The Sternberg Report

Squid Game Yes, Squid Game No - Discuss (11/21)

Netflix claims this South Korean survival drama is its most watched new series ever – the latest worldwide phenomenon in a string of major global hits, which include,  Money Heist (Spain), Lupin (France), Elite (Spain), Dark (Germany), Fauda (Israel), Ragnarok (Norway), Barbarians (Germany), Bordertown (Finland), and Kingdom (South Korea), among others.  Whether or not Squid Game is really Netflix’s most viewed series launch (the streamer is not exactly transparent with its audience metrics, and Nielsen streaming data is extremely limited), there’s no question that it’s one of the buzziest (and most controversial) shows in a long time.

Whether you see Squid Game as an insightful social commentary on capitalism and income inequality or simply as a brutally violent exercise with no other purpose than to be brutally violent, your reaction is valid and defensible.  I’d like to say it’s the former, because that makes me feel better about finding the series so entertaining – but I keep going back and forth.

            Here’s a not-so-brief synopsis.  Spoilers ahead…

In an over-sized, candy-colored playground, 456 desperate people who are drowning in debt are pitted against one another for a chance to win a life-changing amount of money.  They have to compete in a series of childhood games, sometimes competing individually, and sometimes as part of teams.  The catch is that all the losers through the six-rounds of contests are immediately gunned down by a group of masked and costumed guards.

Those who run the game do not force anyone to participate.  They invite people who they know have insurmountable debt and very few choices in life, with the caveat that once they accept, they cannot leave until the tournament is over (if they survive), or if a majority of players agree to end the game (and forfeit the prize money).  Once they accept, they are picked up by vans, gassed into unconsciousness, and driven to a secret location, where they awaken in a dormitory setting wearing green, numbered track suits.  A giant grid displays pictures of each participant along with their number.  The guards, who are  donned in pink jumpsuits, keep constant watch over the contestants.  The games are run by someone called the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) in a black mask and uniform.

As the games unfold we are gradually introduced to the main characters and discover their motivations for playing.  Despite being from vastly different backgrounds, most have some basic things in common – they are broke and desperate for money or have insurmountable debt, they have either creditors, gangsters, or the police closing in on them, and there is virtually no hope of their situations getting better anytime soon.

You will cheer on some players while despising others, but all have an equal chance of being the next to be killed.  The main characters are no more safe than the many background characters, whose stories we never hear.  This is, of course, different from most TV shows, where you can be reasonably sure that the main characters will not be abruptly killed off.  It adds to the anxiety and unpredictability of the series.

A number of interesting philosophical questions arise as the games continue and a smaller and smaller group gets closer to actually winning the cash prize and instantly becoming wealthy.  Can you remain good in a system that is essentially corrupt?  Are you a better person for feeling guilty about betraying someone than if it doesn’t bother you at all?  Can one person change the system or will the system inevitably change every individual?

The acting is top notch.  Here are the main players: 

Lee Jung-jae (#456) is Seong Gi-hun, a divorced chauffeur and gambling addict, who is deeply indebted to some dangerous loan sharks.  He lives with his sick mother (who has no health insurance), and is estranged from his ex-wife and young daughter.  He is the first character we meet (before the games begin) and much of the series is seen through his eyes.

Park Hae-soo (#218) plays Seong Gi-hun’s childhood friend and classmate, Cho Sang-woo, a former top investment broker, who is wanted by the police for stealing money from his clients.  He also has massive personal debts from bad investments.  He is the smartest player and often comes up with winning strategies.  He went to SMU business school, and Gi-hun has always looked up to him.

Yeong-su (#001) is Oh Il-nam, an elderly man with a brain tumor, who would rather play the game than just wait to die on the outside.  He is more formidable than he seems. 

Jung Ho-yeon (#067) is Kang Sae-byeok, a North Korean defector hoping to get enough money to bring her parents across the border and get her little brother out of an orphanage.  She is also a pick-pocket who stole Gi-hun’s money after he won a bundle at the track. 

Heo Sung-tae (#101) is Jang Deok-su, a gangster with huge gambling debts, who has stolen money from his mob boss and is on the run.  He is mean and dangerous.

Anuparn Tripathi (#199) is a migrant worker from Pakistan who needs to provide for his young family after attacking and injuring his boss for refusing to pay his wages.  He is one of the physically strongest of all the players. 

Kim Joo-ryoung (#212) is a loud and manipulative con-woman whose reasons for entering the game are unclear (but she’s probably in debt and on the run from someone).

Wi Ha-joon is a police officer who infiltrates the game by impersonating a guard so he can find his missing brother.

More than half the competitors are eliminated during the first game – a surreal version of “Red Light, Green Light,” in which those who move even slightly after “Red Light” is announced by a giant little girl doll/robot (with a rotating head and eyes that scan the arena for any movement) are shot.

Each time a contestant is eliminated, his or her image in blinked out on the giant screen, and more money is added to the pot – which hangs from the ceiling as a constant reminder of how much money they can win (it eventually grows to 45.6 billion won, or roughly $38 million).

After the first game, where 255 of the 456 contestants are eliminated, the remaining players take a vote to end the game (which passes by a single vote).  They are deposited back into their normal lives – which are so miserable that 187 of the 201 remaining players decide to return to the game.

The second game involves cutting out one of five shapes (circle, square, triangle, star, or umbrella) embedded in a piece of candy without breaking it – relatively easy if you picked the square, not so easy if you picked the umbrella.  Players had to select a shape before they knew what the game entailed.  Anyone who doesn’t have a completely intact shape or doesn’t finish by the 10-minute time limit is immediately shot.  Seventy-nine more players are eliminated during this game. 

One player attacks a guard and forces him to remove his mask – the guard is killed by the Front Man because his identity was revealed.  The player commits suicide rather than having the guards shoot him.  During a break, the gangster (#101) beats another player to death with no consequences.  Players realize that if they kill other players between games, their odds of winning improve.  This adds a whole new element to the proceedings, as groups and alliances are formed. 

When Seong Gi-hun asks Kang Sae-byeok to join his team so they can protect one another between games, she responds, “I don’t trust people.”  He answers, “You don’t trust people because you can, you trust people because you have to.”  This is one of the ongoing themes – who should you trust and should you consider betraying them to save yourself?  During the night, when the lights are turned off, various players attack one another.  More than 20 additional players are eliminated.

One of the players (Yoo Sung-joo) is a doctor who has secretly been working with some corrupt guards to traffic the organs of dead players.  In return, they give him advance information on what the next game will be.  When the Front Man discovers what’s going on, he is not concerned with the selling of the organs, but rather the idea that any player would receive an unfair advantage.  He explains that this is the one place in their lives where every player has equality regardless of who they are or where they come from.  Everyone competes on equal footing.  The doctor and corrupt guards are killed and their bodies displayed out in the open for all remaining players to see.

The players are required to form teams of 10 for the third game, which they discover after the teams are selected will be tug of war – with each losing team falling into a chasm to their deaths below.  Stronger teams with all men seem to have a big advantage.  The old man (#001) and the smart one (#218) come up with strategies to help their group, which includes three women, defeat physically stronger teams.  Their main rival group, led by the gangster (#101), also wins.

For the fourth game, each player selects a partner who they assume will be their teammate.  But instead, after the players have paired up, they are told that they will be competing against one another (and one person from each pair will be eliminated).  They are each given a bag of 10 marbles and told they can make up their own game.  The one who winds up with all the marbles will be the winner.  Seong Gi-hun and Cho Sang-woo, friends who grew up playing the Squid Game together, have vastly different approaches.  Seong is mostly ruled by his emotions, while Cho sees everything as a solvable intellectual exercise.  Yet both arrive at the conclusion at the same time that the only way to win this game is to betray their friend and partner (rather than compete fairly and risk losing).  This wracks Gi-hun with guilt, while Sang-woo seems fine with his own actions.  After this game, there are only 16 players left.

For the fifth game, the players are required to walk across a bridge made up of glass panels.  Half the panels are tempered glass, which can support the weight of two people.  The other half are regular glass, which will shatter under the weight of a single person.  Step on the wrong panel and you fall to your death below.  Players were allowed to choose the order in which they would go before they knew what the game was.  Those who chose to go later have a big advantage.

In the seventh episode, we discover the tournament is funded by a group of bored, ultra-wealthy deviants, who bet enormous sums of money on the outcomes of each game.  All of them are seen wearing gold or diamond-encrusted animal masks, but they are clearly white westerners – Americans and Europeans.  

In the ninth episode season finale, a brutal competition of Squid Game results in a champion. We also learn who created the game and why. If the game itself does not make it clear that one of the main points the series is trying to make is that the ultra-rich see the poor as less than human, the game’s creator, when confronted by the eventual winner, who questions how they can be so brutal and dismissive of the death they caused, answers, “You bet on horses, we bet on humans.  You are our horses.”  This is a fascinating juxtaposition – at the beginning of the series we see one of the key players betting on a horse race; now he and the other players are the horses. 

The game creator goes on to say, “What does someone with no money have in common with someone with too much money to know what to do with?  Life is no fun for either of them.  If you have too much money it doesn’t matter what you buy…everything just gets boring.”  He explains that he and his clients wanted to figure out something to do where they could have fun, so they could feel something.  His adult life has become devoid of joy, so he hearkened back to the games he enjoyed playing with his friends as a young boy.  He justifies the brutality by pointing out that no one was forced to play.  These explanations actually weaken the impact of the series, because they feel like something just tacked on to the ending to explain to viewers that what they’ve just seen has some social relevance and that rich people have no idea what poor people go through – and see them as disposable and easily replaceable.

Some reviewers have compared Squid Game to Hunger Games and the Japanese action-thriller, Battle Royale, both of which focus on a dangerous competition where the only way to win is for all other contestants to die.  But the fact that these players are not forced to play, puts this on a completely different plane.  Participants have simply decided that their odds of survival here (187-1 after the first game) is far better than their chances out in the real world.

I often felt while watching that the income inequality stuff was just a thin veneer to justify the violence and carnage.  Perhaps that’s because I’ve seen similar themes in numerous other TV shows and movies.  A few people I know in their early 20s, however, are firmly in the “insightful social commentary” camp, so maybe it’s a generational thing. 

A Brief History of Superheroes on TV (9/21)

Superheroes and sci-fi are more popular than ever, as anyone who attends the giant annual comic-cons in San Diego (July) and New York (October) can attest. They both consistently draw 150,000 attendees or more.  There are also numerous smaller comic-con events throughout the country, ranging anywhere from a few thousand to 100,000+ attendees.  Once considered niche, with very limited appeal, these have become major pop-culture events – but still have a strong focus on sci-fi and superheroes.  DC’s Batman and Wonder Woman movies, as well as  Marvel’s many mega-successful cinematic efforts, which began with Captain America and the Avengers, have shown that there are large audiences for these stories. 

The trick has become appealing to the hard-core fans who are well-versed in more than 60 years of comic-book canon, as well as new fans with only a passing or no familiarity with the characters’ backstories or superhero mythology.

From the earliest days of television, series featuring superheroes have had their ups and downs.  While occasionally popping up in the 1960s through early 2000s, most often as one network tried to counter-program and appeal to a younger audience, the creation of the CW network, along with the advent of streaming platforms, and the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has led to a rebirth of the superhero genre.

The two major superhero factories, DC and Marvel, have traditionally appealed to different types of audiences, although there is some overlap.  The DC universe has always been in a different reality from our own, with names of major cities having generic fictional names, such as Metropolis, Gotham City, Central City, Star City, National City, etc.  Until 2008, with the release The Dark Knight Batman movies, DC was traditionally geared more to kids and teens than adults.  The Marvel universe, on the other hand, takes place in our world, with many of the superheroes living in New York City.  Marvel’s tendency to have flawed characters with stories focused on real-world problems has tended to appeal to more of a teen/young adult audience – both in comic books and on the screen.

Since Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves, which aired in syndication from 1952-58, most superhero shows on television featured major DC characters.  They were always G rated, and were relatively low budget with limited special effects.  All superhero shows on TV prior to 2000 were designed for family viewing.  Seldom, if ever, did they address any social or political issues of the day.  Nor did they feature people of color (if you don’t count green).

Batman (ABC,1966-68), starring Adam West and Burt Ward, was designed with kids in mind, but its well-known weekly guest stars camping it up as villains appealed to adults as well – Cesar Romero as the Joker, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt as Catwoman, to name just a few.  It aired twice a week for its first two seasons, and weekly for its third.  Viewers were reminded to tune in next week at the “same bat time, and same bat channel.”

From the 1970s through the 1990s, there were only a handful of superhero shows on TV, primarily because they were not seen as appealing to a broad enough audience to generate strong ratings.  We had Shazam (CBS, 1974-76), starring Nichael Gray, Wonder Woman (ABC, 1975-79), starring Lynda Carter, the syndicated Superboy (1988-92), starring Gerard Christopher, The Flash (CBS, 1990-91), starring John Wesley Shipp, and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (ABC, 1993-97), starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher. 

Pre-2000, there were just two live-action series based on Marvel superheroes.  The Amazing Spider-Man (CBS, 1977-79), starring Nicholas Hammond, and The Incredible Hulk (CBS 1977-82), with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno playing scientist Bruce Banner and his big green alter-ego, respectively. 

Other live-action superhero series, not affiliated with DC or Marvel, all on ABC, included, The Green Hornet (1966-67), with Van Williams in the title role and Bruce Lee as his sidekick, Kato, The Six Million Dollar Man (1973-78), starring Lee Majors, Lindsay Wagner in The Bionic Woman (1976-78), and William Katt as The Greatest American Hero (1981-83). 

The modern era of superhero TV series began when the WB network (now CW) aired Smallville (2001-11), which provides a look at Superman’s life as a boy in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas The series starts out as a young-adult high-school drama, before

Superman dons his uniform, when he is only known as Clark Kent (Tom Welling).  Eventually the series moves into his adult world where he gets a reporter job at the Daily Planet, working alongside Lois Lane.  Various DC Comics superheroes and villains are introduced throughout the series.

The WB tried to follow up the success of Smallville, with the one-season wonder, Birds of Prey (2002-03).  After the Joker kills Catwoman (Maggie Baird) and leaves Batgirl (Dina Meyer) in a wheel chair, Batman, grieving over the loss of his secret love, Catwoman, leaves New Gotham to fend for itself.  Batgirl takes on a new identity as “Oracle” and mentors the secret daughter of Batman and Catwoman, “Huntress” (Ashley Scott)  A third young woman with psychic abilities, Dinah (Rachel Skarsten), joins them and they become the Birds of Prey – committed to defeating the Joker and Gotham’s other criminals.  Had this debuted today, it might well have become a hit.

Fox did for the Batman mythology what the WB/CW did for Superman, when it debuted Gotham (2014-19).  This series provides a look at the largely corrupt Gotham City and a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), as he seeks revenge for the murder of his billionaire parents.  He is assisted by a young police detective, Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) before he becomes Commissioner, and his butler, Alfred.  The series also focuses on the origins of his ally/adversary, Catwoman, and several well-known villains, such as Penguin, Riddler, and Joker (all more sinister incarnations than in previous Batman series).

Just as Smallville was coming to an end, the CW was about to unveil a whole new slate of superhero shows that would soon be known as the Arrowverse.  The name derives from the first series of the group.  All of the CW heroes exist in the same shared continuity, which enables cross-over appearances among the various series.  The CW shows are also notable for their diversity and inclusion, with people of color and LGBTQ+ characters in central or leading roles.

Arrow (2012-2020), which is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, stars Stephen Arnell as Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy who was shipwrecked on a mysterious island for five years.  When he returns home to Star City, he fights crime and corruption in his secret identity as the vigilante known as Arrow (his weapon of choice is a bow and arrow).  Throughout the series, various other characters join him, forming Team Arrow, which continues to fight an array of bad guys.

 

Over the next decade, the CW debuted several other superhero series based on DC Comics characters.

 

The first series to spin off from Arrow was The Flash (2014-present), with Grant Gustin as the speedster. When a new scientific invention called a particle accelerator causes an explosion at S.T.A.R. labs, it creates a freak storm, and crime-scene investigator Barry Allen is struck by lightning.  He awakens from a coma nine months later to discover he now has super speed.  When he realizes that others have also gained powers from the explosion and use them for evil, he dedicates himself to protecting the innocent citizens of Central City, and hunting these other “metahumans.”  His super-speed allows him to occasionally move through time and parallel worlds, often with dire or unexpected consequences.  As is the case with Arrow, The Flash has a team of friends, scientists, and heroes to help him.

Superman was not the only one to escape from the planet Krypton before it was destroyed. Supergirl (2015-21), starring Melissa Benoist, focuses on his cousin Kara, who was sent to earth as a 13-year-old.  She was raised by foster parents, has a human sister, and now works as a reporter in National City.  Her adoptive sister is a government agent, whom she works with to bring bad guys to justice.  Several heroes and villains are introduced throughout the series, including Martian Manhunter, Mon-El, and Brainiac-5, a member of the Legion of Superheroes from the 31^st Century. 

Supergirl is actually from a parallel earth within the multiverse to the one where Flash and Arrow reside.  While on their world, metahumans are the biggest threat, on Supergirl’s earth, the biggest threats are aliens from other planets.  On several occasions, they have been able to cross over between worlds to help one another.  Supergirl debuted on CBS, but moved to the CW network for its second season.

Legends of Tomorrow (2016-present) consists of a ragtag team of heroes and villains recruited by rogue time traveler, Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill), who venture through time in a stolen time ship known as the Waverider, protecting the timeline from aberrations.  There are continued conflicts among the Legends and various bureaus who are in charge of protecting the timeline.  The Legends include, Sara Lance/White Canary (Caity Lotz), Ray Palmer/Atom (Brandon Routh), Mick Rory/Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell), Nate Heywood/Steel (Nick Zano), Zari Omaz (Tala Ashe), John Constantine (Matt Ryan), and Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan), as well as several other recurring characters.

Legends of Tomorrow is one of the first superhero series to have gay characters in central roles, including the leader of the team.

Cress Williams stars Jefferson Pierce, also known as the electricity-powered Black Lightning (2018-2021).  As the series begins, he is a legendary retired African-American superhero, now a high-school principal in Freeland, Georgia.  He’s forced out of retirement when his city and his daughters are threatened by a fearsome criminal gang.  His daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) start developing powers of their own and join him as Thunder and Lightning.

Three years after Batman mysteriously disappeared from Gotham City, Bruce Wayne’s cousin, Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) picks up the mantle, becoming Batwoman (2019-present).  After season 1, Ruby Rose left the show for personal reasons, and with Kate Kane out of the picture, Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) steps into her boots and becomes the new female vigilante.  Batwoman is assisted in her crimefighting by Kate Kane/s stepsister, medical student Mary (Nicole Kang) and Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson), son of Wayne Enterprise’s tech guru, Lucian Fox.

In season 1, Ruby Rose became the first openly gay superhero in a title role, while in season 2, Javicia Leslie was the first Black woman to have the lead in a superhero TV series.

Stargirl (2020-present), stars Brec Bassinger as high-school student Courtney Whitmore, who inspires a new generation of young misfits to become heroes and form a new version of the Justice Society of America (JSA) – most of the original supergroup members were killed a decade earlier in battle with the Injustice Society of America.  Courtney had discovered the Cosmic Staff of one of the JSA heroes, Starman.  When she learns her stepfather used to be Starman’s sidekick, she decides to form the new group.  

Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch star as Superman & Lois (2021-present), in this new take on the Man of Steel.  After years of fighting supervillains and alien invaders, Clark Kent and famed journalist Lois Lane, leave the big city of Metropolis to return to his small rural hometown of Smallville to raise their two teenage boys (Jordan Elsass, Alexander Garlin), one of whom has emerging super powers of his own.  The show balances superheroing, high-school drama, and parenting in today’s society. 

There have been a number of cross-over events where these characters interact and battle major threats to the city, planet, or universe.  So far, only Stargirl has yet to be involved in these cross-overs, but that is reportedly coming at some point.  The biggest cross-over event was during the 2019-20 season, which incorporated virtually every character in the Arrowverse, as well as a few from the DC theatrical universe (the first time the two universes acknowledged one another).  For example, Ezra Miller’s Flash from the Justice League movies appeared alongside Grant Gustin’s Flash from the CW series.  The cross-over event ended with the Multiverse being rebooted so that all these superheroes share the same world.

Numerous other DC heroes without their own individual series have been introduced within the Arrowverse, including, Martian Manhunter, Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Kid Flash, Speedy, Hourman, Mon-El, Brainiac-5, Vixen, Dr. Mid-Nite, the Legion of Superheroes, and the Justice Society of America.

These shows pretty much have straightforward comic-book style good guy versus bad guy storylines that are more-or-less suited for the entire family.  Most of the CW superhero shows have diverse casts, some with Black lead heroes, and several that feature LGBTQ+ characters.

Over the years, Marvel had done little more than dip its toes into the superhero waters of live-action television series.  But with a new phase of blockbuster theatrical movies, starting with Iron Man in 2008, Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, and The Avengers in 2012, it was about to hit the small screen with considerable force.

Debuting a little more than a year after the first Avengers theatrical movie, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC 2013-20) was the first television series to cross over from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention and Logistics Division) is a peacekeeping and spy organization tasked with protecting the world from hostile forces around the globe and beyond. 

This team of agents is led by Phil Coulson (Clark Greg), who was resurrected after apparently being killed by Loki in the first Avengers movie in 2012.  The series deals with Hydra (and the ramifications from Captain America: Winter Soldier), as well as introducing us to Marvel comics characters, the Inhumans, and alien species such as the Kree, and the Chronicoms. 

People die and are revived, they travel into space and through time, and enter alternate timelines.  Chloe Bennet portrays Daisy Johnson, aka Quake, a powerful Inhuman who joins S.H.I.E.L.D. Ming-Na Wen, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Natalia Cordova-Buckley round out the team.

In 2015, when Netflix was starting to become a media force and Disney+ was not even a glimmer in its parents’ eyes, Marvel entered into a deal with Netflix to develop series featuring some of its lesser-known “street-level” heroes.  Unlike the world-saving superhero teams (such as the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four), these characters have grittier, more personal stories, which better lend themselves to series-long plotlines – as opposed to one- or two-part blockbuster movies.  They protect their own cities or neighborhoods, rather than getting involved in planet-saving exploits. 

All of the Netflix Marvel series are significantly more violent and graphic than their TV predecessors, and contain sexual situations that were simply unimaginable in previous superhero shows. 

The heroes themselves are different from most other superheroes on TV as well.  They are haunted by events from their past, and are flawed characters, struggling with what it means to be a “hero.”  There was also a miniseries featuring the four Netflix heroes who came to be known as The Defenders – Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, who were brought together to battle a shadowy global conspiracy.

When Daredevil (2015-18) debuted on Netflix, it raised the bar for superhero storytelling on TV. Charlie Cox is Matt Murdoch/Daredevil – blind lawyer by day, vigilante crimefighter by night.  While he has no actual superpowers, he has ninja-like fighting skills and heightened senses to make up for his lack of sight. 

He is conflicted and haunted by events in his past, and struggles with the violence he is forced to inflict on the bad guys.  The fight choreography (check out the hallway fight sequence from season 1, the battle toward the end of season 2, and the prison gym fight in season 3) is well beyond anything I’ve seen on television.  His constant concern – at what point do you become what you are fighting?  Instilling fear into those who would threaten his rough New York City neighborhood, he is known as “the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.”   This series also introduces us to The Punisher, one of Marvel comics most popular characters.

Netflix followed up Daredevil with Jessica Jones (2015-19), which has the distinction of being Marvel’s first female lead and title character in either television or movies.  Krysten Ritter stars as the reluctant hero, working as a private detective out of her Hell’s Kitchen apartment in New York City.  She has extraordinary strength, received through an experimental medical procedure that saved her life when her family was killed in a car crash. 

Jessica Jones shatters the mold of typical female TV protagonists by presenting a strong, brooding, independent woman on her own, who plays by her own rules.  She’s flawed, she swears, she drinks too much, and she has indiscriminate and casual sex on her own terms – the type of female character you rarely if ever see on television.  She’s a hero and a victim (who doesn’t need to be saved by a man).  The series is a strong commentary on male/female relationships and the abuse of privilege and power, focusing on such topics as addiction, rape, retaliation, revenge, and redemption – subject matter seldom dealt with on television, and not at all in the Marvel universe at large. 

Most of the strong, independent characters in Jessica Jones are women – including Rachael Taylor as her best friend Trish “Patsy” Walker, Carrie-Anne Moss as a high-powered attorney who has helped Jessica out of several jams, and Janet McTeer as her mom.  Notably, roles often played by women, the assistant, the girlfriend (in this case boyfriend), and the sidekick, are reserved for men.  All 13 episodes in its second season have female directors. 

 Luke Cage (2016-18) was the first Black superhero to be featured as a protagonist and title character of a comic book (first appearing in 1972).  This is an updated version, with Mike Colter in the title role as the quietly confident reluctant hero with super strength and unbreakable, bulletproof skin (caused by a sabotaged medical experiment when he was in prison after being wrongfully convicted). 

His plans to live a quiet life do not go as planned, as bad guys, some linked to his past, force him out of the shadows to fight crime and corruption in his city.  He is celebrated on the streets where he lives as “the Hero of Harlem.”  But new threats emerge, forcing him to question what it really means to be a hero. 

 

Luke Cage is different from other superhero series (and most television dramas), as it features a mostly Black cast, as well as numerous cultural references and visual images – bringing a socially conscious and fresh perspective to a genre in which it has been sorely lacking.  At a time when images of violence against Black men and women are more common than ever, watching an African-American man impervious to bullets and dispatching gun-toting assailants, should appeal to many viewers who have seldom, if ever, seen people who look like them in these roles.

Iron Fist (2017-18) stars Finn Jones stars as Daniel Rand, who was presumed dead in a mysterious plane crash that claimed the lives of his billionaire parents.  In truth, he was rescued by warrior monks, and he grew up in the mystical city of K’un-Lun, which is only accessible to the outside world every 15 years.  He was trained in martial arts to become a fierce warrior, eventually becoming “the immortal Iron Fist,” protector of K’un-Lun and fighter of evil forces.  Fifteen years later, he returns home to New York City to reconnect with his past and take his rightful place at the head of his family’s company, where he has to face off with numerous bad guys.  This is the weakest and least popular of the Netflix Marvel series,

Marvel’s most violent antihero, Frank Castle, known throughout New York City as The Punisher (2017-19), is played by Jon Bernthal.  He’s a former special forces marine, who, in the first season, is seeking vengeance on those who murdered his family.  He is cunning, ruthless, and brutal, and makes previous theatrical movie versions of the character seem tame and one-dimensional by comparison.  Unlike other Marvel vigilantes, he has no qualms or remorse about the high body counts he leaves in his lurch.  Although he has interacted with Daredevil, The Punisher is not part of the Defenders.

Other series based on Marvel characters have recently aired on Disney-owned ABC, Freeform, and Hulu, as well as Fox and FX (before Disney acquired 20^th Century Fox assets).  These were produced by Marvel’s television unit and were canceled once its film division took over and Disney+ was becoming a reality.

Marvel’s Runaways (Hulu 2017-2019): Lots of teenagers think their parents are evil, but in this case they really are.  A group of six diverse high-school students, with varying degrees of enhanced abilities, must band together to fight their parents, who may be part of an otherworldly threat to humankind.  The kids are classmates, who grew up together because their parents were friends.  When the kids discover their parents have been responsible for unspeakable deeds, and are part of a secret organization called The Pride, they band together to further investigate.  Are their parents actually evil, or are they being manipulated by outside malevolent forces?

Inhumans (ABC 2017) are evolutionary advanced humans with physical abilities far beyond normal people, who live in a secret city on the Moon (hidden from human eyes).  When they come of age, they enter something called the Terrigen Mist which can substantially enhance (and sometimes reduce) these abilities.  The Inhumans are led by the Royal Family – Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, and Crystal.  The Inhumans first appeared in Fantastic Four comics in 1965 (with some new characters introduced in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series).  They have an interesting backstory and enough different and diverse characters that it should have the potential to make a good series.  But this was not it.

Legion (FX 2017-2019) is linked to the X-Men universe (before the rights to that franchise reverted from Fox back to Disney).  It centers on David Heller/Legion (Dan Stevens), who might be the most powerful mutant of all.  He was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, and has spent much of his life in mental institutions (with several other mutants).  But the bizarre visions and monsters he thinks are delusions might actually be real.  There’s apparently a parasitic demon who has been living in his head.  And, of course, there’s a secret organization that wants to harness his power.    

The series received a fair amount of critical acclaim for its visual effects and departure from standard superhero fare – and it is the least Marvel-like Marvel series you will ever see.  Those familiar with his character from the comic books know who his famous father is.  Jean Smart heads up an ensemble cast, which includes Aubrey Plaza.

The Gifted (Fox 2017-2019) takes place in the X-Men universe.  The X-Men have disappeared, and mutants are being hunted by a special government unit.  When two suburban parents (Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker), discover their two children (Natalie Alyn Lind, Percy Hynes White) have developed mutant powers, they seek refuge with an underground network of mutants.  This group, with varying degrees of enhanced abilities, fights to survive in a world that fears them and puts them in constant danger.  They also clash with a more aggressive group of mutants, who believes a pre-emptive strike on the humans who are hunting them is the best way to keep them all safe.

Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph star as Cloak and Dagger (Freeform 2018-2019), two teenagers from very different backgrounds (she from privilege, he from the streets), who have both experienced major tragedies in their lives.  Taking place in New Orleans, they acquired superpowers when an oil Gulf platform collapses.  She has the ability to emit light energy daggers, he can engulf others in darkness and transport them through the Darkforce Dimension.  As their friendship and relationship grows, they start to realize that their powers are linked together and strongest when they work in tandem – all the better to help them fight against the evil Roxxon corporation.

As Netflix’s five-year partnership with Disney-owned Marvel came to an end, it canceled all five of its original scripted series based on these heroes – Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher   This coincided with Disney ramping up efforts for Disney+, and taking full operational control of Hulu.  Netflix was moving toward owning more of its own content, and it did not have an ownership stake in any of its Marvel series – each season required paying a hefty license fee to Disney-owned ABC Studios.  Continuing with additional seasons of these series, which they would soon lose the rights to anyway, was not seen as financially viable for Netflix.  Marvel was not permitted to use any of the Netflix characters until two years after the series was canceled.  This period is now over for all the Netflix shows, and while there are rumors about reviving some of the characters, nothing has yet been officially confirmed.

Marvel Studios, which produces the theatrical movies, started producing their own series in 2018 for Disney+, the first of which debuted in January 2021 – more than a dozen more are planned over the next few years, and they have significantly larger budgets than the series produced by Marvel Television.  They are also tied more directly to the theatrical movies, and several include supporting characters who appeared in those films.

WandaVision (Disney+, 2021) stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprising their roles as Wanda Maximoff, aka The Scarlett Witch, and Vision from the Avengers theatrical movies.  She has magical powers (telekinesis, telepathy, energy manipulation) and is one of the most powerful of all Marvel heroes.  He is an android with superhuman strength, speed, and analytical capabilities, as well as the ability to change his density and phase through objects. 

The series opens with our heroes in suburbia, living in simulation parodies of classic TV sitcoms from the 1950s through the early 2000s.  Wanda and Vision gradually start to realize something isn’t right when they seemingly can’t remember basic details of their new life.  Is this all an alternate-reality dimension created by Wanda, or is there something more nefarious afoot?  The mystery is unveiled in bits and pieces over the show’s nine episodes.  All of the quirkiness and weirdness of the series culminates in an action-packed finale, worthy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large. 

 

WandaVision was designed as a one-off series transitioning from the Avengers: Endgame theatrical movie to the upcoming Dr. Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, so another season seems unlikely.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+, 2021) stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan in their roles as Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, respectively, teaming up in this six-episode series that finds them in the shadow of the recently departed Captain America (Sam’s mentor and Bucky’s former partner/foe/ally).

The series opens a few months after the events in Avengers: Endgame, with each of our heroes separately trying to adjust to life in a post-Blip world.  For those who don’t recall (or never knew), the “Blip” occurred when Thanos snapped his fingers and caused half of all life in the universe to disappear.  Thanks to the heroics of the surviving Avengers, they were brought back – but not until five years had passed, during which time much of the world was thrown into chaos.  

Although Sam has turned Captain America’s shield over to the government, expecting it to be displayed in a museum, they instead give it to a new “hero,” John Walker (Wyatt Russell), who they introduce to the world as the “new Captain America.”  Unlike Steve Rogers, John Walker did not receive enhanced abilities from being injected with the super-soldier serum, but rather is a decorated and highly trained special forces operative.  At first he seems like a decent enough guy, but that doesn’t last, and he is eventually forced to surrender the shield after a video of him brutally killing one of the bad guys goes viral.

The main bad guys are terrorists known as the Flag-Smashers, who believe things were better during the Blip, and want things to revert back to the chaos and that existed during that five-year period when half the population on earth had disappeared and many of the rules regarding how people lived, along with them.  These new foes are enhanced super-soldiers, led by a woman named Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman). 

Our heroes win in the end.  Much of the drama focuses on the racial inequities that still exist in America, and Sam struggling with what it would mean for a Black man to be the symbol of our country.  The whole purpose of this series seems is to set up the next Captain America theatrical movie, with Anthony Mackie as the new shield carrying hero.  There are also some surprise guest appearances,

Loki (Disney+, 2021) stars Tom Hiddleston, who brings his movie character as the God of Mischief and Thor’s half-brother to the small screen.  In Avengers Endgame the Avengers went seven years back in time to when Loki was fighting them in the “Battle of New York” (from the first Avengers movie in 2012).  They needed to get the Infinity Stones before Thanos acquires them and wipes out half the universe.  In the chaos that ensued, Loki managed to get his hands on the powerful energy cube known as the Tesseract and disappears. 

This series follows what happens to that Loki, before we see him grow and redeem himself in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War.  Loki’s disappearance has caught the attention of the Time Variants Authority (TVA), a powerful bureaucratic organization that exists outside of normal time and space.  The TVA is tasked by the mysterious Timekeepers to make sure people stay in their set timeline.  Any “variants” are put on trial and either reset into their expected timeline, or simply erased from existence.  Loki is now considered a variant.  A new major villain appears, and seems set to wreak havoc on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

The superhero genre extends beyond just DC on the CW and Marvel on Disney+.  Over the past few years, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO Max have all developed successful entries in the genre. 

Titans (HBO Max, 2018- present) is based on the DC characters, the Teen Titans, young superheroes who fight evildoers.  This is not your parents’ group of heroes, however – the violence and sexual situations make it a much more adult version.  One thing that gives the show broad appeal is that it incorporates the version of the group that many Baby Boomers grew up with, namely Dick Grayson’s Robin (who eventually becomes Nightwing), Wonder Girl, and Aqualad, as well as vigilante partners known as Hawk and Dove, and brings them together with the newer version of the Titans – Jason Todd’s Robin, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy, as well as Conner/Superboy (a genetic clone of Superman and criminal genius Lex Luthor).

Titans originally debuted its first two seasons on the DC Universe streaming service, but shifted to HBO Max when that streaming service became the platform for original DC series outside the Arrowverse.

Doom Patrol (HBO Max, 2019- present) is another DC team of superheroes, although not from one of the more popular comics.  The group has undergone many different incarnations over the years.  The Doom Patrol is a group of super-powered misfits, each of whom received their powers due to horrible accidents that also left them scarred, traumatized, and alienated from society.  Members include, Chief, Negative Man, Robotman, Elasti-girl, Mento, Beast Boy (who joins the Titans), Space Case, Crazy Jane, Flex Mentallo, Danny the Ambulance, and Cyborg (who also becomes a member of the Teen Titans and Justice League).  Doom Patrol originally aired on DC Universe before moving to HBO Max.

The Boys (Amazon Prime Video, 2019-present) presents a world where superheroes are real, unaccountable, and can basically do whatever they want (such as accidentally kill ordinary citizens).  In this dark comedy-drama, based on the comic book series, a Justice League-type superhero group known as The Seven wreak havoc as they sometimes do and sometimes only pretend to do great deeds, often leaving destruction and death in their wake  They work for a multibillion-dollar conglomerate that licenses their images and covers up their crimes.  A vigilante group, known as the Boys, is committed to fighting and exposing these corrupt “heroes.” 

Just because this show centers around superheroes, however, does not mean it’s for kids.  Scenes of graphic and implied violence and sex are prevalent throughout.  Karl Urban stars as Billy Butcher, leader of the vigilante group sworn to bring down the “heroes.”  Antony Starr is Homelander, the Superman-style, most powerful member of The Seven.  Erin Moriarity, Dominique McElligott, Aya Cash, and Giancarlo Esposito, among others, round out the cast. 

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix, 2019-present) is based on the comic of the same name.  In 1989, 43 infants are inexplicably born to random women who showed no signs of pregnancy.  Seven of them, all with enhanced abilities, are adopted by a billionaire industrialist who creates the Umbrella Academy to prepare his “children” to save the world.  But first they have to solve his mysterious death.  The siblings travel through time in an attempt to avoid an apocalypse that they somehow ended up causing in the future, while being hunted by assassins sent to stop them from preventing the end of the world,

The ensemble cast includes, Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Casteneda, Cameron Britton, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, and Mary J. Blige.  It remains one of Netflix’s most popular shows.

Jupiter’s Legacy (Netflix, 2021) is based on Mark Millar’s comic-book series, about the super-powered children of legendary superheroes, who struggle to live up to the extraordinary feats of their parents.  They see the modern world differently, and their parents’ code of ethics about never killing the villains as a relic of a different, more civilized time.

Jupiter’s Legacy was supposed to be the first in a series of “Millarworld” shows, creating a new superhero universe for Netflix (to compete with Disney+’s Marvel and Star Wars franchises).  But despite being one of Netflix’s most watched series, it was mysteriously canceled after just one season.  The high budget and behind-the-scenes production battles were blamed.  Netflix and Millar spun the cancellation by saying they are proceeding with Jupiter’s universe, starting with an unrelated Millar comic-book series titled, Supercrooks.

Just as Disney+ will be expanding the Marvel on television, HBO Max will be trying to do the same for DC.  While the Marvel TV series will have links to its cinematic universe, it’s not clear if the same will be true for the DC series.

Several upcoming Marvel series on Disney+ will feature lesser-known characters from its vast array of comic-book heroes:

 

Hawkeye, with Jeremy Renner reprising his role from the Avengers movies, will have a six-episode run in fall 2021.  Hailee Steinfeld will play his young female protegee, Kate Bishop.  Vera Farmiga and Florence Pugh (who starred in the Black Widow movie) also star.

Disney+ is reportedly already working on a spin-off series, featuring another lesser-known Marvel character (first introduced in the Daredevil comic book in 1998), who will also appear in Hawkeye – Echo (Alaqua Cox), a deaf Native-American martial arts expert, whose superpower is her ability to mimic her opponents’ movements and fighting style.

 

She-Hulk will star Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters, lawyer-turned green super-strong hero (who is also Bruce Banner’s cousin – in the comic book, she gains his Hulk powers after getting a blood transfusion from him, so look for Mark Ruffalo to show up).  Tim Roth will reprise his role as the Abomination from The Incredible Hulk movie.  Jameela Jamil will play Titania, a super strong rival of She-Hulk.  Ten episodes are scheduled for some time in 2022.

Ms. Marvel will star Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Muslim Pakistani-American from New Jersey, who writes superhero fan fiction about Captain Marvel, and gains shape-shifting powers (from her latent Inhuman DNA).  Kamala Khan is Marvel’s first Muslim character to headline her own comic book or television series (she made her first comic-book appearance in 2013).  It is expected to debut its six episode run in October or November 2021.  Ms. Marvel is also reportedly going to appear in the feature film, The Marvels, scheduled for 2022.

Moon Knight is one of the more unusual Marvel characters.  Oscar Isaac will play Marc Spector, also known as Moon Knight – a former U.S. marine, C.I.A operative, and mercenary with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).  In the comic book, Marc Spector is near death in Egypt after being betrayed by his employer.  He is saved by the Egyptian moon god  Khonshu, and is given superhuman abilities, in exchange for becoming his conduit on Earth.  Upon his return to the U.S., he becomes the crimefighter, Moon Knight.  He has multiple identities with their own distinct personalities – from a cab driver to a millionaire socialite – which he uses to gain information without being noticed.  This character has been compared to DCs Batman (or at least what Batman might be like if he had DID).  Ethan Hawke will reportedly play the show’s main villain, with May Calamawy in an undisclosed role.  It has a yet to be announced 2022 release date for its six episodes.

Secret Invasion is based on the epic 2008 Marvel comic-book series about the Skrulls, shape-shifting aliens who have been infiltrating Earth for years and replacing various Marvel heroes.  Samuel L. Jackson will reprise his role as Nick Fury, with Ben Mendelsohn again playing the alien Skrull, Talos (first introduced in Captain Marvel).  Kingsley Ben-Adir and Olivia Colman, are set to co-star, and Emilia Clarke is in negotiations to join the cast as well.

Ironheart will be based on one of Marvel’s more obscure comic-book characters who first appeared in 20016, and will star Dominique Thorne in the title role.  She plays Riri Williams, a 15-year-old engineering student genius who attends MIT on a scholarship.  She designs a suit of armor similar to Iron Man’s with material she steals from her campus.  Tony Stark (Iron Man) takes notice of her achievement and encourages her in her goal to become a superhero.  They were  originally considering calling her Iron Woman or Iron Maiden, but thought the former was too old fashioned, and the latter simply inappropriate.  This will be the MCU’s first Black female title character.   It’s slated for an April 2022 release and will consist of six episodes.  Before the shows airs, the character will reportedly appear in the next Black Panther theatrical movie.

Armor Wars will star Don Cheadle reprising his role from the Iron Man and Avenger movies, as War Machine, another secondary Marvel hero to get the series treatment.  There was a seven-issue comic book series in 1987/88 where Tony Stark discovers the top-secret technology he used to create the Iron Man armor has been acquired by a group of supervillains.  But with Tony Stark having died at the end of Avengers: Endgame, it looks like James Rhodes/War Machine will be the one battling them to get the technology back.

Untitled Wakanda Series will star Danak Gurira, reprising her film role as Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s all-female special forces, and the Black Panther’s bodyguards.  Nothing about the plot or additional casting is yet known.  There are unconfirmed rumors that one of Marvel’s great anti-heroes, Namor the Sub-Mariner, might make an appearance

What If…? is an animated series based on the comic book of the same name, which imagines what would happen if things in the Marvel Universe happened differently.  For example, what if Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) became Captain America instead of Steve Rogers, or if Loki wielded the hammer instead of Thor, and other alternate realities.  Many recognizable Marvel actors will voice their character roles.  Twenty-three episodes are planned for summer 2021, the first two of which have already aired.

While the CW will continue to be the primary broadcast network for DC series, particularly for the Arrowverse, HBO Max will not only be the home for former DC Universe series, but will have several new entries, featuring both popular and lesser known heroes.

Naomi from Ava Duvernay, will air on CW this season, and will star Kaci Walfall as the African-American teenage hero that saw her DC Comics debut in 2019.  Naomi is a cool, confident, comic-book and superhero loving teenage high-school student.  When a supernatural event shakes her small hometown of Port Oswego, Oregon, she sets out to uncover its origins, which leads to exploring the DC multiverse and uncovering the truth about her own super-powered origins.

The following series are slated for HBO Max.

Green Lantern, which Arrowverse mega-producer Greg Berlanti promises will be “our biggest DC show ever made,” will reportedly span several decades, and feature more than a few popular members of the Green Lantern Corps. (heroes with green-charged power rings, who protect the earth and the universe from cosmic threats), including Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, and Kilowog.  It will also include the iconic villain, Sinestro.  This has no relation to the failed 2011 theatrical movie.  The pandemic delayed production, so the planned 2021 release will likely be delayed until 2022.  Ten episodes have been ordered.

Peacemaker will star John Cena, reprising his role from the latest Suicide Squad theatrical movie as the highly skilled and equally unstable warrior, Peacemaker.  James Gunn, who is writing the series, has confirmed that other characters from the film will appear in the TV show.  The series was picked up for eight episodes, scheduled to premiere in January 2022.

DC Super Hero High is a comedy about a group of teenagers who are destined to become superheroes.  The series will be set in a boarding school for gifted children, and will deal with typical teenage issues before they become heroes.  It will probably debut in late 2021 or early 2022.

Justice League Dark is based on the Justice League spin-off comic about a team that battles supernatural forces.  In the comics, the team has included characters such as John Constantine, Deadman, Zatana, and Swamp Thing, but there’s no word yet on which of them or any others will be featured here.  There’s a chance that characters from this series will eventually be spun off into their own series (the opposite of what Netflix did with The Defenders) J.J. Abrams is developing the show.

Constantine will reportedly be another new series from J.J. Abrams.  It will focus on a younger version of the man who fights against supernatural foes (there could be cross-over possibilities with Justice League Dark, since John Constantine will be played by the same actor in both series).  No word yet on a potential release date.

Strange Adventures is an anthology series from Greg Berlanti, with each episode telling a cautionary tale focusing on different, mostly lesser-known characters within the DC universe (possibly someone like Adam Strange).  Stories could run the gamut from earthbound heroes to intergalactic themes and the supernatural.  Strange Adventures was a comic-book series that ran from 1950-1973, focusing largely on sci-fi stories that sometimes included superheroes.  I haven’t heard any details or a potential release date since it was originally announced as being in development.

Madame X will be adapted for HBO Max by J.J. Abrams and Angela Robinson.  Madame X is a sorceress who has helped both the Suicide Squad and Justice League Dark in the DC comic books.  The series is in the early development stage, so no release date has been announced.

The Batman Prequel will be a spin-off of director Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman theatrical movie, which is scheduled to be released in theaters in October 2021.  The series will focus primarily on the Gotham City Police Department and “will build upon the motion picture’s examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City, ultimately launching a new Batman universe across multiple platforms.”  The series will take place a year before The Batman movie, as the masked vigilante first appears on the scene.  The story is seen through the POV of Gotham’s corrupt cops, and one in particular.  Reeves described the story as “a battle for the cop’s soul.”

Val-Zod Superman Series is being developed for HBO Max by Michael B. Jordan.  Val-Zod (who happens to be Black) is the Superman from Earth 2, where he is one of the last Kryptonians, and the second to assume the Superman mantle.  The character first appeared in a DC comic in 2014.

Aquaman: King of Atlantis is a three-part animated series aimed at kids, and focusing on the undersea superhero and his underwater kingdom of Atlantis.

There have been numerous animated series based on DC, Marvel, and other characters throughout the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, and 2000s, geared to kids, teens, and young adults.  Just some examples representative of each decade include,

1960s: Marvel: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four. DC: The New Adventures of Superman, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, The Batman/Superman Hour, The Adventures of Batman. Other: Mighty Mouse Playhouse, Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse, Astro Boy, Underdog, 8 Man, Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel, The Herculoids, Space Ghost, Birdman.

1970s: Marvel: Spider-Man, Super Friends, Spider-Woman.  DC:  The New Adventures of Batman, The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour. Other: The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse.

1980s: Marvel: Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk.  DC: Super Friends, Shazam!.  Other: Thundarr the Barbarian, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The Transformers, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Defenders of Earth, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse,  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

1990s: Marvel: Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Spawn.  DC: Batman: The Animated Series, Superman the Animated Series.  Other: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dragon Ball Z, Darkwing Duck, The New Adventures of Captain Planet, The Tick, Mega Man, The Powerpuff Girls.

2000s: Marvel: The Spectacular Spider-Man, X-Men Evolution, Wolverine and the X-Men, Fantastic Four.  DC:  Batman Beyond, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited, Legion of Super Heroes.  Other:  Samurai Jack, Max Steel, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Teamo Supremo.

2010s: Marvel: Avengers Assemble, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Ultimate Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Guardians of the Galaxy, Big Hero 6: The Series.  DC: Young Justice, Teen Titans Go, DC Super Hero Girls.  Other: Transformers Prime, The Powerpuff Girls, Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

2020s: Marvel: Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten M.O.D.O.K., What If… DC: Harley Quinn, Aquaman: King of Atlantis.  Other: Invincible, Kid Cosmic.

Is This Hidden Gem the Best Sci-FI Series Ever? (8/21)

There are so many sub-genres of science fiction, and so many excellent vastly different sci-fi movies and television series, that singling out any as “the best” seems silly. 

How can you compare stories featuring aliens (e.g., Falling Skies, Colony, Raised by Wolves) to fantasy (e.g., Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Game of Thrones, The Witcher), horror (e.g., American Horror Stories, Van Helsing, Servant), post-apocalyptic (e.g., The Walking Dead, The Last Ship, Z Nation), space operas (e.g., Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, The Expanse), super heroes (e.g., The Flash, Titans, Superman & Lois), alternate histories (Man in the High Castle, Watchmen, For All Mankind), cyberpunk (e.g., Dollhouse, Almost Human, Altered Carbon), dystopian futures (e.g., The Handmaid’s Tale, Westworld, Snowpiercer), parallel worlds (e.g., Sliders, Fringe, Counterpoint), time travel (e.g., Quantum Leap, Travelers, Outlander) the supernatural (e.g., X-Files, Supernatural, Stranger Things), or franchises (e.g., Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate)?

That said, Netflix’s mystery thriller, Dark, needs to be carved into the Mount Rushmore of science-fiction dramas.  It’s the most meticulously well-crafted series I’ve ever seen.  It can be as confounding as it is compelling, but when it’s over, you realize you’ve just seen a masterpiece.  

Dark is among the very best sci-fi series ever made, and is certainly the best one incorporating time travel.  It is a rare thrill to watch a television series with such lofty ambitions so masterfully achieve its goals with a nearly perfect series finale.

Dark is Netflix’s first original German series.  It was originally pitched as a darker, more complex version of Stranger Things.  It premiered in December 2017 and aired for three brilliant and often mesmerizing seasons.  It is difficult to describe what it’s about to someone who hasn’t seen it because it isn’t linear strorytelling.  It jumps back and forth across time, and it takes a while before you realize what’s going on. 

According to Streaming On Demand Analytics (SODA), Dark was the second most watched non-English-language series on Netflix (behind only Money Heist) between 2017 and 2020, and was viewed by roughly half of all Netflix accounts in the UK, France, Spain, and Italy (significantly more in its home market of Germany).

I’ll try not to give too much away, but there are some spoilers ahead.

Dark is an intricate puzzle that manages to incorporate many elements of various science-fiction genres without fitting neatly into any one of them.  There are causal loops, multiple timelines, a parallel universe, a dystopian future, a group intent on causing an apocalypse (which has or hasn’t already happened), and another group determined to stop them (as they engage in debates about predetermination versus free will).  At the center of it all, spiraling in and out of focus, is an at once tragic and hopeful love story.

As the series begins, it appears to be a standard crime drama.  In the fictional small German town of Winden, with a nuclear power station at its center, two children disappear in similar fashion 33 years apart.  But you quickly discover there is a lot more going on here.  A time-travel conspiracy and hidden connections, secrets, and lies among four families, spanning three generations, are slowly unraveled over the course of 26 episodes.

The series starts out in 2019, but gradually expands to include several other time periods – first 1986 and 1953, then 1920, and eventually 2052 and 1888.  A wormhole (created by a blast at the nuclear power plant), which opens portals between two parallel worlds and several timelines, is located deep within Winden caves.  Dark has its own unique rationale as to why time travel is only possible in 33-year increments. 

It’s not always easy to follow who’s who as different characters and versions of characters at different ages and different realities interact with one another.  In one scene, multiple versions of the same character are in the same room at the same time.  The series requires your attention – no multi-tasking while watching or you’ll get lost pretty quickly.  Even if you’re paying attention you might get lost for a while.

As the philosophical pendulum swings back and forth between fate and free will,  some characters do horrific things, justifying them by “knowing” they are necessary for events to unfold the way they are “supposed to.”  Some characters are determined to stop a cycle of events that seems to keep repeating.  Others have no idea they are being manipulated by some sinister master plan.

I often find time travel stories annoying, because they typically follow one of two tracks.  Either you can’t change the past because if you could, there would be no reason for you to go back and change it in the first place (and if you are able to change some detail, it inevitably leads to causing the event you wanted to prevent).  Or, if you change the past, it simply creates an alternate timeline, rather than affecting the timeline you originated from. 

So I expected a familiar, unsatisfying ending, which would leave much of the complex web of mysteries unresolved.  Yet the writers somehow managed to pull it all together into a conclusion that makes sense and is close to perfect (and perfectly satisfying). 

The background music and the cinematography are appropriately ominous.  The large cast, which includes, Louis Hoffman, Lisa Vicari, Maja Schone, Jordas Triebel, Oliver Masucci, Mark Waschke, Sebastian Rudolf, Karoline Eichhorn, Moritz Jahn, Gina Stieibitz, Carlotte von Falkenhayn, Andreas Pietschmann, and Dean Lennard Liebrenz, are all spot on for their respective roles.

While debating the existence of God, and fate versus free will, one of the characters declares, “God is time, and time is not compassionate,” which describes this series as well as anything.  As does the Albert Einstein quote that appears onscreen during the first episode: “The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

Streaming Now: The Rise and Fall of Ad-Supported Cable TV

Twenty years ago, with very few exceptions, four broadcast networks were the only places you could find new original scripted series programming – and basically only six or seven months out of the year (since they aired large repeat loads during non-sweeps months and throughout the summer).

This started to change in the late 1990s with the debuts of HBO’s Oz, The Sopranos, and Sex in the City, then changed for good in 2002 with the premiere of FX’s The Shield.  Throughout the 2000s, many cable networks joined the fray and successfully branded and re-branded themselves with their own distinctive type of original programming.  In 2013, Netflix changed the game with the release of House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, as streaming and bingeing officially became parts of the media lexicon.

This 100^th issue of The Sternberg Report takes a comprehensive look at the rise of original scripted entertainment programming on ad-supported and premium cable, and how the rise of streaming services is impacting the TV landscape.  For those of you who don’t want to read too much detail, here is an executive summary:

 

Executive Summary

Pre-2002:  HBO and Showtime, were the only places besides the broadcast networks to find any original scripted series.  In the late 1990s/early 2000s, when prison drama Oz (1997-2003), mob family drama The Sopranos (1999-2007), and comedy-dramas The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998) and Sex and the City (1998-2004), aired on HBO, the broadcast networks’ exclusive grip on original scripted series started to loosen for the first time.  These shows elevated scripted series beyond anything the broadcast networks were capable of doing (restrained as they were by advertiser concerns regarding language, sexual content, and violence).  They changed the perception of what was possible on the small screen. 

2002:  Cable started to demonstrate that the broadcast networks were no longer the only ad-supported game in town for original scripted series.  Not only could they air programming that would never fly on a broadcast network, but advertisers would accept edgier content (as long as it was accompanied by good ratings or critical acclaim).  Broadcast and cable were still thought of as distinctly different media by both viewers and advertisers.

• In March 2002, ad-supported television changed forever when FX debuted The Shield, a gritty drama about rogue LAPD cops. The network had previously focused primarily on off-network repeats from its 20^th Century Fox parent company, such as NYPD Blue and The X-Files.  The Shield broke many long-standing conventions and led to a gradual increase in edgier original cable dramas.  A decade earlier, Steven Bochco famously said he intended ABC’s NYPD Blue to be television’s first R-rated series.  The Shield, with its gritty portrayal of corrupt cops, really was.  It employed content and language never before seen on ad-supported television. 

• Between 2002 and 2006, 64% of all the new scripted ad-supported cable series ran for five or more seasons, and only 9% were canceled after just one season.

2003:  Original scripted series on ad-supported cable were not yet widespread.  But there were a a couple of notable successes.  FX’s reputation for gritty drama too intense for broadcast television was further cemented in July 2003, with the premiere of Ryan Murphy’s Nip/Tuck, a dark comedy-drama about two very different partners in a Miami plastic surgery practice.  It ran for six seasons.  Syfy had one of the best original sci-fi dramas off all time with Battlestar Galactica (a re-imagined update of the 1978/79 TV series), which began as a miniseries in December 2003 and quickly went to weekly series (ending its successful run in March 2009).

2004-2006:  Only a few cable networks were airing original scripted series, but production started to grow.  FX continued to develop high-quality and edgy content, TNT and Freeform entered the scripted drama arena with strong series debuts, USA premiered one of its longest-running hits, TBS entered the comedy fray, and AMC got its feet wet with a successful miniseries.

2007-2011:  This was the five-year cable boom, when ad-supported cable networks really start ramping up production of original scripted series.  AMC developed several groundbreaking series.  FX, TNT, and USA debuted some of the longest running hits on television, each with its network’s own distinctive branding.  Freeform started its string of one successful new young-women-appeal series a year, and several other cable nets developed new signature shows.

• In 2007, there were an unprecedented 13 new scripted series on nine different ad-supported cable networks. This grew sharply over the next few years. 

• In 2010, in addition to AMC premiering the highest rated program on television, we also saw the debut of TNT’s highest rated show, Freeform’s highest rated show, USA’s highest rated show, TV Land’s highest rated show, and UpTV’s longest running show.

• In 2011, there was a surge in the number of new ad-supported cable series, with an all-time high 28 (17 dramas, 11 comedies) premiering on 15 different networks. Overall, by 2011, there were 57 original scripted series on 18 ad-supported cable networks, and 22 series on premium cable (20 on HBO and Showtime).

• Between 2007 and 2013, as original cable series started to become more prominent, one-third of new ad-supported cable series aired for at least five seasons, while only 19% lasted just one season.  Some of cable’s most successful series premiered during this period. 

• Major ad-supported cable successes between 2007 and 2011 included, AMC – Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels; Freeform – Secret Life of the American Teenager, Pretty Little Liars; FX – Sons of Anarchy Justified, Louie, American Horror Story; SyFy – Warehouse 13, Haven; TBS – Tyler Perry’s House of Pain, Meet the Browns; TNT – Saving Grace, Leverage, Southland, Rizzoli & Isles, Falling Skies;  USA – Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, Royal Pains, White Collar, Covert Affairs;  BET – The Game; ION – Flashpoint; Lifetime – Army Wives; MTV – Teen Wolf; TV Land – Hot in Cleveland; UpTV – Heartland.

Premium cable took a back seat for much of this time, at least as far as new series go.  But they started to thrive again in 2011, as HBO premiered one and Showtime debuted two of their longest-running and most popular series.  Starz and Cinemax started trying to compete with HBO and Showtime during this period as well.

With several of HBO’s major hits having recently ended – Sex in the City (2004), Six Feet Under (2005), or about to end – The Sopranos (2007), The Wire (2008), the network took a little while to get revved up again, although it did develop three of its strongest series between 2007 and 2011 – True Blood, Game of Thrones, and Boardwalk Empire.  Showtime started to move into HBO’s league as it generated a string of successful comedies and dramas during this five-year period, including a handful of the most popular and longest-running series on premium cable – Californication, Nurse Jackie, Shameless, and Homeland.  Starz had its first major scripted hit with Spartacus.  Cinemax aired Strike Back, which became its longest-running original series.

2012:  The saturation of strong cable series starts to take its toll on new show performance.  Half of all the new scripted series debuting on ad-supported cable in 2012 lasted two seasons or less.  The only major hit this year was TNT’s Major Crimes, which was a spin-off of The Closer.  Even FX and USA, which had been hit machines, did not have a successful new show. 

HBO and Showtime continued to generate hits.  HBO premiered Veep and Girls, while Showtime came up with House of Lies. 

Netflix and Hulu aired their first scripted series.  Netflix debuted the Norwegian-American comedy-drama, Lilyhammer, which ran for three seasons, while Hulu tried a mockumentary comedy-drama, Battleground, which only lasted one season.

2013:  This was a watershed year for what would soon be called “Peak TV.”  There were more original scripted series premieres on more ad-supported cable networks than ever before, many of them quite successful (although most were unable to generate the blockbuster ratings that hits from previous years enjoyed).  A&E, Audience, BBCA, BET, Freeform, FX, Hallmark, History, Lifetime, and OWN, all had major hits.  Overall, there were 26 new series on 17 ad-supported cable networks, and 17 of them (65%) lasted at least three seasons.

Ad-supported cable successes included, Bates Motel (A&E), Orphan Black (BBCA), Being Mary Jane (BET), The Fosters (Freeform), The Americans (FX), Cedar Cove (Hallmark), Vikings (History), Devious Maids (Lifetime), and Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse (OWN).

There were also more than a dozen premium cable dramas on the air, including new hits from Showtime (Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex) and Cinemax (Banshee).

Netflix debuted its first two original scripted series (House of Cards, Orange is the New Black), both hits, dropping a full season of episodes at once (officially making “streaming” and “bingeing” part of the media lexicon).  Amazon Prime Video (the short-lived Beta and Alpha House) and Hulu (East Los High) also debuted their first original scripted series.

2014-2016:  Original content continues to rise as cable ratings slide. Using my definition of success as new series lasting at least three seasons, this three-year period had many successful ad-supported cable series.  Of 100 new original scripted shows, 57 fit that category.  But even so, average ratings during this time started to decline.  There are basically three reasons for this.  New shows, while performing well enough to be renewed, did not do as well as their predecessors (partly because there were already so many popular series on the air).  At the same time, hit shows that had been on for several years, naturally started to decline.  The continued proliferation of strong premium cable series and the advent of streaming services contributed to siphoning viewers from ad-supported cable (just as cable had been doing for years to the broadcast networks).

• 2014 was a strong year for premium cable, as HBO and Showtime each had more than one new hit, and Starz had several major original series successes.  In fact, 9 of the 10 new series to debut on premium cable in 2014 were hits.  On the streaming front, Netflix had a couple of new successful dramas, and Amazon Prime Video debuted some of its strongest shows.

• More than 20 new dramas debuted on a dozen ad-supported cable networks in 2015, including some long-running and some short-lived entries. There were also an unprecedented 10 new ad-supported cable comedies.  Overall, more than half the new series lasted at least three seasons.  On the premium cable front, only one of the five new entries was successful (the fewest new series in years).  This is also the year when Amazon Prime Video started making a real effort to compete with Netflix, and put on some high-quality original scripted dramas.  It also marked the year when Netflix made its successful, but too-short foray into the Marvel universe.  Netflix debuted a couple of its most successful comedies in 2015.

• In 2016, a record 28 original scripted dramas premiered on 10 different ad-supported cable networks. Fifteen lasted at least three seasons.  Eight of the 13 new comedies lasted at least three seasons (four of them on TBS).  Only half of premium cable’s 12 new series worked (saturation and streaming services were starting to take their toll here as well.)  Premium cable network Epix aired its first original scripted drama in 2016.  Netflix continued to spend big – it premiered 20 new series, including three of its most popular dramas.  Amazon Prime Video debuted one of its more popular dramas and one of its most critically acclaimed comedies.

Major ad-supported cable successes during this three-year period included, AMC – Better Call Saul, Fear the Walking Dead, Into the Badlands; FX – Fargo, American Crime Story, Atlanta; TBS – Angie Tribeca, Search Party; TNT – The Last Ship, The Librarians, Animal Kingdom; USA – Mr. Robot, Queen of the South; Hallmark – When Calls the Heart, The Good Witch, Chesapeake Shores; OWN – Greenleaf, Queen Sugar; TV Land – Younger.

There were a few new successful premium cable series, most notably, HBO – Ballers, Westworld, Insecure; Showtime – The Affair, Billions; Starz – Black Sails, Power, Outlander.

This is when Netflix started ramping up its programming investment and became a major force in the television industry, spending about $5 billion on original content in 2016 (a figure that would grow substantially in subsequent years).  Here are just some of the more popular new original scripted series the streamer dropped during these three years: Peaky Blinders, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Marvel’s Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, Grace & Frankie, Narcos, Fuller House, Stranger Things, Black Mirror, and The Crown.

Amazon Prime Video did not have anywhere near the volume of Netflix programming from 2014-2016, but several of its new original series were quite successful – Bosch, Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, The Man in the High Castle, Sneaky Pete, and Goliath.

Hulu had some original content between 2014 and 2016, but it wasn’t competitive with Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.  At this time, it was concentrating more on its library content and showing network series from its then owners (Disney/ABC, Comcast/NBC, Fox, and Time Warner/CW) soon after their broadcast runs.

2017-2019:  The streaming wars really started to take shape.  Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu each debuted several of their most popular series.  In September 2017, CBS All Access joined the mix with a couple of strong debuts.  In November 2019, Apple TV+ and Disney+ went live, and both established themselves with signature programming.

There were lots of new ad-supported cable series, but relatively few successes.  And those that did  work didn’t perform nearly as well as previous hits.  Premium cable networks, HBO, Showtime, and Starz, continued to thrive.

• 2017 was a strong volume year for new ad-supported cable series, but not in terms of ratings. On one hand, FX had four new successful entries, while AMC, Audience, BET, Freeform, Nat Geo, History, IFC, TNT, and USA each had new shows that performed well.  On the other hand, out of 26 new series across 19 cable networks, two-thirds (18) lasted less than three seasons.  On the premium cable front, HBO and Starz had new hits.  Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and CBS All Access each had major new success stories.

• 2018 was a high-volume year for original scripted series on ad-supported cable, as more than 30 premiered on 18 different networks. But more than 70% of new shows lasted less than three seasons (23 out of 32). There were also a few high-profile and popular premium cable dramas premiering in 2018, as well as several strong entries on the streaming front.  Spending on original content on streaming services continued to reach new heights.

• In 2019, streaming services, particularly Netflix, continued to spend tremendous sums money on new programming, and it paid off. Netflix reportedly spent more than $15 billion on original content in 2019, compared to roughly $6 billion for Amazon Prime Video, $2.5 billion for Hulu, and $800 million for CBS All Access.  Disney+ reportedly had a budget of $1.5 - 2 billion going into 2020, but that should grow substantially in the next few years as it revs up numerous Star Wars and Marvel original series.  Apple TV+, without the big library archives enjoyed by some of its competitors, reportedly has a $6 billion annual original content budget. 

In addition to five of Netflix’s most popular dramas premiering in 2019, it introduced more than a dozen new comedies, including some of its biggest fan favorites.  Amazon Prime Video (with 13 new series), Hulu, and CBS All Access all had some major successes, as did Apple TV+ and Disney+, both of which launched in November. 

It was also a strong year for HBO, as several strong post Game of Thrones dramas emerged.  It was a mixed bag for ad-supported cable – of the 22 new regular series on 14 cable networks, half (11) have already been canceled, and 8 (36%) lasted just a single season.  For the first time in nearly two decades, except for FX, there were no new scripted original series on ad-supported cable that I would call a major hit.

There were some new ad-supported series between 2017 and 2019 that performed well, but fewer than in previous seasons:  Freeform – The Bold Type; FX – Legion, Snowfall, Pose, Mayans M.C. What We Do In The Shadows, as well as two miniseries, Feud: Bette & Joan and Fosse/Verdon; TBS – The Last O.G.; TNT – Claws; USA – The Sinner; BBCA – Killing Eve; IFC – Brockmire; Nat Geo – Genius; OWN – David Makes Man; Paramount – Yellowstone.

It might have been a relatively weak three-year period for ad-supported cable, but not so for HBO, as it came up with one new hit after another, appealing to a wide spectrum of viewers.  These included, Big Little Lies, The Deuce, Barry, Succession, Euphoria, Chernobyl, Watchmen, and His Dark Materials.  Showtime had neither the quantity nor quality to match HBO during this period, but it did manage to come up with a few successful series of its own – The Chi, Escape at Dannemora (miniseries), Black Monday, The L Word: Generation Q – as well as many that did not work.  This was a good three-year period for Starz, as it developed at least one new success each season, including, American Gods, Counterpart, Vida, The Spanish Princess.

From 2017-2019, Netflix enjoyed a surge in spending, a surge in hits, and a surge in viewership, further solidifying its position as the dominant streaming service worldwide and in the U.S.  Key series premieres included, One Day at a Time, Santa Clarita Diet, 13 Reasons Why, Dear White People, GLOW, Ozark, Mindhunter, Dark, Altered Carbon, Lost in Space, Bodyguard, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Kominsky Method, Narcos: Mexico, Sex Education, The Umbrella Academy, Russian Doll, Dead to Me, Lucifer, When They See Us (miniseries), Money Heist, Virgin River, and The Witcher.

Between 2017 and 2019 Amazon Prime Video, while still not matching Netflix’s volume, did premiere several hit series of its own as it ramped up its program development to better compete in the streaming wars.  It also had several entries that were canceled after a single season.  Its successes included, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Absentia, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Homecoming, Hanna, The Boys, Carnival Row, Modern Love, and The Expanse.

Hulu released a number of its most popular original series between 2017 and 2019.  Those included, Harlots, The Handmaid’s Tale, Marvel’s Runaways, Futureman, The Looming Tower (miniseries), PEN15, Shrill, and Ramy.

CBS All Access launched its first three original scripted series in 2017.  All were successful.  It’s been a mixed bag since then, as new series have not been a major focus (its initial series are still performing well after multiple seasons).  Its key new series during this time were, The Good Fight, Star Trek: Discovery, No Activity, The Twilight Zone, and Why Women Kill.

Apple TV+ launched in November 2019 with a new comedy and five new dramas (adding a sixth in December), and has quickly built a reputation for quality series and movies, as well as drawing major stars.  The key 2019 successes were, The Morning Show and For All Mankind.

Disney+ also launched in November 2019.  Its first original production was a hit.  Star Wars spin-off, The Mandalorian, is one of the most popular series in the streaming world.

2020-2021:   The era of Peak TV+.  When it comes to streaming, it is no longer just a Netflix world, although it does still lead the way with an original content budget that continues to dwarf its competitors.  It debuted more original series and more successful series in 2020 than all other streaming services combined.

But Amazon Prime Video and Hulu are no slouches, and CBS All Access continues to grow (and is now the place for all things Star Trek) – ViacomCBS is expanding the streaming service and changing its name to Paramount+.  Disney+ has joined the fray with its massive library of family favorites as well as popular franchises such as PIXAR, Star Wars, Marvel (the latter two will have multiple new live-action series debuting over the next couple of years).  Apple TV+ has some high-quality new series and movies of its own and is increasing its spending on new product.  May 2020 saw the debut of AT&T/WarnerMedia’s HBO Max (with some strong performances out of the gate) and July brought us Comcast/NBC Universal’s ad-supported Peacock (named after the NBC logo).

Disney+ and HBO Max are starting to emerge as major forces, and currently seem to be the biggest threats to Netflix’s dominance.  The former’s upcoming focus on Star Wars and Marvel programming will certainly draw many new subscribers, as will the latter’s pandemic-related decision to debut all of its 2021 theatrical releases simultaneously on its streaming service.  While WarnerMedia claimed its Wonder Woman 1984 “broke records and exceeded our expectations,” it did not release specific subscriber data.  The streaming service measurement and analytics firm, Antenna, did say that during the movie’s first three days of release, HBO Max registered more new sign-ups than any other streaming service has recorded during any other three-day period over the past year.

In March 2020, FX on Hulu launched – 17 of FX’s legacy content of comedies, dramas, and limited series were made available to stream on Hulu, and certain new series will premiere on FX before becoming available on Hulu the next day – a few FX series are scheduled to premiere and live exclusively on Hulu.  Comedy Central has become a testing ground for HBO Max, as several of its new series are moving their second seasons to the streaming service (HBO Max already made a lucrative, exclusive deal for all 23 seasons of the Comedy Central hit, South Park).

Elsewhere on the ad-supported cable front:  AMC extended its Walking Dead franchise; BET debuted two new Tyler Perry comedies.  Not much else was happening among most cable networks in 2020.

Three of Showtime’s most popular and longest running series, Shameless, Ray Donovan, and Homeland, had their series finales this year.  HBO and Starz each had some new success stories.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused TV schedules to be in flux and production schedules to be on pause.  Netflix, which had many shows already in the pipeline, was best positioned to temporarily withstand production delays.  But there is still a chance that some shows already renewed might be “unrenewed,” and others could have delayed start dates.

Here are some of the new series successes in 2020:

AMC:  The Walking Dead: World Beyond

BET:  Tyler Perry’s Ruthless, Twenties

Comedy Central:  Awkwafina is Nora From Queens

TNT:  Snowpiercer

HBO:  The Plot Against America (miniseries), I Know This Much is True (miniseries), Perry Mason, The Undoing (miniseries), Industry

Showtime:  The Good Lord Bird (miniseries), Your Honor (miniseries).

Starz:  Hightown, P-Valley, Power Book II: Ghost

Netflix:  Ragnarok, Locke & Key, Gentefied, Self Made (miniseries), blackAF, Never Have I Ever, Hollywood (miniseries), Space Force, Sweet Magnolias, Warrior Nun, Ratched, The Queen’s Gambit, Emily in Paris, Selena: The Series, Alice in Borderland, Bridgerton

Amazon Prime Video:  Hunters, Upload, The Wilds

 

Hulu:  Endlings, Little Fires Everywhere (miniseries), The Great, Love, Victor, Woke

FX on Hulu:  Devs, Mrs. America (miniseries), A Teacher (miniseries)

 

CBS All Access:  Star Trek: Picard, The Stand (miniseries)

 

Apple TV+:  Little America, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, Home Before Dark, Defending Jacob (miniseries), Ted Lasso, Tehran

 

Disney+:  The Right Stuff

 

HBO Max:  Love Life, Search Party, Raised by Wolves, The Flight Attendant

 

Peacock:  The Capture, Code 404, Saved by the Bell

New Television Season Things to Ponder

As the pandemic continues to wreaks havoc with life in general, television programming is no exception.  Here are a few things worth pondering (or, at least some things I’ve been thinking about) as the new primetime television season gets underway.

• Another issue with TV audience measurement
• Network promotional follies
• Why ratings don’t matter
• How network shows are dealing with COVID-19 and police brutality
• Netflix goes linear (in France)

Can Nielsen (or anyone) accurately measure TV viewing?  I’ve written many columns on various issues I have with TV audience measurement, including the absurdity of advertisers and agencies allowing Nielsen to measure “viewing” in bars and restaurants.  But there’s another issue that seldom comes up, which in today’s video landscape is more important than ever – the composition of Nielsen’s sample.

Central to a well-drawn sample, is the idea that you and your cohorts have similar viewing habits.  There are generally more than a dozen categories that Nielsen uses, which research has shown are significant factors in what and how much television people view.  These include such things as age, sex, income, education, race, language spoken at home, presence of children, etc.  Also important, is access to programming.  It has been essential that cable and satellite penetration, as well as media device ownership in the sample match the country at large.  It didn’t really matter what cable, satellite, or telco system people in the sample subscribed to.  They don’t typically have much impact in channel or program availability or usage.  Likewise, VCR and subsequently DVR ownership are important, but again, which particular type or brand is not relevant, as it has virtually no impact on which programs are time-shifted. 

Streaming, on the other hand, is a different animal entirely.  Knowing that 70% of the country has at least one streaming service and 40% have three, and constructing the sample accordingly, is not good enough.  People who have just Netflix have substantially different access to programming and have different viewing habits than folks who have just Amazon Prime Video.  Likewise, viewing habits are significantly different among those who have Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+, and Peacock, than those who have Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV+, CBS All Access, and BritBox.  For any TV audience measurement service to have relevance, it needs to continually update its sample to match the universe’s subscriptions to specific streaming services (perhaps all that are in at least 10% of TV homes).  Otherwise, there’s no way for the sample to be representative of the population at large, and its reported audience data become increasingly less meaningful.

Promotional Follies:  In the era of Peak TV+, with more viewing choices available than ever before, it takes viewers longer to even become aware of a new series, much less start watching it.  Because of the pandemic, this is the first time in 30 years I haven’t seen any fall TV pilots – there isn’t the normal pre-season industry analysis of new shows.  This makes effective on-air promotion (still the best way to create awareness) more important than ever, particularly for ad-supported networks, which need viewers to start watching a new series more quickly than a subscription streaming service does.

Regular readers of The Sternberg Report know that one of my pet peeves (polite term) and frequent rants is the stubborn refusal of the broadcast networks to promote one another’s programming.  The television landscape of the 1980s and 1990s saw the broadcast networks fiercely battle for every rating point, with ad-supported cable being their only real competition.  ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX were the only places to watch original scripted primetime series, and most TV programs were watched live as they aired.  In today’s much more splintered media world, the broadcast networks should see themselves as allies against everything else (even though all broadcast nets are part of conglomerates that also own streaming services).

Ad-supported cable networks learned long ago that promoting one another’s programming is the most effective way to boost all of their ratings and attract more advertising dollars.  There are several ad-supported cable series over the years that I’ve watched regularly only because I saw them promoted on another network.  The broadcast networks still steadfastly refuse to do this, thereby not advertising to the largest chunk of available consumers of their product, who are most receptive to their message.  They should understand that whenever they develop a This is Us, The Good Doctor, Young Sheldon, or The Masked Singer, it benefits all of them, reminding both the ad industry and the press that the broadcast networks are still capable of producing the highest rated shows on the air (The Walking Dead and Yellowstone notwithstanding).  The advertising industry, which benefits from strong ad-supported programming, should be encouraging this type of cross promotion at every turn.

I was again reminded of this lunacy while I was watching this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards on ABC.  They, of course, had several promos for the host network’s programming (eight by my count).  There were also numerous ads for its competitors.  It had five ads for ad-supported cable networks (CNN, Nat Geo, TBS, and FX), two ads for premium cable (Showtime), and 16 ads for various streaming services (4 for its own Disney+, 2 for Apple TV+, 2 for Amazon Prime Video, 1 for Hulu, 2 for FX on Hulu, 3 for HBO Max, and 2 for Peacock – for some reason the network had previously banned ads for Netflix).  Conspicuously missing from this list was CBS All Access, which I suspect is simply because it has CBS in its name.  Once it officially changes its name to Paramount+, all the broadcast networks will probably happily accept ads for programs it won’t touch today.  There were, of course, no ads for CBS, NBC, FOX, or CW.  And the broadcast networks wonder why their competitors continue to siphon off their viewers, and why their own combined ratings continue to decline.

Given the pandemic delayed season, irregular start dates for both returning and new shows, and virtually no pre-season buzz for new series, cross promotion is more important than ever.  Not to do so is nothing short of promotional malpractice – and one reason initial ratings for returning series are down sharply from last year.  Just as an example, I follow television for a living, and was not aware of the season premiere date for ABC’s The Good Doctor.  I watched it a few days later on Hulu.  Had the premiere been promoted during primetime on other broadcast networks or Sunday football on CBS, FOX, or NBC, I would have known when it was returning.  The same is true for any number of season debuts for new and returning shows.

Do Ratings Matter?  Well, of course they do.  But only to the degree that they affect overall network rankings.  This has to do with an antiquated upfront buying system, where price increases have less to do with whether ratings are up or down, and more to do with the network standings.  I’ve said this before, but if you give broadcast network executives a choice between having their ratings increase by 10% and being in third place or having their ratings decline by 10% and moving into first place (because other networks declined more), every one of them would choose the latter.  This, of course, is a recipe for declining ratings.  On the ad-supported cable front, being in the top 10 matters more than anything.  I was head of research at a cable network, and I remember one year our ratings were up from the previous season, but we had slipped from 9^th place to 11^th place among adults 25-54.  It was not a happy time.  The following year, when we were back in the top 10, there was again joy in Mudville.  This, despite the fact that only about three-tenths of a rating point separated 3^rd and 30^th place among ad-supported cable networks.  Actual rating size was irrelevant, network rankings meant everything.

This is one reason NBC decided to air its Donald Trump town hall at the same time ABC had previously scheduled its Joe Biden town hall.  They expected to beat ABC significantly (which didn’t happen).  That was more important to them than getting higher ratings on a different night.  This is also one of the main reasons the broadcast networks stubbornly refuse to cross-promote one another’s programming.  Doing anything to help another network is seen as unimaginable.  Foolish short-term thinking that has resulted in long-term audience declines.

COVID-19 Storylines:  Several TV series are incorporating COVID-19 into their plots.  I was watching the season premiere of The Good Doctor, and was struck by how well they illustrated the way doctors and hospitals were dealing with the new coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic.  The season premiere of NCIS New Orleans also handled it well.  These storylines being integrated into popular TV shows might actually get some people to take the virus and mask wearing more seriously than politicians or real-life doctors ever could.

 Police Shows Get Re-Invented:  Following George Floyd’s death, and the subsequent nationwide protests against racism and police brutality, broadcast network cop shows, which typically portray the police as heroes and police brutality as a justified means of getting the bad guys to confess, have been forced to undergo much-needed changes.

Chicago P.D. has been probably the biggest example of abusing suspects to get them to reveal crimes (in virtually every episode).  And, of course, virtually every suspect they rough up is actually guilty, so the show presents it as a necessary evil.  These “hero” cops are willing to do whatever it takes to protect the public, even if it means repeatedly crossing the line.  In this season’s premiere episode, a new supervisor (a Black woman) is brought in and tells Hank Voight, the head of the intelligence unit (played by Jason Beghe) that she’s on his side, and knows he’s a good cop, but if he doesn’t change his methods he will be gone within a few months.  And when he is about to take a suspect downstairs to “the cage,” where he can rough him up to get info without anyone else seeing it or any cameras recording it, one of his Black detectives tells him “we can’t do this anymore.”  While Voight yells at him and tells him to quit if he doesn’t like it, he ends up listening to him.  It seems like most police/detective/FBI shows are undergoing changes and hiring consultants to help re-invent the genre and cover topics such as police brutality, systemic racism, and related issues more realistically.   

Netflix Goes Linear (in France):  As streaming competitors enjoy substantial subscriber growth during the pandemic, Netflix is looking for new ways to keep its subscriber base engaged, appeal to new viewers, and maintain its leadership position.

One of the main things that give streaming services an edge over linear broadcast or cable networks (aside from no advertiser-driven content restrictions) is that new programs don’t have to fit into a set schedule geared to a specific audience, or adhere to an artificial fall or mid-season.  Nor do they need to concern themselves with average ratings (reach is the more significant metric).  A series can have anywhere from 6-13 episodes per season (as opposed to 17-22 episodes for most broadcast shows), and new seasons need not debut during the same month each year.  And while a network such as CBS might have trouble scheduling a show appealing to young viewers in the middle of its older skewing lineup, Netflix series appealing to substantially different audiences, such as Ozark, Stranger Things, The Crown, GLOW, Daredevil, Grace & Frankie, Jessica Jones, Sex Education, The Umbrella Academy, The Queen’s Gambit, and The Kominsky Method can thrive side-by-side.

While continuing to have the most user-friendly interface, so many series become available every month that trying to find something new to watch often takes longer than actually watching the show.  And while Netflix’s model has worked quite well, experimenting with new options is smart.

Netflix France has announced a new web-based feature that provides subscribers with a 24-hour grid that is the same for everyone, with programming refreshed every few days.  Presumably this virtual channel would consist of whatever series are most popular in France, along with some new series and movies Netflix wants subscribers to sample.  This service is reportedly rolling out in early December.  This is a brilliantly obvious move, and if it works in France, there’s a good chance it will eventually be tried in the U.S.  Since Netflix already reaches roughly two-thirds of TV homes here, retaining subscribers is now perhaps more important than attracting new ones.  Although Netflix has been steadfast in its insistence that advertising will never be a part of its business model, this might also provide some opportunity to at least experiment in that area.

TV Shows to Stream While You Wait for Your Favorites to Return

The pandemic-delayed new TV fall season is slowly getting underway.  While you wait for your favorite series to return, here is a reminder of some of the best original scripted series available to stream.  There are many hidden gems are just waiting to be found. 

Netflix still has by far the most user-friendly interface.  It has the most comprehensive categories to search through, and by simply moving the cursor to a given series title, it plays the trailer – I can’t imagine why every streaming service doesn’t provide this basic feature.  Here, I break down some of the very best original scripted series to stream by genre.  I’ve already reviewed many of them in previous issues of The Sternberg Report.

Procedural Dramas – Perhaps the best two procedural detective dramas on television are Bosch (6 seasons, renewed for a 7^th and final season, on Amazon Prime Video) and Bordertown (3 seasons on Netflix).  They are as different from one another as two shows in the same genre can be.  Both series have compelling leads, excellent supporting casts, and tightly woven stories.  Bosch is as American as they come, set in Los Angeles, while Bordertown is set in a small Finland town near the Russian border.

Sci-Fi Dramas – There are many shows in this genre available to stream, and I’m not including the more well-known series that didn’t originate on a streaming service (The X-Files, Fringe, Battlestar Galactica, Orphan Black, Counterpart, and, of course, Dr. Who, to name just a few).

Perhaps the best supernatural (certainly the best time travel) drama I’ve ever seen is the German thriller, Dark (3 seasons on Netflix).  Others worth checking out include, the popular supernatural thriller, Stranger Things (3 seasons, renewed for a 4^th, on Netflix), the cyber-punk dystopian, Altered Carbon (2 seasons on Netflix), mystery thrillers, The OA and Sense8 (both canceled way too soon after 2 seasons on Netflix), space drama, The Expanse (which aired for 3 seasons on SyFy before being picked up by Amazon Prime Video for at least 2 additional seasons), and Star Trek parody/homage, The Orville (which aired for 2 seasons on FOX before being picked up by Hulu).  Future Man (3 seasons on Hulu) is also worth checking out.  Disney+’s The Mandalorian (2 seasons) and HBO Max’s first season of Raised by Wolves are worth a look as well.

Superheroes – The best of Netflix’s street-level hero series, all excellent, are, Daredevil (3 seasons), Jessica Jones (3 seasons), and The Punisher (2 seasons).  Luke Cage (2 seasons) is also worth a look.  Other top-notch superhero series to stream include, Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy (2 seasons, renewed for a 3^rd) and Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys (2 seasons, renewed for a 3^rd), which is definitely not for kids.

Other Dramas – The list of great original scripted dramas available to stream is too lengthy to list here.  My favorites include, Netflix’s Ozark (3 seasons, renewed for a 4^th), Peaky Blinders (5 seasons, renewed for a 6^th) and Mindhunter (2 seasons), Amazon Prime Video’s Goliath (3 seasons, renewed for a 4^th), Sneaky Pete (3 seasons), and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2 seasons, renewed for a 3^rd), Hulu’s Harlots (3 seasons), and Apple TV+’s The Morning Show (1 season, renewed for a 2^nd).

Comedies – There are several high-quality original scripted comedies on the various streaming services.  My favorites are, Netflix’s Russian Doll (1 season, renewed for a 2^nd), Dead to Me (2 seasons, renewed for a 3^rd), GLOW (3 seasons), and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (4 seasons), Amazon Prime Video’s Fleabag (2 seasons), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (3 seasons, renewed for a 4^th), and Red Oaks (3 seasons), Hulu’s Shrill (2 seasons, renewed for a 3^rd), Casual (4 seasons), and Dollface (1 season, renewed for a 2^nd), and CBS All Access’s The Good Fight (4 seasons, renewed for a 5^th).

Evil on Netflix:  Season 1 of CBS’s superb new drama, Evil, debuted on Netflix as its #3 most watched series.  Netflix is the perfect promotional vehicle for CBS.  The streamer’s typical viewer might not tend to check out a new show on the older-skewing broadcast network.  Had Evil been a Netflix original series, it would have likely been hailed a one of the best shows of 2019, and certainly would have generated Emmy nominations for its female lead, the superb Katja Herbers, and the deliciously creepy Michael Emerson.  If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s your chance.  It will be interesting to see if its Netflix run provides a ratings boost for its season 2 premiere on CBS.  We’ll likely see more of these.

Star Trek: Discovery:  Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access ended in such a way to provide endless possibilities of what happens next.  Brilliantly done and visually stunning, season 3 manages to create a fresh and exciting take on a 50+ year-old franchise – not an easy task.  It’s also smart to be simultaneously airing season 1 on CBS’s linear broadcast network (although that decision was likely a result of the pandemic).  I’ve only seen the first two episodes, but wow.

Fargo:  To get ready for season 4 of Fargo, my wife and I watched the first three season’s on Hulu (the show is among FX’s several “FX on Hulu” series, which air on Hulu following their debut on FX).  This dark-comedy crime anthology, inspired by the Coen brothers 1996 film, has different stories and characters each season operating in the same universe.  Every season has a superb cast, quirky and dangerous characters, clever plotting and pacing, crisp dialogue, and a cool soundtrack.  Each season stands on its own, but I would still recommend watching them in order (definitely watch season 1 before season 2).  Television at its best.

Live Bingeing Still a Thing:  While we rightly spend a lot of time analyzing how people binge TV shows on streaming services, let’s not forget the regularly scheduled off-network daily marathons on a number of cable networks.  People probably spend more time binge watching The Big Bang Theory on TBS or any number of procedural dramas/cop shows on ION (Blue Bloods, Chicago P.D., Law & Order: SVU, NCIS L.A., Criminal Minds, etc.) than most series on streaming services in a given week.

The Un-renewal:  One unfortunate consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is that some television series that had been renewed for another season have suddenly been axed.  This has also affected some shows that were in development, but have now been canceled.

Safety measures reportedly could cost as much as a half-million dollars per episode.  For a broadcast series that produces anywhere from 17-24 episodes per season, that’s a lot of additional expenditures, particularly for a show that’s not a clear hit.  Additional production time also impacts paying the cast and crew, location costs, and other fees that can pile up, particularly if a show is not produced in-house. 

ABC’s excellent but modestly rated new series, Stumptown, had been renewed, but now will not see a second season.  One reason cited was that scheduling delays meant it would not be ready for air until April, which effectively would have delayed it until fall 2021.  Netflix’s top-notch comedy, GLOW, will not see its planned fourth season – the show is reportedly too intimate to safely shoot with its large ensemble cast during a pandemic, and delays would be costly. 

Other series that have been un-renewed and will not see a second season include,  Netflix’s two promising new series, I’m Not OK With This and The Society, as well as Showtime’s On Becoming a God in Central Florida.  TruTV’s comedy, I’m Sorry was canceled after being renewed for a third season.  HBO Max’s upcoming Americanah was scrapped after its star, Lupita Nyongo had a pandemic-related scheduling conflict.  The new Superman series, Lois & Clark, which was set to join the CW’s Arrowverse stable of DC Comics superhero series in January 2021 is off (at least for now).  Amazon Prime Video was planning a four-episode miniseries, Cortes y Moctezuma (starring Javier Bardem), which is now not proceeding.  Showtime was developing The President is Missing (based on the Bill Clinton and James Patterson book), which is also not going to happen now (David Oyelowo was set to star).  This is Us star, Milo Ventimiglia, was set to star in USA Network’s Evel Knievel miniseries, but production delays forced him to drop out so he could go back to filming the new season of his hit NBC series.  We could see more un-renewals before this is all over.

Hidden Gems to Stream

I’ve been analyzing television programming for more than 30 years.  There was a time, not too long ago, when I could list every show on TV on any given night off the top of my head.  Not today.  This is the era of Peak TV+.  In addition to broadcast television and ad-supported and premium cable, we now have several major streaming services – the first three, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video (which have only been producing original content for about seven years), were joined three years ago by CBS All Access (soon to be rebranded Paramount+), and over the past year by Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Peacock.  There are also numerous smaller and more niche streaming services.

Being stuck at home during the past six months, I’ve been searching for new shows to binge.  I still find something new to watch almost every time I start exploring Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video (mostly Netflix).  There are a number of series that have been on for several years that I am only just now discovering.  I recently finished binge watching three seasons of Money Heist, for example, which is one of Netflix’s most popular international series (and which debuted in 2017).  For me, bingeing is watching two or three episodes in one sitting.

I periodically write analyses of my favorite shows, or series that I think might be flying under most people’s radar that I think are worth checking out.  Some of the best of these include:  Netflix’s Dead to Me, GLOW, The Kominsky Method, Mindhunter, Ozark, Space Force, and Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Daredevil, and The Punisher; Amazon Prime Video’s Bosch, The Boys, Fleabag, Goliath, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Sneaky Pete; CBS All Access’s The Good Fight and Star Trek: Discovery, and Apple TV+’s The Morning Show.

I thought this time I’d recommend some hidden gems that even folks who have been streaming series for a while might not have discovered.  I’m listing them alphabetically, and noting that if you like a specific program or genre, you might also like this show. 

            If you like procedural dramas and crime-solving geniuses:        

Bordertown (Netflix): A gifted, eccentric, but socially awkward detective inspector from Helsinki, Finland, Kari Sorjonen, (played brilliantly by Ville Virtanen) takes a job leading the Serious Crimes Unit in a small town near the Russian border, so he can spend more time with his wife (Matleena Kuusniemi) and teenage daughter (Olivia Ainali).  Of course, he doesn’t have any more time for his family, as he gets pulled into investigating one disturbing crime after another.

This stylish series is more serialized than U.S. procedural dramas – each crime is solved in two-or three-episode story arcs, making the show ideal for bingeing and more detailed than the typical “crime of the week,” which has to be resolved in one episode.  Almost as much time is devoted to family dynamics as to the crime Kari’s team is focused on.  It is also interesting to see how cultural differences impact the detectives’ approach to crime and criminals, which can be substantially more nuanced than in the United States.

The snowy Nordic landscape is beautifully shot, and becomes an integral part of the series.  The show is also distinctive in its depiction of strong women in positions of authority (as a matter of course), who are not at all reliant on men, and who control their own sexuality.   

Bordertown is Finland’s most popular TV show (the premiere was watched by one-fifth of the country’s population when it debuted there in 2016).  Anu Sinisalo, Lenita Susi, and Ilkka Villi co-star, and all are excellent.  Three seasons are available on Netflix.  It is not clear whether there will be a fourth.

            If you like supernatural mysteries, time travel paradoxes, and intricate puzzles:

Dark (Netflix): In the fictional German town of Winden, with a nuclear power station at its center, two children disappear in similar fashion 33 years apart.  Secrets and hidden connections among four families and a time-travel conspiracy are slowly uncovered in this sci-fi thriller that spans four generations. 

Netflix’s first original German series is compelling, twisty, and often mesmerizing.  The background music is appropriately ominous.  It starts out in 2019, but gradually expands to include several timelines – first 1986 and 1953, then 1920, and eventually 2052, and 1888 (the show explains why time travel is only possible in 33-year increments).  It’s not always easy to follow who’s who as different characters and versions of characters at different ages and different realities interact with one another. 

I often find time travel storylines annoying, because they typically follow one of two tracks.  Either you can’t change the past because if you could, there would be no reason for you to go back and change it in the first place (and if you are able to change some detail, it inevitably leads to causing the event you wanted to prevent).  Or, if you change the past, it simply creates an alternate timeline, rather than affecting the timeline you originated from.  So I expected a familiar, unsatisfying ending, which would leave many of the complex web of mysteries unresolved.  Yet the writers somehow managed to pull it all together into a conclusion that makes perfect sense and is close to perfect. 

While debating the existence of God, and fate versus free will, one of the characters declares, “God is time, and time is not compassionate,” which describes this series as well as anything.  As does the Albert Einstein quote that appears onscreen during the first episode: “The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” 

I’d like to say Dark is a masterpiece and the best science fiction series ever.  I’d like to say it’s what Lost could have been if its writers had figured out a satisfying payoff for any of its many mysteries.  I’d like to say it’s the most meticulously well-crafted series I’ve ever seen.  But I think I need to watch the whole thing again to make sure I really think that.  It is thrilling (and rare) to watch a television series that achieves its lofty ambitions.

The large cast, which includes, Louis Hoffman, Lisa Vicari, Maja Schone, Jordas Triebel, Oliver Masucci, Mark Waschke, Sebastian Rudolf, and Dean Lennard Liebrenz, are all spot on for their respective roles.  There are three seasons.

            If you like Japanese and British crime dramas:

Giri/Haji (Netflix): British TV crime thriller first broadcast on BBC Two in the UK in 2019.  Family duty sends a Tokyo detective (Takehiro Hira) to London to look for his supposedly deceased mob-assassin brother  (Yosuke Kubozuka) as a yakuza war threatens to break out in Tokyo. 

The dialogue switches between English and subtitled Japanese, so if you’re the type that can’t watch television without multi-tasking, this may not be for you.  But don’t let that chase you away from this original and underrated series.  This is one of those hidden gems that often slips onto Netflix without fanfare.  It joined the streamer’s lineup in January, and I knew nothing about it until I was recently exploring Netflix looking for something new to binge while stuck at home during the pandemic. 

Giri/Haji, which means Duty/Shame, melds together several different genres and subplots – Japanese gangsters, British cop procedural, family drama, gay teen coming of age, revenge saga, even an all-female road trip – into a surprisingly cohesive whole (as it cross-pollinates two very different cultures).  There are moments of violence and moments of silliness.  At eight episodes, the story is crisp and concise, with no need for the type of filler you often see in broadcast cop or detective series, which typically run 17-22 episodes per season.  The final installment has a mind-blowing sequence that comes out of nowhere. 

It was canceled after one season, but the ending wrapped things up perfectly. Kelly Macdonald, Will Sharpe, Sophia Brown, Charles Creed-Miles, Justin Long, and Aoi Okuyama co-star.

If you like kick-ass women in action spy series:       

Hanna (Amazon Prime Video): Based on the 2011 film of the same name.  The first season introduces us to 15-year-old Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles), who has been raised in the forest by her ex-spy “father” (Joel Kinnaman), who trained her to be a hunter and killer, as well as an expert in hand-to-hand combat. 

Hanna was part of a secret government experiment to create genetically superior group of female super assassins.  He rescued her when she was a baby (after the CIA killed her mother), and they went into hiding.  Now discovered, they must evade the relentless pursuit of off-the-book CIA agents (one of whom is played by Mirielle Enos, who teamed with Kinnaman in AMC’s The Killing).

Season 2 revs up the stakes and emotional content as Hanna and her one-time pursuer, now an apparent ally, try to free Hanna’s new friend Clara (Yasmin Monet Prince) from the secret boarding school known as The Meadows, which is designed to mold young women into amoral killing machines.  Dermot Mulrooney plays the new head of the unit, who will do anything to keep the operation secret.  Mirielle Enos shines in the role of Hanna’s former adversary and new mother figure/protector, as she plays a complex cat and mouse game with her former (current?) employer.

Part thriller, part coming-of-age drama, Creed-Miles and Enos give performances that elevate this beyond what could have been just another cliched action series.  It’s been renewed for a third season.

If you like period dramas mixed with sex and violence:

Harlots (Hulu):  Don’t let the title throw you.  It’s not filled with as much gratuitous sex that the title might indicate (although sex is definitely on the menu).  Samantha Morton portrays a brothel owner trying to secure a better future for her two daughters (Jessica Brown Findlay, Eloise Smyth) in 18^th century London.  When her business is attacked by a ruthless rival madam (Lesley Manville), it sets off a war over the sex trade.

This is a story of how every class of woman navigates and tries to survive and thrive in a world where wealth and social standing mean everything, one in five women works in the sex trade, and good fortune or disaster is just a deception away.  The show has a number of sex scenes (although not as much nudity as you might think – they wore so many layers of clothing back then), most of it not for pleasure, but for power or to gain some advantage.

What in lesser hands could have easily been Dynasty-style high camp, instead becomes a gritty look at the realities of 18^th century life without regard for 21^st century sensibilities.  Harlots isn’t for everyone, but if you like this sort of thing, this is top of the line.

The series is created, brilliantly written, and directed by women, and it shows.  The point of view is refreshingly from the female gaze.  All three seasons are entertaining, gritty, and insightful.  Angela Griffin, Aiden Cheng, Pippa Bennett-Warner, and Daniel Sapiani co-star.

If you like mobster comedy-drama and quirky small towns:

Lilyhammer (Netflix): Steven Van Zandt (The Sopranos) stars in Netflix’s first original scripted series (debuting on the streamer in 2012) as a New York mob underboss, Frank “The Fixer” Tagliano, who is given a new identity after testifying against the Mafia head who ordered a hit on him.  He asks to be relocated to Lillehammer, Norway, which he fell in love with while watching the 1994 Winter Olympics, and where he believe no one will look for him.  In his new life, he is a Norwegian-American immigrant known as Giovanni “Johnny” Henriksen.

As he tries to settle in to this very peaceful, rules-conscious, town, Johnny uses his mob talents to deal with bullies, bad guys, and bureaucrats alike.  He purchases a bar and simultaneously befriends and corrupts several of the town’s locals, a colorful and quirky cast of characters who come to his aid when the mob tracks him down.  It’s not easy to successfully combine comedy and violence, but it is done expertly here.  The show is also notable for the way it deals with immigration and racism. The dialogue switches back and forth between subtitled Norwegian and English (which Johnny apparently understands, but can’t speak).

When this debuted in Norway, it was watched by one-fifth of the country’s population.  Since Lilyhammer premiered well before Netflix was a major streaming force, it never received the accolades it deserves in this country.  But you can enjoy bingeing all three eight-episode seasons. The large cast includes, Trond Fausa Aurvag, Marian Saastad, Steinar Sagen, and Fridtjov Saheim.

            If you like crime families and stylish gangster dramas:

Peaky Blinders (Netflix): After World War I, returning soldiers, revolutionaries, and criminal gangs are struggling to survive in a 1919 Britain rocked by economic upheaval and shifting social mores.  Returning war hero, Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) is the young, charismatic, cunning, and ambitious leader of one of the more powerful gangs of the time, the Peaky Blinders, which he runs with his family.

The series is stylish, suspenseful, moody, beautifully shot, and often violent.  At first you might have some difficulty understanding some characters’ thick British accents, and the first few episodes are a bit slow as many of the main characters are introduced.  But if you stick with it, it ramps up and keeps going full blast. 

The Peaky Blinders are different from most pop-culture-type mobsters we tend to see on TV and in the movies in the U.S., and it’s interesting to see how they react when forced to clash with a New York mafioso (played by Adrian Brody).  It has an excellent ensemble cast led by Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, and Joe Cole, and perhaps the coolest theme song of all time.  A barely recognizable Tom Hardy has a great turn as a Jewish gang leader who is Thomas Shelby’s sometime ally and sometime adversary.  

There are currently five six-episode seasons, which are perfect for bingeing.  They are planning for seven seasons, although no date for its return has been announced.

If you like neo-noir revenge fantasies:

Reprisal (Hulu): The always good Abigail Spencer (Timeless, Rectify) is compelling as a woman who was left for dead by her ruthless brother and his gang after discovering he committed a brutal crime.  She recovers, changes her identity, and re-emerges seven years later seeking revenge.  She recruits her own crew and sets about on her task of going after everyone who betrayed her. 

Smart and taut, this relentless femme fatale goes on her dark mission getting out of one jam after another until the final showdown.  The series is pulpy, soapy, chaotic, and visually engaging.  And the soundtrack rocks.  It’s more style than substance, but it’s a fun escape from reality.  Most of the interesting characters are women – with a couple of key exceptions, most of the men are interchangeable, beer-drinking gearheads.  The story could have been told in six episodes, instead of stretching it out to 10, but it’s still a fun ride. 

Ron Pearlman has a meaty role as a menacing mob boss.  Co-stars include, Mena Massoud, Madison Davenport, Rodrigo Santoro, Rhys Wakefield, David Dastmalchian, Craig Tate, and Lea DeLaura.  It was canceled after one season, but this should have been a limited series anyway.  Her mission completed, a new season would have been an entirely different show.

         If you’d like a darker version of Groundhog Day:     

Russian Doll (Netflix): Star, Natasha Lyonne created this comedy-drama with Amy Poehler.  She is stuck in her own “Groundhog Day” loop, as she repeatedly attends her own 36^th birthday party in New York City, dies at the end of the night, and re-awakens on the same day unharmed as though nothing had happened. 

No matter how many times she goes through slight variations of the same events and tries to alter the ultimate outcome, she reaches the same end by a variety of means (getting hit by a car, falling down a flight of stairs, etc.).  When she gets stuck in an elevator about to fall to her umpteenth death, one guy in the car (Charlie Barnett) is not panicking.  It turns out he is going through the same thing.  They team up to try and figure out what is going on and how to stop it (and how they might be connected) – but each time, they only have one day to figure it out before the cycle begins again.

Inventive, clever, and thought provoking.  The dialogue is fast-paced and witty, and provides several different and insightful views of pre-pandemic life in New York City.  A rare gem.  It’s been renewed for a second season, but no date has been announced.

 

If you like little-known (at least to White folks), inspiring stories about

successful American entrepreneurs:

Self Made (Netflix):  Four-part limited series about Sarah Breedlove, aka Madam C.J. Walker (Octavia Spencer), who started out as a washerwoman, built a haircare empire by tapping into an underserved demographic (black women) in 1908, and became America’s first self-made Black female millionaire.

Notable for telling an African-American success story without the tired trope of the “white savior,” Self-Made is propelled by crisp storytelling – which covers many aspects of racial and gender inequities of the late 1800s/early 1900s, including colorism (the relative privilege afforded light-skinned African-Americans compared to those with darker skin), which becomes one of the show’s central themes. 

Octavia Spencer is her typically powerful presence as the first of six siblings to be born free (in 1867), who rose to prominence through ingenuity and sheer will.  Few are as good at simultaneously displaying strength and vulnerability.  Carmen Eiogo gives a strong performance as her one-time (lighter-skinned) hero, who gives her an opportunity in her own hair-care business, and eventually becomes her biggest adversary.  Tiffany Haddish is excellent as her daughter Lelia, who famed poet Langston Hughes called “The Joy Goddess of Harlem,” for her role in providing a safe space for queer artists during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.  Blair Underwood plays C.J. Walker’s husband, who supports her efforts until he doesn’t.

The “inspired by” tag gives writers license to alter historical accuracy for dramatic effect, which is all too common in so-called biographies.  And a number of historians have complained about these inaccuracies, particularly elevating colorism to a main plot point, despite the fact that C.J. Walker and her real-life business rival (fictionalized for this series) had skin tones that were negligibly different.  Some historians were put off that Self Made seemed to be painting light-skinned Black privilege as the enemy, rather than the real evil, white supremacy.  That said, the series is entertaining, enjoyable, and, at four episodes, perfect for bingeing.

If you like discovering different communities and traditions:

Unorthodox (Netflix): Four-part German-American miniseries, inspired by Deborah Feldman's 2012 autobiography, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots.  The first Netflix series to be primarily in Yiddish. 

Shiri Haas gives a riveting and poignant performance as Esty, a 19-year-old Hasidic Jewish woman in Brooklyn, who flees to Berlin, where her estranged mother lives, to escape from an arranged marriage.  She starts living a more secular life outside the sheltered environment in which she was raised.  She’s falls in with a group of free-thinking musicians – until her husband (Amit Rahav) and his thuggish cousin (Jeff Wilbusch), by order of their rabbi, travel to Berlin looking for her. 

The story plays out like a spy thriller in parts, as Esty tries to fit into a modern world with which she is largely unfamiliar, while avoiding discovery.  Flashbacks show what her life was like in the Hasidic community before she decided to run away – including her passion for music in a community where women are not allowed to sing in public.  The dialogue shifts between Yiddish, English, and German.

You seldom, if ever, see the ultra-orthodox Jewish community portrayed on television with any sensitivity or authenticity, but they manage to pull it off here, while still making Esty’s decision to escape from this world that she finds so suffocating seem perfectly reasonable.  Don’t let the subject matter put you off.  The series is a remarkable achievement and well worth your binge time.  There are no plans for a sequel.

If you likes Hallmark movies:

 Virgin River (Netflix):  Romance drama based on the best-selling Robyn Carr novels.  After a personal tragedy, a midwife and nurse practitioner (Alexandra Breckinridge) from Los Angeles. seeks a fresh start.  She answers an ad to work for a doctor in the small remote California town of Virgin River, where almost everything is within walking distance and everyone knows everyone else’s business. 

Once there, she butts heads with the town’s egotistical, but good-hearted doctor (Tim Matheson), starts a relationship with the owner of the town’s central watering hole local pub, a former marine who suffers from PTSD (Martin Henderson), and continually wonders whether she made the right choice to leave the big city for small-town life, which is increasingly more complicated than she expected.  Just about every major character has some kind of secret.  Then there’s this side story about a local illegal pot farm run by some dangerous characters.

The drama is leisurely, the cast has good chemistry, and the series has charm without too much of the cheesiness of a typical Hallmark movie.  Annette O’Toole plays the busy-body town mayor.  Colin Lawrence, Jenny Cooper, and Lauren Hammersley co-star.  It’s been renewed for a second season.

Netflix is Still the Best Thing Ever

In 2011, I wrote my first report on streaming, titled, Netflix is the Best Thing Ever.  This was a year before its first original scripted series, Lilyhammer, and two years before the streaming service debuted its first major hit, House of Cards.

We had just subscribed to Netflix, and I thought it had a potentially brilliant model for success and was poised to enjoy tremendous growth.  I ended my article with the following:

“So far Netflix hasn't had any impact on our regular television viewing, but it has cut sharply into our pay-per-view movie and DVD viewing.  I think it's the first thing that's actually cut into my son's videogame playing.  We like the basic platform so much, however, that if and when Netflix does strike more content deals for top TV shows and movies, it will probably have a much bigger impact on our TV viewing -- especially in the summer.  The company has the right model, and seems to have hit that rare chord with kids, teens, and their parents.”   

There were some initial drawbacks, of course.  A lot of the stuff we wanted to watch, the best movies and most current TV shows, were not available.  My then 12-year-old son said at the time, “I like Netflix, but it kind of sucks.”  I thought this was actually a profound comment that indicated why Netflix had so much potential.  If we liked it when it sucked, how would we feel when it no longer sucks?

In 2017, I wrote another article titled, Netflix Still Rules.  My then 18-year-old son told me to “tell them it no longer sucks.”  By then there were numerous original scripted series my wife, son, and I watched, some together, some by ourselves.  Here’s part of what I wrote in that report:

“One reason Netflix continues to grow and thrive, aside from spending a significant amount on programming, is that it does not have the same constraints as ad-supported networks. It does not care about artificially constructed age groups such as adults 18-49 or 25-54. A 60-year-old woman has just as much value to Netflix as a 25-year-old man.  Netflix wants Longmire and Grace and Frankie to appeal to different viewers from Orange is the New Black, Daredevil, or Black Mirror.  Reach matters much more to Netflix than average ratings.  It also doesn’t need to worry about audience flow from one hour to the next or whether a given show fits into a nightly lineup.  Another thing that separates Netflix from ad-supported networks is that it doesn’t need to have one season come right after another – it can take its time.  For example, Jessica Jones debuted in 2015, and its highly anticipated second season is slated for March 2018.

While both Amazon Prime Video and Hulu do have a few major successful series, neither has anywhere near the volume of high-quality programming as Netflix.  Netflix has reportedly spent a remarkable $7 billion for content in 2017 and expects to spend $8 billion in 2018 (with the reported goal of increasing its annual original content from the current 25% to 50% by 2020).  Amazon Prime and Hulu are reportedly spending $4.5 billion, and $2.5 billion on content, respectively.  It should also be noted that more than 40% of the country does not have any subscription video on demand (SVOD).  There is still plenty of room for CBS All Access, the upcoming Disney streaming service, and others, but they won’t have much impact on Netflix for the foreseeable future.  They could have a major impact on cable however, as subscriptions to several of these streaming services will give many viewers everything they want to watch (at a lower overall cost).”

As I write this, it has been roughly 80 days since my family has been self-quarantined in our Hoboken, New Jersey apartment.  And it has become clearer than ever that Netflix is still the best thing ever.

It’s hard to believe that it was just seven years ago, in February 2013, that Netflix released the first streaming hit, House of Cards (Its first original series, Lilyhammer, debuted a year earlier).  It was the first streaming series to receive major Emmy nominations (56 over its six-year run).  Since then, Netflix has dropped a string of successful new series every year on its way to drawing more than 180 million subscribers worldwide (roughly 70 million in the U.S.).  Being first out of the gate with spending levels that rose from about $3 billion to more than $15 billion per year helped give Netflix a lead in the streaming wars it may never relinquish.  During the first three months of 2020, as COVID-19 started to cause people around the world to stay home, Netflix added a record 15.7 million subscribers. 

Some of Netflix’s more notable original scripted series include, House of Cards (2013);  Orange is the New Black, BoJack Horseman, Peaky Blinders (2014); The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Grace & Frankie, Narcos, Bloodline, Marvel’s Daredevil and Jessica Jones, Sense8, Master of None (2015); Fuller House, The Ranch, Stranger Things, Black Mirror, The Crown, The OA (2016); Dear White People, GLOW, Ozark, Mindhunter, 13 Reasons Why, Marvel’s The Punisher, Money Heist (2017); Altered Carbon, Lost in Space, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Narcos: Mexico (2018); The Umbrella Academy, Russian Doll, Dead to Me, Sex Education, When They See Us, The Politician, Unbelievable, You, The Witcher (2019);  Never Have I Ever, Gentefied, The Stranger, Unorthodox, Locke & Key, Self Made, The English Game, Hollywood, Space Force (2020). 

Netflix has also started to air some popular original reality and documentary series, such as Love is Blind, The Circle, Dating Around, Ultimate Beastmaster, Nailed It, American Factory (the first series from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company), and the mega hit, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. 

All of these represent just a small sampling of Netflix’s original programming.

 

In addition to its high volume of original scripted series, Netflix plans to release around 90 original movies per year (it had 50 in 2017).  That’s an extraordinary number – more than three times as many original movies released in theaters by the top two box-office leaders, Disney and Warner Bros., combined.  Six original movies ranked among Netflix’s most popular shows of 2019 – Murder Mystery, 6 Underground, The Irishman, Triple Frontier, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, and The Highwayman.  Two 2020 movies have already become two of its most popular programs of the year.  Both are actioners – Extraction (starring Chris Hemsworth) and Spenser Confidential (with Mark Wahlberg).  Many more are on the way.

While many of Netflix’s movies are not top tier, some are of the highest quality, as the streamer makes periodic pushes for Oscar gold.  Roma debuted in 2018 in theaters for two weeks before airing on Netflix, and was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture.  It didn’t win, partly because this practice is controversial and goes against what many theater owners and Academy members think of as traditional theatrical movies eligible for awards (and partly because a black & white subtitled movie isn’t about to win an Oscar unless it’s for Best International Feature Film, which it did win).  Theater owners want minimum three-month theatrical windows.  Netflix led the way last year with more than 20 Oscar nominations.  

Netflix’s 2019 original movie, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, was nominated for several Academy Awards – even though many theaters in the U.S., Canada, and Europe refused to run it in the short window Netflix insists upon.  Another well-received movie in 2019, Marriage Story (starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson), was also nominated for numerous awards.  Both were nominated for Best Picture.  Because of COVID-19, the 2020 Academy Awards will reportedly allow streaming movies that otherwise would have had theatrical runs to be eligible for an Oscar.

Netflix has been gradually raising its prices over the past few years – a necessity since the streamer spends significantly more than its competitors on original content and steadfastly refuses to accept advertising.  It currently has three pricing plans: Basic ($8.99 per month – you can only use one screen at a time and resolution is limited to SD, equivalent to pre-HDTV); Standard ($12.99 per month – you can use two screens at a time in HD); Premium ($15.99 per month – you can use four screens at once in HD or 4K Ultra HD if available). 

While Netflix’s growth in the U.S. has slowed, due primarily to increased competition in the streaming wars, it continues to see strong growth internationally.  From 2017-2019, Netflix’s subscribers grew from 58.4 million to 67.1 million in the U.S. and Canada (+15%).  During the same period, it increased from 26 to 47.4 million in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (+82%), from 19.7 to 29.4 million in Latin America (+49%), and from 6.5 to 14.5 million in the Asia Pacific region (+123%).

During the first quarter of 2020 Netflix grew to 182.8 million subscribers worldwide, 69.97 million in the U.S. and Canada.  Of the 15.7 million added in Q1, 2.3 million (15%) were in the U.S. and Canada while 13.5 million (85%) were international.  A survey conducted by Morning Consult and The Hollywood Reporter showed 35% of respondents said Netflix was the streaming service they watched most since health expert guidance recommended staying away from public gatherings.  No other streaming service broke 10%.  According to ComScore, Netflix’s OTT app share of streaming hours went from 25.2% the week of February 3^rd to 26.7% the week of May 11^th.  This compares to a change from 9.9% to 11.4% for Amazon, 17.6% to 14.7% for Hulu, 4.3% to 4.8% for Disney+, 21.7%  to 21.6% for Youtube, and 21.3% to 20.8% for “all other.”

Here are some things that will continue to benefit Netflix going forward:

• Netflix has more original scripted series (both current and canceled but still available) than Amazon Prime, Hulu, CBS All Access, and Disney+ combined.

• Netflix says they have a strong pipeline of new original content, and doesn’t expect COVID-19 to adversely affect its 2020 release schedule. Depending on the length of various lockdowns, production might be impacted in 2021.

• The coronavirus’s impact on the economy will negatively impact advertising revenue more than subscriber revenue.

• Netflix has by far the best user interface of any streaming service.

• Netflix is the only streaming service that focuses only on streaming. It is not worried about linear broadcast or cable TV, theme parks, live sports, or theatrical movie releases. Of course, it remains to be seen how much of an advantage this is after the lockdowns are lifted – but I have no reason to believe Netflix will give back most of the gains it is making now.

• Currently more than three-quarters of TV homes subscribe to at least one streaming service. According to Hub Entertainment Research, 63% of U.S. households subscribe to Netflix, 42% to Amazon Prime Video, 31% to Disney+ (which surged during the pandemic, particularly among homes with kids), 28% to Hulu, and 6% to Apple TV+.  CBS All Access + Showtime, which will soon be expanded to include all of the merged Viacom CBS company, is currently in about 11% of TV homes. 

TV Shows to Binge When You Have to Stay the F**K Home

As many of us are working from home, and stuck at home, with no bars or restaurants to go to, no clubs or concerts to attend, and no live sports to watch, it’s somewhat comforting to know we live in the era of Peak TV+.  OK, not really, but there is more good stuff to watch on TV than ever before. 

And now that almost everything is available to stream somewhere, this is the perfect time to catch up on some great premium cable and streaming series you may not have seen – such as HBO’s The Sopranos, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood, Game of Thrones, and Veep, Showtimes’ The L Word, Weeds, Shameless, Ray Donovan, and Homeland, Starz’ Spartacus, Black Sails, Power, Counterpart, American Gods, and Outlander, Cinemax’s Banshee, The Knick, and Strike Back, Netflix’s House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, BoJack Horseman, Stranger Things, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Sense8, Narcos, and The Crown, Amazon Prime Video’s Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, and Mozart in the Jungle, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Casual, and Marvel’s Runaways.  And, of course, nine seasons of The Office are still available on Netflix before switching to Peacock in 2021, while 11 seasons of Friends are moving to HBO Max in May.

Here’s my list of some of the most binge-worthy scripted series, from a variety of sources, that might be flying under your radar.  They are definitely worth checking out, and should keep you busy for several weeks if need be.  Note that new season premiere dates listed here are subject to change due to the Coronavirus.

Altered Carbon (Netflix): In a dystopian future 300 years from now, new technology has transformed society by making human bodies interchangeable (if you can afford it), and death no longer necessarily permanent (your consciousness can be put into a new human “sleeve”). 

Joel Kinnaman portrays the lone survivor of a group of elite warriors who were defeated in an uprising.  His mind was imprisoned for years until a wealthy businessman gives him a chance to live again if he solves the murder of the man’s previous “sleeve.”  The second season dropped last month and has a new cast, with Anthony Mackie taking over for Kinnaman (the same character in a new human sleeve).  Season 2 is good, but it’s hard to top great first season.

Bad Blood (Netflix): Canadian mob drama based on a true story about a Montreal-based Italian crime family. They consolidate various mob factions – Haitians, bikers, the Irish – to completely control Montreal, the entry point for much of the drug trade going to the Northeast United States.  Things run smoothly until other gangsters try to muscle in on their turf. 

Anthony LaPaglia and Paul Sorvino bring their “gangster cred” as heads of the Rizzuto crime family, as does the always interesting Enrico Colantoni as the family’s consigliere.  Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy) shines as their ambitious and often brutal right-hand man.  Two seasons are available.  No word yet on a potential third season. 

Barry (HBO):  Seamlessly moving between light comedy and dark drama (not easy to do), Bill Hader is superb as a disillusioned and depressed midwestern hitman.  In season 1, he follows one of his targets to an acting class, where he becomes drawn to this community of students, falling in love with one of them (Sarah Goldberg).  He remains there to take acting lessons and pursue a more normal life.  But changing is not so easy, as gangsters he’s worked for and against come to town. 

Henry Winkler is great as Barry’s pompous acting teacher, as is Anthony Carrigan as wacky mobster, Noho Hank.  Stephen Root also shines as Barry’s “handler.”  On paper, this high concept show shouldn’t work.  On television, with these stellar performances, it somehow creates magic.  It’s been renewed for a third season.

Better Call Saul (AMC): See how Breaking Bad’s lawyer, Jimmy McGill (the excellent Bob Odenkirk) takes the long slide down the slippery slope that ends when he re-invents himself as sleazy mob lawyer, Saul Goodman. Other Breaking Bad regulars, Mike (Jonathan Banks), the one-time cop turned criminal “cleaner,” and drug kingpin Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), have prominent roles.  Rhea Seehorn gives an award-worthy performance as Jimmy’s girlfriend Kim, a hotshot lawyer in her own right, who is thrilled by his con-man side but gradually starts to believe that she is being conned as well. 

The fourth season starts to move closer to the Breaking Bad universe (that show aired from 2008-2013 and led to the BCS spinoff).  Bob Odenkirk’s performance is so good that the viewer (who knows what he becomes in Breaking Bad) can still be unsure of his motives and moral compass.  Currently airing season 5, it’s been renewed for a sixth and final season.  Seasons 1-4 are available on Netflix.

Billions (Showtime): A master class in casting and acting.  Set in New York, a shrewd, brilliant, and ruthless U.S. Attorney, Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), who’s never lost an insider trading case faces off in a high-stakes battle with Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis), a shrewd, brilliant, and ruthless multi-billionaire hedge-fund king.  Who’s the predator and who’s the prey shifts throughout, as each uses all his power and influence to outmaneuver the other, as well as fight the many power players that get in their way.  

Maggie Siff is excellent as Rhoades’ wife Wendy, who also has a high-profile job at Axelrod’s firm.  Asia Kate Dillon is a revelation as brilliant non-binary Axelrod mentee, Taylor Mason, who goes off on their own and becomes his adversary.  Everyone in the supporting cast, both in regular and recurring roles (which include John Malkovich, Eric Bogosian, Nina Arianda, and Rob Morrow), is great.  Four seasons (48 episodes) are available to binge before season 5 debuts in May.

Bodyguard (Netflix): British television hit centering around a special forces war veteran with PTSD (Richard Madden), who is now a police sergeant in London.  After thwarting a terrorist attack, he is assigned to protect the home secretary, a controversial politician and major proponent of the conflict he fought in. 

You’ll be hooked after the first 15 minutes or so as the intensity of the opening continues unabated for the entire six-episode run.  Complicated, taut, absorbing, violent, and perfectly paced.  It will hold you and keep you guessing from start to finish.  They’re still discussing a potential second season which probably wouldn’t happen until 2021.

Bosch (Amazon Prime Video): Titus Willever is the smart, tough as nails, and haunted detective Harry Bosch.  He’s been brilliant in many supporting roles over the years, and it’s great to see him in the lead.  He melts into the role (as he does with virtually everything he touches).  The ensemble cast of regulars, including Jamie Hector, Madison Lintz, Lance Reddick, Amy Aquino, Troy Evans, and Gregory Scott Cummins, are spot on for their respective roles.  The guest stars have been a string of superb character actors who you will immediately recognize (if you’re over 40) and wonder where you’ve seen them before.

Each season focuses on one main crime that Bosch and crew need to solve, along with one or two related (or not-so-related) crimes.  Solving the crimes focuses on the everyday routine police work that the show somehow manages to continually make interesting.  This is not only the best procedural drama currently on television, it might be the best procedural drama ever on television.  If you haven’t discovered Bosch yet, you’ll have the joy of being able to binge 50 episodes.  Season 6 is scheduled to drop this April.

The Boys (Amazon Prime Video): What would happen in a world where superheroes are real, unaccountable, and can basically do whatever they want (such as accidentally kill ordinary citizens)?  And what if they work for a multibillion-dollar conglomerate that licenses their images and covers up their crimes?  Perhaps a vigilante group would be formed to try and expose the rogue “heroes.”  In this dark comedy-drama, based on the comic book series, such a world exists, as members of a Justice League-type superhero group known as The Seven wreak havoc as they sometimes do and sometimes only pretend to do great deeds, often leaving destruction and death in their wake.

Just because this show centers around superheroes, however, does not mean it’s for kids.  Scenes of graphic and implied violence and sex are prevalent throughout.  But for adults, this is a surprisingly thoughtful take on the power of giant, faceless corporations in our society, and how they can shape the news and public opinion – and sometimes can only be brought down by whistleblowers and vigilant activists.  It has been renewed for a second season, probably in summer 2020.

Castle Rock (Hulu): Castle Rock, Maine, the fictional location familiar to Stephen King fans, is the setting for this psychological horror anthology series that delves into worlds and themes that unite King’s canon.  Sissy Spacek, Bill Skarsgard (who starred in King’s Carrie and It, respectively), Jane Levy, and Scott Glenn are among the first season stars. 

Season 2, which focuses on the early pre-Misery days of Annie Wilkes (Lizzy Caplan), has a completely new cast, including, Paul Sparks, Barkhad Abdi, Elsie Fisher, and Tim Robbins.  There are really three audiences for Castle Rock – hardcore King fans, non-fans, and casual fans (who might be aware of Shawshank and Misery, but are not intimately familiar with the Stephen King multiverse).  As the latter, I liked the season 2 better.  No details yet on a third season.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix): A darker re-imagining of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, with the excellent Kiernan Shipka in the title role as Sabrina Spellman, who has to deal with her dual nature (half witch, half mortal), while fighting evil forces that threaten her family and the human race. 

The writers and actors, which include Lucy Davis, Miranda Otto, Michelle Gomez, Tati Gabrielle, and Richard Boyle provide just the right combination of thrills and camp.  As the characters become more comfortable in their roles, each season is better than the last.  There are currently three seasons and there will be a fourth.

Dark (Netflix): In a fictional German town, children start disappearing.  Secrets and hidden connections among four estranged families and a time-travel conspiracy are slowly uncovered in this sci-fi thriller that spans four generations. 

Netflix’s first original German series is compelling and twisty, and often mesmerizing.  There are currently two seasons available.  A third and final season has been ordered.

Dead to Me (Netflix): Christina Applegate gives a career performance in this dark comedy as a woman whose husband was recently killed in a hit-and-run crash.  She becomes friends with a woman (Linda Cardellini) she meets at a grief-support group.  Her new friend, however. may not be all she seems.  

The show seamlessly moves from comedy to crime mystery and back.  There are numerous twists and turns, many of which happen in the first few episodes.  Produced by Adam McCay and Will Ferrel (the team that brought us Anchorman).  This is definitely worth a look.  It has been renewed for a second season, which will probably drop in mid-2020.

Elite (Netflix): I’ve heard this enormously entertaining Spanish language teen drama (watch the subtitled version) described as a combination of The O.C., Riverdale, Veronica Mars, and Big Little Lies.  When three outsider scholarship students (Itzan Escamillia, Miguel Harran, and Mina El Hammani) arrive at an elite Spanish private school, class warfare ensues.  Wealth, sex, and power are all social currency here, to go along with several juicy subplots, a love triangle, and a central murder mystery. 

On paper, many of these characters and plots seem like typical teen soap clichés, but the storytelling rises above them – especially in its portrayal of class, privilege, prejudice, and sexuality.  Season 3 dropped this March, and there will reportedly be a fourth and fifth season with a completely new cast.

Fleabag (Amazon Prime Video): The immensely talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes and stars in this comedy-drama as a depressed, dysfunctional, yet strangely confident single woman with a voracious sexual appetite, navigating the streets of London and dealing with her equally dysfunctional family (and a “hot priest”).

She regularly breaks the fourth wall with her side-eyed glances and talking directly to the camera as the show provides insights into the ongoing themes of love, grief, faith, and using sex to fill a void in your life.  The sex scenes (of which there are many) are sometimes hilarious and sometimes squirm-inducing, so Fleabag is not for everyone.  You seldom, if ever, see an aggressive, independent, and sexually autonomous woman like Fleabag on television (even in the age of more creative freedom offered by advertiser-less programming).  A uniquely inventive gem. Fans had to wait three years between the two six-episode seasons, but it was worth it.  Phoebe Waller-Bridge has indicated there probably won’t be a third season.

Future Man (Hulu):  Josh Hutcherson plays a janitor who spends most of his free time playing a video game that is so hard to win that most people have given up on it.  After he finally beats the game, warriors from the future appear to tell him the game was a test to find a champion who can save the Earth from extraterrestrial invasion.  Seth Rogan is one of the executive producers.  Two seasons are currently available, and it has been renewed for a third season.

Giri/Haji (Duty/Shame) (Netflix): British TV series first broadcast on BBC Two in the UK in October 2019.  Family duty sends a Tokyo detective to London to look for his mob-assassin brother as a yakuza war threatens to engulf Tokyo.  The dialogue switches between English and Japanese.  Don’t let that chase you away from this excellent and underrated crime thriller.  Takehiro Hira, Kelly Macdonald, and Will Sharpe star.  No word yet on a second season.

Glow (Netflix): A behind-the-scenes fictionalized look at the 1980s syndicated TV show, the low-budget Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.  Alison Brie, as an unemployed actress who becomes a GLOW star (as evil Russian, “Zoya the Destroyer”) and Betty Gilpin as a former soap star (now spandex-laden wrestling All-American, “Liberty Belle”), are standouts, as is comedian Marc Maron as a washed up “B” movie director who leads the ladies to fame.  Along with a winning and diverse ensemble cast of misfits, they make this way more fun than it has any right to be. 

Geena Davis joins the cast in season 3, which brings some shocking real-life 1980s events into the forefront, and deals with more serious topics (racism, gender inequality, and homophobia, among others).  It manages to walk the tightrope between pathos and genuinely entertaining comedy.  The writing and acting in the latest season raise GLOW to another level.  One of the best original series on Netflix (or anywhere).  It has been renewed for a fourth and final season.

Goliath (Amazon Prime Video): Billy McBride (Billy Bob Thornton), once a high-powered lawyer ln Los Angeles, has become a burned out and washed-up ambulance chaser, who spends more time in bars than in a courtroom.  But he’s still got the skills.  Thornton’s naturalistic, laid back style is well suited as a former Goliath, now a David, beaten down but still confident in his ability to take down new Goliaths each season.  In season 1 he reluctantly agrees to take on a wrongful death lawsuit against the biggest (and extremely dangerous) client of the giant law firm he helped create (William Hurt plays his former partner, now biggest adversary).  He puts together a ragtag team that helps him uncover a big and deadly conspiracy.  Season 2 has a harder edge, as it becomes more difficult for David to slay all the Goliaths.  Randy Quaid, Amy Brenneman, Beau Bridges, Griffin Dunne, and Sherilyn Fenn, join the season 3 cast. 

Created and written by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro.  Each season is substantially different from the previous one, so I can understand only liking one or two of them – I liked season 1 the most, and season 3 the least.  It’s been renewed for a fourth season. 

The Good Fight (CBS All Access): The wonderful Christine Baransky stars, along with Cush Jumbo and Rose Leslie in this female-driven legal drama spinoff of CBS’s The Good Wife.  They make a diverse team that is as much in (or out of) control professionally as they are in their relationships.  Audra McDonald and Delroy Lindo also star.  Sexual harassment, racism, and income inequality have been dealt with here in a more thought-provoking way than is typically seen on television.  The first season is uneven with its Madoff-like plot, but as it developed its main characters, the second season hit its stride and found its voice.  There remains a clear anti-Trump tone, particularly with the over-the-top animated shorts that appear in each episode during the third season (which are often hilarious if you agree with the politics). 

Just the right mix of drama and humor, along with the excellent cast and superb writing, make this great television – although returning to more courtroom drama and less anti-Trump rhetoric would not be a bad thing (but not likely as election season looms).  The fourth season starts this April.

The Good Place (NBC): The afterlife has a good place and a bad place in this sharp-witted, original comedy that’s hard to describe without providing spoilers.  Suffice it to say that this is a show about humanity and hope.  There’s a point system to get into the good place, and life on Earth has become so complex, that it’s virtually impossible for anyone to get in under the current system.  So how did Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), who was a terrible person when alive, wind up there?  Michael (Ted Danson), the architect of her heavenly neighborhood, seems to have the answer.  The group of misfits that might also be in the wrong place include William Jackson, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, D’Arcy Carden, who are all excellent here.  Maya Rudolph has a recurring role as the judge, which she plays to hilarious effect. 

The surprise ending to season 1 changed the game for everything that came after, and elevated this unique comedy into something greater than it was.  The show has surprisingly insightful conversations about the nature of goodness – does it matter if you’re a bad person, do people have a natural tendency to better themselves, is it possible for people to be ethical when surrounded by unethical systems.  These heavy topics are sprinkled in with fart jokes and demons from the bad place discussing particularly gross ways of torturing people.  The fourth and final season just ended.  Head and shoulders above any other comedy on the broadcast networks (and among the top anywhere).

Hanna (Amazon Prime Video): Based on the 2011 film of the same name, 15-year-old Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles) has been raised in the forest by her ex-spy “father” (Joel Kinnaman) to be a hunter and killer, as they evade the relentless pursuit of off-the-book CIA agents (one of whom is played by Mirielle Enos, who teamed with Kinnaman in AMC’s The Killing).  Part thriller, part coming-of-age drama, Creed-Miles and Kinnaman give performances over eight episodes that elevate this beyond just another action series.  Season 2 will air sometime in 2020.

Harlots (Hulu):  Samantha Morton portrays a brothel owner trying to secure a better future for her two daughters (Jessica Brown Findlay, Eloise Smyth) in 18^th century London.  When her business is attacked by a ruthless rival madam (Lesley Manville), it sets off a war over the sex trade.

This is a story of how every class of woman navigates and tries to survive and thrive in a world where wealth and social standing mean everything, one in five women works in the sex trade, and good fortune or disaster is just a deception away.  The show is full of sex (although not as much nudity as you might think – they wore so many layers of clothing back then), most of it not for pleasure, but for power or to gain some advantage.  The series is created, written, and directed by women, and it shows, as the point of view is refreshingly from the female perspective.  Enjoyable, entertaining, and insightful.  No word yet on whether there will be a fourth season.

High Fidelity (Hulu): A female record store owner (Zoe Kravitz) in Crown Heights Brooklyn, revisits past relationships through music and pop culture, as she tries to get over her one true love.  This is a gender-swapped remake of the popular 2000 movie starring John Cusack.  No word yet on season 2.

Killing Eve (BBCA): Sandra Oh has justifiably received critical acclaim and awards for her role as the title character, a bored, but ambitious and insightful mid-level MI5 security officer.  But Jodie Comer (who just won an Emmy for her performance) is the real revelation as a mercurial and brutal female assassin. 

In season 1, Eve is tasked with hunting down the sociopathic killer.  As they become equally obsessed with one another (admiration, fear, love?), a fierce game of cat and mouse ensues.  Men are the peripheral characters here, and most of the victims.  The second season lacks some of the magic of the first, no doubt because the great Phoebe Waller-Bridge is no longer the head writer, as the two women become even more obsessed with and attracted to one another.  It’s still a great show, however.  Season 3 premieres this April, two weeks earlier than originally planned.

The Kominsky Method (Netflix): Created by comedy master, Chuck Lorre, and starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as an iconic aging acting coach, Sandy Kominnsky and his long-time agent and friend, Norman.  Life is constantly throwing them curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that places more value on youth and beauty.

The inspired pairing of Douglas and Arkin, combined with brilliant writing, make for a hilarious and often poignant first season.  Danny DeVito has an extremely funny recurring role as Kominsky’s urologist.   If you’re over 50 (or 60), this will resonate, if you’re under 50, this is what you can look forward to (or not).  In season 2, Paul Reiser joins the cast as Sandy’s daughter’s new boyfriend (who is uncomfortably close to Sandy’s age), and Jane Seymour guest stars as Norman’s former flame (and they renew their relationship after 50 years).  Kathleen Turner, who worked with Michael Douglas during the 1980s (Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses) also joined the cast as Sandy’s ex-wife.   Another winning season.  No word yet on whether there will be a third season.

Hunters (Amazon Prime Video): Inspired by true events, this drama follows a diverse squad of vigilante Nazi hunters in 1977 New York City, who discover that hundreds of escaped Nazis are living in America and conspiring to create a Fourth Reich in the U.S.  The cast includes Al Pacino, Kate Mulvany, Carol Kane, Saul Rubinek, Logan Lerman, Tiffany Boone, Dylan Baker, and Lena Olin.  Over the top and not always easy to watch, but worth a look.  No details yet on season 2, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t happen.

Little America (Apple TV+):  This eight-episode anthology series tells eight different stories that go beyond the headlines to look at the lives of immigrants in America.  It was renewed for a second season prior to its premiere.

Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu): Based on Celeste NG’s 2017 novel, this drama is set in Cleveland’s planned neighborhood of Shaker Heights in 1997.  Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) is a pillar of the community with a seemingly perfect husband (Joshua Jackson), four smart children, and an impeccable home.  Into her life comes newcomer, African-American Mia Warren (Kerry Washington), who moves to Shaker Heights with her teenage daughter (Lexi Underwood), with a fair amount of emotional baggage.  Their families become intertwined, lifestyles collide, and “it has a ripple effect that will forever change {the town’s residents} in both good and very tragic ways.”

Locke & Key (Netflix): Based on the comic book series of the same name, this series revolves around three siblings (Jackson Robert Scott, Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones), who, after the murder of their father, move into their ancestral home in Massachusetts.  They find the house has magical keys that give them a vast array of powers and abilities.  They don’t know yet that a devious demon will stop at nothing to get those keys.  No word yet on whether there will be another season.

The Mandalorian (Disney+): Its first original drama, a live-action Star Wars spinoff, created by Jon Favreau, has been well received by fans and critics alike.  It is essentially a space western about bounty hunters in the outer reaches of the Galaxy (taking place five years after the events in the Return of the Jedi movie).  The bounty hunter mythology has long been extremely popular among hard-core Star Wars fans.  Pedro Pascal stars in the title role.  There will be a second season.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video): In the late 1950s, Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), has a husband, two kids, and an elegant upper West Side apartment in New York.  When she discovers she has a talent and love for stand-up comedy, her journey takes her from her comfortable life through the gritty Greenwich Village comedy scene.  Alex Borstein as her agent, and Tony Shalhoub as her father are standouts, as is Luke Farrel Kirby as Lenny Bruce and Jane Lynch as a rival comedian.  Top notch across the board.  Season 3 became available this past December, and it’s been renewed for a fourth season.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix): Krysten Ritter shines as Jessica Jones, a reluctant hero, haunted by her past (she was given super strength in a medical experiment that saved her life after a car crash killed her family).  Darker than other Marvel series.  Jessica swears, drinks too much, has meaningless sex, and thinks nothing of breaking the rules if it suits her idea of the greater good – the type of woman you virtually never see on television (or in the Marvel universe).  Traditional female roles – sidekicks and “the girlfriend” – are the male characters in this world. 

The first two seasons were strong social commentaries on male/female relationships and the abuse of privilege and power, focusing on topics such as addiction, sexual harassment, rape, retaliation, and redemption – subjects seldom dealt with on television, and never in the Marvel universe at large.  Season 3 is a fitting end to Jessica’s journey as she not only has to fight a serial killer, but her sister/best friend as well, as she struggles with what it means to be a hero.  This was the last of Netflix’s Marvel series about street-level heroes to be officially canceled, as Disney ramped up its Disney+ streaming service and took full control of Hulu.  The others were, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher (all worth checking out).

Mindhunter (Netflix): In the late 1970s, FBI hostage negotiator Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and veteran agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) pioneer behavioral profiling of a new type of murderer – the serial killer.  Anna Torv also stars as a psychology professor who helps them categorize the killers and predict future behavior.

Their interviews with imprisoned serial killers can be tense and chilling, as they and the viewer start to realize how many multiple killers are out there, and how far behind the curve law enforcement was at the time.  Rises way above a typical procedural.  Smart, compelling, and cinematic.  If you enjoy series such as Criminal Minds, Hannibal, and Prodigal Son, you’ll probably like this too – but keep in mind there’s no murder of the week that conveniently get solved by the end of each hour.  This aims much higher, and, for the most part, hits the mark.  Season 2 has more urgency and gets darker, as the series focuses on events such as the Atlanta child murders, which uncovers flaws in the FBI’s methods, and raises doubts into how effective they are.  No word yet on a potential third season. 

The Morning Show (Apple TV+): The first original show on Apple’s new streaming service, inspired by Brian Stelter’s 2013 book, Top of the Morning, is a winner.  Jennifer Aniston is great as half of an iconic morning show couple, who is stunned when her partner of 15 years (Steve Carell) is fired for sexual misconduct (shades of Matt Lauer and the Today Show).

As she learns how to exert her power against the many male executives who want to push her out, she forces them to team her with an abrasive correspondent her smarmy new boss (Billy Crudup) brings in – an aggressive female reporter from a conservative leaning local station (Reese Witherspoon, who is excellent here).  The episode 3 scene between Steve Carell and his director friend (Martin Short), who are commiserating about being caught up in the #MeToo movement, which they see as discriminating against men who have done nothing wrong (or at least nothing that men in power haven’t always done), is one of the best couple of minutes of television I’ve seen in years – as Steve Carell’s character slowly starts to realize his friend is a sexual predator (and maybe he is too).  The second season will premiere in late 2020 or early 2021.

Mr Inbetween (FX): A half-hour Australian dark comedy/drama about Ray Shoesmith (the magnetic Scott Ryan, who also created and writes the show).  Ray seems to have a relatively normal life.  He’s juggling raising a pre-teen daughter with his ex-wife, a relationship with a new girlfriend, and caring for a sick brother.  He also has a day (and night) job collecting debts from deadbeats, and occasionally as a hitman.

The series is lean and taut, sharply written with no bloat or wasted content.  It seamlessly jumps from humorous to violent moments.  That we like and root for Ray despite his casual brutality is a tribute to Scott Ryan’s talents.  It also fits the mold of many FX dramas, where you root for bad or flawed people with some redeeming qualities who go up against even badder people with no (or at least fewer) redeeming qualities.  It’s now available on Hulu, No word yet on a potential third season.

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet (Apple TV+): A workplace comedy about the team behind the biggest multiplayer videogame of all time. Rob McElhenney, Charlotte Nicdao, and F. Murray Abraham star.  Funny and surprisingly insightful.  Already renewed for a second season.

The OA (Netflix): An adopted blind woman who disappeared seven years earlier resurfaces and now calls herself “The OA” (Original Angel).  She has scars on her back and her eyesight has been restored.  She refuses to tell her parents or the FBI where she has been.  She recruits a team of four local high-school students and a teacher, to whom she reveals everything, and gets them to help her try to rescue other missing people by opening a portal to another dimension.  Two seasons are available.

One Day At A Time (Netflix/Pop):  Based loosely on the 1975 Norman Lear sitcom, this excellent series, which you can watch with the whole family, now centers around a Cuban-American single mom and her family living in Los Angeles.  The ensemble cast includes, Justina Machado, Rita Moreno, Isabella Gomez, Marcel Ruiz, and Todd Grinnel.  The first three seasons aired on Netflix.  The fourth season was picked up by Pop TV, and is currently airing.  This is the first series to move from a streaming service to a linear network.

Ozark (Netflix): Jason Bateman (in his best and most nuanced performance) is Marty Byrde, a Chicago financial advisor whose partner is killed after stealing money from a drug lord.  Marty is forced to move to a summer resort community in the Missouri Ozarks with his wife Wendy (Laura Linney, who is also excellent here) and two kids, to launder money for the drug cartel.  When they get there they also have to deal with local gangsters.  Quirky, gritty, and dangerous characters and situations abound. 

Julia Garner is a revelation as Ruth, the teenager who lives in a trailer with her dysfunctional and often violent family.  After initially clashing with Marty, she winds up working for him.  Laura Linney’s shift from reluctant tag-along wife to take-charge protector of her family is fascinating to watch.  Season 3 dropped this March.

Peaky Blinders (Netflix): In the aftermath of World War I, returning soldiers, revolutionaries, and criminal gangs are struggling to survive in a 1919 Britain rocked by economic upheaval and shifting social mores.  Returning war hero, Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) is the young, charismatic, cunning, and ambitious leader of one of the more powerful gangs of the time, the Peaky Blinders, which he runs with his family.

The series is stylish, suspenseful, moody, beautifully shot, and often violent.  The Peaky Blinders are different from most pop-culture-type mobsters we tend to see on TV and in the movies, and it’s interesting to see how they react when forced to clash with a New York mafioso (played by Adrian Brody).  It has an excellent ensemble cast (Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Joe Cole), and perhaps the coolest theme song of all time.  There are five six-episode seasons, which are perfect for bingeing.  We probably won’t see season 6 until sometime in 2021.

Queen of the South (USA): This crime drama’s uneven first season got better and hit overdrive in seasons 2, and 3, as Camila Vargas (Veronica Falcon) and her former protégé, Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), battle for supremacy of a drug cartel.  Both are seductive and conniving, occasionally vicious, and always captivating.  Hemky Madera is wonderfully menacing as Teresa’a loyal lieutenant.  Season 4 sees Teresa and her allies move to New Orleans and try to expand her fledgling empire, while facing a whole new level of threats and enemies.  No awards or brilliant writing here.  Just a gritty and entertaining guilty pleasure.  It has been renewed for a fifth season.

Ramy (Hulu): Comedy-drama created by and starring Ramy Yousef.  He plays the son of Egyptian immigrants who is on a spiritual journey in his New Jersey neighborhood – caught between a traditional Muslim community and his own American millennial generation.  It’s been renewed for a second season.

Rick and Morty (Adult Swim): My 20-year-old son got me hooked on this Adult Swim animated piece of brilliance several years ago.  It follows super-genius (and boozy) scientist, Rick, as he drags his not-so-bright grandson, Morty, on wild adventures through other worlds and alternate dimensions.  While other great animated series, The Simpsons and Family Guy, are grounded in reality and have some absurd situations, Rick and Morty is grounded in absurdity.  It’s at once high- and low-brow, clever and silly, but always hilarious.  You’ll either love it or say “huh?”  After making fans wait more than two years, Season 4 came out this November.  It’s better than ever.  Seasons 1-3 are available on Hulu.

Reprisal (Hulu): Abigail Spencer (Timeless) was left for dead by her ruthless brother and his gang of gear heads.  She recovers, changes her identity, and re-emerges seven years later seeking revenge (and acquiring her own crew).  Ron Pearlman has a meaty role as a menacing mob boss.  Smart and taut, as this relentless femme fatale goes on her dark mission getting out of one jam after another until the final showdown.  No word yet on season 2.  

Russian Doll (Netflix): Star, Natasha Lyonne created this comedy-drama with Amy Poehler.  She is stuck in her own “Groundhog Day” loop, as she repeatedly attends her own 36^th birthday party in New York City, dies at the end of the night, and re-awakens on the same day unharmed as though nothing had happened.  No matter how many times she goes through slight variations of the same events and tries to alter the ultimate outcome, she reaches the same end by a variety of means (getting hit by a car, falling down a flight of stairs, etc.).  When she gets stuck in an elevator about to fall to her umpteenth death, she meets a guy (Charlie Barnett) who is going through the same thing.  They team up to try and figure out what is going on and how to stop it (and how they might be connected) – but each time, they only have a day to figure it out before the cycle begins again.

Inventive, clever, and thought provoking.  The dialogue is fast-paced and witty, and provides several different and insightful views of life in New York City.  A rare gem.  There will be a second season, but it probably won’t be until summer 2020 at the earliest.

Sex Education (Netflix): A comedy drama about a socially awkward high school student (Asa Butterfield), whose mom (Gillian Anderson) is a sex therapist.  He and his friend (Emma Mackey) use his expertise to open a school sex therapy clinic.  Season 2 debuted in January 2020, and it’s already been renewed for a third season.

Shrill (Hulu):  Aidy Bryant (SNL) stars in this dramedy about a full-figured woman who wants to change her life (but not her body).  She’s trying to make it as a journalist while dealing with bad boyfriends, sick parents, a perfectionist boss, and a world that favors thin over “fat.”  A second season has been ordered.

Sneaky Pete (Amazon Prime Video): Con man and ex-con (Giovanni Ribisi), on the run from some very bad people, assumes the identity of his still imprisoned cellmate Pete, and tries to hide out with Pete’s family (who hasn’t seen him for 20 years).  They have a bail bonds business in Connecticut and their own set of problems and sinister characters to deal with, so it takes a while before any of them questions his story.  All three seasons have multiple cons and obstacles to solve that are handled in a crisp, keep-you-guessing manner.  There are short cons, long cons, and double crosses, as “Pete” cleverly navigates the new world he finds himself in, while trying to avoid the old, as certain family members become increasingly suspicious.  

The excellent cast includes Margo Martindale and Peter Gerety as Pete’s grandparents, and Marin Ireland, Shane McRae, and Libby Barer as his cousins.  Bryan Cranston is executive producer, and has a role as a gangster who is after Pete in season 1.  Intelligent, gritty, and a good mix of drama and humor.  Unfortunately, season 3 was the last for this fine series.  Definitely worth a look.

Star Trek Discovery (CBS All Access): Taking place a decade before Captain Kirk and crew’s original five-year mission, the series follows the exploits of the U.S.S. Discovery as it seeks out new worlds and new civilizations (and battles Klingons and other alien forces along the way).

Sonequa Martin-Green is excellent as science officer Michael Burnham, a human who was raised on Vulcan by Spock’s parents.  Michelle Yeoh is also excellent as Captain Philippa Georgiou.  Season 2 has several nods to the original series, introducing us to a young Spock and Captain Christopher Pike (James T. Kirk’s predecessor on the U.S.S. Enterprise), but you need not be familiar with Star Trek canon to like this series.  Season 2’s ending propels Star Trek Discovery into new terrain to make season 3 a completely new entity with endless possibilities.

Star Trek: Picard (CBS All Access): The latest series in the Star Trek franchise centers on Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), now a retired Admiral, and is set 20 years after the events in the 2002 movie, Star Trek: Nemesis.  Picard forms a crew as he embarks on a dangerous rogue mission.  Isa Briones, Alison Pill, Santiago Cabrera, Michael Hurd, Harry Treadway, and Evan Evagora also star.  Some returning cast members include, Brent Spiner (Data), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Jonathan Frakes (William Ryker), and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi).  A second season has already been ordered.

The Stranger (Netflix): Eight-part British psychological thriller based on the Harlan Coben book of the same name.  A mysterious stranger (Hannah John-Kamen) tells a man (Richard Armitage) a secret that has a devastating effect on his perfect life.

Succession (HBO): One of the buzziest shows in the past couple of seasons actually lives up to the hype.  When Logan Roy (Brian Cox), an aging Rupert Murdoch style media tycoon has a stroke, his four adult children (Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook) start jockeying for control of the family’s international media and entertainment empire.  When he recovers and lets them know he has no intention of stepping down anytime soon, all types of power plays, backstabbing schemes, and elaborate infighting ensue, as ambitions collide with family loyalties.

One might think a series about unlikeable and privileged one-percenters is not the recipe for broad success, but the sharp writing, fierce acting, acid wit, and effortless shifts between comedy, tragedy, and family drama, make this compelling viewing.  Season 1 started out slowly, but built into something great as the season progressed.  Season 2 is near perfection, with strong guest starring roles for Cherry Jones and Holly Hunter.  Season 3 will probably debut in summer 2020.

The Tick (Amazon Prime Video): Bizarre six-foot-four blue superhero, The Tick, teams up with Arthur, an unassuming accountant, to battle evildoers.  Based on the comic book characters of the same name.  It was canceled after two seasons.

Tin Star (Amazon Prime Video): Tim Roth and Christina Hendricks star – he’s a former London detective who moves with his family to become Chief of Police in a small town in the Canadian Rockies (to escape his violent past, which, of course, catches up with him).  It has been renewed for a third and final season.

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Amazon Prime Video): John Krasinski is the fifth actor to portray Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst first introduced in a series of best-selling Tom Clancy novels in the 1980s.  This is the character’s first incarnation on the small screen, and one of the best.  It covers his early years in the CIA, as he’s just starting to make a name for himself (updated to take place in present day).  The supporting cast is excellent.  Part of the character’s appeal is that Jack Ryan is no Jason Bourne-type superspy.  He’s a regular guy (although smarter than most) who works in an office, who, as a former marine, can defend himself if he has to.  It’s first two seasons are excellent – there will be a third season, although no date has been announced.

Travelers (Netflix): Hundreds of years in the future, the last remnants of humans discover how to send their consciousnesses back through time, into people of the 21^st century.  These “travelers” work in teams to save humanity from its horrible future.  Eric McCormack stars in this sci-fi thriller that was canceled after three seasons.

The Umbrella Academy (Netflix): Based on the comic of the same name.  In 1989, 43 infants are inexplicably born to random women who showed no signs of pregnancy.  Seven are adopted by a billionaire industrialist who creates the Umbrella Academy, and prepare his “children” to save the world.  But first they have to solve his mysterious death.  The ensemble cast includes, Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, David Casteneda, Cameron Britton, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, and Mary J. Blige.  One of Netflix’s 10 most popular shows of 2019, it has been renewed for a second season.

Vida (Starz): Two vastly different and estranged Mexican-American sisters Lynn (Melissa Barrera) and Emma (Mishel Prada) – both perfectly cast – are forced to come together to deal with the death of their mother (nicknamed Vida) and the discovery that she had a secret wife, Eddy (Ser Anzoategui).  They also have to deal with the apartment building and bar Vida owned in her East L.A. neighborhood, which is in the process of undergoing gentrification.  Emma is a buttoned-down Chicago lawyer (and closeted lesbian), while Lyn is more fun loving, hopping from one job and sexual partner to another.  They are both insiders and outsiders, having left the neighborhood, but still intimately familiar with the life on these streets.  Their friend and anti-gentrification activist, Marisol (Chelsea Rendon), calls them “chipsters,” Chicana hipsters who traded their Mexican roots for more snobbish and stereotypically white personas.

This half-hour dramedy has all Latinx writers (a first).  LGBTQ characters fill the writer’s room and supporting cast as well, and queer communities are dealt with in a casual matter-of-fact way you never see on television.  The sex scenes, of which there are many, are shown from a female perspective – they are often graphic, but treated with a certain gentleness and care.  There’s nothing else like Vida on television.  Its upcoming third season, which premieres this April, will be its last.

Watchmen (HBO): Those of us familiar with Alan Moore’s 1986 graphic novel of the same name will either love Watchmen or hate it.  Those unfamiliar with the mythology involved will either love Watchmen or hate it.

Rather than remake the original (which has been done in a less-than-successful 2009 theatrical release), writer-producer Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) decided to set this tale of an alternate reality 30 years later, moving the main action from New York City to Tulsa, Oklahoma, the site of the real-life race massacre committed upon Tulsa’s black population, known as Black Wall Street, in 1921, which was virtually erased from history books, and figures prominently in the story. 

In this version of the United States, Richard Nixon remained President well into the 1980s, the U.S. won the Vietnam war (with the help of Dr. Manhattan, a blue, omnipotent “superhero,” now living on Mars), Vietnam becomes our 51^st state, there are no internet or smartphones, and an interdimensional psychic giant squid appeared in Manhattan, killing 3 million people 30 years ago, in 1985.  In 2019 an unseen Robert Redford is President, and a white supremacist group called the Seventh Kavalry is at war with the police (who wear masks to protect their identities after several cops and their families are murdered).

Numerous mysteries abound, and whether or not you are familiar with Watchmen canon, you will likely be confused at several points in the first few episodes.  Episode 6 will either thrill or outrage hard-core fans of the comic.  The stellar cast is led by Regina King (as a detective and masked vigilante known as Sister Night), Jean Smart (as FBI agent and former costumed “hero,” Silk Spectre), Jeremy Irons (as the mysteriously exiled “smartest man in the world.” Adrian Veidt), Lou Gossett Jr (as the mysterious Will Reeves), and Don Johnson (as the Tulsa Police Chief).  Watchmen is strange, complex, ambitious, and exhilarating.

Westworld (HBO): Rich vacationers can live out their fantasies without consequences in a futuristic amusement park, where human-like robotic “hosts” are continually abused and rebooted – until they start to become “conscious.”  The excellent ensemble cast is led by Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris, Tessa Thompson, and Anthony Hopkins.  Aaron Paul joined the cast in season 3.

You (Netflix): A New York bookstore manager and stalker (Penn Badgley) becomes obsessed with a customer and aspiring writer (Elizabeth Lail) and will do anything to insert himself into her life, including killing anyone who gets in his way. The first season aired on Lifetime.  It was canceled and picked up by Netflix, where it became a hit.  The second season moves from New York to L.A., where he meets a new object of his affection (Victoria Pedretti).  It’s been renewed for a third season.

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There are also many top-notch series recently or still on ad-supported cable, many of which are available to stream, such as AMC’s The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, and Into the Badlands, FX’s The Americans, American Horror Story, Atlanta, Legion, Snowfall, and Pose, TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, The Last Ship, Claws, and Animal Kingdom, USA’s Suits, Mr. Robot, and The Sinner, , Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars and Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, OWN’s Greenleaf and Queen Sugar, Paramount’s Yellowstone and 68 Whiskey, among others.

And let’s not forget you can always live-binge repeats of network favorites on TBS (The Big Bang Theory, Family Guy, Family Matters, Friends, Seinfeld, 2 Broke Girls), TNT (Law & Order, Bones, Charmed, Supernatural, NCIS New Orleans, Arrow), USA (Law & Order: SVU, NCIS, CSI, NCIS: L.A., Modern Family, Chicago P.D., New Amsterdam), ION (Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, NCIS: L.A., Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Leverage), Nick-at-Nite (Full House, Friends, George Lopez, Mom), TV Land (Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Two-and-a-Half Men, The Goldbergs, Roseanne, The Golden Girls), and several other cable networks.

In the Era of Peak TV+ can Nielsen (or anyone) Measure TV Viewing?

In 2020, the era of Peak TV+ gets underway in earnest.  By mid-year, there will be no less than seven major streaming services (and several smaller ones) producing original scripted series and spending upward of $40 billion per year on video content. 

More than two-thirds of TV homes already subscribe to at least one streaming service, with the average subscriber getting three.  By the end of 2020, the average SVOD household will get four streaming services, with more than three-quarters of TV homes subscribing to at least one.  Millions will be getting Disney+ and Apple TV+ free for a year through various promotional deals, while millions more will get Peacock and HBO Max for free, depending on what cable system or premium services they currently subscribe to.  There will also be numerous bundles and combinations of services available to various groups of customers.  It probably won’t be until the end of 2021 when we start to get a handle on how many paid subscribers each new streaming service has, and for how many streaming services the average subscriber is willing to pay.  We will also know by then approximately how many subscribers current streaming services lose to the newbies.

How in the world can we measure what people will actually be watching?

• Unless they are representative of the total U.S. population based on subscriptions to individual streaming services, and combinations of streaming services, Nielsen samples can’t accurately measure TV viewing anymore.

The whole purpose of a TV sample is to be representative of the total U.S., with the idea that you and your demographic cohorts have similar viewing habits.  Your cohorts are determined based on characteristics that Nielsen has determined impact viewing behavior – such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, presence of children, income, education, language spoken at home, etc.  Also important is whether or not you have cable/satellite/telco (i.e., pay TV services) or DVRs.

In the past, broad platform mattered more than individual platform.  In other words, whether or not you have cable does not require the sample being representative of every cable system, because that does not significantly affect viewing choices or behavior.  Nor is it important to know what type of DVR you have, since that will not substantially impact your viewing behavior and how much you fast-forward through commercials. 

Whether or not you subscribe to streaming services, however, is not the same.  If you only have Netflix, available programming, and your actual viewing habits, will be dramatically different than if you only subscribe to CBS All Access.  Likewise, if you bundle Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, and add HBO Max, your viewing habits will be different than if you have Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, and Apple TV+.  The only way to have a meaningful television sample, is to accurately represent the total U.S. based on every possible combination of streaming service and cable/satellite/telco subscriptions.  This means that the make-up of Nielsen’s national and local samples could need to change dramatically every year.  The days when all Nielsen needed to worry about was cable and DVR penetration are gone forever.

• Even if the sample is representative of the total U.S., it may not be enough. With hundreds of channels, DVRs, on-demand, and multiple streaming services, I and my demographic and psychographic cohorts no longer necessarily watch the same things even if we have access to the same programming.  And we certainly don’t watch at the same time.  According to Nielsen data, live viewing to traditional television among Adults 18-34 is down by a startling 40% from five years ago.  Because of the sharp increases in streaming and watching video on smartphones and tablets, however, their total video viewing is only down by 4%.  But it’s more splintered than ever.  Even older viewers, those 50-64 and 65+ have shown dramatic increases in streaming and watching video on smartphones (the Baby Boomer TV Generation is nothing like their parents were at the same age).  How can anything but samples approaching a full census still determine who represents the total population of TV viewers?

• In 2007 and 2008, I was involved with the Council for Research Excellence’s landmark Video Consumer Mapping Study as co-Chair of its Media Consumption and Engagement Committee. One of the study’s lesser-known findings was that Nielsen’s overall usage levels of households and broad demographic segments, such as total viewers and adults 18-49 were remarkably similar to the observed viewing behavior in our sample.  Once you started to look at narrower age groups, however, the reported Nielsen data started to stray significantly from the observed viewing data.  And this was just overall TV usage levels, not individual program ratings (and was 12 years ago, before video viewing was nearly as splintered as it is today).  DVR penetration was barely 20% of the U.S., and there were no streaming services.  At the time, I suggested we replicate the study every five years, but of course that never happened.

• Cord cutting will make measuring TV viewing even more complicated. While not yet a major factor, with the proliferation of streaming services, combined with the increasing costs of subscribing to pay TV services, the number of cord cutters will almost certainly continue to rise over the next few years.  By 2025, more than one-quarter of TV homes will likely have cut the cord.

• Binge viewing is not just a Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu phenomenon, it impacts linear ad-supported TV as well. I currently have seven network and four premium cable series queued up on my DVR.  Six of them have been there more than three days, and four of them have three or more episodes stored.  My wife and I have different schedules, so shows I watch by myself tend to get viewed quickly, while those we watch together build up multiple episodes before we get around to watching them.  I also tend to record new fall series I’m interested in, but don’t start watching them until I know they’ve been picked up for the full season.  At least half of my ad-supported TV viewing would not be picked up by Nielsen’s C3 or C7 ratings (even C35 might not capture it all).  Is it possible that network viewership is not actually declining as much as we think, but simply shifting beyond our current currency measurement?  Or is my household just an anomaly?

• At one time, so-called single-source measurement was considered the ideal for television audience research. It now might be preferable to have separate samples for linear/time-shifted viewing on a television set, streaming services on any platform, viewing on desktops/laptops/tablets/smartphones, and out-of-home viewing.  Each of these samples would be easier to construct and maintain, and ensure they are nationally representative.  A single sample can no longer be expected to represent the total population’s video viewing habits.  I’m not sure we should even rely on a single company to do so.

 

It is actually easy to figure out how accurate current TV measurement is, and to determine what needs to be done to fix it.  When I was on The Council for Research Excellence, I proposed a methodology for gauging how accurate Nielsen was at measuring an increasingly splintered video viewing environment.  Nielsen, of course, didn’t want to have anything to do with it. 

Here’s all you need to do. 

• Develop a sample of 100 of the top researchers in the industry (buyers, sellers, advertisers), who are adept at detailed work and understand how audience measurement works. Nielsen would meter their TVs, smartphones, and all other video viewing capable devices they own.

• Set up 20 or 30 different viewing scenarios for what and how they will view video content and commercials during a single day.

• Participants would then log in their video and advertising viewing (down to the second).

• Compare their reported viewing to what the measurement services show.

This will tell us what the industry needs to do next.  It would be a good idea to have Nielsen, ComScore, and a few other audience measurement companies involved.  I’d be more than happy to be involved in the project.