5 | Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Network: BBC America | Season: 1
Sleeper hit Comedy of the year?!? Maybe? Anyways, I didn't really see this one coming but Elijah Wood in a starring role always gets my interest (Wilfred & Maniac > life)
I've never read the Dirk Gently comics, but Dirk Gently is a "holistic" detective who solves crimes by following fate rather than going to look for clues. He believes the universe leads him to things to solve cases. We also learn there's more people like this in different lines of "work".
S1 was focused on solving one of the weirdest murders I've ever seen on tv lol, while the show had it's kinks along the way it stayed witty & fun the whole time. There's also a bigger underlining plot going on that we don't fully grasp until the last episode which has me very intrigued.
It's been renewed for a 10 episode S2, so we'll see if the extra 2 hours will hurt or help.
4 | Vice Principals
Network: HBO | Season: 1
It was a tough decision between this and my #3 and one episode made the difference for me, ugh.
The duo of Jody Hill + Danny McBride is one for the ages. Eastbound & Down is my favorite scripted Comedy TV series of all time. It's genius. So my hype for this was through the roof, and it delivered! It is tonally different from E&D and takes a little bit to open itself up but once it does it's a home run.
The two main characters are VPs at a high school and once the Principal retires, they figure it's between them for that position. But little do they know the higher ups had already picked someone as Principal. Then all hell breaks loose and they decide she's gotta go (cuz she "stole" their spot) It's vulgar, it's ludicrous, satirical & crude. I suppose it's not for everyone, it's very specific to Danny McBride's own sense of humor, but I think everyone should give it a shot. There's surprisingly a lot of dept to our characters that gets revealed bit by bit. Such as an episode exposing the issues of masculinity and things of that nature.
He's got another one!
22 | The Code
Network: ABC1 | Season: 2
The Australian conspiracy thriller came back after a hiatus for S2 and it was actually better than S1.
The main focus are the Banks brothers: Jesse, the Autistic computer genius + his older brother Ned who acts as his caretaker. Jesse has the tendency to hack into the Australian governments files cause he's nosey (
) and while that got him into trouble in S1, it helped him & his brother in S2. While S1 at times could feel thin plot wise while being exciting as most thrillers are, there was more to it this time around. But for me, what will probably always keep me coming back to this one is Ashley Zukerman's performance as Jesse, which is the most unsung performance on TV, in my opinion.
The show also injects a lot of humor into the unfortunate circumstances, such as Jesse not being able to lie which costs him various jobs and potential relationships. The tension between the 2 brothers gets explored a bit more in S2 also.
I love the cinematography/editing & the actors that pop up; like
Rectify's Aden Young being a recurring character in S1.
I hope the improvement with the plot continues, and we get a S3 sooner rather than later.
21 | Westworld
Network: HBO | Season 1
Kind of the biggest let down of the year for me, but still pretty good. There was nearly nothing going on the middle stretch, but the season ended on a high note! while I get that it's labeled a prequel season akin to Preacher's S1.... That doesn't really warrant a pass from me. I can definitely see myself getting immersed in the Westworld universe, and I half way did by seasons end.
That finale though... Let's hope that isn't final.
20 | Shameless (U.S.)
Network: Showtime | Season: 7
Even though Shameless peaked with S4, I still quite like it. I think it's one of the most relatable family portrayals on TV (even though at this point it has it's Fantasy-esque storylines too)
I think this season things are starting to stabalize for the Gallaghers & co., even though they always find a way to screw things up. Carl matured and got over that "wigger" nonsense from S6, Fiona becomes a ambitious businesswoman with long term goals in mind, Lip kinda sorta becomes sober, Debbie... tries? I guess. However, Frank is still the same ol' Frank.
And then some S6 storylines I was never a fan of became even more annoying to me this time around (**** Svetlana)
7 seasons in, I think the show should wrap up with S8. I don't know how much longer they can stretch things at this point. But it'd be nice that is the S7 finale "rebirth" of sorts the characters experienced means Frank will actually... Grow. Into something more. I've got high hopes.
19 | Marvel's Daredevil
Network: Netflix | Season 2
I suppose I'm in the majority that feels this was better than S1? And that Daredevil is the best Netflix Marvel series? And that Jessica Jones is trash? Yes? Probably.
Anyways, the show finally introduced one of my top 5 superhero-related characters in Frank Castle aka The Punisher. I always figured a more "mature audience" character such as Frank would thrive on Netflix and he did! He stole the season. But onto the rest of the season.
Froggy is a lot less annoying this go around, perhaps the actor improved, or the writing for his character who knows. Now while I think the show still suffers from being 13 episodes (3 too long just like it's brother Luke Cage) The first 10 were still really strong. Something that stood out was the structure this go around was a little different; it's not just about getting to the inevitable finale fight it's focusing on the whole cast.
One kinda big negative is the action scenes this go around for the most part were not as great; how many times do I have to see Elektra & Matt fight some ninjas?
Hopefully S3 sees even more improvement