February 19, 2021
A few months ago, I decided to create a film index which lists out all of the movies I’ve covered, including a link to JustWatch.com to find where to see the movie, and a link to the post where I wrote about it. I thought it would be a good reference for you to see everything in one place. And for me, it’s a nice reminder to quickly find if I wrote about a certain film and if so, when I did. The memory starts to go at my age, you know? Anyway, I realized that I’ve covered over 150 movies (how did that happen?), but have yet to cover television series in any great detail. Thanks to a recommendation from my friend and former colleague John, I decided to devote this week and next week’s posts to the best of Peak TV.
What is Peak TV?
Well, it’s hard to pick an exact definition, but it seems like over the last decade or so, we’ve seen an explosion of television series available to watch. Long gone are the days when you would watch network television for the best in comedy and drama. Cable television networks started the trend and streaming services have accelerated the momentum to the point that it seems networks are as irrelevant as ever when it comes to quality programming.
There were two appeals to the cable / streaming model. First was the flexibility that writers and showrunners have when it comes to content. If your show is on HBO or Netflix, you don’t have to worry too much about the language, violence or other mature content. If you’re writing for CBS? Yeah, that’s going to be a problem. The second appeal was for the actors, writers and directors. Network programming historically consisted of seasons of more than 20 episodes per year. That’s a big commitment for someone who is interested in pursuing other projects, especially movies. Cable networks and streamers quickly realized that by doing shorter seasons (of 8-12 episodes), they could attract more talent and tell stories in a crisp fashion, without having to write “filler” stories to fulfill their 22 episode commitments.
To me, the trend started to shift in the late 1990s / early 2000s, right as we saw some “Hall of Fame” series finish up, and the rise of “Prestige TV.” Some of my network favorites from this time period include The West Wing (1999 – 2006), which still holds up twenty years later; Lost (2004 – 2010), a series that revolutionized narrative storytelling despite complaints about the finale; and Seinfeld (1989 – 1998), which will never get old in my mind. When NBC’s juggernaut about “nothing” left the air, it signaled the end of an era – the “must-see TV” of the 1980s and 1990s was no more. While NBC saw some hits with Parks & Recreation, The Office and 30 Rock, they would never again see the heights of those earlier days.
Prestige TV
Around this time, we started to see a dramatic improvement in the quality of television series available on cable networks. HBO has been producing shows since the 1980s, but most of the early programming was mediocre comedies. That changed in 1999, with the premiere of The Sopranos (1999 – 2007) from showrunner David Chase. Capitalizing on the always popular genre of mob stories, Chase brought us the ups and downs of Tony Soprano, a mob boss going through an existential life crisis, who seeks counsel from a psychiatrist. The series explored many themes that we see in television dramas (marriage, family, depression, workplace disagreements, friendships, etc.) told through the lens of the New Jersey mob. The series was brilliant in its storytelling, and appealed to a wide audience. Like most series, it was best in its earliest years, and dragged a bit towards the end. The one trend that The Sopranos brought into our world was the “antihero” – a lead character who is the default protagonist, and thus the person we “root for”, but is a loathsome individual. This theme continues to this day, when you look at television programming, and even movie scripts. The theme of the antihero also leads to our next two examples of Prestige TV.
Who would have thought that a network called “American Movie Classics” would develop two of the best television series we would see this century? A network that had a history of showing old movies all the time (hence, the name) decided in the early 2000s to get into the business of original programming. This is a dicey venture for networks to get into, unless you have a solid infrastructure in place to produce something of good quality. Television series are expensive to make and if you are just starting out and you whiff at your first chance, it can be costly. Fortunately, as AMC entered this new world, they made not just one smart move, but two.
The show that put the network on the map was Mad Men (2007 – 2015), the series about a Madison Avenue advertising firm in the 1960s. Showrunner Matthew Weiner took us back in time when the world was much different, but the tensions and problems of the workplace and family life still existed. There was a rich cast of characters, led by Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss, who would both achieve a new level of fame from their performances. Weiner did something very smart in running Mad Men. At the beginning of each season, we weren’t sure what plot points were going to unfold, as the first few episodes felt like a slow burn. As the season progressed, the plot started to heat up and by the finale, you were left wanting more. The other nice touch Weiner put on the series was skipping ahead in time each season, so that by the end of the series, we saw the full transformation of our characters from 1960 to 1970.
It seemed unlikely that lightning could strike twice, but after the massive success of Mad Men, the next year AMC premiered Breaking Bad (2008 – 2013). Showrunner Vince Gilligan, who got his start in the industry working on The X-Files, described the show as the journey of one man’s descent from Mr. Chips to Scarface. That man was Walter White, played to perfection by Bryan Cranston, demonstrating that great actors should never be typecast. If you can go from Tim Whatley on Seinfeld to a drug kingpin on Breaking Bad, you’ve got range. As a high-school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer, White decides to get into the business of producing and selling crystal meth to help pay his hospital bills. Partnering with a former student and drug addict, played by Aaron Paul in another example of perfect casting, White gets a taste of money and power and can’t stop. If I look back at the shows I’ve watched over the last twenty years, I have to put Breaking Bad at the top for one simple reason – there was never a lull, never a feeling where you thought the series was dragging. It was a crisp five seasons and only 62 episodes, with the final season featuring some of the best work ever on television. It wasn’t one of those shows that started out with a bang, then limped across the finish line. We’ll get to some of those shows next week.
I could go on and on about these three shows, but it would consume all of this week’s post, and probably next week’s as well. If you have never watched these series, I highly recommend them. And if you are interested in reading more about some of the best in television during this era, I recommend checking out the work of television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz. Sepinwall, who works for Rolling Stone, has written books about the Prestige TV era, as well as a book about Breaking Bad. Zoller Seitz wrote a book about Mad Men, and the two authors collaborated on a book about The Sopranos and one about their favorite 100 television series of all-time. They are very good authors who provide not only their opinion, but examinations of the themes of series, as well as interesting details about the making of the shows.
The Streaming Era
With the success of Prestige TV, and the emerging world of streaming services, it seemed only natural that the two would collide, and we saw that with Netflix beginning its journey of original content production with House of Cards. The series, which premiered in 2013, was a massive hit and brought us the concept of an entire season being released at once, thus beginning the era of binge-watching a show. Long gone were the days of waiting a week for the next episode of your favorite network show. It was now just a click away. Quick side note – I thought the first season of House of Cards was pretty good, but to me, it quickly went off the rails and we gave up on it during the second season, with no regrets. Despite my lukewarm feelings, the series was groundbreaking for two reasons – first, it showed that streaming services could be serious players for quality television shows, and second, it demonstrated that power by attracting talent that previously was confined to movies. David Fincher played a key role in getting the show off the ground, and the two lead actors were a two-time Oscar winner (since canceled, and rightfully so), and Robin Wright, an accomplished film actor.
With the quick acceleration from networks, to cable, to streamers, the reputation of television projects as “second-tier” was quickly changed. We were now in the era where some of the best projects available were television series, not films. It would lead to an explosion of content that made it impossible to see everything and you had to pick and choose which series you wanted to invest your time in, largely determined by word of mouth (friends, family, social media), positive critic reviews, or awards recognition. The nice thing was that with short seasons, and so many options available, it became a shorter investment of time to get through a season of a show, or decide it wasn’t for you, and move on to the next option.
We watch a fair amount of television shows, but there are still a few blind spots for me. Despite the wonderful reviews, I wasn’t able to get into The Wire, the acclaimed HBO series that ran from 2002 – 2008, and still haven’t watched Justified, the popular FX drama about a small-town sheriff, or had the time to start Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad prequel series that is still on today. And for the life of me, I just never had any interest in Game of Thrones. Once I heard how many characters were involved, and how confusing it could be, I decided it wasn’t for me. I just haven’t been into that kind of story. Oh well, not everything is for everybody, as I’m sure some of you have learned from my movie recommendations that didn’t work for you. Lisa, once again I offer my apologies for I’m Thinking of Ending Things!
Currently In The Rotation
Despite missing out on some critically acclaimed shows (there are only so many hours in the week, I watch a lot of movies, and there are HUNDREDS of shows available), there have been some very good shows we have discovered over the last few years that I’d like to highlight. While these may not be up to the standards of Breaking Bad, they have been fun to watch, and we’ve enjoyed the unique stories the showrunners are choosing to tell. Some quick hits for these ones:
That’s One Messed Up Family – Ozark (2017 – Present) I’ve read criticisms that Ozark is a Breaking Bad rip-off, and I can certainly understand that given the theme of “ordinary guy gets sucked into a life of crime,” but I think that label is a disservice to Ozark. Jason Bateman (who also serves as executive producer) and Laura Linney play Marty and Wendy, a couple who are caught up in the world of money laundering for a drug cartel, moving to the Ozarks with their two kids to manage their “business.” There is no way out of their life of crime, so they are constantly dodging one disaster after another. After three seasons (and a fourth on the way), I think Ozark is still very good, especially for two-time Emmy winner Julia Garner’s delicious portrayal of Ruth, one of Marty’s key allies.
Speaking of Messed Up Families – Peaky Blinders (2013 – Present) We just discovered this one and are really enjoying it. A portrayal of a crime family in 1920s England, led by Cillian Murphy, who are into all sorts of dirty things. They battle other crime syndicates, deal with typical family drama, all while trying to avoid the few honest law enforcement officials, chief among them a police inspector played by the great Sam Neil. Production on the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders just began, so there is plenty of time to catch up before it airs. A word of warning – this one is kind of violent and has some dark moments, so buyer beware.
For the Action Fan – Jack Ryan (2018 – Present) Through my high-school and college years, I was a big fan of the Tom Clancy novels about Jack Ryan, the CIA analyst turned spy. There have been a number of film adaptations since The Hunt for Red October in 1987 (the best of the bunch), and one on the way – Without Remorse, about a different character in the Jack Ryan universe, starring the great Michael B. Jordan. This television series is a reboot of the Jack Ryan world, starring John Krasinski, in an excellent departure from this character on The Office. We see the early days of Ryan learning the ropes at the CIA, all the while getting involved in international incidents. Two seasons of this series have aired, with a third in the works.
Let’s Go Out West – Yellowstone (2018 – Present) If you’re looking for a little family drama set in the beautiful landscape of the Western part of our country, check out this series, starring Kevin Costner as the head of the Dutton family. They run a ranch, get involved in local politics, and there is all sorts of drama in this town. There is a little melodrama, but overall it’s a very good series. A fourth season is on the way.
A Dark Comedy – Dead To Me (2019 – Present) Occasionally, you watch a show and you marvel at the genius of the idea and the plot development and it really works. Then you start to ask yourself where they are going to go next. That was the case with Dead to Me, a comedy drama starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini as two women who develop a friendship at a support group. The first season had some wonderful plot twists and was very enjoyable. The second season was ok, but not as great. Netflix has announced that there will be a third and final season, which I think is a wise move as this is a show I could see getting stale quickly. Still worth the watch.
The Star-Studded Dramedy – The Morning Show (2019 – Present) Apple TV+ made a big splash in the original programming department when they signed up for The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, and Billy Crudup in a behind-the-scenes look at a morning television show. Early on, it appeared that this show was based on the Matt Lauer scandal, given the similarity of what happens to Carell’s character in the first episode. But there is much more to this series, and the acting from Aniston and Witherspoon make this a fun watch. A second season is in production, so plenty of time to catch up on season one.
Late to the Party – Schitt’s Creek (2015 – 2020) The great thing about the streaming era is that even if you miss out on a show when it first premieres, you can always go back and watch it at your leisure. That was the case for us with Schitt’s Creek, a series that premiered in 2015, but we didn’t start watching until a few months ago. If you are a fan of the show, you won’t be surprised to hear that we have burned through most of the six seasons pretty quickly. The genius comedy of the Rose family from father and son co-creators Eugene Levy and Dan Levy has a unique absurdist sense of humor to it, so it’s not for everyone. But if it hits the right spot for you, it is very rewarding.
The Best Show on Television Right Now – Succession (2018 – Present) This one has it all – power, money, family, intrigue, drama, dark comedy, and a cast of characters that may set the record for most antiheroes in one series. Loosely based on the Murdoch media family empire, Succession is the story of Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the head of a media conglomerate, his power hungry children, and some of the dimwitted cast of characters that surround them. This one takes a few episodes to get going, but by the middle of the first season, it’s off and running, and the second season was just as good. A high recommendation from me for Succession, which won the Emmy for Best Drama last year.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week to cover some of my favorite underrated and under the radar series, some shows that had phenomenal starts before fizzling out, and some shows that made the wise decision to keep it to one season, otherwise known as the limited series. I hope you enjoyed part one of this look at Peak TV and found some recommendations you will like. If you’d like to find where to watch any of these shows, check out JustWatch.com, which has both television and movie streaming details. Thanks again for reading and If you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe here.
Hey Steve a great read today. We’re watching some of the shows you mentioned and will have to look up some of the others.