In an age where new series come and go in the blink of an eye, it’s worth remembering that some of the best series are close-ended. The mini or ‘limited’ series which asks very little of you in terms of commitment but deliver a concise and satisfying story. I’ve put together a watchlist of the best series of the last 10 years. I haven’t included anthology series like Fargo, True Detective, The White Lotus and Beef all of those are worthy of your time, these are shows designed to be one and done and they’re all fantastic.
The Act (Available on Hulu)
The Act masquerades a sweet story of the strong bond between a mother and her disabled daughter. Gypsy Rose Blanchard (Joey King) can’t walk, she has to be on countless medications to keep her immune system from attacking her. She’s fed intravenously a very specific mix of liquefied food to prevent her from choking. Chemotherapy has left her unable to grow hair, but despite all of her adversities, Gypsy is happy. She’s happy to spend all her time with her only caregiver and devoted mother Dee-Dee (Patricia Arquette) who has fought for her daughter to have access to the best medical care and even has a house built for them by the charity Habitat for Humanity. Mother and daughter are inseparable and have become minor celebrities, raising awareness of Gypsy’s condition on nationwide news. Their life is simple and somewhat isolating but as long as they have each other they’re happy. That is until Gypsy makes a friend in next-door neighbour Lacey (AnnaSophia Robb) who starts to ask questions about Gypsy’s life which sets Gypsy down a dangerous path to realising that she can actually walk, eat and move about without her chair and although she doesn’t want to believe it, Dee-Dee is keeping her ill to keep her completely reliant on her. Patricia Arquette plays Dee-Dee as deeply caring only turning into a monster and a prisoner when,for the first time in their life, her daughter starts questioning her. It’s a horrific story that you won’t be able to tear yourself away from.
Adult Material (Available on Channel 4)
One of the most unusual one-off series in recent memory, Adult Material could have been written off for being salacious fodder, instead, the series about a famous performer within the Adult industry was as thought-provoking as provocative. A story about ageing, sexual abuse and living in a world where you’re seen as disposable, Adult Material was a marvel. Hayley Squires was magnetic as Hayley Burrows, a woman whose alter ego Jolene Dollar had made her household name, though, underneath the bravado and her self-assured personality, there’s a woman who has dealt with sexual abuse at the hands of men who were there as her safety net. The series, written by Lucy Kirkwood looked at motherhood, the dangers of working in an industry where women are the stars but men pull all the strings and abuse with a depth that might not have been immediately obvious from its glossy ‘fun’ initial veneer
Baby Reindeer (Available on Netflix)
If you can separate the show from the controversies that arose since it took the streaming world by storm, Baby Reindeer’s massive success is somewhat miraculous. It’s a show that doesn’t feature any of the immediate things you might expect would draw massive audiences. It’s not BIG or loud and it doesn’t have any well-known names attached but it does have a terrifying and of-the-moment central conceit which feels worryingly relatable. Adapted from his one-man play of the same name, Richard Gadd’s bold first foray into television is one of most complex, bruising, and captivating watches on Netflix. Gadd is Donny, a bartender and floundering comedian who feels compelled to show kindness to a customer, Martha. He can tell Martha (Jessica Gunning) is a pathological liar, but he soon comes to find she’s also an unstable stalker. Tens of thousands of unanswered emails later, Donny asks himself, why did he reach out to her in the first place, and why hasn’t he reported her to the police? What follows is both a dangerous cat and mouse chase which at times feels akin to a horror movie, amplified further when you remember that this really happened to Gadd. It gets darker and deeper once it weaves in the uncomfortable but unflinching exploration of trauma, Baby Reindeer gives us no clean resolution. This is possibly because Gadd, who serves as writer, star and narrator of his story here is still processing all that he’s been through, but you can’t help but admire the lengths that the story goes to here. There are aspects of the story where it can feel like Gadd offers up too much but the Baby Reindeer became a word-of-mouth hit at a time when a tiny show like this may have otherwise been outshone by something flashier or easier to digest for that it needs to be respected.
Chernobyl (Available on Max/Sky Atlantic/NOW)
Capitalising on the curious fact that most people know hardly anything about the meltdown of a nuclear reactor in Pripyat, Ukraine, this series, from American writer Craig Mazin, looked at the story from every possible angle. From those who worked at the reactor and didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, to the governments who had their own reasons for making sure the true horror of the disaster was kept from the public to the hospital workers caring for those affected by the explosion and its horrific side effects. Adaptations of true-life events can often feel a bit ‘off.’ As if you’re being preached to, but this series managed to avoid all of the pitfalls and tell a story that was as moving as it was blood-curdling.This formidably researched piece of television felt worryingly relevant, particularly when it comes to climate change misinformation, and it’s one that Chornobyl returns to time and time again, with increasing urgency. Our window onto events is physicist Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) who is approached to be an expert on the panel to address the fallout – an expert who must only answer questions when spoken to and certainly never ask any of his own. When Valery and Council of Ministers deputy chairman Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgard) ask coal miners from Tula to dig a tunnel under the plant to prevent fuel melting into the groundwater, they both know that it’s a mission that will kill them all. The scene is one of the countless scenes across the five episodes that make for difficult viewing. True-life dramatisations are commonplace in television but Chernobyl felt bigger, bolder and more important than any to come before. The story of the trial and the incredible coverup should never be confined to history, and Mazin and the team bring the story to life in such a way that you can imagine it happening today.
The Dropout (Available on Hulu/Disney+)
True crime about tech billionaires has almost become a genre of its own of late. With dramatisations of everything from the WeWork scandal to the evolution of UBER, but The Dropout is the standout. None of the others in this strange genre even come close to its storytelling nor its lead performance from Amanda Seyfried who morphs into a new person as the series evolves. The show works just as well if you’ve never heard of Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos and just as effectively if you have read all about the deceit, corruption and dangers Holmes and those closest to her inflicted on others in their bid to keep the fact their blood testing technology never actually worked. There is sympathy initially as Holmes clearly wants to do good. Her idea of being able to test for a myriad of diseases with just one drop of blood sounds revolutionary and not beyond the bounds of possibility and Holmes, a young blonde girl with aspirations of being the next Steve Jobs, is both engaging, eloquent and incredibly self-assured for a girl who ‘dropped out’ of Stanford to follow her dream. It’s little wonder people fell for her pitch and gave her big financial backing. In truth, Holmes wasn’t an inventor or an innovator but rather than tell people her technology wasn’t working, she surrounded herself with people willing to go along with her on a journey of being a big tech company and ride all the rewards that brings. It’s a story that lays out how power corrupts and how people are enabled by a system that wants them to succeed. Seyfried is stunning as she transforms from wide-eyed college student with a vision to a ruthless mogul who is willing to throw those who helped her on the crucial first steps of the ladder under the boss to save her increasingly thin skin.
Why ‘The Dropout’ stands head and shoulders above the rest in a very crowded field.
Dopesick (Available on Disney+/Hulu)
Michael Keaton & Kaitlyn Dever in ‘Dopesick’
An impressive ensemble cast and telling insights into America’s opioid crisis and the far-reaching impacts it continues to have today make this carefully researched series a must. Following composite characters across the board, it examines the drug’s effects on ordinary working people while also showcasing how organizations like the DEA reacted to the crisis, depicting the legal aftermath Purdue Pharma faced due to its development, testing, and distribution of the drug Oxycontin. Katylin Dever, Micheal Keaton, Will Poulter and Peter Sarsgaard all deliver incredible performances as the series explores just how worryingly easily and calculatingly this ‘non-addictive pain killer’ was pushed onto vulnerable people.
Escape at Dannemora (Available on Paramount+)
This stranger-than-fiction true story will actually make you smile at the sheer absurdity on display. Prison worker Tilly (a timid Patricia Arquette) falls in love with two very different but equally manipulative prisoners who she has illicit sex with before helping them escape. Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano are brilliant as Tilly’s unlikely lovers and what begins as a messy love triangle turns into something more dangerous. It’s one of the stories you’ll struggle to believe actually happened but it was also recently turned into a documentary by Netflix.
I May Destroy You (Available on BBC iPlayer/Max)
Sometimes a show can feel so personal to its creator that watching can almost feel intrusive. That was the case with Michaela Coel’s deeply personal genre-defying 12-part comedy-drama hybrid. Telling her own story of trauma, rape, racism and the dangers of social media to powerful and unflinching effect. Coel stars as Arabella, a twenty-something writer who relishes a wild night out on the town. But when one such night ends with a blackout, bloody forehead, and troubling flashbacks, Arabella pieces together her experience of sexual assault, turning to her friends, new lovers, and dubious distractions to cope. Coel writes with poignant realism, as the series followed her own sexual assault, which happened while filming Chewing Gum. Surrounded by a suitably superb cast, which includes Weruche Opia and Paapa Essiedu, Coel delivers an electrifying portrayal of a woman on the verge.
REVIEW: I may Destroy you is tackling subjects TV has never dared to.
It’s a Sin (Available on Channel 4)
It seems strange that this series from Russell T Davies took so long to get to the screen. It was a passion project and having seen it now, it feels unfathomable that broadcasters didn’t want to touch this deeply personal story about how the AIDS crisis ravaged a community.. There’s glittering ambition, buzzy energy, naive innocence, and fates entwined. A group of friends, a chosen family, are pulled together by fate, proximity, poverty and circumstances. This is the ride of their lives. To pigeonhole it as an AIDS drama is too simple – there’s everything here. Lives well-lived as a nightmare disease creeps up on the unsuspecting, and a nonsense half-arsed public health response by those shielded by power and bigoted by hate. Broadcast during the darkest days of the UK’s Covid lockdown it resonated so profoundly with the audience. So many heartbreaking moments (don’t talk to me about Colin) were peppered with the humour and humanity that Davies is known for. Our shared suffering saw the Terrence Higgins Trust raise £20,000 in 24 hours from Philip Normal’s iconic ‘La’ t-shirts, and Google searches about current AIDS treatments (Undetectable equals untransmittable! Shout it from the rooftops!) and all the things we should have learned at school skyrocketed. Simply put, great drama changes lives in the most awesome ways. La!
REVIEW: It’s a Sin may be the best series of the year. *SPOILERS FOR FULL SERIES*
The Long Shadow (Available on ITVX)
In one of the opening scenes of The Long Shadow, a mother looks at her four children asleep in bed. It’s 1975 and the titles have established the state of life in Britain at that time – the strikes, the fuel shortages, and the cost of living crisis – and with all 4 children sleeping in one bed, it’s clear those pressures are weighing on this family. Preparing to go out, the young mother considers her sleeping children and takes off her heavy winter coat, placing it on the bed for extra warmth. It’s a small moment that shows the attention to detail that The Long Shadow writer George Kay has put into every scene of the true crime drama. Documenting the 5 year manhunt for Peter Sutcliffe, commonly known as “The Yorkshire Ripper”, The Long Shadow listened intently to the survivors of this story, and reflected their wishes in the drama. By taking a different slant on a story that has been covered by the press in a myriad of ways, ITV have created something that gives a voice to the victims, to a degree few others have. The cast is remarkable, Daniel Mays, Toby Jones, Liz White, David Morrissey and Katherine Kelly. It’s a stunning of example what the true crime drama can achieve. It’s not salacious and it never glamorises anything, The Long Shadow reminds you of the human suffering behind the many headlines and stands as one of the best adaptations of true crime to ever grace the screen.
The Long Shadow casts a spotlight on the women who lost their lives to Peter Sutcliffe
The Looming Tower (Available on Hulu)
The terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001 shook America to its core and set off a chain of events the world is still feeling the effects of today. The attacks took America by complete surprise. How could terrorists enter the US undetected, train at US flight schools and then commit the worst attack on American soil without authorities being aware?! The Looming Tower, about the years leading up to the September attacks, shows that the CIA and FBI had long been aware of the dangers proposed by Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda organisation but a failure of communication from both government agencies ultimately allowed for the atrocities to take place. The Looming Tower is a brave and brazen miniseries that lays bare the failings in intricate detail. With commanding performances from Jeff Daniels as John O’Neil, an American counter-terrorism expert who worked as a special agent for the FBI who was laser-focused on stopping and capturing Bin Laden but who was stopped at almost every turn by a CIA who felt it knew better. Tahar Rahim is incredible as Ali Soufan, the agency’s only Arabic speaker who sees first-hand the changes in rhetoric and anti-Americanism throughout the Middle East and tries to sound the alarm which all to often fall on deaf ears. Yet another show that will make you angry, The Looming Tower tells its story with confidence and precision and it deserves to be seen.
Maid (Available on Netflix)
Created by Molly Smith Metzler and adapted from Stephanie Land’s bestselling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, this ten-part drama delivers an absolute gut punch that will leave you feeling both despair and deep admiration for the ‘Maid’ of the title Alex who is portrayed by Margaret Qualley in her best performance yet. It’s a show that will make you cry but also remind you to celebrate life’s tiny victories. Margaret Qualley is excellent as Alex, a young woman struggling to leave an abusive relationship while continuing to care for her toddler daughter; she’s paired with her real-life mother Andie McDowell, who is fantastic as Alex’s well-meaning but unreliable mother who suffers from bipolar and who has never been a stabilizing figure in her daughter’s life. We follow Alex’s agonizing journey from navigating a women’s shelter to facing the baffling catch-22’s of the American welfare system (she can’t get state-sponsored child care without a job, but she can’t get a job without child care), and more. It’s a powerful meditation on perseverance, as well as a brutal examination of how incredibly short the United States falls in supporting those struggling to survive. It’s a brutal and powerful watch full of humanity and you will care so deeply for Alex and Maddie and all of the other women she meets.
‘Maid’ the must-see Netflix drama that feels tender and timely.
Mare of Easttown (Available on HBO Max, Sky Atlantic, NOW)
Kate Winslet is an Oscar winner and a celebrated actor, but she’s never been better than she is in this crime drama from HBO. Raising her grandson after her son was killed, her police chief is no-nonsense and somewhat bitter. She has never left the tiny community that still views her as a star athlete and as a police officer who couldn’t save a young girl who went missing under her watch. When another girl goes missing Mare is forced back into the spotlight and old wounds open up. You believe Winslet as Mare from the very first second you meet her, she wears the scars of her battered life like armour. The mystery at the centre is immediately intriguing and that’s saying something at a time where true crime documentaries have almost overtaken fictional stories for most. It’s a show that oozes confidence with a great sense of place and a stunning cast which includes Jean Smart as Mare’s mother and Evan Peters as the man who finds himself paired with Mare to bring the girl home. It’s so good that writing about it makes me want to stop and revisit it immediately.
REVIEW: ‘Mare of Easttown’ is an absorbing and heartbreaking watch.
The Night Of (Available on Max/NOWTV)
In truth, I perhaps should be including the 2008 series Criminal Justice which The Night Of is based on, but that doesn’t fit the criteria here because it came back for a second series and also, The Night Of has stood the test of time where the BBC version, which is still worth seeking out, has largely been forgotten. The Night Of follows Nasir “Naz” Khan (Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani-American student who spends a wild night with an enigmatic woman and awakes the next morning to find her stabbed to death. With no recollection of events, Naz panics, runs, and is quickly picked up by police. There’s not much hope for his puzzling case, until a seasoned public defender (John Tuturro) agrees to take Naz’s cause. Gripping, patient, and devastating, The Night Of is an irresistible mystery that takes the crime drama formula and digs deeper, mining more emotion, more complexity than the standard detective fare. It’s no wonder that it was an awards season darling, taking home five Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Ahmed.
Normal People (Available on BBC iPlayer/Hulu)
Remember when we were all stuck at home and unable to spend time with our loved ones? The BBC could not have foreseen that this would be the perfect time to air one of the best and most intimate series for a long time. The premise of Normal People is simple: school friends fall in love and try to navigate live through college. Another show we’ve seen many times before, but done with the delicate touch here and with two absolutely outstanding performances from Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal. The pair bring nuanced and richly complex characters to life perfectly as the series explores the nature of relationships with outstanding intimacy. Normal People is, at its heart, a love story, but it addresses love in a complex and messy way that has remained relatively untapped within television, with important undertones of class and status that give the show added depth. It’s quiet, raw and tender, and whilst I’m pretty sure that those who enjoyed the book will be pleased with its adaptation on the small screen, anyone unfamiliar with Marianne and Connell’s story will warm to them just as much.
REVIEW: BBC Three’s ‘Normal People’ hits all the right notes.
The Patient (Available on Disney+/Hulu)
The Patient feels the most underseen of all the shows on the list. Created by the guys behind the brilliant FX drama series The Americans, and helmed by powerful performances by Steve Carell (in a completely straight role) and terrifying Domhnall Gleeson, the series is essentially a two-hander between the pair filled with so much danger that it becomes impossible to look away. Steve Carrell is Dr. Alan Strauss, a psychotherapist who wakes up one morning chained in a basement by a patient, serial killer Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson), and forced to provide therapy or else Sam will give into his violent and homicidal urges. The stakes are high, but the therapy is captivating. There’s no way out for Alan other than through, and he genuinely tries to tend to his patient while dealing with his own grief and attempting to escape. Bold, stripped back and expertly paced, It’s unclear why The Patient isn’t brought up more often, it’s a must-watch.
Ripley (Available on Netflix)
Ripley. Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley in Ripley Cr. Netflix
Another show based on well-known and beloved IP that you could argue didn’t need a refresh. Tom Ripley has appeared in two movies and a radio series, the idea of resurrecting the scheming conman again seems redundant and lazy, but when Ripley arrived on Netflix I found myself completely immersed. Shot in black and white, the whole thing was stunning. Andrew Scott is admittedly older than the other incarnations of the character, but he brings something very different to the role. A cerebral look at this unhinged character that feels entirely fresh. Writer-director Steve Zaillian turned the material into a riveting step-by-step procedural on how to be a sociopath. The beats may have been familiar, but the journey was fuller and more well-rounded than anything that had come before.
Sharp Objects (Available on Max/Sky Atlantic/NOW)
Sharp Objects (Available on Max/NOW/Sky Atlantic)
The plot summary of Sharp Objects sounds rather unremarkable. “After treating her mental illness, crime reporter Camille Preaker returns to her hometown to solve the murder of two young girls. However, she is forced to face and deal with her own demons too.” It feels like a version of a story we’ve seen before, but in its execution, Sharp Objects is an absolute marvel that you can’t tear your eyes away from. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, the series has an almost otherworldly feel that amplifies the unease each of the characters is feeling when news of the missing girls breaks. Amy Adams is sublime as the tortured journalist who doesn’t want to be back home with her domineering mother (the properly terrifying Patricia Clarkson) and face demons she’d happily left behind. Given the grotesque subject matter, the show is gorgeous and haunting. For reasons I’m not entirely clear on, it’s not mentioned among the best of HBO’s one-offs.
The Sixth Commandment (Available on BBC iPlayer)
True crime stories often get accused of glamorising killers and being disrespectful to the memory and family of the victims. Whilst this is the case in some incidents, the best of genre handle things with a delicate and sensitive hand. The Sixth Commandment is a case in point with the victims taking centre stage as we get to know and care about them before the despicable Ben Field enters their lives. Field (a properly haunting Éanna Hardwicke) infiltrates the lives of older people who are charmed that this well-spoken young man wants to spend time with them. In the case of his victim Peter (Timothy Spall) Ben comes into his life at the perfect time. Newly retired and feeling a little lost, Feild offers the closeted Professor a chance at the loving relationship he’d long given hope of having. Peter falls so hard for the new man that he shrugs off any worries those closest to him have about this new man who is slowly having more and more control over Peter’s life and finances. The script from Sarah Phelps never paints Peter as foolish or silly, he’s a man who had no reason not to trust the man he loved. He had no reason to think Feild was a calculated monster who would kill him and move on to his neighbour Ann without giving him a thought. Ann (Anne Reid) is someone else who is flattered by the attention of a younger man. He’s handy to have around, he can help her in the garden and he’s pleasant company. Again, when those around her question his intentions, Ann is quick to defend him. His intentions towards her feel even more predatory and depraved, but you never lose sympathy for the victims here and Feild is far from the star of his own story. The Sixth Commandment is utterly heartbreaking but proves that the genre can absolutely be used to highlight the lives of those with the great misfortune of having their lives needlessly taken by a deeply selfish and dangerous man.
This is Going to Hurt (Available on BBC iPlayer)
There’s a dark humour that permeates every aspect of Adam Kay’s brilliant screen adaptation of his best-selling novel. It means you are always on the side of Adam (portrayed perfectly by Ben Whishaw) and everyone trying their hardest under the unforgiving pressure of working for the NHS. It’s not so much a love letter to that institution as much as it shows the realities of working such a job. Fast-paced, fun and ultimately a gut punch, This is Going Hurts doesn’t feel like a medical drama. Instead, it’s an exploration of what working within the NHS does to people. Some thrive, some get through it with sarcasm and some like Adam’s trainee Shruti, crumble under the weight of expectation. It’s Ambika Mod’s show. She is truly stunning as Shruti, a woman desperate to learn and get the job right, who is quietly falling through the cracks. It’s heartbreaking. The dark humour is so typically British. From the cynicism of a training course where patients now have to be called clients to Kinder Eggs in very surprising places. It’s that balance between sarcasm and tragedy we can all relate to. It’s in the syncing of the beauty of new life with the exposed guts of everyday pain.
Unbelievable (Available on Netflix)
An exchange from a lawyer in Netflix’s Unbelievable really struck a chord with me. “Nobody ever accuses a robbery victim of lying,” he notes. “But when it comes to sexual assault?” It’s true and maddening hypocrites of this nature come up regularly in this outstanding series which is on An Unbelievable Story of Rape, factual reporting published by ProPublica and The Marshall Project in 2015. Over the course of eight episodes examines the ways rape victims are constantly disbelieved, dismissed or difficult to investigate or convict. When Marie (a brilliantly tender Katylin Dever) wakes up to a masked man leaning over her and raping her, she’s not entirely sure what’s happening. She’s calm and her attacker isn’t overly aggressive, talking her through things and he unties her before he leaves. When she tells the police they find holes in her story, to the point that sympathy for her in her small community is in short supply. As time goes on she even questions if she remembers the events correctly. Did she lie? I so to what end? When another young woman is raped in her apartment she’s fortunate to get the attention of Detective Karen Duvall (a patient and measured Merritt Wever) who links up with the more hard-nosed Detective Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette) who believes another case may be linked. It’s a hard but ultimately hopeful watch which gives you hope that the police can work efficiently and that justice can be served. The central trio of female leads are outstanding and it’s one that is going to stick with you.
REVIEW: Unbelievable on Netflix is an important and impactful watch.
Andrew Garfield in Under The Banner of HeavenUnder The Banner of Heaven (Available on Hulu, Dinsey+, ITVX)
Under The Banner of Heaven (Available on Hulu/Dinsey+/ITVX)
Detective Jeb Pyre (a stirring Andrew Garfield) begins to question his faith and his church while investigating a brutal murder in his small Mormon community in Under the Banner of Heaven. The FX series is a haunting adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book that investigates the murder of Brenda Wright and her baby in Utah in 1984. As a fictionalized retelling, the series weaves a story of religious extremism, generational trauma, the power and limitations of faith, and above all else, of a bright, kind young woman who found herself sadly caught in the middle. Creator Dustin Lance Black’s take is complex, deeply affecting, and beautifully shot, with glimpses of Latter-day Saint historical figures flashing through Detective Pyre’s mind, as he struggles to reconcile his beliefs with his suspicions about the involvement of the church. Sam Worthington, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Gil Birmingham, Denise Gough, and Wyatt Russell each give remarkable performances, in a story that feels timely despite being set in the ’80s.
Under the Banner of Heaven uses a shocking crime to look deeper at religious beliefs.
The Underground Railroad (Available on Prime Video)
I’ll say it again, most of the shows here aren’t exactly light, but The Underground Railroad 2018’s masterpiece from Barry Jenkins may well be the hardest watch on the list. It’s a hard-hitting series about the early phases of the slave trade flew somewhat under the radar at the time, but it stands as one of the greatest technical achievements in television history. Jenkins and collaborators like cinematographer James Laxton ensure that every frame is stunning and painterly in detail, no matter how horrifying (a slave being whipped, a house being burned with people inside) or beautiful (the titular railroad is an actual train line, borrowing from the magical realism premise of Colson Whitehead’s novel) the individual images are. No show has ever put as much effort and skill into its sound design, so that viewers feel as if they are standing in the hot sun with escaped slave Cora (Thuso Mbedu), surrounded by chirping insects. And, for that matter, few directors have elicited performances as naked and lived-in as what Mbedu, Joel Edgerton (as a ruthless slave-catcher), William Jackson Harper (as a free Black man trying to get Cora to accept the possibility of good in this world), and others deliver here. There are scenes in the series that will live forever in your head, and even when it borders on fantasy, it hits everything with precision and perfection.
Unorthodox (Available on Netflix)
Primarily in Yiddish with some English and German thrown in, Unorthodox tells the story of a young woman raised in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who decides to leave everything she knows behind and start a new life in Berlin. We follow Esty (the brilliant Shira Haas) as she befriends a group of musicians, reunites with her estranged mother, and is introduced to a world free from the strict rules and beliefs she grew up with. Meanwhile, after learning that she is pregnant, Esty’s husband travels to Berlin with a thuggish cousin in tow and tries to track her down in hopes of bringing her (and crucially their unborn child) back home. In the end, it’s impossible to feel unmoved by this tale of a woman escaping the social pressures of a tight-knit community and finding her own path. At four episodes, Unorthodox is a quick watch but its a deeply important one that is unlike anything else in the streaming era.
The Virtues (Available on Channel 4)
From Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne, this four-part drama feels more like a documentary than a written one. Watching The Virtues can feel oppressive and almost as if you’re eavesdropping on a private moment. Stephen Graham gives what might be his best performance as Joseph – a happy go lucky but ultimately broken and fragile man who’s life spirals out of control when his ex-wife and son move to Australia. The scene where Joseph reassures his son they’ll speak every day over Skype and that he’ll make lots of friends down under happens moments into the first episode. We knew nothing about these characters, but I’ve now watched the episode and that scene in particular multiple times and never fails to make me cry. It’s just one of many tender moments sprinkled across the four episodes where your heart breaks for Joseph. He’s a lost soul struggling through life and haunted by ghosts from his troubled past. In search of a new family, Joseph heads to Ireland to reconnect with his sister Anna (Helen Behan) and crashlands into her busy family life with her husband, three children and sister-in-law Dinah (Niamh Algar) all squeezed under one noisy roof. Joseph and Dinah are very similar, both emotionally broken and desperate to get their lives back on track. Both with abuse in their backgrounds and both fighting demons they’re scared to confront. The Virtues is a difficult but tremendously rewarding watch that will stick with you long after you’ve finished the series.
When They See Us (Available on Netflix)
I’ll admit that most of the shows listed here will make you very angry. Even for all its joyous musical scenes, even Unorthodox will make you angry and annoyed that Esty is forced to flee the only life she has ever known to be allowed to live the life she wants, but none will make your blood boil as much as the brutal masterpiece When They See Us. Yet another huge blot on America’s hideous past with police and African Americans, this series looks at the appalling case of the five teens from Harlem who became trapped in a nightmare when they were falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. The police, not bothered about finding the real attacker,pounce on these very young men who weren’t even in the vicinity of the park and subject them to such rigorous interrogation that they were willing to say anything to make the ordeal stop. They find themselves locked into a ‘justice’ system that is determined for them to fail at every turn. It is completely infuriating, helpless and a stain on America that such a thing was allowed to take place. The series, helmed by showrunner Ava DuVernay, tells the story with humility but doesn’t shy away from showing the incredibly hard lives these innocent men lived and the impact it had on them and their families.
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