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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?
Sopranos.
A complex look at the mafia. Main characters die. Tightly written. Very few filler episodes. Best final episode ever.
Of all the versions of the Sherlock Homes story I've seen, this series is the best. Jeremy Brett is an amazing Holmes. It feels like the books are being brought to life.
The Americans.
Not the best female fictional spy, the best fictional spy ever, male or female.
A show which makes an American root for the KGB is worth watching.
Twin Peaks The Return (aka season 3, which came back with most of the original cast after 25 years) is a masterpiece.
There is nothing else like it, not even the original 2 seasons. Often considered a “film” and truly is “absolute cinema”. From the wikipedia article on it:
The series garnered critical acclaim, with praise for its unconventional narrative structure, visual invention, and performances.[2] Critics have hailed the show as the best television program of 2017[3] and the 2010s,[4] as well as one of the best series of the 21st century.[5][6][7][8] Some critics also consider The Return a film, with film journal Cahiers du Cinéma naming it the best film of the decade[9] and the 2022 Sight & Sound critics' poll voting it the 152nd-greatest film in history.[10]
Downton Abbey: most shows shuffle away any notion of class struggle and class conflict, which is a shame as it is the defining story of our era, but Downton showcases it. A show that restores your faith in humanity, making nearly every character’s humanity shine through in a beautiful, Dickensian way. I try to watch it at least once a year, ideally around winter holidays. Ironically created by a British conservative.
Century of the Self: although perhaps less a series and more a miniseries, seems to me it’s required viewing for understanding so much of what our lives are now
Eastbound & Down (and The Righteous Gemstones): as long as you like Danny McBride’s sense of humor, these will kill you. Very on the nose in their parodies of sports culture and the evangelical “Christian” movement in the US
Anything with Philomena Cunk
Generation Kill is a show you almost never hear about for how poignant a portrayal it is of American imperialism in the Middle East as experienced by the ‘grunts’ questioning all of it
The Rehearsal (especially season 2): what’s wrong with aviation, and what it’s like (again esp. season 2) to wonder if you are on the spectrum
Rita: a Danish show about a badass cigarette smoking, ‘slutty’ teacher who stops at nothing to take care of her students, sticking up to parents, whatever. The kind of teacher you wish you had to stick up for you, whether against your parents at times, or anyone else who was getting you down
Silicon Valley: in case you didn’t already suspect that all things VC and tech are actually often dumb as hell
Watchmen (HBO series): hardly need to say more than that this show predicted cops (think ICE in the US in the last 2 years) wearing face masks to conceal the identities carrying out increasingly fascistic acts
The White Lotus: possibly controversial here, but that’s really just me speculating. I thought the production value was like almost nothing else, through the roof, the actors were fantastic, the scenes and imagery gorgeous, and the portrayal of wealthy vacationers as just extremely flawed people endlessly chasing real happiness. Super fucked up at times, but arguably worth it.
I also reiterate some of the other mentions in this thread:
Better Call Saul: Bob Odenkirk is the bastard you cannot help but be drawn to. His counterpart Rhea Seehorn also is great, grows and grows on you, even if you’re someone who doesn’t like her at first
Severance: one scene where a dear character ’dies’ in a way no other media has ‘created’ before is unforgettable and will live rent-free frame by frame in your mind for years
Succession, so captivating. Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook are all absolute masters
Arrested Development: seems to me the sharpest, wittiest writing of anything I’ve seen. First 3 seasons only, new netflix reboot was a big dud for so many
Louie: often just perfect TV, stunningly human yet weird and sometimes surreal, like real life. Not sure how to feel about the actor though as a person. Heard on a podcast recently that he’s doing his scandalous thing again, after going on an apology tour for years and admittedly doing far more to own up and atone for far less than his sins back then of basically exposing himself to women and using his power to get them to have sexual activities with him, apparently often “just” watching him whack it… But seriously episodes like The Duckling are just peak TV.
Mad Men: pretty darn good, and I hate the subject of Madison Avenue ad men /advertising industry
Haven’t ever finished Dark years after starting it, but I do feel drawn back to the ‘vibe’ of it, super unique and idk slow burning and like if rainy gloomy weather was a tv show, in the best way
Band of Brothers: enough said by others in this thread and everywhere else
The Pacific: also enough said by others.
The Leftovers: I’ve only seen 4 episodes and I’m dying to see more. I read again and again it’s “one of the best shows of all time” and that became clear how likely that is by about episode 3. Can’t wait to see what comes next. A philosophical what-if that isn’t about something maybe 100-1000 years in the future like interstellar spaceflight, instead, it’s about what are humans like (with things like cults, family drama, agnosticism, nihilism, and so much more just showing how weird it is to be human).
Patrick Melrose: what it’s like to feel like you can never satisfy your parents who btw abused you, to the point you become a drugs (very plural) addict and almost die like 100 times. Absolute nail biter trip of a show
The second season of the Leftovers might be the best season of television ever made. It's almost a reboot of the show in a new setting with only a few returning characters with a fascinating blend of hope, despair, grief, joy, and some weird supernatural elements. The show managed to reinvent itself while staying the same and I don't know why it works but it really, really does.
Seconding Band of Brothers. It's cut from the same cloth as Chernobyl. If OP is looking for more of that specifically, then It's an obvious and excellent recommendation.
"Absolute cinema" must watch:
Jericho. from 2006.
There are a series of strategic nuclear attacks on major American cities that leads to collapse of basic state and federal functioning, leaving our beloved little town of Jericho, Kansas to figure out how to keep life going, but major threads from across the country all congeal in Jericho and we eventually learn that not everything is what it seems, and that some things are far worse than anyone could have possibly feared.
It aired 1 full season (22 eps), before CBS cancelled it. but there was a absolutely massive fan outcry and campaign that forced CBS to give a second season of 7 episodes before telling fans thats it, they're done with it, and to leave them the fuck alone.
Later down the road, Netflix got all the cast on board for a season 3 and approached CBS on buying the show from them so they can continue it. CBS told Netflix to go fuck themselves, that no one is ever getting the rights to the show, presumably because they want it to die after being humiliated by protests after the season 1 cancellation that forced them to do season 2.
But the story did continue anyway, in comic books.
So there is going to be stories that, for watching the show, just wont ever be finished for you because CBS is a bag of blue waffle cunts, but its still an incredible, fantastic show and worth the heart break of no true tie up finale.
Silicon Valley
Peep show will always have a special place in my heart 🫶
I am currently making my way down IMBD's list of the top 250 TV shows (by user ratings). They also have a similar list for the best movies.
My personal shout-out goes to Black Mirror.
I see a lot of good recommendations so far but two that I didn’t see are:
Dark Matter, a show cancelled way too early.
Star Trek: Lower Decks, a Star Trek show that feels like a Star Trek show.
Moral Orel is better than its first season lets on. If you can get past the juvenile gross-out factor of episodes like “Gods Chef,” you’ll find an absolutely brutal depiction of what’s it’s like to live in christofascist middle America and what it’s like to have a dying marriage (fun story: my ex husband had “No Children” played at our wedding, despite my objections. Fortunately the title was true at our divorce.)
Columbo is fucking awesome. It’s a murder mystery show, but you see the murder happen first, so the fun is all in how Columbo figures it out. He’s just the most charming character in any TV show ever. The episodes are standalone, so you can just watch a random one and have a great time.
Black Sails is the best show nobody watched. I don't know anyone who didn't like it after giving it a try. And it only gets progressively better episode after episode.
Silo. Loved the books, the show is good too.
Postapocaliptic isolated society kind of thing with a mystery aspect, for those unaware. Lots of twists.
The world could benefit from re-watching Babylon5
I don't save many posts but have this one.
Started watching Scavengers Reign due to the recommendations on here and really enjoying it.
My recommendations would include Steins Gate, Buffy and Angel, Doctor Who (mostly the 2005 series as I've yet to watch the 1963 or 2023 ones) and Battlestar Galactica
Just rewatched The Newsroom recently and it totally holds up. Also gave Young Sheldon a shot and I was pleasantly surprised.
Chernobyl is great, but if you look into it’s basically retelling russian propaganda that this was individuals fault rather than a matter of when not if tragedy.
Anyways best shows:
Comedies:
It's too bad the didn't make a second season of Altered Carbon, nope, no second season at all.
Did you watch the show? They make the opposite point the entire time. They’re a few individuals standing up to the system that failed due to complete obfuscation. A few individuals get punished at the end, but that was the system also failing by trying to make it individuals’ fault instead of the systemic failure. It was all about how the system was broken, and the people who exposed it were punished, due to the same failures of the system.
Fargo Dirk Gentlys holistic detective agency Babylon Berlin Homeland I May Destroy You Fleabag The End of the Fking World
"How it still holds up". Chernobyl came out in 2019. That's not that old! It's only 7 years. It might be a long time but not enough for a show to get dated like that.
Resident Alien
Spider Noir
