New Girl: Season 5
When New Girl didn't start airing last fall because Zooey Deschanel was pregnant and the fifth season had to get delayed, I found myself mildly missing the show. And that's good! But when Zooey Deschanel was absent for several episodes early on due to said pregnancy, I thought the show got a lot better. So did everyone else I know who watches New Girl, which is like, six whole people. And that's less good! Look, it's no secret that TV shows of all stripes tend to get a little stale and repetitive as they age; the shows that stay good the longest are the ones that know when and how to mix things up without irreparably ruining whatever worked so well in the first place. And frankly, New Girl could use a lot less Jess, who is no longer even, you know, the "new" girl. All in all, a good season of a good show.
The Last Man on Earth: Season 2
I have no idea how I feel about this show anymore. What started out as an interesting idea with a talented cast (a comedy in a post-apocalyptic world with only a handful of survivors) quickly turned into just the most mundane sitcom (this guy's juggling two love interests! that lady can't get pregnant!) in Season 2. Was that the joke? If so, not the sharpest satire. It's sadly believable that the last five or ten people in the world would just kind of hang out and bicker instead of attempting to rebuild society, but I'm not sure how well it works on a TV show - particularly one with so much potential like The Last Man on Earth had. A poignant finale saved this season from falling off entirely, but I want more from Season 3 than people drinking wine and killing time.
Modern Family: Season 7
Even among the small percentage of sitcoms that last more than a year or two, nothing gold can stay. If we're being honest, most comedies that make it to their seventh season aren't nearly as smart, funny, clever, or relevant as they were back when they debuted. That makes sense - you develop a certain show with a certain idea in mind and cast it a certain way, and seven years later the show shouldn't really look or feel like it did during its pilot. Change and adaptation are hard. What am I even getting at here? Modern Family kind of feels like it wants to be the same show it was seven years ago, introducing new child characters to fill in for the old ones who've turned into teenagers and so on. But this show just isn't funny anymore! Or topical, really - which is a good thing! The idea of two gay men getting married and adopting a baby may have been a conversation starter back in 2009 but it just isn't anymore. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's really no compelling reason to watch Modern Family anymore. If you love "hanging out" with these characters, fine - that's reason enough, and always is when it comes to sitcoms. Me? I could take or leave the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tuckers. We'll see if Season 8 draws me back.
Bob's Burgers: Season 6
As so many Fox animated sitcoms before it seemed to do, Bob's Burgers has faded into "Sunday night afterthought" status for me. That's fine! This is still a funny and creative show worth recording and watching every week. It just isn't appointment viewing for me these days by any stretch.
Archer: Season 7
Maybe it was the shortened season - ten episodes instead of thirteen - but this was the first season of Archer that ever ended and left me wondering, "wait, that's it?" This is still one of the steadiest and most consistently funny shows I watch, and even a relatively down season of Archer still qualifies as pretty good television, so I'm not concerned or disappointed. Curious to see what comes next, mostly.
Daredevil: Season 2
Meh. Consider me unimpressed. Several friends of mine love this show but I just couldn't find myself caring for more than an hour or two this season. That's par for the Marvel course, unfortunately. I can't see myself continuing down this particular path - which might be fine, since a third season of Daredevil hasn't even been confirmed yet.
The Americans: Season 4
There's no show I want to love more than The Americans - a barely-watched, super-tense, critically-beloved Cold War spy thriller. It's sexy! And patient. And just excellent in general. But it's also just a tad too slow - too unwilling to really step on that gas pedal - and as a result, four seasons in, I still haven't been able to rank this as one of my "top five shows" in any given year. I really do like this show, and I like it a lot. But I don't love it quite as much as I want to. Is that on me, or is that on The Americans?
Lady Dynamite: Season 1
This was great. I'd never even heard of it until it came out on my birthday and Netflix was all, "hey, you might enjoy this." I did! I enjoyed this a lot! Mitch Hurwitz and Maria Bamford teamed up for this very specific and unique semi-autobiographical comedy about comedy and mental illness. It's absolutely not for everyone, but I dug it and it sounds like Sween does too. Like, make no mistake, this is Maria Bamford's show first and foremost, but... Mitch Hurwitz! Arrested Development!
Game of Thrones: Season 6
Probably the biggest TV show in the world - maybe ever? - when Game of Thrones stumbles it stumbles hard. It's such a vast and epic undertaking that it can't possibly be tightly written and elegantly paced; ten-episode seasons with enormous budgets for locations, costumes, a sprawling cast, and all those special effects, I mean, it's just such a fast-paced show at this point. Character introductions - and more importantly, characters getting written out or relegated to the sidelines - might be a little clunky. Plots might end or shift abruptly. Fine! So be it. It's all worth it in the end! No other show is capable of the things Game of Thrones is capable of. And that's why, half way through the year, it currently stands in the pole position as my favorite show of 2016.
Silicon Valley: Season 3
HBO was absolutely on fire with its springtime Sunday night lineup, following Game of Thrones every week with two of the best comedies on television. Silicon Valley didn't really improve in its third season, and narratively speaking it sort of spun its wheels in order to leave the Pied Piper boys in the same situation they'd already been in. Still, that's cool - great show! Great cast, too. Even if it wasn't quite as good as it was in its second season, Silicon Valley remains one of the funniest shows on TV.
Veep: Season 5
God damn, this show is great. I've probably outlined my history with Veep before here, but for the first two seasons I fell firmly into the "like it, don't love it" camp. All of that changed in Season 3 when the show hit a new level for me and it just hasn't looked back since. You'd think after five seasons, a political satire would either grow stale or get absurdly over-the-top, but, no, Veep is as good as it's ever been. The way this season ended, it could have been a series finale (it wasn't) and I have no idea where the hell the writers will go - hell, even can go - next year. But after the last three years I feel like I've got very little reason to be worried.
Damn, hefty lineup this time around. Too early to tell, but each of the last five shows on this list could easily wind up in my year-end top ten. But we'll get there when we get there. For now, enjoy the rest of your summer!
Have to agree with your HBO comment. They are definitely crushing it (although I am not currently watching VEEP -- in time, maybe I will). Curious if there are any other HBO shows I should be only the lookout for until season 7 of GoT.
ReplyDeleteBut there are two other items on the list that jump out to me.
Number one... Daredevil. I forget, but were you even a fan of the first season? Nonetheless, I have complete opposite opinion of you. I loved this season, perhaps even more than the first one. John Bernthal crushed it as Punisher, and I truly hope they bring him back in his own series. The action was well composed -- the two fight scenes that really stand out is the Punisher's jail fight scene and another single take Daredevil fight scene with a chain whip. All that action aside, I got chills when Murdoc stands to defend Castle in court, or when Kingpin lets on that he's chosen to remain in jail and work from behind the scenes (subtly hinting at a return in the seasons to come -- which, come on, we all know there's going to be more despite confirmation). All-in-all, I downed this season in maybe 3 or 4 days, running home after work like a kid coming home from school just to plop down in front of my TV and consume, consume, consume.
All that said, I do have some complaints. One being the common superhero dilemma, "how does a hero balance their crimefighting life with their civilian life?" Stands to reason this will likely not be the last time this conflict is used in any superhero franchise despite it being played out to death. My other issue is the invasion of ninjas. We still don't really know what exactly is going down in Hell's Kitchen. Something with undead-ninjas clearly, but the enemy felt a little corny, in general. Wish some more light could have been shed upon it, but maybe they're waiting for future seasons to do that.
And my second item is on Lady Dynamite. I have a love/hate relationship with this show so far (I think I'm four episodes in). First and foremost for me isn't Hurwitz, it's Bamford. She's one of my favorite comedians (got a chance to see her in college and seeing her again next month with she comes to town). But I'm not sure why I either love or hate this show. It certainly makes me laugh out loud, and other times I find it tiring (maybe it's the unrelenting use of meta-humor). Still got a ways to go to finish the season, but it bothers me that I can't figure out where I stand with it. Deep down, I want to love it unconditionally. Unfortunately, I'm just not there... yet.
Daredevil never blew me away with its first season, but I at least nought in. This year I very much checked out, largely for the reasons you mentioned (mystery ninjas, superhero work-life balance being such a stale conflict). The season seems divisive - Stevie definitely is in your camp while Keith is in mine, and I haven't heard anyone simply say "hey, it was alright - good, not great."
DeleteWatch Veep! I didn't love the first two seasons, but the last three have completely won me over and this show is approaching "all time great comedy" status.
With Lady Dynamite, I know exactly what you're saying with the love-hate reaction. The first episode made me feel completely alienated, rather than invited on in. I respect that - a show that knows EXACTLY what it is and what it wants to be and doesn't care whether you're on board or not - but it still took me a while to say "alright, yeah, I'm in." Curious to see how you feel about it after the whole season.