook but it is a real gem. Brilliant!
I’ve been bingeing comedy for the past 6 months and loved Schitt’s Creek too. Lots of my other faves mentioned here, but 2 I didn’t see: Moone Boy from Chris O’Dowd on Hulu and A Very Secret Service on Netflix (droll French sendup of 60s spy genre). And IMO you can’t go wrong stepping into the way back machine for a spot of Father Ted or Black Books.
Golden Girls is very frequently my little nightcap before bed, particularly if I’ve watched/read something depressing right before.
More votes for The Good Place and Jane the Virgin. I’d also recommend Poldark and Outlander. Both are amazing with strong female leads.
A big yes to Poldark (and a shirtless Aiden Turner…sigh…), Alias Grace, and Ozark got better as the season went on.
I’m not a big TV watcher, but POLDARK is worth every minute!!
I’m also a fan of The Crown and Victoria as I love historical fiction.
Echoing others above, I liked Insecure, Miss Fisher, Alias Grace, Fleabag, and Godless.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Chewing
I also rather enjoyed Good Behavior. Michelle Dockery and Juan Diego Botto have great chemistry.
Now watching The Assassination of Gianni Versace. It’s gotten mixed reviews, but I’m enjoying it so far. The art direction is to die.
Sorry, Chewing Gum. Hilarious, including posters of Sexy Jesus.
These are some real winners!
Ozark, Call the Midwives, The Fall, Santa Clarita Diet, Mindhunter, Narcos, Sens8, Frontier, Better Call Saul, The Killing, Stranger Things – Netflix
Shameless, Billions, The Chi, Smilf and White Famous – Showtime
Shetland, Counterpart, Sneaky Pete – Amazon
Casual, Top of the Lake and Happy Valley – Hulu
I found Santa Clarita Diet surprisingly delightful–Timothy Olyphant was my favorite on it.
The Fall!!! Omg good! Shetland, my type of show.
I just binged “Difficult People” on Hulu and am still laughing over it. It’s very dark comedy, not for the easily offended.
Lovesick on Netflix. Really well written, good romantic comedy that manages to avoid being stereotypical or shallow. It’s laugh out loud funny
Lovesick on Netflix. Really witty, well written rom-com-sequel that manages to avoid being stereotypical or shallow. Genuinely laugh out loud funny
Yesterday at brunch with a group of GOACA publishing types there was great enthusiasm for High Maintenance (HBO) and Difficult People (Hulu)
Series that play to my love of SF/Fantasy
The Magicians (SyFy)
Black Mirror (Netflix)–this are like little movies and #2 in the series with Daniel Kaluuyya from Get Out! is a real acting showcase for him
I haven’t seen The Crown or Victoria yet but I loved Ekaterina, streaming with Amazon Prime. It’s the story of Catherine the Great and I learned a lot and enjoyed it! It’s in Russian and has subtitles, but it’s one of the ones that’s so good you forget that you are reading the subtitles. They only have Season 1 on there, I read that they made 2 seasons, I hope Season 2 will be available on Prime at some point.
I loved many of the shows in the suggestions already listed but would also add:
Younger (a Darren Star show with Sutton Foster) – hilarious and great clothes
For period dramas (if you loved GOT, Crown and Victoria)- try Outlander and also Poldark (both shows have hunky men and strong women)
The Man in the High Castle (especially if you liked Handmaid’s Tale)
Orphan Black (the first the three seasons are amazing).
The OA
Can’t go wrong with Breaking Bad, Homeland, GOT, True Blood…
Happy Watching!
Call the Midwife, Nobel, Rectify, Black Mirror.
Have you already powered through Downtown Abbey?
The Good Wife
The Good Fight
Kika, is your full name by chance Francesca? Wondering if I knew you a long time ago.
It is! Franziska to be exact. How do we know each other? Please help my memory!
Oh, now I think I’m wrong! (The exact spelling makes me think so.) Hm–did you ever sing publicly in NYC?
unfortunately not 🙂
We are huge fans of BBC comedies. Since I only saw it mentioned once, I’ll give another vote for Detectorists, and since I didn’t see it mentioned at all, W1A is laugh out loud funny. Also, it’s an older show, but I was very sad to get to the end of Parenthood. What a great show.
We just finished watching all of the Detectorists and I was sad when we were done. Laugh out loud funny but also really touching.
Love Detectorists. Wonderful.
Also, Schitt’s Creek (wherein Catherine O’Hara must be charged for stealing every scene she’s in).
Also, Last Tango in Halifax, great British series, a bit soapy but intelligent.
Borgen – A Danish Westwing but really a drama with politics and I learned so much about the Danes. Like good bye is “Hihi”… great show!
Borgen – phenomenally good!
Adding it to my list. Thanks!
I just spent five minutes scrolling through to see if anyone had mentioned Borgen. I just finished the final season and it has ruined television for me, I feel like nothing else will live up to it. I also loved the Scandinavian version of Wallander, but I hated the British version. Schitt’s Creek and The Good Place are both perfect for when I’m not in the mood for dark, Scandi fare.
Better Things is amazing.
Plus Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
One Mississippi
Better Things is amazing
Crazy Ex-girlfriend
One Mississippi
Kim I don’t know you, I live in the UK, read your blog daily, love your style both fashion and writing, and I think hands down the best show on TV is Grace and Frankie. Assume you’ve seen it if you haven’t enjoy it. Gutted there isn’t more. Michele
So many good things mentioned here! I’m here to plug Stranger Things, pure 80s fun/scary sci fi. Bits of Close Encounters, old Stephen King, ET and Poltergeist all rolled into one with a very talented cast, Netflix. Top of the Lake is from Jane Campion and stars Elizabeth Moss, set in New Zealand, on Amazon, excellent. I know it’s been mentioned several times but Halt and Catch Fire is so good and was under appreciated on AMC, glad it has a new life on Netflix. Rectify was also under appreciated and excellent, Amazon.
Top of the Lake is great. That bathroom scene — ooh! Totally obvious that it was directed by a woman.
LOVED Rectify. Depressing but SO good.
Beautiful series.
Grace and Frankie, while flawed, is hysterical. Lily Tomlin is laugh out loud funny in every episode.
Dark (Netflix). A German show kind of like Stranger Things but more serious.
At last, someone else who loved Dark! The soundtrack is really good as well.
I tried, but I can’t watch “Dark” because the music is non-stop! I felt like I was on-edge the whole time, but not for the right reasons. 🙁
Dark was amazing!!!!
The Good Place and Insecure. Issa Rae is a treasure.
Peaky Blinders
Stranger Things
Friends From College (no character is likable but I found it very funny and I liked the cast and music)
The Night Manager
Vikings
Homeland
Billions
Ozark
Marco Polo
The OA
The Hollow Crown
I don’t think anyone has mentioned The Leftovers (HBO), starring the incomparable and criminally overlooked Carrie Coon. It was the best show on TV last year.
Also great are BoJack Horseman and Master of None (both on Netflix).
Carrie Coon is a goddess – and she’s amazing in the 3rd season of Fargo.
Oooh that’s another one that I don’t think anyone has mentioned (Fargo). The second season is especially good. There’s a scene with Kirsten Dunst and Ted Danson that is astonishing.
The Leftovers was amazing. I watched most episodes at least twice and I NEVER do that, but I wanted to just soak in every detail.
The Leftovers was amazing (and also amazing music). I watched most episodes at least twice and with all the good TV out there I never do that but I wanted to soak in every detail.
The Tunnel, Seasons 1 and 2. A PBS series featuring a British detective and a French detective. Bonus: the English detective is played by Stannis Baratheon.
If you are still in the royalty mood- Wolf Hall, which is streaming now.
Bonus, it has Claire Foy in it.
Otherwise, The Americans, which gets better each season.
Hey where is Wolf Hall streaming?
I thought you could still stream it from PBS. (There’s a PBS Roku station)
I’m midway through Good Girls Revolt on amazon right now and feeling unhappy about every minute I spend away from it. I’m completely smitten. It does the whole transitional thing from the 60s becoming the 70s so wonderfully. And I really like the characters.
My other favorite binge watches in the not-so-distant past have been Big Little Lies, which everyone has seen, and the even more excellent I Love Dick, which too few people have. I sooo wanted to discuss every episode of the latter with any woman I could find, really, but especially my art chick friends. So much (hilarious) food for thought. I can’t recommend I Love Dick enough.
YES!! Good Girls Revolt and I Love Dick were both excellent. I was gutted when both were canceled. Planning to watch each again. (btw, I keep seeing that there *might* be a chance GGR gets picked up by another streaming service. Fingers crossed.)
I’d also like to add a recommendation for The Path on Hulu. Aaron Paul, Michelle Monoghan, Hugh Dancy and a Scientology-inspired cult. Good stuff. Also in the middle of watching Fortitude on Netflix. So different and interesting.
Lovesick on Netflix is the best winter-blues binge
QUEEN SUGAR!
It is so so good. First season streaming now on Hulu. Second season for purchase on Amazon.
I’m back with a few more after reading everyone’s great suggestions which have jogged my memory:
The Forsyte Saga – another British series that was great! With Damian Lewis from Homeland and Billions, as well as many other great actors.
And I’d like to concur on the following that others mentioned:
Mindhunter
The Killing (the first season is so amazing)
Glow
Billions
OA ( Brit Marling is such a talent!)
Dark
Master of None!!!
Wolf Hall
Homeland (oldie but goodie)
The Wire (ultimate oldie but goodie)
Loved The Wire! Deserves all the hype it ever got
Homeland
Boardwalk Empire
The Americans
Weeds
Loving Divorce on HBO
Have had several people recommend Call the midwife but haven’t started that one yet. It is available on Netflix
At Home with Amy Sedaris is so sly and funny .
Just finished Godless (Netflix western) and am missing it. So good!
In the middle of The End of the F**cking World (also Netflix). Music is great and find myself really rooting for the main characters, 2 traumatized adolescents on the lam together.
Periodically rewatch Firefly – space cowboys, smuggler-with-a-heart-of-gold – sounds totally hokey but it’s one of my all-time faves. Every time I finish it, I’m sad all over that there was only one season.
I also just finished Godless and found it uneven, among other things. I have a few issues with the show in general and wanted so much more from it, but it’s still worth a watch for the performances, the gorgeous landscape, and that pretty bad-ass finale.
Alias grace is the best TV I’ve seen in a long time. Feminist, so smart, just amazing.
Saw someone mentioned The Fall. Hell yes–if you can handle more serial murder in your life. I actually watched that series twice, which I rarely do. I would balance all the murder with Crazyhead, which I found funny and great, like Buffy.
Also just finished latest season of the Expanse. Great political sci-fi with a good number of POCs. Just ignore the ridiculous romantic relationships that make no sense (hello obviously everyone is actually gay. But I say that about every show…) and how one guy mysteriously develops a southern accent in the second season.
Saw godless and it was such a miss for me. Not as feminist as promised. And it took so long to get to the point. I can’t believe I finished it.
And if you love those gritty Brit crime dramas already mentioned try River and Unforgotten. For something more gentle and charming then Grantchester, with bonus clean cut James Norton. Nostalgia for youth and just a damn fine time, then you could inhale all three seasons of Lovesick in a weekend.Guilty pleasure is Riviera – great locations, great clothes, ridiculous but addictive story.
River was amazing and heartbreaking. But I don’t see any mention of Happy Valley. OH. MY. GOSH. It is a crime drama and due to the heavy accents, I recommend caption, but Season 1 kept me on the edge of my seat and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Season 2 was just as good.
River was so sad! Happy Valley was great!
WANTED
GLITCH
OFFSPRING
A PLACE TO CALL HOME
Love Aussie TV!
If you’ve haven’t gotten enough costume drama , the BBC’s Bleak House w Gillian Anderson and a pre Oscar nomination Carey Mulligan is worth seeking out. And I just watched the War & Peace w/ Lily James & Paul Dano. I also go back and watch the 1st Series of Sherlock once and a while bc it’s just so good. I can’t wait for the new Howards End limited series- I think it will be on Starz then Amazon et al.
Better Call Saul – I’m biased because i write for this show, but the acting, directing, and writing are top-notch. Also, Bob Odenkirk is brilliant.
Shameless – funny as hell AND deals with real issues of the lower middle-class (rare to non-existent)
Better Things – best show on motherhood I’ve ever seen
Black Mirror – can be inconsistent but some episodes are fascinating and thought-provoking
Search Party – quirky and unique tone
Veep – IMO the best comedy on TV
Grey’s Anatomy – guilty pleasure
You write for Better Call Saul! Thank you!!! One of my favorite shows ever — my husband & I both loved Breaking Bad but I love Saul even more.
Oh what a cool job Ann – I’m impressed. Love BCS so much.
Not to brag or anything, but have the coolest readers anywhere. I love Better Call Saul, and adore Kim!
Always thought it strange and unfair that Michael McKean was not more recognized for his turn as the troubled Chuck. Great performance.
Michael McKean is amazing as Chuck.
Michael McKean is amazing as Chuck
Another one I haven’t seen mentioned is Claws. Niecy Nash is great in it. Picture Breaking Bad set in a Florida nail salon.
OMG I was OBSESSED with Claws and tore right through it. Such a strange, amazing show.
People of Earth(TBS), The GoodPlace, Lovesick (Netflix)
Most of my favorites here have been mentioned, but I would add A Place to Call Home, which is an Australian soapy story of a woman and a family after WWII in Australia. Very addicting. And I love Casual on Hulu.
I loved a Place to Call Home! Another good series is The Last Post on Amazon. It is set in Aden/Yemen in the early 1960s on a British army base. It delves into the relationships on the base, combined with the beginnings of Arab terrorism/anticolonialism. Jessica Raine from Call the Midwife is one of the stars.
** Better Things is so fantastic. Pamela Adlon is so damn talented. LOVE this show.
** Better Call Saul. The show is ALMOST better than Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan is a genius.
** Feud: Bette and Joan. FX show is about feud between Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) and Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange). I plowed through this show. Sarandon and Lange are remarkable.
Better things is great. Pamela Adlon is a miracle.
The other show I’m addicted to and is worth seeking out is Gomorrah, an Italian gangster/mob series, which was broadcast on Sundance TV. The story and acting captivating. Show is in Italian with English subtitles.
Yes, loving the crown!
For a little more period viewing check out the “Durrell’s in Corfu”.
Totally charming.
For good millennial viewing, “love”, “search party”, and of course “high maintenance”!
Also Schitt’s Creek is hilarious.
Oh,and I still adore “Shameless”. The American version.
Clearly I’ve been watching too much t.v…
This stream was posted yesterday, but if anyone is still reading…
acorn.tv is so worth the subscription. Shows from Australia, New Zealand and England…many aren’t shown anywhere else…and on that note…
Brokenwood
800 Words
East of Everything
19-2 (candian)
Rebecka Martinsson (Swedish)
Vera
Lock Ness
The Field of Blood (Scotland)
Striking Out
I could go on and on…they also have many that have been mentioned here. So worth the subscription.
Loved Vera and Loch Ness!
Bron/Broen (Bridge)- Danish/Swedish detective show
Handmaid’s Tale
Ozark
Fortitude (esp. the first season)
Outlander
Endeavour
Broadchurch
Glad to hear that others recommend Peaky Blinders. I watched the first episode and wasn’t in love. I will give it another try.
ER is now available for streaming. I recommend that the whole world go back and watch season 1.
The Vikings! Travis Fimmel, Katheryn Winnick, Gustaf Skarsgard, Clive Standen and Alyssa Sutherland are gorgeous and fantastic. Locations and costuming are equally as gorgeous as the actors.
I’m a tv writer and this is what I am watching or have watched-
The Night Of
The Night Manager
Big Little Lies
Crashing
Divorce
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Handmaid’s Tale
Love Crashing! Just finished the latest episodes and they are truly funny.
Good Behavior with Michelle Dockery is absolutely addictive. There is 2 seasons and it is wonderful. Also, A Place to Call Home is amazing.
So many of these! Love The Good Place (BRILLIANT) and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, loved Stranger Things even tho the second season wasn’t as good as the first, enjoy Outlander as a social event with girlfriends (it’s so PRETTY and problematic!), adored The Night Manager with its gorgeous locations and sly Hugh Laurie performance and Tom Hiddleston in various states of undress. Younger is totally low-stress and fun and full of clothes and Miriam Schor is fucking hilarious. I’ve been meaning to try a bunch of the ones other readers listed…but with the real world closing in I don’t have a ton of focus or ability to handle violence or mega-suspense.
Not mentioned, I don’t think: Episodes (SO fucking funny, and tho the lead characters write for Hollywood rather than for magazines, I think you will relate), and Glow (the clothes! and Allison Brie is great!). I can’t handle anything stressful right now, which rules out Black Mirror.
All my favorites have been mentioned, including Episodes, Younger and Cagtastrophe (and I don’t normally watch 1/2 hour comedies.) Only omissions are some oldies – “Friday Night Lights,” “Mad Men” and “Six Feet Under.” My strongest endorsements would be for “Peaky Blinders,” “The Americans” and “Shameless.” Oh! No one mentioned “Fargo, Season One.” Happy viewing, all.
Catch up on Mozart in the Jungle before the next season becomes available in February. It’s delightful.
Also, The Frozen Dead on Netflix, a French police procedural is quite addictive.
Mind Hunter, also on Netflix, is disturbing but so good.
There are a LOT of great suggestions here, but I don’t think I’ve seen any mention of my latest fave, Counterpart. It just started on Starz (I think only two episodes have aired), but so far, it has a Cold War feel with a sci fi twist. AND… J.K. Simmons plays not one, but two characters. So good.
I made a few recommendations above but I just wanted to bring special attention to a show that no one else has mentioned…that show is “Wanted” on Netflix. It is a show featuring two, count’um two, woman who are smart and savvy. When you think a character may act in a cliche way, the story pops around in another way. It is highly entertaining and perhaps a bit cheesy…but I dare you just to watch one episode!
Two of the best dramas I have EVER seen on TV are “Breaking Bad” (I watched from the beginning. It’s like a master class for actors) and “Wolf Hall” (PBS) about Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell. The latter is not for “royalty-lovers” but it IS for history lovers and admirers of *great* acting and direction.
And people who marvel at Wolf Hall’s ability to do period “lighting” (aka, dark and gloomy) without making it look like a black smudge on your TV… Every scene is like a Rembrandt painting!
An excellent resource for both television and movie recommendations is the Watching email newsletter and site from the New York Times. The writing is real and witty. It’s become so much easier for me to discover new shows and movies (and where to stream them) with this smart and useful guidance.
Cosign on this!
Mindhunter on Netflix–FBI profiling serial killers set in the 1970’s…really entertaining and somewhat educational!
Thank you so much for this list! So needed after a tough day of work, and I’m already 2 episodes into Good Place and it just rocks. I love many of the shows listed here, a huge fan of Better Call Saul and can’t wait for more of it. On Netflix would just add all of Please Like Me, and in the documentary category, the first season of Last Chance U, The Mind of a Chef (for foodie/David Chang fans), and Chef’s Table (but cherry-pick episodes of that). If you can get it, the French version of the Returned (Les Revenants) is a nicely eerie French suburban ghost story — much better than the American remake.
Yes !to Please Like Me. Sweet, quirky and poignant coming of age tale.
I find Netflix lacking these days. Loved the first seasons of House of Cards, but now (aside from the Kevin Spacey stuff), it’s just too real now.
– Catastrophe on Amazon
– Bosche on Amazon (police drama)
– Sneaky Pete on Amazon (Giovanni Ribisi, enough said!)
– Goliath on Amazon (Billy Bob Thornton and Maria Bello)
– Rosehaven (on SundanceTV for me) (this show is HILARIOUS and GENIUS and AMAZING)
– Crashing on HBO (another super funny show)
I watch way too much TV.
Heaven help me – I just looked at my updated Netflix and Amazon Prime queues and said aloud, “What have I done?” Looking forward to slowly working my way through all these great recs….
Oh, and one that’s supposed to come on Netflix soon (may still be available through MTV.com), I think – it was canceled after a season and was surprisingly badass and feminist and funny (think Buffy humor) for an MTV show:
Sweet/Vicious – a sorority girl vigilante disguises herself to take down college campus date rapists and is joined by a blue-haired, anti-social-ish computer nerd.
Grantchester. Sexy vicar!
So I teach comedy and mostly I don’t get to watch any TV that isn’t for work or to keep up with my students’ obsessions (Rick and Morty, BoJack Horseman are both good but I’d like to watch Poldark or something else with costumes and shirtless men).
Having said that, I was doing some research and ended up binge watching – if you want to watch golden age sitcom– The Dick Van Dyke show is worth a revisit. It is smart, brilliant, kind, and insanely innovative for its time. It’s better than you remember, and likely you remember it with love. Also, Rosemarie! And Mary Tyler Moore!
Oh, Robbbbbbb!
Better Things/Pamela Adlon,: often difficult, always honest, female voice that we have simply never seen on television prior. Poetic, hilarious, heartbreaking, smart, unapologetic. Love her. Deserving of time and attention if for no other reason than to demonstrate to Hollywood “more of this, please”.
Fantastic Mrs. Maisel: pure joy set in 1950s New York. And the costumes! AND Alex Borstein! And Lenny Bruce! AND Amy Sherman Palladino serving up her best in razor sharp shotgun banter.
Atlanta: Unlike anything, ever. Surreal perfection heavy with humidity and blown out hues. A love letter in half hour format to ATL. Bonus: the smoking hot Donald Glover.
Insecure: Sharp, funny, incredible soundtrack, season 2 wardrobe impeccable.
LA light.
I, too, was fairly disappointed in this season of Broad City. It is comforting to know I am not the only one.
not sure if anyone is still reading the thread, but I don’t think in 178 responses any mentioned Lady Dynamite on Netflix. SO FUNNY. I think I tried watching a few minutes one time and wasn’t in the right mood, but recently binged the whole 2 seasons and am so disappointed to know it’s not being renewed.
YES! Maria Bamford is amazing!!!!! How could I have forgotten?
I realize this thread is now a few days over, but wanted to mention Lady Dynamite. Sooo funny. only 2 seasons unfortunately but highly recommend.
I am obsessed with A Place to Call Home! So soapy and addicting, lovely costumes, and they deal with “difficult” themes, like being gay in the 1950s. It is on Acorn.
A good new series on Amazon is The Last Post. It is set in Aden in the 1960’s on a British military base. It goes into the relationships on the base, juxtaposed with the beginnings of Arab terrorism.
On Netflix: Godless – if you enjoyed Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey you’ll really love seeing her dirty and mussed in the wild wild west
Mosaic: SKIP HBO and download the free app! Totally unique viewing experience! Soderbergh directed and a wonderful cast – Sharon Stone and Paul Reubens are friends. Need I say more?
I have nothing to add here that hasn’t already been mentioned, but can I say: this thread made me so flippin’ happy that I left my job and now have….TIME.
I scrolled quickly through, while taking mental notes for my queue, and don’t think I saw Babylon Berlin. Just dropped on Netflix. Weimar Germany crime drama. Amazing! Production values, slice of history that is underappreciated, great acting, it’s the total package.
so much wonderful television with incredible talent and so much overlap with my list and everyone elses. I just binged Altered Carbon. I’m not a sci fi person, but the combination of Joel Kinnamen and my girl, Renee Goldsberry, brought me in and the cast and concept kept me hooked.
Catching up on GOA & chiming in to say one day after you posted this netflix released Babylon Berlin and it is insanely bingeable. I like it better in German with English subtitles!