Best TV of 2019
TLDR
Introduction to the Series
I watch a lot of television and I always appreciate a good spreadsheet. So a few years back, I decided to start tracking and rating what I watch. Now I’ve decided to share some of my thoughts in hopes that people can skip some of the bad television and focus on the good stuff. For these older recaps, I’ll skip providing a more detailed review, since it’s been years, and I’m sure there are plenty of articles written on them. These are just my personal preferences of what I enjoyed watching. Also, keep in mind, that these are based on the years I watched the show, not necessarily when it was released.
When They See Us
True Crime Drama / 4 Episodes / > 60 minutes each
The mini-series is based on real-life events surrounding the Central Park jogger case in 1989, when a white woman was raped in Central Park, delving into the experiences of the five young male suspects of Black and Latino descent, that were wrongfully implicated.
It was a powerful and well produced depiction of real life events. Never really dragged, kept you fully engaged, requiring healthy breaks between episodes to breathe, contemplate, and appreciate one’s own life. Living in modern day New York, as a gentrifying “model minority” with a white collar job, I can’t fully appreciate the difficult situations and strength of character that these young boys had to muster and maintain for the decades that followed. This was a short window into their experience and I was horrified and moved by it all. They’re a testament to why I have hope sometimes for the world.
You’ll like it if… you liked other “true crime” shows like Dopesick and Assassination of Gianni Versace. If you care about the Black Lives Matter movement or even more simply, just want to take a brief journey into the perspective of those who are prejudiced against, simply because of the color of their skin.
edit: Yusef Salaam, one of the boys from the Central Park 5, now the Exonerated 5, just won a seat to the NYC Council yesterday! - 11/8/23
Fleabag (season 2)
Black Comedy Drama / 6 Episodes / 30 minutes each
Amazon Prime (as of October, 2023)
Created and written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who also stars as the titular character, this continuation of a heavily awarded first season inspired by her one woman play, is filled with chaos, heart, sadness, and laughter, as she wanders through London and breaks the fourth wall.
Just watch it. Watch season 1. Go rent and watch her one woman play as well. This show has won just about every award it can win. The only people who may not like it are those who require an easily likeable positive protagonist. Here, she is not that. She touches on very dark emotional themes, often suddenly and frustratingly.
You’ll like it if… you’ve liked Louie, This Way Up, Crashing, or Russian Doll. Or if you like Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Or if you’re an anglophile. Or if you enjoy television or comedy.
Chernobyl
Historical Drama / 5 Episodes / 59 - 71 minutes each
max (HBO) (as of October, 2023)
Chernobyl is a dramatic portrayal of the April 1986 nuclear plant disaster in the Soviet Union, with additional focus on the first responders, volunteers, and miners involved in the crisis.
The highlight of this show is a demonstration of how nuclear power plants work. Jared Harris does it with props written in Russian, and still somehow managed to make every viewer feel like a physics genius. Literally every person I’ve spoken to about this show has found this scene more educational than most science classes they’ve taken.
You’ll like it if… you like historical dramatizations. Or just dramas in general. Or the Soviet Union or Cold War era. Can’t think of any particular show, but another Jared Harris show, The Terror, comes to mind, but that is of an older period, and has more fiction than this.
Watchmen (season 1)
Superhero? Sci-Fi Crime Drama / 9 Episodes / 52 - 67 minutes each
max (HBO) (as of October, 2023)
… hard to summarize… In an alternate America where the police hide their identities with masks for protection from a racially motivated terrorist group, a detective investigates a fellow officer’s murder, unraveling a much larger and more complicated global conspiracy.
The number of people who found out about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, including myself, was astonishing. This show greatly differs from the film in 2009; both in plot, commentary, and quality. So basically forget whatever you watched in that movie. It also included Hong Chau in one of her largest early roles, becoming more of a household name with her roles in The Whale (carried that movie), The Menu, and Asteroid City recently.
You’ll like it if… you liked The Boys, but want it to be less gory, less superhero-y, more dramatic, and have something to say. If you generally are tired of explosive superhero movies, and want something more subtle. This show quite often doesn’t explicitly state or demonstrate that most of the characters even have super-hero powers, so I’m hesitant to even categorize the show as such, but more just a slightly supernatural alternative world crime drama.
Barry (season 1)
Black Comedy Crime Drama / 8 Episodes / < 30 minutes each
max (HBO) (as of October, 2023)
A U.S. Marine veteran turned hitman from Cleveland, who, while grappling with loneliness, depression, and guilt stemming from his lifestyle and service, discovers a newfound purpose in Los Angeles when he follows his target into an acting class.
The most lighthearted show on the list, it has some deep meta angles commenting on Los Angeles / Hollywood and acting. Bill Hader finally breaks out from his comedic SNL world, and shows us all that he can definitely be a serious actor. Anthony Carrigan as NoHo Hank takes up his mantle, and delivers an insanely funny Chechen mobster.
You’ll like it if… you like shows like Dexter (Bill Hader has a similar vibe to Michael C. Hall, maybe it’s the outfits), Extras, Love, or Brockmire. It offers scathing critiques of Hollywood and acting, whilst simultaneously showing some of the mental health and community benefits of the craft.
Honorable Mentions
The Boys (season 1), if you think Watchmen is too serious and too cerebral. Switch over to The Boys. It’s a great romp, a raucous counter to the sanitized Marvel and DC worlds that exist.
Silicon Valley (season 5), this fantastic show about the tech start up world is a great time. It can certainly get repetitive, with lots of similarly structured plots / conflicts, but it’s still a fantastic and hilarious run.
Derry Girls (season 1), a funny UK show set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, but focusing on a group of ridiculous girls (and one boy). It’s a fun show.
Veep (season 7), a brilliant show that dominated comedy awards for years. There’s a reason why Joulia Louis-Dreyfus has the most Primetime Emmy awards out of anyone ever. It’s hilarious.
Sharp Objects, a solid crime mini-series. If you like any crime mystery, particularly in small town America, you can’t go wrong with this one. The whole cast is good, and it’s very well produced.