15 Great Shows You (Probably) Haven’t Seen
Your go-to list for when the inevitable show drought begins
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are ongoing and may continue for a while. If you work in the screened-entertainment industry, then you’re directly affected by the situation and you have bigger concerns than “oh no, what will I watch on the tee-vee when the production halt catches up with the distribution schedule!?” For the rest of us, the pain will first present itself in shortened and delayed seasons of TV, fewer movies at the theater, and lots of projects either put on hiatus or canceled outright. It’s actually a small price to pay if it means those writers and actors get paid a fair wage for their work, but I’m still not happy about it.
Recommending shows to friends who value my taste in TV is sort of why I started this media blog in the first place, so this list is a bit overdue. If you’re a fan of good TV, then it’s likely you have seen at least some of the shows on this list, but I’m willing to bet you haven’t seen all of them, and if you value my opinion at all, these will each be worth your time.
I’m listing these shows alphabetically. I limited the list to narrative, scripted content, so there are no documentary/reality shows here.
Braindead (2016, CBS/Paramount — 1 season, stream on Prime Video)
Every once in a great while, a major broadcast network, despite the odds, manages to create a season of brilliant TV that critics adore but that goes under appreciated by the unwashed masses. The other examples I can think of were all on NBC — Journeyman (2007), Kings (2009), and Brian Fuller’s outstanding Hannibal (2013). Braindead was a sci-fi political satire show on CBS. It was created by Robert and Michelle King (who are better known for creating and producing The Good Wife). The premise is pretty inspired: what if all the political animus and entrenched ideological gridlock in Washington was the result of alien insects that have come to Earth and infected our political leaders. Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a documentary filmmaker who’s brother is a U.S. senator and who stumbles upon evidence of the quiet invasion. The show is full of delightful surprises, including amazing “previously-on” segments that are original songs by none other than Jonathan Coulton. I think you have to pay a rental fee to watch this now, but it’s worth it! You will thank me for this rec.
Dark (2017, Netflix — 3 seasons)
This German language sci-fi mystery box will blow your mind. It’s like what if the creators of Lost had a more explicitly sci-fi premise in mind and also actually had a plan they were following and it delivered a satisfying ending. Add this to the short list of shows you’ll be so wrapped up in that you will want to take notes as you watch. The show depicts different periods in time in a small German town and the casting of younger and older actors to play the same characters at different parts of their lives is astoundingly good. This is jaw-dropping good fun, despite it living up to its name, tonally.
Fleabag (2016, Prime Video — 2 seasons)
Okay, lots of people know about this award-winning gem from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, but how many people actually watched it? Based on Waller-Bridge’s one woman show, which she premiered at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Fleabag tells the story of a single woman living in London and all the various complications and tragedies that she endures, particularly as they pertain to her love life. Season one was largely a fleshed out version of the one-woman show, and season two was originally written for TV. The whole thing is great, but I actually think the six episodes of season two of Fleabag may be the greatest single season of television ever produced in the English language. So yes, it’s worth a watch.
The Great (2020, Hulu — 3 seasons)
Full disclosure: I haven’t yet finished season three of this one, but I will soon. It’s the bawdy and violent story of Catherine the Great, created by the screenwriter of Yorgos Lanthimos’ wonderful The Favourite. It’s hilarious and disgusting and horny and a rollicking good time and what it has to say about sexism and war and politics and loyalty and friendship and love is actually fairly compelling to boot. Huzzah!
The Last Kingdom (2015, Netflix — 5 seasons + a concluding movie)
I joke with Emily that The Last Kingdom is so re-watchable because I always forget about what the hell was happening in the show as soon as I stop watching it, but while it’s on, it’s completely engrossing. The Last Kingdom is based on a series of novels called The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. The five seasons and movie that the TV show covers depict events that take place in the years 866–918 (roughly) in the land that will become England, and focus on the exploits of an Anglo-born and Dane-raised protagonist named Uhtred (a fictionalized amalgam of real historical characters) who weaves his way through the major conflicts and events of the late 9th and early 10th centuries in the British Isles. Early seasons focus on the reign of King Alfred the Great’s dream of uniting England (speaking of historical figures who get the moniker “The Great” added after their names). The show is full of blood and politics and alliances forged and broken. I hear from my friends who know about such things that the show is pretty historically accurate in its broad strokes. If medieval historical fiction is your jam, this is about as good as it gets.
The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022, Showtime — 1 season, stream on Prime Video or AppleTV+)
I reviewed this show more fully here. It is simultaneously based on the Walter Tevis novel and the 1976 Nicholas Roeg film of the same name and acts as a sequel to both. I wasn’t a huge fan of the David Bowie cult film but I loved this take on the material. You might too.
Misfits (2009, E4 — 5 seasons, stream on The Roku Channel or FreeVee)
This show is the oldest on the list and it’s about a group of English delinquents who get sentenced to some public service, cleaning up a youth center that has fallen into disrepair. A strange electrical storm gifts them all super powers. Okay, so maybe that premise sounds a bit played out? Teenagers suddenly have superpowers? Except Misfits turns that on its head and this is really a show about anti-heroes. It’s subversive and smart as a whip and darkly hilarious. It’s five seasons, but they’re those short British seasons so it’s not too much to take on.
The OA (2016, Netflix — 2 seasons)
This is another sci-fi mystery box show. The fun is in the surprises and I almost don’t want to say anything about it except “trust me.” The bummer is that it was canceled after two seasons and there were some pretty big looming questions that are never satisfactorily answered. There was a big fan-initiated push to save the show (including one fan going on a hunger strike outside Netflix’s offices) and a popular fan theory that the cancellation announcement was just a meta publicity stunt. It’s a show that engenders that sort of thinking. Trust me.
The Offer (2022, Paramount+ — 1 season)
This retelling of the making of The Godfather from the perspective of its producer, Al Ruddy, is delightful. It was criticized for playing fast and loose with reality, but don’t let that get to you — it’s a great look at early 70s Hollywood, whether fictionalized or not. I have one complaint, which is that the main character (Ruddy himself, played by human charisma-hole, Miles Teller) is reeeeally dull. He’s portrayed as the guy who risks it all and wins everything because he’s so brave and right, but there’s no real character there to care about. Fortunately, literally everyone else is gold in this show, with a particular nod to the amazing Matthew Goode, who’s spot-on impression of famous Hollywood producer, Bob Evans, is reason all by itself to watch the show. Whether you’re a fan of The Godfather or not, this is good stuff.
Patriot (2015, Prime Video — 2 seasons)
Okay, look, this show was the reason I wrote this whole listicle in the first place. Seriously, if you ignore every other show on the list, you gotta give this one a try. And it’s not for everyone. It has a particular wry sensibility that may not land perfectly with all audiences, but my god it’s unlike anything else you’ve ever seen on TV. The good news is you only need to give it one episode. If you’re not sold in the first hour, you probably won’t be by the subsequent hours either. It’s in its groove from the jump. The premise involves a U.S. spy in Europe who’s recovering from an op-gone-bad and a bad case of PTSD when he’s called back into service by his high-ranking father and shit all starts to unravel in absurd, awful, and often hilarious ways. This is one of my favorite shows of all time and basically nobody saw it.
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020, Showtime — 1 season, stream on Prime Video)
So remember that Showtime horror/monster show set in late 19th century London about all the classic monsters — Dracula-style vampires, Frankenstein and his monster, The Wolfman, Dorian Grey… No? Well don’t worry, its three seasons are not on this list. What is on this list is the single season follow-up by the same showrunner, which is set in Los Angeles in 1938 and is largely concerned with the racism and politics surrounding the construction of the California freeway system. Yes, there’s a supernatural element at the heart of the story, but there’s also Nazis, corrupt politicians, LA cops on the murder beat, street gangs, and everything else you would want from a noir-era show set in LA. This was what I wish the rest of Penny Dreadful had been. It doesn’t look like we’re going to get any more seasons of this, which is a shame, but I’m grateful this one got made.
Reservation Dogs (2021, Hulu — 3 seasons)
Ohmygosh, this show is set to deliver season 3 as I write this and I’m pretty stoked about it. Take the sweet playfulness of Taika Waititi stuff like Hunt For the Wilder People (Waititi is an executive producer of the show) but set it on a modern day Oklahoma Indian reservation and populate the cast with a bunch of bored, alienated teens doing low-rent crimes and looking to get off the res and do big things with their lives. Now add a quirky indy filmmaking sensibility and a really big heart (ala Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place, Ted Lasso, et al). What are you waiting for? Skoden!
The Resort (2022, Peacock — 1 season)
Oh, that show set in a fancy resort that features quirky resort staff and difficult, demanding guests, and a possible murder… yeah, not that one, the other one you never saw. The better one. Oh yes I did say that! The Resort was made by the team that made the outstanding Palm Springs movie for Hulu in 2020. It’s a mystery box show involving time periods set 15 years apart from each other and a pair of missing resort guests who disappeared mysteriously during a hurricane. The effect of the narrative surprises is cumulative and your jaw is sure to drop a few times. The show features a great supporting cast (Nick Offerman, Luis Guzman, Dylan Baker). If you don’t have a Peacock subscription that doesn’t show you ads, I advise renting this on Amazon or Apple.
Utopia [UK version] (2013, Channel 4 — 2 seasons, stream on Roku TV)
So first of all, do not, I repeat: do not bother with the 2020 American remake of this show starring John Cusack and Rainn Wilson. It’s a dim shadow of the greatness of the original UK show, which ran for two seasons in 2013 and 2014 (though the American remake does prominently feature a knitted, dissected fetal pig made by Emily in one scene!). It’s comic book nerds and transnational corporate conspiracies, and an all around apocalyptic good time. The casting, the score, the surprises… this is a great show that almost none saw in the U.S. and now even fewer will because they’ll wind up watching the vastly inferior American remake. Be one of the cool kids and seek out the original.
Warrior (2019, Cinemax — 3 seasons, stream on Max)
If you’re not on board with this one yet, what are you waiting for? I think some more folks have seen this show now, finally, but when Cinemax made the first two seasons it was almost totally overlooked, despite being a pretty easy sell: in the early 70s, Bruce Lee shopped around a TV show idea about a Chinese immigrant in late 19th century San Francisco who gets mixed up in adventures (featuring lots of kung fu) with the local China Town gangs. That show idea got coopted and white-washed into the TV show Kung Fu, starring David Carradine. Well Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, hooked up with filmmaker Justin Lin and producer Jonathan Topper and pitched the original idea to Cinemax, who bit. The result is Warrior, and hoo boy does it kick ass. The fight choreography, the sex, the politics, the racial catharsis — it’s more comic-book good fun and a lot less pretentious than Deadwood, but delivers a lot of what made Deadwood so great.
Bonus 16th show! (because I just thought of it): Brassic (2019, Sky One/Sky Max — 3 seasons, stream on Hulu)
Alright, so imagine Guy Ritchie circa Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels made a TV show about some petty thieves living in a fictional northern English town, and it’s a comedy/drama full of pathos and heart and it’s co-created and stars the incomparable Joe Gilgun (who also appears in Misfits, another under appreciated show on this list). It’s goofy and gross and sometimes a tear-jerker but mostly hilarious hijinx. You will adore Vinnie and his friends. Just don’t leave your valuables out when they’re around.
Okay, so be honest — how many of these have you seen? The next time you’re looking for something to watch, you could do worse than using this list. If you do, please reach out and let me know what you thought.
