15.) Curb Your Enthusiasm, S11 (HBO)
After sitting in mothballs since 2011, Curb was resurrected in 2017 for a season that felt a bit aimless. At that point I didn't really want it to come back, but Larry did, and he brought with him a spite store and spite for all the people that felt he was over it. The Spite Store concept was brilliant from the beginning, at culminated so brilliantly at the end with the fire - it was Curb on all levels from a season long arc perspective. Some of the individual stories fell flat, but there were enough classified Curb bangers to deserve coming back, be it the carnival weight guesser, the whole idea of an ugly section, any interaction with Ted, and even digging back Kaitlin Olson as Cheryl's sister after all these years. Apparently we aren't done with Curb, and if this past season is an indication, David is still a fount of ideas and comedic brilliance.
14.) How To with Jon Wilson, S1 (HBO)
Nathan Fielder is an executive producer, and while he plays no part in the show itself it is so obvious how much of a 'Nathan For You' hyper-realism vibe this has. The best parts are when we hear John Wilson say something totally inane and they find the perfect shot of a New York City street to back up his perverse world view. The show at times gets a bit too inane, but I love the concept of just letting the story take you every which way, going from a story of 'how to protect your furniture' to somehow winding up talking to people at a 'Mandela Effect' conference. Of course, we do have to talk about that finale, where his search to cook risotto for his landlord ended up being a weird look at Wilson's attempts to quit smoking, and then a weird turn into the impact on coronavirus happening during the show's run, with the mindlessly unnerving scene of him trying to find the end of the line in a NY grocery store, and of course her potential death that comes at the end to only have her return and get that risotto. There's a promising show here and much like Nathan For You before it, I can't wait to see how they look to improve it over time.
13.) Fargo, S4 (FX)
In a vacuum, I found Fargo S4 an improvement over S3, with a tighter story, far better tone, and more memorable characters. However the one thing this season of Fargo did not have as much of as S3 was exciting plot. It was a staid story, but one that was feverishly well told and crafted. 1950s Kansas City was a far more complete, colorfol tapestry than I expected, with the Nurse, the whole Cannon clan, Tim Olyphant's brilliant marshal (stunt casting of the best kind). It balanced a classic mob story with just enough Fargo-esque flair, from the slight hints of mysticism, the two hilariously fun lesbian ex-cons, to the entire black-and-white story. The show was its largest in terms of cast and most complex - not sure these are great things for Fargo to aspire to - but it still managed to tell its story in a uniquely Fargo way.
12.) What We Do in the Shadows, S2 (FX)
The show started dropping new episodes in the heart of the lockdown and was such a bright spot at times, developing a more robust story, a more commanding tone, in its second season. The show about four vampires living in normal life was funny enough, but building the world, with more people slowly getting in on the secret, more history to explore (the various old vampires), more time with the familiars, and with the Craig Robinson, the boredom vampire. Finally, the show's crazy last few episode full of Jackie Daytona's and the return of Nick Kroll's vampire posse showed how deep the show can go even when it goes full bore into comedy. Much like other shows of its ilk, there probably is a diminishing return at some point, but for right now, Laszlo, Nadja and Nandor are so far away from that point.
11.) The Flight Attendant, S1 (HBOMax)
I'll admit, as a frequent flyer I kind of wish this series focused a bit more on the flying aspect. Ok, that's not true - though it is funny how quickly the show gets away from anything to do with flight attendants until brining it back in the finale. Anyway, this Kaley Cuoco vehicle was so damn entertaining. It isn't the tightest story (a lot of it seems thrown together at the end) but the fresh tone, the whip-smart dialogue. It was something of a Veronica Mars like model, combined with a strangely poignant look at addiction, loss and depression. The finale also deftly closed a story, but set the seeds for a few more interesting ones, revealing one of the flight attendants to be a CIA undercover agent and the potential for Cassie to find herself in that role as well. On pure entertainment, combined with an extremely well crafted and engaging plot, The Flight Attendant really surprised me on how great I found it, a show that ended up being effective at its most plot heavy and plot light moments.
