Introducing the TV Weekly Roundup
Looking at the best shows on TV
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INTRODUCING THE TV WEEKLY ROUNDUP BABYYYYYYYY.
Each and every Thursday I will pick a few shows that I watch and talk about them. Expect lots of gifs, pics, and hyperbole! I’ll try to have some sort of thematic resonance between the shows I talk about. LET’S GET INTO IT. This week’s theme is… drum roll please
THE BEST SHOWS YOU AREN’T WATCHING. #TVWRUP
- The Americans.
Look at them. They look so happy. WRONG!
YOU’RE ALL WRONG. THEY AREN’T HAPPY. THEY’RE SECRET RUSSIAN SPIES LIVING IN AMERICA.
Oh, it also takes place in the 80's.
These two lovely people, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, play Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings. They are KGB spies who have been sent to America and have made their lives there.
Each and everyday they undergo secret operations and investigations, often by assuming different appearances and identities, starting relationships with people who can get them information, and killing anyone who gets in their way. Oh, and they have two children Paige and Henry, both American citizens who have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA that their parents are Russian spies.
In its 5th and penultimate season, ‘The Americans’ continues to be beyond stellar. With the actual events happening in America right now, the show has become much more important than I could have imagined.
‘The Americans’ is nuanced, deep, and incredibly layered, with spectacular performances from both Russell and Rhys, as well as the supporting cast. With some of the best writing, suspense, directing, acting, and just all around television greatness, ‘The Americans’ has cemented itself as not only one of the best shows on TV, but as one of the best shows of all time.
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2. The Leftovers
‘The Leftover’s is HBO’s forgotten pot of gold at the end of a bleak, black and gray rainbow.
The show follows an event called “the departure”, where all of sudden millions of people all around the world vanished into thin air. It focuses on a group of people a year after this event who are dealing with the aftershocks.
‘The Leftover’s is by far the best representation of loss, grief, and depression this side of ‘Bojack Horseman’ and ‘You’re the Worst’. Every episode pulls at your heartstrings, bringing intense, riveting human drama, paired with intriguing, supernatural mystery and devastation.
With brilliant, riveting performances from Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, and the rest of the fantastic cast, ‘The Leftovers’ is a master class in portraying human emotion. I have never seen actors this raw and realistic before.
As the show enters it’s 3rd and final season, it continues to be one of the most understated, unappreciated, and unfortunately, unwatched show on television. With such a great cast, unbelievable story and plot twists, and an overture that gives you goosebumps every time you hear it, ‘The Leftover’s is not a show that you want to miss.
3. Fargo
Speaking of Carrie Coon, let’s talk about the other show that she is a series lead on this season, ‘Fargo’.
Yes, ‘Fargo’ is based on that Coen Brother’s classic film that has the same title. Like a few other shows on FX, ‘Fargo’ changes it’s cast, bringing us a fresh new story and a brand new investigation every season.
With it’s quirkiness, Minnesota accents, gore, and gorgeous cinematography, ‘Fargo’ remains the best limited series on television. Each season brings a new murder mystery to unravel, and a new police officer to cheer for.
This season Carrie Coon’s police chief Gloria Burgle, will spar with Ewan McGregor’s twin brothers Emmit and Ray Stussy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Nikki Swango, and David Thewlis as V. M. Varga. With how incredible the previous two seasons were, I can only expect the same greatness from season 3.
4. Better Call Saul
CALLING ALL BREAKING BAD FANS.
At this point, if you are a ‘Breaking Bad’ fan and you haven’t seen ‘Better Call Saul’, you’re just a bad person. And if you haven’t seen either, you’re a horrible person.
‘Better Call Saul’ is the ‘Breaking Bad’ prequel we never knew we needed. The story of how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman, and how Mike Ermantraut became one of Gus’ guys.
Each week we are getting closer and closer to the start of ‘Breaking Bad’. But the show has so much to say in and of itself, making it a worthy successor to one of the greatest shows ever.
With maybe the best crew in all of television, boasting some of the best female writers, producers, and directors the industry has to offer, ‘Better Call Saul’ has quietly marched it’s way to the tune of ‘Breaking Bad’s drum.
Giving how great Season 3 has been thus far, we can imagine another glorious, combustive end that brings us further into the present (which the show also deals with in very brief flash forwards).
Well there you have it folks. This is the inaugural TV weekly Roundup #TVWRUP. Every Thursday there were will be a new roundup where I will discuss some more television. This week’s theme was a bit broad, which allowed for a brief overview of each show. Future themes will be more specific, going into details about specific episodes.
Make sure to subscribe and follow me so that you can get the roundup right in your inbox every week. Thanks for reading.
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