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?
Here’s a short selection of series that really stood out for me over the past few years.
All are there for different reasons, but they were all quite amazing IMHO. (also, I’ve included spoiler-free summaries 😉)
Devs
A software engineer investigates the secretive quantum computing division of her cutting-edge tech company after her boyfriend goes missing.
This felt like some of the best early Black Mirror episodes, stretched out over the length of a well-paced short TV series. In a way, it’s also similar to Severance, in the best of ways.
Our Flag Means Death
An 18th-century aristocrat abandons his life of luxury to become a pirate.
Funny, touching, extremely intelligent… if you like the work of Taika Waititi and his friends (What we do in the Shadows), this is a must-watch.
Scavengers Reign
When a deep-space freighter crashes on a beautiful but profoundly perilous alien planet, the scattered surviving crew must navigate a surreal, violently interconnected ecosystem in a desperate bid for rescue.
The best Sci-Fi series I’ve ever seen. This may be the first tv series I’ve seen that actually translates the vibe of some of the best Sci-Fi/space-opera writing I’ve read.
Killing Eve
A bored MI5 security officer and a glamorous, unpredictable assassin become locked in a deadly, globe-trotting game of cat-and-mouse.
Amazing actresses playing terrible people. It is so we’ll made I think everyone needs to watch this one.
Utopia (UK)
A group of online forum members unearths a bizarre graphic novel rumored to predict global disasters, suddenly finding themselves hunted by a ruthless, shadowy organization.
This show is SO unique. The way it looks, the vibe, the story… everything hits SO hard! Just the intro sequence had me HOOKED! (Note: it was never finished; but it does have a pretty good ending regardless).
Came to say Devs aa well.
The first few seasons of Killing Eve were great, but IMO the quality really dropped off at the end.
NOTE: only the UK version, not the American one, trust me. It’s **brilliant __ ** but prepared to be very disappointed it didn’t get another season.
UK Utopia has two seasons and has something approaching an ending. The second season isn’t nearly as good, excluding S02E01, which was genuinely great.
Seconding American Utopia === bad as well.
Crikey, Utopia, I forgot about that. Thank you for reminding me.
Devs and Scavengers Reign are superb shouts.
In this list, I’ve only heard of Devs and Our Flag Means Death, but those two alone are so goddamn good that you have my complete trust on the rest! Definitely going to check them out.
I liked the character writing, and I liked many of the scifi parts, but i was missing the “hard scifi” that the plot should revolve around in a scifi story. i.e. the futuristic stuff doesn’t affect the story much and the character arcs would have worked just as well in 17th century exploration story. Compare that to hard scifi like “the expanse” or “westworld”, where many parts of the story can only work because of the specific way the world works.
if you prefer soft scifi over hard sci, than Scavengers Reign is a strong recommendation.
Sci-Fi is an extremely broad genre, and I was mostly trying to keep things vague and spoiler-free; but
spoiler
this series did two main things that I’ve never seen at this level: creating a real sense of someplace “alien”, something that is so far from human comprehension that the characters AND the viewer are both totally at a loss; and I adored the way it recreated the visual style of classic Sci-Fi visual artists (mostly Bande Dessinée, including the likes of Moebius, Jodorowski, and the Métal Hurlant crowd).
Yes. so much this!
spoiler
Too often the aliens just feel like green humans, and the worlds are just “earth but only the deserts” or “earth, but more water”. I guess that’s because it won’t sell well if the audience can’t relate enough with the world and its inhabitants. But still…