Reviews
Probably the show I've suggested to others most often this year. I describe it as "Buffy" meets "Veronica Mars," but darker. Everything is pitch perfect, from the delicate tonal balance to the casting (Krysten Ritter and David Tennant are both right on). I'm slightly uncertain about Season 2, only because I thought the first season was a perfect story arc.
I hope ABC gives this show room to breathe because it's unique, smart, and pretty funny. And there's not a weak link among the main cast members. Noah Galvin is the real deal.
I'm giving this four stars, but that doesn't reflect the strange fatigue I feel with this show. It's consistently clever, and yet somehow annoys me. I think the insane deluge of awards over so many years is part of the problem. All that said, a very important show for TV diversity and one that I imagine will hold up quite well.
The best sitcom of the past decade. Boom.
Yo, this is one of the best shows on TV. Even if you're not a huge fan of the guest, there's always a remarkable story hidden in the family tree.
This is a solid B for me; I really don't understand the intense disdain from some (most) critics. Would I want to hang out with these people? Probably not. But their crazy antics and bone-headed blunders delivered at least a couple of laugh-out-loud moments for me in each episode. (And I really didn't know how much I needed Fred Savage in my life.)
This is kind of a difficult show. You have to pay attention. It's a slow, theatrical television experiment that is both incredibly modern and very old fashioned. It's investment TV, but the ROI is big. The entire series will get you thinking about the infuriating messiness of family and relationships, and the future of TV.
An uneven but compelling thriller set in near-future Brazil, Netflix's second original series from Latin America (after Mexico's Club de Cuervos) focuses on The Process, a series of psychologically and physically intense tests taken by 20-year-olds fighting for a place in a privileged society (the Offshore) that is home to just 3 percent of society. Despite lacking the budget of the typical post-apocalyptic show, the eight episodes are well crafted and intriguing.
Perhaps anticipating how much Emeril can be for some of us, each episode includes a co-host to serve as a bit of a cultural bridge (such as my fave and yours, José Andrés, in Spain). That pizza episode? Nom nom nom.
Get beyond the first episode (which is very, very Baz Luhrmann) and you just might get hooked. This is a big, colorful series with a sprawling cast of veterans and newcomers. It's about the rise of hip-hop (executive producer Nas and adviser Grandmaster Flash are around to keep things real), but as with any Luhrmann project, it's also a love story — a star-crossed love story between an aspiring rapper and disco singer.