I haven’t been watching much in terms of actual shows for a good while, then while listening to a podcast a host casually mentioned they had rewatched Chernobyl, how it still holds up, that there’s a reason it got as much acclaim as it did, etc. So I thought I’d give it a go and wow, loved it (still one episode left to watch).
Had me thinking, what else have I missed out on? What are some “absolute cinema” TV shows that still hold up and and are considered must watch?
The Pitt.
It’s easily one of the best television shows ever made.
With no regard to how big stuff is/was, because OP hadn’t seen Chernobyl.
‘Chernobyl’ is up there. Brutal indictment of a hypercorrupt dying empire that only cares about power and is built almost entirely on lies contrasted with the people it happens to, who largely embody the ideals their government lies about; the heroism of a dead culture striving to save everyone from some of the fuckers who killed it.
‘Andor’ star wars, but about antifascism instead of wuxia bullshit or daddy issues. Some of the best TV ever made. Weaves in links to history and obscure star wars apocrypha. It’s everything it should be and more with amazing layered deliberate fast-slow-fast pacing. There’s a long-payoff joke that is also the serious culmination of the first season’s meta-arc (the first season of that show would be about five seasons of anything else) and half the fans didn’t even notice.
‘Severance’ or the ~decade earlier whedon-directed much more sex focused show it was linked to, ‘dollhouse’ if you need fast pace or a slightly more dramatic version of what the internet is now. Low-scifi corpo-surrealism about the ways we treat identity. The two versions come to very different conclusions.
‘Scavengers’ reign’ beautiful uncanny man-vs-nature space narrative, haunting sound track, amazing in every way that matters.
‘Westworld’ only season 1. Its About Things. No not just the robots. They left some plot threads unresolved for season 2, but they’re not really what’s important and each season is exponentially worse, riding the first season’s nonstop hitting. Season 2 is still okay I guess.
‘daredevil’ Netflix version, season 1 only. There’s more but its not the same quality.
‘Cowboy bebop’ everybody’s favorite film noir space (neo?)western. Dripping with cool. Remade a few years later in a historically accurate Japan right after the consolidation of the Tokugawa dynasty with arguably 10% less style and 30% tighter production.
‘Kaos’ though it was left extremely unfinished. High budget modern Greek mythology soup. As gay and misothiest as you would ex0ect if you had actually read any.
‘Peacemaker’ murder-himbo realizes he might be one of the bad guys while trying to save the world with/from the CIA immediately post-‘the suicide squad’.
‘Harley Quinn’ batman villain fucks around, continues fucking around, occasionally finds out. But lesbianly, and very well written.
‘Futurama’ fox seasons/original run only. Occasionally heart wrenching SciFi comedy that’s not trying to be as edgy as ‘rick and Morty’ later would. Definitely aged, but smart enough it’s aged gracefully.
‘True detective’ season 1 only. The rest are fine, I guess. Southern Gothic neo-noir ambiguously fantasy.
‘Star trek: deep space nine’ a space station on the edge of falgsc utopia orbiting space-palestine as the toned down space zios do space-zio things. 90s in all the best ways and very few of the worst.
Or the more woo-scifi version which aired I think simultaneously, ‘Babylon 5’.
‘Community’ very few comedy shows age this well.
‘Lovecraft country’ endritch horror and american racism standing in frame next to each other, while the arc and the anthology flirt over a meal of ‘how to love SciFi as a marginalized person?’. The most beautiful wholesome bed covered in gore you’ve ever watched ‘is this gay?’ sex on.
I’ll add more later, and there are more certain people need to see but others don’t necessarily.
Legion (2017)
It’s a psychological drama with Aubrey Plaza in it at her weird best, by the same writer behind Fargo, the TV series and Alien: Earth. It was nominated for a variety of awards, but only won a couple of minor ones. If that seems interesting to you but you haven’t heard of it, it’s best to go in blind because spoilers could really ruin it.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
A Japanese Anime from 1995 or so. One of the most influential "huge humanoid mecha suit animes. There’s a mystery / story that’s very slowly and carefully revealed over the course of the series. The art and sound is just superb. The pacing is incredible. There are scenes where it’s just the hot summer outside and you can almost feel the heat. The characters have some of the annoying Japanese anime quirks, but in this case the story actually explains why the characters behave they way they do.
In no particular order:
The Mentalist, Chuck, Person of interest, The Blacklist.
What We Do in the Shadows
(The movie first, then the TV series). Vampire faux-reality TV comedy. Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement made the movie it was based on, and were executive producers on the series, so it’s that sense of humour.
The Sandbaggers
Aired on ITV1 Yorkshire Television in the UK in 1978 to 1980. It’s a spy show but it’s realistic. Incredibly realistic. The “Sandbaggers” are the elite group of “Special Operations” officers who go behind enemy lines, perform assassinations, etc. but you almost never see that happen. 90% of the show takes place in drab offices, and the show is more about office politics than spycraft. But, that’s what makes it really compelling.
If you watch a clip of the show, you can see in general what it’s like. Apparently the whole show is on YouTube these days.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984)
Of all the versions of the Sherlock Homes story I’ve seen, this series is the best. Jeremy Brett is an amazing Holmes. It feels like the books are being brought to life.
For those who liked Chernobyl, I recommend The Days about the Fukushima disaster. It’s not as dramatic and cinematic, but still fascinating to watch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Days_(Japanese_TV_series)
If you want a soothing TV show about Japanese culture and traditions, I recommend The Makanai, about a young geisha training house. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Makanai%3A_Cooking_for_the_Maiko_House
Throwing in my recommendations and limiting it to sleeper shows that don’t get recommended much. (The expanse, silo, foundation, arcane, severance etc already get lots of love). They aren’t all must watch but worth checking out, particularly the first 3
Mr Inbetween - Aussie show about a hit man that plays out like an incredible slice of life.
Sense8 - sci fi based show about based around 8 people who find themselves linked. It’s weird, LGBTQ friendly & forward and has some explicit scenes.
The goes wrong show - BBC theatre piece. Amateur theatre company attempt plays. Each actor has their own quirks, faults and confidence issues. Chaos ensues, the show must go on.
------ other decent stuff in case 3 top tier isn’t enough
Almost human - cancelled early formula show of he’s a cop but his partner’s an X (in this case android). Had humans vibes and good chemistry
3 body problem - sci fi adaptation from prominent Chinese author
Community - some people seem to have missed it
You’re the worst - a show about terrible people
From
Matroesjkas is a Flemish Belgian show about trafficking women. It’s a super gripping show around a criminal gang and a group of victims. It has very thick Flemish dialects that help to sell it, I hope you can find it subtitled.
2 seasons, 10 episodes each. 2004
I’ll throw a couple of old, fun ones in I doubt anyone mentioned.
Dead Like Me
Pushing Daisies
Sopranos.
A complex look at the mafia. Main characters die. Tightly written. Very few filler episodes. Best final episode ever.
Orphan Black: it’s hard to say much without spoiling it, but it’s one of the best series I’ve ever seen, and Tatiana Maslany’s acting is incredible. It’s
Battlestar Galactica, which others have mentioned already.
Stargate SG-1: my favorite show of all time. It’s the sort of scifi that makes you hopeful about the future of humanity. You don’t absolutely have to watch the movie first (it’s not as good as the series IMO, though worth watching) but it lends to more understanding of who some of the characters are.
