The Best of Peak TV – Part 2

February 26, 2021

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Well, when you’re desperate to get past the worst of Winter, you start obsessively looking at the weather, wondering when the snow will stop and we will have some warmer temperatures.  While this hasn’t been the worst Winter we’ve seen, with everything else going on in the world, I’m desperate for Spring.  Looks like we might be getting close in New England. 

While we wait for Winter to get the heck out of here, let’s get back to our look at the best of Peak TV.  If you missed part one, you can read it here.  This week, we’re going to start with some of my favorites that I felt were underrated and underappreciated.  It’s easy to recommend the popular shows – these are ones that you might have missed when they originally aired, but are still available on streaming services.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose – Friday Night Lights (2006 – 2011)  Before you say that you might not be interested in a show about Texas high-school football, this show is much more than that.  Friday Night Lights is also about family, relationships and the friends you make in high-school that feel like the strongest bonds you will ever have.  Kyle Chandler plays the coach of Dillon High School’s football team, and Connie Britton plays his wife, a guidance counselor at the school.  Based on a 1990 novel, which was also adapted into a 2004 film, the series showcases the stories of the coach, his family, his players, and the small community of Dillon, Texas that obsesses about their Panthers.  This was a wonderful show that received critical praise, and despite weak ratings, NBC stuck with it for five seasons.  The cast featured a number of wonderful young performers as the high-school students, but you would have never guessed that Jesse Plemons, who started as a minor character in the first season, now looks to be a major movie star on the rise.  He recently starred in the excellent Judas and the Black Messiah, and just signed on for the leading role in Martin Scorsese’s next film, Killers of the Flower Moon, opposite Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.  Plemons is already a star and gets better with each performance. 

A Most Unusual Story – The Leftovers (2014 – 2017)  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I have occasionally cautioned a description of a movie or show with “this may not be for everybody.”  That is certainly the case with The Leftovers, a series that aired on HBO, based on the novel by Tom Perrotta.  The premise of the show is the aftermath of an unexplained event that resulted in 2% of the world’s population disappearing.  But here is the interesting part.  Most shows would explore how and why the event happened, with the goal of solving a scientific mystery.  Where The Leftovers excelled was not getting bogged down in the “why”, but instead focusing on the people left behind, and the emotional challenges they faced as “the leftovers.”  The show starts three years after “the event” and while there are occasional flashbacks to that fateful day, those events are not front and center.  It’s not a coincidence that showrunner Damon Lindelof didn’t worry about explaining every mystery.  He ran Lost during most of its six season run, and the biggest complaint from fans after the series ended was that every loose end wasn’t tied up neatly.  He took a similar approach with The Leftovers, focusing more on the relationships and conflicted feelings of those who didn’t disappear.  As I said, this one might be a little too strange for some, but there are some creative storylines, and outstanding acting performances, particularly by Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Carrie Coon, Ann Dowd, and Regina King.

Let’s Go Back to the 80s – The Americans (2013 – 2018)  If I ever decided to torture myself by making a list of my favorite television shows of all time, I can honestly say that The Americans would have a place in the top 10, if not the top 5.  Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys play undercover KGB spies, posing as ordinary Americans living in Washington, D.C. during the Reagan-era cold war of the 1980s.  They have two teenage children, who don’t know their true identity, and become friends with a family across the street, whose father (played by the excellent Noah Emmerich), just happens to be an FBI agent.  Throughout each season, we follow our antiheroes as they navigate raising a family, running their travel agent business (their cover identities), all while stealing military and intelligence secrets to get to the Soviets.  This one has it all – drama, suspense, twists and turns, the best in 1980s secret agent disguises (the wigs!), and an outstanding soundtrack.  

OK, Let’s Stay in the 80s – Halt and Catch Fire (2014 – 2017)  Have you ever had someone recommend a series and say “the first season is ok, but then it gets really good”?  And you think, “do I want to waste my time on something that’s not that great?  Life is too short – there are hundreds of shows out there.”  Halt and Catch Fire is a series that I thought was very good in the first season, and excellent in the next three seasons.  So, while it may take a little while to get going, I thought the payoff was worth the investment.  We follow the ups and downs of four main characters – a brash former IBM salesman, a computer hacker and programmer, and a husband and wife team of computer engineers – as they navigate the booming world of personal computers and development of the internet.  This one has been compared to Mad Men in that it depicts real life events unfolding over the course of a decade and we see how those events shape the lives of our main characters.  I can see the resemblance, especially the excellent production design that feels like we are living in the 1980s again (shudder!), and wouldn’t say it was as good as Mad Men, but Halt and Catch Fire is another winner from AMC and is an excellent series worth checking out.  I also just discovered that my friend Adam liked this show and in noting its plot taking place during the early days of personal computing said, “I’m sure that sounds awful and geeky, but it’s dramatic and fascinating.”  Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Need More Revolutionary War Content After Hamilton? – Turn: Washington’s Spies (2014 – 2017) The events of the American Revolution have been covered many times in books, movies, and television shows over the years, but with Turn: Washington’s Spies, another creation from AMC, we go inside the syndicate of spies that uncovered critical information about the British forces that helped George Washington’s army win the war.  There is a good mix of spy games, double crossing, family conflicts, and forbidden love to make this a compelling series.  No musical numbers in this one – just good old fashioned drama, suspense and some action sequences. 

Overstaying Their Welcome?

While some shows take a little while to get going, like Halt and Catch Fire and Turn, other series come out like a rocket with their first season and you think, “Wow, this is fantastic – give me more.”  Well, the true genius writers and showrunners can map out new storylines each season to make it compelling and part of the connective thread of the first season, but not repetitive.  However, there have been countless examples of shows that hung on too long, where after a few seasons, it got very old.  Prime examples that come to mind were E/R, The Office, and Modern Family – great early on, then they got very stale.  We even found that to be the case with recent comedies New Girl and Parks & Recreation that just couldn’t keep the magic going. 

Sometimes you see instances where showrunners have ambitious ideas in the first few seasons, and then can’t figure out how to resolve them as the series continues forward.  Lost was the prime example of a show that dangled so many mysteries, that they couldn’t figure out where to go from season to season.  After the third season, the show runners went to ABC and said, “let us wrap this up by season six, so we can map this out the rest of the way.”  They were fortunate to finish the series on their terms. 

Then you have the example of a gimmick that goes on FOREVER, most famously seen in How I Met Your Mother, which had the gimmick literally in the title.  The showrunners kept the mysterious identity of the mother going for years, making the disastrous decision to have the ninth and final season take place entirely during the weekend of two characters’ wedding.  They introduced the titular mother, played by the wonderful Cristin Milioti, (the co-star of last year’s hilarious and charming film Palm Springs), in the final season, then killed her off in the finale (spoiler alert – well, it’s been 7 years).  Fun fact – did you know there was a spinoff planned called How I Met Your Dad?  CBS passed on it and thank goodness they did, because the cast included Greta Gerwig and she could have been stuck on a bad sitcom instead of becoming a rock star director.

There have been a few recent shows that managed to keep the momentum going for a long period of time – Curb Your Enthusiasm and Veep were two recent examples that I enjoyed until the end.  Although, it looks like Curb may be coming back for another season soon – we’ll see.  But for a lot of shows, it’s tough to keep the momentum going.  For instance, I really enjoyed the first season of Killing Eve – it felt like groundbreaking storytelling, featuring two outstanding actresses in compelling lead roles.  The second season was ok, but felt like a bit of a repeat of season one, and the third season continued the downward slide.  Same thing for the critically acclaimed The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  We found the first season very entertaining, with its rapid fire dialogue, funny storylines, and quirky characters.  But after that, it seemed to fizzle.  It makes you admire showrunners who can keep the creativity spark going season to season.  Or maybe it highlights why it makes sense to take a different approach.

One Season Is Enough – The Limited Series

With the expanding world of cable television and streaming services, the need for content continued to increase exponentially over the last decade, leading networks to take new approaches with their programming.  Not only did we see a decrease in seasons of twenty (plus) episodes in favor of shorter seasons, we also saw the concept of the limited series – a single storyline, told in just 6-10 episodes.  The limited series gave showrunners the best in flexibility, especially in adapting previous content, like a novel.  No longer did they have to worry about cutting key storylines from a book to make the movie fit under two hours, or worry about including every storyline and creating a bloated film that’s almost three hours.  Now, they could space out the full story into whatever works for them, whether that’s 6, 8, or 10 episodes.  A prime example was the recent adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects, which I covered in my post about Amy Adams here.  Had this novel been adapted into a movie, it would have forced the filmmakers to cut some key plot points for time.  Instead, we got eight episodes that let the material breathe, not feel rushed, and we could consume the story over a period of several weeks.  The limited series approach also gives even more flexibility to directors, actors, and writers, knowing that they were only committing to one season, not multiple years.

The Netflix Sensation – The Queen’s Gambit (2020)  It seems like at least once a year, we get that show that everyone is asking, “Have you watched it yet?”  Last year saw a prime example on Netflix.  No, I’m not talking about Tiger King – gotta be honest, reality true-crime documentaries just aren’t my thing.  The Queen’s Gambit, the story of a child prodigy chess master, starring one of the next great movie stars, Anya Taylor-Joy, was a wonderful series that was about more than chess.  Speaking of which, I don’t play chess and know very little about the rules, but that didn’t impact my admiration of this show.  Taylor-Joy is outstanding in this role, playing someone who is forced to grow up way too early, challenging the social norms of male-dominated competitions, all while dealing with her own personal demons.  After a strong critical response, high viewership numbers, and an explosion of new interest in chess, we started seeing articles asking “What about a second season?”  As of now it looks like it probably won’t happen, and I think that’s a good idea.  As much as I liked The Queen’s Gambit, I’m much more interested in seeing Taylor-Joy in other roles.

Case in Point – Big Little Lies (2017 – 2019) Based on the very popular novel by Liane Moriarty, adapted by television master David E. Kelley, and featuring a powerhouse cast including Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and Laura Dern, Big Little Lies seemed like a no-brainer when it premiered on HBO.  There were interconnected storylines among the families of a wealthy California town, including a mysterious death that unfolds through a series of flashbacks and flashforwards during the seven episode first season.  It was well-done and a nice piece of television.  But the creators decided that more must be better, so they went forward with a second season, or as I called it “we want to work with Meryl Streep, so let’s create more story.”  Yes, they added the acting legend to the mix, and most of the main characters were back, but it felt like it was mostly a rehash of the same types of storylines as the first season, and wasn’t really needed.  Unfortunately, it looks like they are working on a third season, but I don’t think I’ll be watching that one.

Difficult Topic, But Powerful Story – Chernobyl (2019)  A fascinating look at the 1986 nuclear disaster inside the Soviet Union that has come to represent the worst case scenario of a nuclear accident and a government cover-up of mistakes.  This series represents a definitive account of the accident, covering all angles of the story – the workers inside the plant, family members of those who died, the government officials in denial of the seriousness until it was too late, the unfortunate workers who were tasked with the cleanup efforts not realizing they had received a death sentence, and the scientists who researched the accident and fought the government to expose the truth.  There are some A-list performances in this series, and while there are a few difficult scenes with some of the radiation victims, it’s not too gory.  I highly recommend this one.

The Hybrid Approach – The Anthology Series

While I find it a little lazy to do a lackluster second season of a limited series that should have stopped after one, I can’t argue with a showrunner who wants to try a different storyline, but still connected to the DNA of the original idea.  Consider this a hybrid approach, or the anthology series.  A prime example of this has been American Horror Story, which has been on for over ten years.  I haven’t watched this series, as that’s not really of any interest to me, but it’s been pretty successful.  However, there have been a few examples that I have really enjoyed the last few years.

True Detective (2014 – 2019)  I could have just as easily included True Detective in my list of series that came out like a rocket before receding into mediocrity.  The first season, featuring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as detectives trying to solve the mystery of a serial killer terrorizing a small town in the South, was outstanding.  It featured great twists and turns, and all-time performances from the lead actors.  The second series (which I would skip) was very uneven and didn’t work that well.  The third season, featuring a wonderful performance from two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, felt more in line with the themes and quality of the first season.  The jury is still out if there will be a fourth season.  HBO has been pursuing ideas, but the showrunners have moved on to other projects – notably the director of season one has a new movie coming out this year that you may have heard of – No Time to Die, the new James Bond movie. 

Black Mirror (2011 – 2019)  If Rod Serling was creating The Twilight Zone today, it might look something like Black Mirror, the British series that features a fascinating look at what our future may look like with technological advances that may or may not be good for us.  Every episode is a stand-alone story, with no connectivity in plot or characters to other episodes.  Some of the episodes are a little flat (especially the very first episode, so if you don’t like that one, keep going), but there are some great episodes in this anthology featuring some wonderful performances and top-notch actors.

Fargo (2014 – 2020)  I’ll wrap up my list of recommendations with one of my favorites from the last decade.  I covered this one a bit back when I wrote about the original film Fargo, one of my favorite comfort movies.  There have been four seasons of the television series, each one an independent storyline that are not sequels to the film, but have the same connective DNA in terms of themes and styles.  The first and second seasons were outstanding, featuring the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, Jean Smart, and Ted Danson.  I thought the last two were pretty good, but not up to par with the first two.  One thing you can count on with the Fargo series is the same kind of dark comedy, drama, suspense, and twists and turns that you saw in the film.  If you enjoyed the original movie, you’ll definitely like this series.

Today’s Moment of Happiness

I started this week’s post lamenting the weather, and besides the depressing conditions, the other topic on my mind has been my golf streak.  My friend Doug and I never intended to establish any sort of milestone.  Over the years, the months just kept piling up and before you knew it, each year around this time, we started having serious discussions about whether or not we could extend the streak.  What’s that, you ask?  Well, on New Year’s Day, we got out for a round of golf, extending our streak to 70 straight months of playing at least once in Connecticut.  But with all of the snow these last few weeks, keeping the streak intact has definitely been in doubt.  And no, an indoor golf simulator doesn’t count.  You’ve got to earn it – you have to be willing to have the perseverance (stupidity?) to bundle up, bring the cordless drill (to get your tee in the frozen ground, of course), and get your round in. 

I am happy to report that today the golf gods defeated the weather gods and we were able to find a course open in Connecticut to get out and play.  Think we were the only crazy ones?  We were paired up with two other guys, one of whom commented to us on the first tee, “I didn’t think I was going to get out with all the snow.”  His buddy says, “Yeah, he’s got a streak going – this is his 71^st straight month playing in Connecticut.”  Insert mind-explosion emoji here.  Needless to say, that little factoid made our round that much more fun.  And my chip-in birdie definitely helped my mood.  We won’t talk about my errant tee shot on the first hole that might have gone into someone’s living room, if not for some protective netting next to their house.  All in all, it was a great day, and I find myself very thankful that I have a friend dedicated (crazy?) enough to join me on this adventure.  Another month in the books, Doug.  Bring on March.

That’s it for this week.  Thanks for joining me on this list of my favorites from the Peak TV era.  If you’d like to find where to watch any of these shows, you can find them on JustWatch.com.  While I wrote about a lot of shows in this series, we are always on the lookout for some quality television series.  So, if you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear about them in the Comments section below.  I’ll be back next week, and if you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe here.