in Top Ten

What a wealth of quality shows last year! Though if you’ve been watching any of the recent awards shows, the only four shows that exist are; Succession, The Bear, Beef, and The Crown. Admittedly, those are tough ones to beat, even for coveted spots on this list by yours truly.

My two big regrets this year are that I didn’t budget enough time for Beef and Fargo. Two shows that I know I would have liked and would have landed on this list. Yet, I somehow managed to watch all of the The Idol. Oh man, let’s try to pretend that one was a bad dream. Anyways, here’s my list…

10. What We Do in the Shadows

I fell off a bit with WWDITS this season. I still like the show but I definitely feel like its run its course. Which is why I’m happy to hear next season will be the show’s last. That’s a respectable run. Don’t get me wrong, the show still makes me laugh. I’m just excited to see what everyone involved will do next, especially Harvey Guillén. What a breakout he’s been in a show of comedy heavyweights. Maybe a Van Helsing spinoff next?

9. Swarm

Prime Video: “Where TV goes to die.” Doesn’t it feel like that? I mean, aside from The Boys and Invincible do any shows get any traction on Prime? I can’t believe a show that featured Billie Eilish in her acting debut, Chloe Bailey, Paris Jackson, and Rory Cuklin’s dick was relevant for maybe a weekend until being entirely forgotten. The show being as disturbing as hell probably didn’t help, but come on Jeff.

If you didn’t watch (you didn’t) Swarm is about Dre (Dominique Fishback), an obsessive fan of pop super star, Ni’Jah (a not so subtle stand-in for Beyonce), driven to madness and violence through her fandom. Swarm is a biting satire on parasocial relationships from Janine Nabers and Donald Glover and is a must see for horror/pop music fans. Assuming those two categories intersect for people. They do for me and I loved it.

8. Barry

Barry ended much in the way I’d hoped Dexter would end so many years ago. What’s more dramatic than when the predator becomes the prey? That’s what happened in Barry and it proved a fitting end for Bill Hader’s lovable yet psychotic titular character. Sarah Goldberg, Henry Winkler, Anthony Carrigan, and Stephen Root all give career performances, but really this is Hader’s show.

I also haven’t stopped saying chicken pot pie in the same way Barry says it since finishing the show.

7. Black Mirror

Another dreary, soul crushing critique on mankind’s relationship to technology from the mind of Charlie Brooker. It’s business as usual for Black Mirror season 6 with the only real detour being a dip into more horror-tinged territory with the season finale, “Demon ‘79” (presented as a “Red Mirror” episode).

My favorite outing of the bunch was the episode, “Beyond the Sea” where Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett (what a year that guy had) are astronauts who remotely control robot versions of themselves back on Earth. What happens? Nothing good. Nothing good ever happens on Black Mirror.

6. How to with John Wilson

One of the most therapeutic and disgusting shows on TV. I mean, can you name a show with more shots of dogs taking dumps? I can’t. It feels premature to end John Wilson’s comedy docuseries now but in the age of MAX we should be thankful we got as much as we did.

5. I Think You Should Leave

“I think I just slept with Frankenstein’s chick!”

4. The Righteous Gemstones

The Righteous Gemstones has become my default example of a show that feels well, real. In the age of the Volume and digital effects and stunts, it’s a treat to tune into a show with real sets and locations. How many other shows regularly feature an actual coliseum (The North Charleston Coliseum) as a regular location? It’s a breath of God’s fresh air.

But the main reason I’ve been drawn to this show is for the characters and their growth. Danny McBride may have a reputation for playing selfish rebel rousers but Jesse Gemstone over the course of three seasons has evolved. He cares about his family and as the series goes on, has learned keeping them together is more important than legacy. Kelvin Gemstone (Adam DeVine) is coming to terms with his sexuality and Judy Gemstone (Edi Patterson), has gone to Diva from less of a Diva.

The Gemstone siblings are still horrible (to an extent) but they’re learning and I’m excited to learn with them. Unless Zaslav at MAX pulls the plug. If he does, his punishment will be in God’s hands.

3. The Curse

I was THIS CLOSE to saying, “Fuck It!” and making The Curse number 1, until I remembered recency bias is a thing. It’s just that ending man, I can’t stop thinking about it. What sucks is no one has seen this show because it’s on Showtime. Though I think there might be more to that.

From scene to scene, it’s hard to think of a show as compelling, tense, and embarrassing as Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie’s The Curse. What I originally thought would be a supernatural horror show about a couple filming a house flipping show for HGTV turned out to be a way more grounded show about white privilege, ego, and greed.

The people on this show are despicable (I’m sensing a theme with my list) but it’s because of our three central leads that it all works so well. Emma Stone plays the lead of the show and I’m now convinced she should win every award for everything from here on out for eternity. Benny Safdie is pitch-perfect as the show’s asshole producer, and Nathan Fielder proves to have chops as a dramatic actor outside of his innate ability to make every interaction the most uncomfortable interaction you’ve ever seen.

But why Showtime? My theory is because what channel/platform has become the biggest purveyor of these kinds of hollow reality shows? MAX. So much of this show is mocking what MAX has become. Am I overanalyzing this detail? Perhaps, but there’s a lot to over analyze here. I mean, that ending. No one knows what that was all about.

2. The Bear

The Bear is the most relatable show on TV. Not because I’m a Chicago restaurateur with anger issues, because I can’t think of a show that better captures the highs and lows of day-to-day life. “God shoots craps with the Universe,” writer Harlan Ellison used to say. Some characters get wins, some losses, some both.

All my favorite episodes in season two were the bottle episodes. That’s when you know you’ve really hit on something, when you can explore contained character stories outside the comforts of the normal show. Episodes like the one where Marcus goes to Copenhagen, the episode where Richie is trained at an upscale restaurant and then jams out to T. Swift, the “Fishes” episode? I mean come on, forget about it. But I won’t forget about this show.

1. Succession

“I’m the eldest boy!” I can’t remember the last time a show was able to sum up everything it’s about so well in one sentence. Because at its core, Succession is about sibling rivalry. That sentence is only funnier when you remember that Kendall Roy IS NOT the oldest of his father’s sons. Though he has his own justification for why he should run his father’s company, just as Shiv and Roman have their petty reasons.

You know a show is great when an ending hits you hard and lingers with you. It lingers because you grow attached to these people on screen, you want to see what happens next, but all great things must end. Even this list.