Ah, the sweet refuge of television! Here are my fave picks with a tinge of regret that for some of these great shows, it will be goodbye for good:
THE LAST OF US (HBO) (SEASON 1):
easily could have been a standard postapocalyptic series about Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey running to escape various beasts every week. Instead, series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, who also helped craft the video game on which this HBO drama is based, took the original source material and built additions onto its core structure. The result is a show about the disastrous effects of a pandemic that landed on TV at a moment when most people were ready to stop thinking about viruses and vaccines, yet still managed to capture widespread attention. That’s because The Last of Us was as much a character study as a work of horror or action, one that established how deeply human beings need each other in the worst of times and their aftermath. (VULTURE)
the rest in no particular order:
EXTRAORDINARY (DISNEY+) (SEASON 1):
In this hilarious and frequently heartwarming comedy from writer Emma Moran and Killing Eve producer Sid Gentle, everyone has a super-power after the age of 18 – except for 25-year-old Jen (Máiréad Tyers, brilliantly chaotic). Surrounded by people gifted with powers ranging between completely amazing to utterly useless (one man has a backside that doubles as a 3D printer), Jen is adrift in a world where her romantic, work and financial woes are tripled by her failure to do the basics and just learn to fly already. If the superhero theme doesn't tempt you, perhaps a stray cat named Jizzlord will. (TIMEOUT)
THE DIPLOMAT (NETFLIX) (SEASON 1):
a show about how the people keeping us from nuclear annihilation also forget to button their shirts the right way or suffer heat rash from the stress. It’s about how ego, grudges, and resentment have impacted history in ways we may never fully understand. And it’s sharp, even as the flow can be inconsistent. It's fun to watch a show with characters who are so clearly smart even as they make dumb decisions. (ROGER EBERT)
I’M A VIRGO (AMAZON PRIME) (SEASON 1):
with the edge of Spike Lee and the imagination of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman, Boots Riley’s brilliantly offbeat Amazon show is an almost undefinable collage of touching coming-of-age drama, gonzo superhero adventure and fiery political manifesto. There’s loads squeezed into its seven episodes, as 13-foot-tall Cootie (Jharrel Jerome) gets to grips with his own giant stature, his sexual awakening and a revolutionary cause. Walton Goggins’s The Hero, a sinister super with more than a touch of The Boys’ Homelander, embodies Riley’s major preoccupation: a capitalist system that’s underpinned by legitimised violence. This small-screen follow-up to Sorry To Bother You is sharp enough to make communists of us all. (TIMEOUT)
THE OTHER TWO (MAX) (SEASON 3):
as a show that plays so spiritedly with the comedy genre, The Other Two amplifies the humor this season with some very surreal moments and hilarity brought on by immaculately executed parodies from Pleasantville to Romeo + Juliet, and one of the funniest episodes taking place throughout an Angels in America-type play. Additionally, with Yorke being our generation’s Lucille Ball, one of the greatest highlights this season is laughing right off the cold open over her love affair with a tray of nachos that just goes on and on. With the show being such a masterclass in comedy, the series also welcomes back some past guest stars including Kate Berlant and Richard Kind, and new guest stars, including one who gets a bit of an arc thanks to Pat, who helps elevate the laughs. (COLLIDER)
THE GREAT (HULU) (SEASON 3):
Hulu’s “occasionally true” comedy about Catherine the Great finds the empress in a sticky situation: having wrestled the throne from her incompetent husband Peter, she’s determined to improve life for working class Russians, but her vision of progress might just cause class warfare. Oh, and there are a few additional problems: she neglected to kill Peter, she’s pregnant with the heir to the throne, and much to her frustration, she can’t help but love Peter against her better judgment. (ESQUIRE)
RUN THE WORLD (STARZ) (SEASON 2):
the gal pals are back minus one but still with all the complicated but busy drama.
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (F/X) (SEASON 5):
after a century of living and loafing on Staten Island, our favorite vampire roommates are finally putting down roots. In its gut-busting fifth season, What We Do In the Shadows sends the vampires out into the community as Nadja reconnects with her heritage in Staten Island’s “Little Antipaxos” and Colin Robinson runs for local office. Meanwhile, the fallout from Season Four’s cliffhanger finale shakes up the household dynamic: after a vampiric transformation gone sideways, Guillermo and Laszlo become unlikely allies in secret-keeping. What’s a jealous Nandor to do? Why, fly to outer space, of course (one of the season’s funniest gags). At five seasons in, plenty of sitcoms go soft, but What We Do in the Shadows never dulls its fangs. (ESQUIRE)
THE BUCCANEERS (APPLE TV+) (SEASON 1):
initially, creator Katherine Jakeways (adapting an unfinished novel by Edith Wharton) paints the cultural differences with a broad brush that does neither side any favors. The Brits undeniably come off worse: Their iciness is exemplified by Richard’s mother complaining of her daughter-in-law’s labor pains that “English women have been getting on with the job for generations with no need for any silly fuss.” By contrast, Nan, her sister Jinny (Imogen Waterhouse) and their pals Lizzy (Aubri Ibrag) and Mabel (Josie Totah) are a veritable whirlwind of giggling, dancing, Champagne-swigging energy. But what should seem charming grows tiresome when it takes the series a few episodes to reveal who these individuals actually are, beyond stereotypes of bold American women. (THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
