“The Terror”
Confession: we came late to AMC‘s “The Terror” and we’ve only made it to the halfway point of the Ridley Scott-produced horror series so far. But from everything we’ve heard, the back half of the season continues to pull off the same magic trick as the first — a remarkably well-sustained sense of claustrophobia and dread that makes the show the first real small-screen equivalent to the recent wave of horrors a la “The Witch,” “The Babadook” and “Hereditary.” Based on Dan Simmons’ novel about a doomed Arctic expedition in the 1840s, it essentially comes across as “Master & Commander” but with a fearsome polar-bear god eating the crew every so often, and with as many horrors lurking among the crew as on the ice. The direction, by Edward Berger and others, is inventive and accomplished in the way it uses the limited surroundings without feeling samey, the cast of British character stalwarts pretty faultless, and the scares genuinely unnerving in a way that makes it feel worlds ahead of the likes of “American Horror Story” or “The Walking Dead.” It’s definitely an acquired taste — you’ll know from minute one whether it’s yours, but we’re very, very glad it exists. – OL
“Atlanta”
It’s a little annoying to use the now out-of-date, “you’re doing it wrong if…,” but really your priorities in life are so out of tune with culture if you’re not watching FX‘s innovative “Atlanta,” from Donald and Stephen Glover. “Season two, Robbin’ Season, as it’s known, continues the tradition of “Louie“-esque hanging out, misadventures, trenchant social commentary on race, relationships, hardship and our daily struggles to survive with incredibly funny, razor-sharp observations about life. But season two is more subversive, ambitious, dark, pushing the boundaries of the show’s surreality and even pretty depressing and heartbreaking at times. But it’s always engaging and often jaw-dropping brilliant. Then there’s the direction. There is simply no better director in television right now than Hiro Murai, bar any established filmmakers dipping their toes into TV (fittingly, people are taking notice: Murai has scored an FX deal and is making a feature film now too). Then you’ve got Glover writing/directing himself and filmmaker Amy Seimetz (“The Girlfriend Experience“) stops by to helm some killer eps too. “Atlanta” is layered, complex, challenging and deeply eccentric weaving through bits of comedy, existential woe, introspection while tackling race, class and the social experience. One could devote 5,000 words to it alone, but the episode “Teddy Perkins,” hilarious, sad, twisted and bizarre, might be the best thing you’ll see all year. – RP
“Mosaic”
Admittedly, a bit of a cheat. “Mosaic” is a weird one. We featured it in our Best Of Television 2017 because it debuted late in the year on the app. It then played in a linear fashion on HBO in January and frankly, it’s not really as good. But due props still need to be given to Steven Soderbergh for attempting to push the narrative envelope again and hey, he’s revitalized Sharon Stone’s career in the process; she’s outstanding on the show and she was due for a comeback. “Mosaic,” as its title suggests is told from multiple perspectives and warring points of view and at the same time it’s too simple to say the show is just a “Rashomon” take on an interactive murder mystery. Featuring a stellar cast, Garrett Hedlund, Jennifer Ferrin, Devin Ratray, Frederick Weller, Beau Bridges, James Ransone, Paul Reubens (!!) and many more, “Mosaic” centers on the murder of a children’s author who has been duped and seduced by a con man who then genuinely falls in love with her. The show jumps around in time and takes place over the course of four years, in the “present” of the past, but then fast forwarding to a time when the crime is being reexamined by the law. It’s Steven Soderbergh so it’s well-shot, well-acted and intriguingly conceived. Still, we’d recommend, you download the app and give it a shot that way as it’s a more exciting, unique experience that way. – RP
Admittedly, “Wild Wild Country” is a bit on the fence because it’s more documentary or docu-series than TV show, but since we’ve decided to not do a whole feature on documentaries this year, we figured this would be a good place to include it.
“Wild Wild County”
With the behemoth that is Netflix releasing billions of dollars worth of new content throughout the year, it’s easy to feel like there’s a new must-watch true crime documentary popping up every week — most recently it was “Evil Genius.” But no matter the torrent, the truly mind-boggling, totally bonkers, and completely true “Wild Wild Country” is far and away the most fascinating. The six-part series, which was produced by the Duplass Brothers, is so expansive it’s hard to parse into an easily digestible summary. But when the credits finally roll, “Wild Wild Country” is, more than anything else, an examination of a few themes that speak loudly to America today: generational divides, religious animosity, and the hate cast upon those who you don’t understand. The series truly sings, though, when it narrows in on the extraordinary characters at the story’s center — they are people at their very worst, resorting to their most base instincts, and acting against everyone’s best interests. And while each episode might have been more suited to 40-minute installments instead of hour-long slogs, “Wild Wild Country” is enthralling — a portrait of human fallacy and a thoroughly detailed look at one of the strangest and hard-to-believe chapters in American history. [our review] – Gary Garrison
That’s it, though let’s give a big shout out to “The Chi” which admittedly, we’d need to finish to give it its proper due. But everything about the Lena Waithe-created show that we saw, including the excellent cast, looks worthy. We just need to carve out more time for it which is honestly and transparently difficult when you’re trying to juggle everything in movie and TV.
Many of us fought against “Legion,” a contentious show around these parts that some like, others loathe. Extra shout-outs include “The Expanse,” “Patrick Melrose” mini-series with Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace,” Danny Boyle‘s intriguing, but fairly uneven “Trust,” “Picnic At Hanging Rock” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” No “Jessica Jones,” sorry. There was a distinct dip in quality this year.
Lots to look forward this year including finishing HBO‘s “Succession” which just started, the mini-series “Sharp Objects” with Amy Adams and the very underrated “SMILF” on Showtime to name just a few. Note, no “Mindhunter” or “True Detective” this year, we’ll have to wait until 2019. – with Rodrigo Perez, Kimber Myers and Gary Garrison.