TV series you should watch (if you haven't) 📺📺📺

[Lord McGuffin]

For "legal" purposes, let's assume I'm subscribed to all channels and streaming services...

Here are shows you may have missed that are definitely worth your time :

GP = Guilty pleasure type shows
OG = Original, never really been done before
SP = "Specialized", you may have to like the subject matter, maybe not
AW = Award Winning (or should have)

1. The Wire     (AW)

It's an older HBO show, but if you've never seen it OMG I envy you... It's #2 on Rolling Stone's top 100 tv shows of all time, just before The Sopranos at #1 (I'll take The Wire instead tyvm).

2. Deadwood     (AW)

Unfortunately, Deadwood just stops after 3 seasons, because of financial issues (show was extremely costly) and differences between the show creator and HBO. That being said, if it weren't for that, Deadwood would be number 1 on my list. Totally worth it even without a satisfying ending (the movie didn't really do it for me).

3. The Venture Bros     (OG, SP)

Oh yeah, I'm putting them up here at number 3 next to award-winning dramas! This show deserved so mo much more recognition and so many more fans than it got, it's a crime really... I'm both sad and mad it's not getting a season 8. The pilot episode and 1st season are a bit rough animation and writing wise, but it keeps getting better and better and better, like fine wine created by two wacko geniuses. Get back to me once you've gotten to "Operation PROM"; wow, just wow.
(available on Channel 4 in th UK and other platforms here and there)

4. 30 Rock     (AW, OG)

At some point shows started moving away from the classic sitcom format, and 30 rock was right there. Tina Fey wrote an amazingly smart and funny show, and if you don't like Alec Baldwin when he does comedy, you're dead inside! 

5. The Newsroom      (GP)

What we wish our news were like. It's from Aaron Sorkin, so of course it's a bit "soap opera-ish", over the top , but man is it satisfying (that's why I put "GP"). Jeff Daniels just becomes the guy we wish we'd get our news from. Without him, the show just wouldn't work.

6. The IT Crowd    (OG, SP)

How have you never watched this show?!?! That's all I have to say about that.

7. GLOW    (GP)

I'm a 45yo "privileged" white male, so this show shouldn't be for me, right? Wrong. This show about the personal and professional lives of a group of women who performed in a 1980's wrestling show got me hooked instantly. Sure it has a couple of male characters that both have interesting arcs (played by Marc Maron and Chris Lowell), but it's mainly about the wrestlers and their personal and professional struggles. Alison Brie is great as the main character, Marc Maron plays himself basically, but it's still perfect casting, and Chris Lowell is great, but the revelation for me was Betty Gilpin who's kind of the main character as well. Her character feels real, every scene she's in makes you forget you're watching a show. It's a real shame the pandemic ended the show after 3 seasons. But like Deadwood, still worth it.

8. Community    (OG)

Fan of Dan Harmon's Rick and Morty? Well, before that he created Community! An incredible cast, so funny, over the top. I re-watched every episode during the pandemic and even discovered a 6th season I hadn't seen! (because it was on Yahoo! Screen...wtf??). Their motto, even within the show, was "7 seasons and a movie!". They didn't get there unfortunately, but what a ride. Fuck Friends on Netflix, watch this instead!

9. Billions    (GP)

I love me some Paul Giamatti . That is why (amongst other reasons) I did not catch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and will never watch it (Him? As Rhino? WTF were they/he thinking??). It's a modern soap opera and it's about Wall Street and billionaires sure, but man does it hook you in. This past season hasn't been as good, with Damian Lewis needing to leave the show to spend more time with his family after his wife passed away, but they did a good job of adapting it under the circumstances.

10. Yellowstone    (GP)

It's like "Dallas" but for our era. Gritty, violent. Wow! Paramount+ actually has one good show?? I've been seeing Kevin Costner in so many movies since I was 10 (The Untouchables), and yet somehow in this show I forget it's him. Which is pretty incredible considering I've "known" him for 35 years...  Guess being one of the creators and producers of the show can do that

11. Dark Side of the Ring    (OG)

I was never a wrestling fan, not really. But in my youth, at the height of the WWF's success, it was hard to escape. Here in Québec, we'd basically "adopted" André the Giant ("André le géant ferré" to us), even though he was from France not from QC. And we had legends like "Maddog" Vachon and "Les frères Rougeau". So add Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, etc., and then the Heart family (Canadian legends), and yeah, those were high times for the WWE and I was very much aware of the whole thing. So when Vice started this series about what happened behind the scenes, for all these various wrestlers I knew about, I was definitely curious. It's a very revealing series that gives us an inside look into professional wrestling and about the troubling and sometimes tragic events many well-know wrestling stars had to go through.

12. What we do in the Shadows     (OG)

Did not think they could adapt the movie well, but they did, very well. Casting is key in a show like this, and they nailed it. If you enjoyed the movie, expect to enjoy the show as well. It's just a lot of fun with clueless vampires

 

Shows that would be in the list but don't really need a mention :

• Succession
• The Office
• Seinfeld
• Rick and Morty
• Arcane
• Parks and Rec

 

ENJOY!

[Micron]

CBS, Person of Interest

FX, Justified,

HBO-West World