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10) The Boys (Amazon Prime) The Boys continues to occupy the narrow central zone of a Venn diagram comprised of sharp satire of corporate entertainment, exploration of toxic masculinity, and extreme cartoon violence. When it nails all three, as it did this past season, it's thrilling, thought-provoking, and wildly funny. 9) Murderville (Netflix) Sometimes, I don't want to watch something that makes me think or feel anything other than pure goofiness. Murderville scratches that itch perfectly. Each guest star brings their own unique vibe to their episode that colors everything into its own unique brand of silliness: Conan uses his comedy chops to escalate everything to absurdity, Sharon Stone counters everything with deadpan seriousness, and Marshawn Lynch is Marshawn Lynch. Will Arnett and company somehow manage to contain the chaos that unfolds into an actual murder mystery plot, even when things start to drift hilariously off course (see the accusation scene at the end of the Christmas Special, as Arnett barely keeps it together at the wild guesses the guest stars leave him with). Murderville is smart enough to know how best to deliver something very, very dumb. 8) The Old Man (FX) There's something oddly satisfying in seeing cool stoner dude Jeff Bridges transform into a ruthless badass assassin dude. The action scenes are staged and shot in a way that emphasizes the physicality and desperation present in fights a man who is an expert in killing people but is also like 70+ years old. It's not just taken for granted that our hero has still got it. The fugitive-on-the-run is almost always way more interesting than the hunters hunting him, but here John Lithgow and Alia Shawkat's characters are just as magnetic and fun to watch as they navigate their tricky histories and goals. The rhythms of TV can make sustaining the tension and suspense of a thriller across an entire season tough, but The Old Man abides. 7) The Afterparty (Apple TV+) Both an engrossing mystery and an engaging comedy. It's just as fun putting together the clues as it is watching its cast of knuckleheads cast themselves as action heroes and musical geniuses in their own retellings of the night's events. Sam Richardson as an unlucky supernerd who thinks he is a romcom protagonist but winds up in his own Kafka-esque nightmare of proving his own innocence is a highlight, as is Ben Schwartz as the world's most self-confident loser. 6) Peacemaker (HBO Max) A confession: I have not seen a non-Batman DC movie in a very long time, but Peacemaker was right up my alley. Each episode barrels forward, brimming with energy barely-constrained by the relatively-short runtimes, yet there's always time to slow down for some quiet, genuinely-affecting character beats. The worst thing about this show is the skip intro button that pops up during the opening credits. What sort of monster would click that? 5) Barry (HBO) When you have comedy as dark as this, it's hard to know where the comedy ends and the tragedy begins, an effect that is unnerving in the best possible way. The music-less highspeed chase, Sally's rise and fall, the universe trying and failing to get Fuches to settle down on a farm with an attractive girl who is bizarrely into him, NoHo Hank watching some dude slowly construct a blow gun with which to shoot him, Gene fleeing from a ridiculous amount of dogs...the way Barry veers between wacky comedy and some real dark poo poo yet never feels tonally inconsistent is amazing. 4) Stranger Things (Netflix) The worst thing you can say about the most recent season of Stranger things is that it was a lot. But the best thing you can say about it is that...it was A LOT. Just pure wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve maximalism. The humor, the horror, the action, the colors, the music (especially the music), the crosscutting between, like, five or so different climactic confrontations, made this season well worth the wait and has me legit pumped for the final season, hopefully coming this decade. 3) Slow Horses (Apple TV+) The whole show could just be Gary Oldman farting in his office and it would still probably make my list. The rest of the cast aren't slouches either, but Oldman's performance as the washed-out, burned-out (or is he?) spy Jackson Lamb anchors the show so well it's hard to imagine any of it working without him. It's fun watching a bunch of spies who are just a bunch of bickering screw-ups trying to overcome even bigger screw-ups committed by the people who are supposed to be the ones really in charge. It's a classic underdog story, just with the safety and security of the British people on the line. 2) Atlanta (FX) I would have thought these last two seasons were too surreal, too imaginative, too funny, and just plain too good to be real, but I don't see thicc Judge Judy anywhere, so it must have actually happened. Wild. 1) Severance (Apple TV+) 9 episodes of absolutely loving wild television.
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Dec 28, 2022 22:03
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 20:25 |
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