When They See Us
The Netflix mini-series created, co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay was one of the most significant television events of 2019. And the fact that it got nominated for 16 Emmy Awards —later winning two of them—, and, according to Netflix statistics, that it was viewed by 23 million accounts is proof of how good it is.
The series is based around five boys who were wrongfully convicted for the 1989 rape of a young banker, and who at first were known as the Central Park Five. Their nickname changed to the Exonerated Five after the real rapist confessed. It’s an upsetting tale about the flaws and prejudice that operate within the American justice system, but a must-watch nonetheless.
Bojack Horseman
Season six of the beloved adult cartoon that centers around an anthropomorphic horse named Bojack Horseman was divided into two parts: the first half was launched on October 25, 2019, and the second was premiered on January 31 of the current year. The sad news is that this season is the last since Netflix decided to cancel the show. But far from disappointing us, the last season was as clever and heartfelt as ever and managed to maintain that wacky humor we all love.
This season starts with Horseman navigating his recovery from alcohol and drug addiction in the rehabilitation center he had checked himself in, as seen in the previous season. It shows not only Bojack but other important characters such as Diane and Princess Carolyn being somewhat separated from one another, as they are all starting to delve into their own individual paths. Season six is still just as existential as previous seasons, focusing on themes like accountability, healing, and growth. And we love it for that!
Euphoria
Euphoria is an HBO teen-drama that follows a group of high school students through their experiences with relationships, friendships, sexuality, and self-discovery. Zendaya, who plays the protagonist, Rue Benett, was the winner of Drama TV Star at the 2019 People’s Choice Awards.
The show initially had trouble finding its voice, as it focused on trying to shock older audiences rather than exploring the complexities of teenage relationships and the confusion of being caught between childhood and adulthood. This, however, changes after a few episodes and the result is a funny, psychedelic yet raw and heartfelt portrayal of our modern teenage years.
Mindhunter
Our culture is undoubtedly obsessed with true crime. From documentaries to TV series and even movies, true crime-related entertainment seems to be everywhere these days. However, few shows have been as delightfully executed as Mindhunter, which focuses on the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit as they interview serial killers. It’s based on a true-crime book written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, and believe me, it’s worth a watch. The television series’ first season debuted worldwide on October 13, 2017, and the second season was released on August 16, 2019.
Mindhunter was produced by the great David Fincher (who also directed some episodes) and Charlize Theron, among others, but you should bear in mind that the show requires patience and attention. Its slow pace builds the tension as our protagonists, agents Ford and Tench (played by Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany, respectively) alongside psychologist Wendy Carr (played by Anna Torv) try to understand how these criminals’ minds work and what led them to commit such crimes.
Chernobyl
This is not only one of the best shows of 2019, but also one of the best shows of the decade, and both audiences and critics agree on this, as it scored a 9,5 and 96% on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. Chernobyl is a BBC and HBO co-production that was nominated for nineteen Emmys —winning ten— and two Golden Globes, among many other awards.
The miniseries is based on the real Chernobyl nuclear disaster that occurred in April 1986 in Pripyat, Ukraine (then part of the USSR) and that took the lives of hundreds of people, apart from forcing its inhabitants to evacuate the city because of the incredibly high radiation levels. Chernobyl is a gruesome and honest portrayal of one of modern society’s biggest tragedies, one that became historically infamous.
Jane The Virgin
On the lighter side of the spectrum, we find Jane The Virgin, a comedy adapted from a Venezuelan telenovela of the same name, and broadcasted on The CW. The telenovela inspiration is evident from the show’s premise, but don’t be fooled, as Jane the Virgin is smart, funny, and contagiously warm.
The show follows Jane Villanueva, a religious 23-year-old after her gynecologist accidentally inseminates her at a routine check-up. To make matters worse, the donor is her married boss, with whom Jane once shared a passionate kiss. Jane The Virgin is proof that a show can be good and clever without having to also be gloomy and humorless.
The Mandalorian
We’re all well aware of the internet’s obsession with Baby Yoda, even people who’ve never seen The Mandalorian are captivated by the adorable green —yet surprisingly strong— baby. The memes and merchandise are everywhere. But thankfully, the cuteness of the Force-sensitive infant doesn’t overshadow what I feel is an immersive experience into the Star Wars universe.
The Disney space western focuses on a lonesome bounty hunter of unknown name, a warrior from the planet Mandalore, like Boba Fett. While The Mandalorian can sometimes seem a bit mechanical, it’s still effective as it remains interesting when showing a side of the franchise we don’t usually get to see, while also displaying beautiful cosmic scenarios.
Watchmen
When Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ comic Watchmen first came out in 1986, it revolutionized the comic world. They tackled human nature, metaphysical issues, and power in a way it was never shown before. The characters were not divided between good or bad, there were no heroes or villains. Not even Dr. Manhattan can be considered a superhero, since he progressively grows distant from humans as he no longer is one.
Damon Lindelof, the creator of the show, had a challenging task adapting Watchmen into an HBO series without copying exactly what the comic portrayed, falling into commonplace, or losing the spirit of the original source material. And he successfully did it, adapting Watchmen to modern times while still effectively questioning contemporary matters such as technology and racism.
Succession
Succession is an HBO comedy-drama series that launched its first season in 2018 and premiered its second season on August 11, 2019. So far, Succession was nominated for five Emmy Awards, winning two of them as well as two Golden Globes. It follows a dysfunctional family that owns a global media and hospitality corporation whilst fighting over the control of the business in the midst of the family’s patriarch forthcoming death.
Season two continues the troubled story of the eccentric Roy family, a story that is both comical and heart-wrenching as well as insightful and brooding. Succession is a show that delves into the corrupt world of billionaires and corporate moguls, but its brilliant acting and writing gives these real-life evildoers an interesting twist: it humanizes them, showing just how anguished and broken these people’s greedy lives actually are.
Squid Game
Written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game is a survival drama TV series that's fighting its way to the top of the most-watched shows on Netflix.
The series focuses on a contest where 456 people with different backgrounds but deeply in debt are recruited to play a game. Unbeknown to them, they're about to risk their own lives to obtain an overwhelming prize of ₩45.6 billion (roughly 39 million dollars).
Big Mouth
Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg’s adult animated series Big Mouth first came out in 2017 and it consists of three seasons so far, the last one premiered on October 4, 2019. The show is inspired by the real-life experiences that Kroll and Goldberg went through in their teenage years, and is the perfect example of a cartoon that uses acid humor to reflect on the awkwardness of puberty.
Big Mouth‘s third season is just as funny as the first two, but it shows a more mature style of comedy since it touches sensitive topics through the outrageous humor Big Mouth is known —and loved— for. From gaslighting to homophobia and racism, the cartoon navigates these intense issues without coming off as preachy or self-righteous.
Unbelievable
Unbelievable is a true crime and drama miniseries starring Australian actress Toni Colette, Merritt Wever, and Kaitlyn Dever. It is based on a 2015 news article titled An Unbelievable Story of Rape by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, originally published by The Marshall Project and ProPublica.
The heart-rending miniseries is centered on a girl named Marie, played brilliantly by Kaitlyn Denver, who not only is a victim of rape but is also forced to narrate the details over and over to the authorities, who don’t believe her and dismiss her case. We’re not going to lie, this is a tough one to watch but its magnificent acting and compelling storytelling are completely worth it.
Years And Years
Years and Years is a British television miniseries, co-produced by HBO and BBC, that follows the lives of the Manchester-based Lyons family, as their stranged members abruptly come together after one fateful night in 2019. The story then moves into the future, showing how the Lyons deal with love, loss, and all-around life in an economic, politic and technologically unstable Britain.
What’s so interesting and haunting about Years and Years is the fact that the story is completely relatable. It’s an ominous portrayal of a not-so-distant dystopic future but, contrary to its cyber-punk counterparts, ponders on the importance of love and real human connection in an increasingly divided and terrifying world.
On Becoming A God In Central Florida
On Becoming a God in Central Florida is one of the most original and peculiar television series of the last decade. It is a dark comedy created by Robert Funke and Matt Lutsky that premiered on August 25, 2019. It’s set in the early 90s and follows Krystal Stubbs, played to perfection by Kirsten Dunst, a widow who seeks revenge on a pyramid scheme business, blaming them for the bizarre death of her husband, who got eaten by an alligator.
The show explores the depths and difficulties of poverty, and the early mistakes committed by those desperate enough to get themselves into risky business in order to get out of financial trouble. On Becoming a God in Central Florida analyzes these hard, sadly common topics while still being hilariously off-the-wall, and Dunst delivers one of the best performances of her career.
Orange Is The New Black
Although OITNB has sometimes felt like it had lost its touch and originality over the years, or simply appeared to be trying too hard, the show’s final season brought back its initial power. Created by Jenji Kohan and based on the autobiographical book by Piper Kerman, OITNB premiered in 2013 on Netflix and spawned seven seasons.
Season seven of the show premiered on July 26, 2019, and takes back its effectiveness and reminds the public why OITNB earned its reputation as one of the most revolutionary shows from the streaming era. It provides emotional and clever commentary on contemporary subjects like ICE, immigration, racism, and the growth of imprisoned women.
Fleabag
Fleabag is a British comedy-drama miniseries created, written and starred by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, adapted from a one-woman show of the same name. The show follows an angry, confused and hedonistic young woman living in London whose name is never mentioned, as she deals with relationships, family, grief, and her failing cafe.
Fleabag’s season two premiered on April 8, 2019, and dives further into themes of self-destruction, the quest for redemption, guidance, and love. Waller-Bridge’s witty creation honestly deals with sexuality and relates to the viewer from its powerful storytelling as well as the continuous fourth-wall-breaking.
What We Do In The Shadows
New Zealand horror-comedy What We Do in the Shadows has become a cult classic since it first premiered in 2014. The mockumentary directed by Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement is centered around a group of vampire roommates who share a flat in a suburban area of Wellington.
The movie’s clever premise and hilarious acting are hard to top off, and turning it into a TV show could have enormously failed. Thankfully, the spin-off successfully captures the atmosphere and playfulness of the original What We Do in the Shadows, partly because the writing team is the same as in the movie.
The Act
We’ve been acquainted with a lot of true crime television series in the last few years, mostly mediocre entertainment that repeats the same formula over and over. However, The Act is a novelty in a saturated market. Starring Patricia Arquette as a controlling, mentally ill mother and Joey King as her falsely chronically ill daughter, The Act is a fresh and disturbing take on humans being pushed to the limit.
The Hulu series is based on the real-life murder of Dee-Dee Blanchard at the hands of her abused daughter, Gypsy Rose. Blanchard suffered from Munchausen by proxy, a mental condition in which a caretaker deliberately inflicts damage or illness to a child in order to gain attention and compassion. The Act is a distressing yet captivating journey through resentment, abuse, and illness with brilliant performances by Arquette and King.
Game Of Thrones
HBO’s Game of Thrones became an international phenomenon since it first premiered back in 2011, and it’s regarded as one of the best medieval series of all time. The show, which is based on George R.R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, spawned eight seasons and although the quality of the show decreased in the final two, it remains as one of the biggest entertainment events of the decade.
It’s unlikely we’ll ever get to experience such a world-wide fascination with a television show, and despite some flaws in the writing of season eight, Game of Thrones still provides some innovative and jaw-dropping moments of adrenaline-fueled entertainment in the Hollywood way we all know and love.
Killing Eve
Killing Eve is a British-American production based on the Villanelle novel series written by Luke Jennings and adapted by the talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The show’s first season premiered on November 15, 2016, and received critical acclaim as well as seven BAFTA Awards nominations, winning three of them.
Season one introduced the world to the stories of British intelligence investigator Eve and psychopathic assassin Villanelle, who become intertwined in a game of cat and mouse. As the story progresses, they become obsessed with each other and season two explores this fixation to a deeper level, portraying some sort of morbid infatuation between the two.
Stranger Things 3
After two seasons, it would have been very easy (and frankly, quite understandable) for Stranger Things to become a dull, repetitive product. Fortunately, the ’80s-set science-fiction and horror television series managed to maintain its unique and refreshing spirit well into its third season, which premiered in July of last year.
This last season also does a great job exploring the arch of characters introduced in season two, like antagonist Billy (phenomenally played by Dacre Montgomery). Season three’s potent storytelling and never-ending action hypnotize the viewer, and the wonderful cliffhanger leaves us hoping for a fourth season of this wonderful world of nostalgia and exceptional fashion.
Barry
Most people know Bill Hader for its roles in wacky comedies like Supercool and Trainwreck. However, he should be more known for his superb role in HBO’s dark crime-comedy Barry. The series, which premiered its first season in 2018, focuses on Barry Berkman, a hitman that moves to Los Angeles in order to kill someone but gets caught joining an acting class.
Season two is far riskier and tension-filled, and we love it. Barry juggles heart-stopping action sequences, heart-aching scenes and hysterically funny moments in a delightful way. It is a show that is just as complex as its protagonist and the supporting characters, like NoHo Hank (played by Anthony Carrigan), add the perfect amount of eccentricity and humor for it to work.
The Good Place
Sometimes, TV series have great, intricate concept ideas that don’t really work out, either by budget problems, a weak script or simply a cast that doesn’t get along. This is definitely not the case with Michael Schur’s The Good Place, which ended its third season in January 2019, and premiered its fourth season in September of the same year.
The Good Place could have turned boring, but successfully managed to maintain the absurd humor we love the show for, while also exploring philosophical dilemmas as well as the complexity of human nature. The show’s cast is also one of the most solid ensembles on television, and each character is played to perfection.
Pose
Usually, when a television series does a time jump, it’s probably a recipe for disaster. From cancellation to loss of direction, doing a leap in time is a risky move that somehow worked out just perfectly for FX’s Pose. The show progresses from the late 80s to the early 90s and doesn’t lose its initial power.
Pose’s season two is centered primarily around its main characters and shows a crude and honest portrayal of trans women’s struggles in 1990 and the ascension of advocacy in the midst of an AIDS crisis. As heart-breaking as it may be, Pose’s season two is a must-watch as a reminder of the difficulties the LGBTQ+ community endured.
The Other Two
The Other Two is a Comedy Central sitcom created by Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. The story follows two millennial siblings whose lives turn upside down when their 13-year-old brother Chase becomes a pop sensation overnight. This sudden fame forces the siblings into their own journeys of self-discovery.
What’s so effective about The Other Two is that they perfectly summarize our current pop-culture era and its chaotic and ephemeral trends, while also featuring a family that, despite their differences, support each other rather than compete against one another.
Sex Education
Netflix’s Sex Education has every element of a typical High School Drama: sexually active as well as sexually frustrated teens and cliques —only Sex Education is not your run-of-the-mill teenage series. Asa Butterfield plays Otis, the shy and awkward protagonist of this revolutionary series, and Gillian Anderson plays his sex-therapist mother, who openly discusses sex with his son and even some of his friends.
Sex Education is different not only because of its premise but because of its diverse cast and the sincere depiction of the awkwardness that teenage sexual awakening encompasses. The show gives representation to different ethnicities and the LGBTQ+ community while also being hilarious.
Schitt’s Creek
It’s quite rare for a show to successfully grow in both recognition and craft after five seasons. Most shows get canceled or simply decrease their quality —but Schitt’s Creek is not like most shows. Created by Eugene and Dan Levy (who are father and son, respectively) the show is beloved by the public and received critical acclaim.
Schitt’s Creek is a Canadian sitcom that follows the Rose family, a once affluent household that has recently gone bankrupt and whose only remaining asset is a town named Schitt’s Creek, which the parents bought as a joke for their son’s birthday. Despite this bizarre premise, Schitt’s Creek has become one of the most thoughtful and touching sitcoms ever.
Dead To Me
Dead To Me had every chance of becoming a sappy and boring soap opera, but against all odds managed to pull off an ingenious first season that simultaneously juggles black humor and a mindful analysis of grief. The Netflix series, created by Liz Feldman, also features Christina Applegate’s brilliant comeback to the small screen.
Dead To Me is centered around Jen Harding (played by Applegate), an enraged widow determined to solve the mystery of her husband’s death in a hit-and-run. Through a therapy group of bereft spouses, she meets Judy (played by Linda Cardellini), an optimistic, free-spirited woman who has some skeletons in her closet.
PEN15
You may shed more than a few tears of joy, laughter, and discomfort as you watch Hulu’s PEN15. It is an equally exhilarating and cringe-worthy teenage comedy starring Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, who are also the show’s co-creators, as a fictionalized version of their 13-year-old selves.
Watching these adult women play the role of teenage girls traveling through their average yet horrifying middle-class, suburban life in the year 2000 all the while being surrounded by actual 13-year-olds adds to the comedic absurdity of the show. All in all, PEN15 is a relatable and hysterical journey to the most awkward years of our lives.
I Think You Should Leave
I Think You Should Leave is the outrageous and absurdist comedy we didn’t know we needed, but definitely did. Tim Robinson, who worked as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live, teamed up with Netflix to devise these insane, fast-pacing, fifteen-minute sketches and turn them into a series.
The show stays faithful to its name, as every sketch seems to push the viewer to the limit before suddenly moving onto the following sketch. I Think You Should Leave‘s first season stars some of his fellow SNL partners like Andy Samberg, Cecily Strong, and an incredibly funny brunch skit with an annoying Vanessa Bayer.
Russian Doll
Alternate timelines, hardcore partying, and eternal recurrence. These components could have resulted in a confusing series, with plotholes and unprepared writing staff. This, however, is not the case of Russian Doll, the Netflix series created by Amy Poehler, Leslye Headland, and Natasha Lyonne, who also stars as the protagonist.
This surreal and thrilling comedy-drama follows Nadia, a woman who is deemed to relive her 36th birthday party as she dies over and over, always restarting at the same exact moment, while she tries to make sense of what is happening to her. Russian Doll is a psychedelic and extraordinary series that also succeeds at being funny and enjoyable.