The Winter Binge List

All the reasons you need to avoid speaking to your family this holiday season.

It is now certifiably impossible to keep up with the constant barrage of television premieres. 2018, just like years before, provided us with several new releases and I’ve waded through the “Peak TV” landscape, so you don’t have to (you’re welcome, by the way), and come out with the essential binges from this year’s crop of quality television.

I have successfully amassed a wide-ranging variety. Whether you’re looking for a quick personal binge, something longer to keep the family occupied during the holidays or something riveting enough to steer the dining table conversations away from politics, I should, hopefully, have something for everyone.

QUICK BINGES — 6hrs or less

-Bodyguard (BBC Iplayer/Netflix)- 6 hrs

Clocking in at 6 hours, this BBC show took the UK by storm over the summer and for good reason. From the inaugural scene in the pilot, the tension levels are set to 11 and quite frankly, it never really lets up.

After thwarting a terrorist attempt, Sergeant David Budd (Richard Madden) is assigned as Protection Command Bodyguard to Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes) whose political views he strongly opposes. Any more information would end up spoiling a densely intricate and exciting plot.

Check it out, if only to see what Richard Madden’s been up to, since he, you know, left that other show.

-Killing Eve- (BBC Iplayer/ Hulu) Just over 5.5 hrs

This spy vs assassin show takes everything you thought you knew about the genre and just tosses it out the window. Anchored by an amazing performance from Sandra Oh and an absolutely incredible, out of this world performance from Jodie Comer, the show manages to combine hilarity, irreverence and intrigue into pure unadulterated, sustained fun for its 5 and a half hours run.

This is one assassin you should be prepared to fall in love with.

-Homecoming- (Amazon Prime) Just over 5hrs

Sam Esmail (creator and director of Mr. Robot) takes his considerable talents over to Amazon to, via linear storytelling and flashbacks, solve a complicated mystery.

Julia Roberts(!) portrays Heidi Bergman, a counsellor at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center. The Homecoming Center is a half-way house for returning veterans. A way to reintegrate them back into society via therapy and job training- because that’s an idea that could never go wrong.

It’s virtually impossible to describe the show in any more detail. Even the episodes’ synopses reveal nothing. Case in point, the synopsis for the premiere episode:

“The Homecoming Transitional Support Center is a safe space for veterans to process their military experience and re-familiarize themselves with civilian life. In a monitored environment.”

That’s really all you get.

NOT-FOR-FAMILY BINGE

-Succession (HBO/ Sky Atlantic)

This is one definitely not fit for the entire family. Adam McKay (The Big Short, Step Brothers) teams up with Jesse Armstrong (writer of Black Mirror’s “The Entire History of You” and Four Lions) to bring this darkly comic take on a media mogul family, not unlike the Murdochs or really, a host of other American families.

Its perfect mix of Family and Business politics results in deeply unsettling, incredibly vulgar drama. It takes a couple of episodes to properly balance its tone and find its feet but once it does, it’s an incredibly exhilarating ride. The writing is great and the performances from the ensemble cast are incredible.

Maybe after you’ve finished it, you can recommend it to your parents.

NICHE BINGES

-Maniac- Just under 6.5hrs

From Cary Joji Fukanaga (Season 1 of True Detective), this Jonah Hill and Emma Stone starrer is an ambitious, genre-bending epic set in a somewhat futuristic New York City. The protagonists, for their own respective reasons, sign up for an experimental (chemical and mechanical) trial designed to bypass talk therapy and cure mental health problems.

Cary Fukanaga, with his masterful eye for visual storytelling, takes this premise and goes ahead to play in so many sandboxes over the show’s 6 and a half hours runtime. The stories and episodes end up ranging from science fiction, to spy stories and fantasy epics, with Jonah Hill and Emma Stone delivering at every turn.

FOOD HANGOVER COMEDIES

-Barry (HBO)

This show comes from SNL alum and verified funnyman, Bill Hader and Alec Berg (Silicon Valley, Curb Your Enthusiasm). It follows an ex-marine hitman who decides to pursue a career in acting, to the chagrin of his employers.

There’s comedy and action scenes.

That’s it. That’s my pitch for the show. Not sure why you need any more.

-The Good Place (NBC/ Netflix)

Okay, this show didn’t come out in 2018. It’s actually halfway through its third season (36 episodes have currently aired), but it’s so good and more people need to know about it. It’s breezy nature also makes it the perfect holiday binge. It’s very hilarious (and smart).

TOP PICK

-Sharp Objects (HBO/ Sky Atlantic)

Wow.

Never has a “slow drama” felt more alive. Sharp Objects, might be, in theory, a slow, cable drama, but with it bursting at the seams with great performances, an intriguing mystery and incredible character depth, it never seems as slow as you feel it should be.

There is a powerhouse team behind bringing this adaptation of the debut novel from Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Widows) to the screen. Amy Adams stars and executive produces, Gillian Flynn is on the writing team which is led by Marti Noxon (co-creator of UnREAL). Jean-Marc Vallee (Big Little Lies) directs all the episodes and also executive produces alongside Jason Blum (Get Out). Perhaps the definition of “too big to fail”.

The plot follows Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), an investigative journalist, recently discharged from a psychiatric hospital, who returns home to investigate the gruesome murders of two young girls. However, just as with Jean-Marc Vallee’s entry into last year’s list, Big Little Lies, the intrigue of the murder and “who-dun-it” is quickly overshadowed by the incredible and haunting character work that happens over the course of its 8 episodes run.

That being said, every eventual reveal is worth the wait.

So there you have it, all the excuses you need to stay in and immerse yourself in quality televisions.

Bankole Imoukhuede,

@banky_I