The first episode was an intriguing primer, but hot damn the second the old GoT theme played to start the second I was all the way back in. This show answered the age old question of what if Game of Thrones was jsut more focused on one or two plots instead of 5-10. Well, the answer is it ends up pretty damn great. Yes, the time jumps were jarring at times (mostly on who didn't change actors or appearance), and there were certain elements that were maddening, but there are some aspects of the show that remain peerless, exhibiting the best parts of its forebearer. First, writing just incredible villains. The Greens are right up there with the Lannisters and it took no time for that to happen. The actual shooting was excellent (admittedly, I didn't have the dark-screen issues many seemed to), and everything with a dragon was great. In theory this season was all preamble to the real war to come, and if they can pull it off - and given how involved GRRM seems to be, I would bet on them doing so - I expect future seasons of this to fly up the list. I was always really interested as to how this show would be received given how woefully the last season of GoT was, but what shows is that if you tell a good story, tell it with clarity and conviction, you can make up pretty easily for past mistakes.
9.) The White Lotus (Season 2, HBO)
It's hard to compare seasons of anthology shows, but also it could be argued its besides the point. But Mike White's brilliant show invites it by being the same structure, with the season opening up with an unknown dead person, and then you meet a whiole host of mostly rich, white, weirdos (but in Italy). But then we got that kind of attuned version of the theme song, and away we went into some incredible stuff. Not all of it worked as well, particularly there was no Armaund replacement this year, but the story of the two whores scamming Albie had a good conclusion, and everything with the two couples worked, specifically the ambiguity of how it all wraps up, with the uncertainty of how cheated on who, and who knew what. Of course, its hard to talk about The White Lotus without the end of Jennifer Coolidge's arc, and I think it encapsulates everything with this season. It was a bit wornout in the early episodes, but man did it come together super well. If anything, to summarize the sophomore season, I think it was better crafted plot, but less just in the moment brilliance that the first season had.
8.) Righteous Gemstones (Season 2, HBO)
Somehow we went from 2019 to 2022 without the show returning (granted, I know perfectly well why, as there was this whole pandemic thing). It was such a great return though, with them fine tuning everything that made the first season great, accentuating all the positives, such as making the Kelvin and Judy Gemstone characters even better than before, and while using him less than I would ahve liked, saving Baby Billy for some amazing work. They created this world that combined very real issues with teh church (the shameless grifting, the ability to squirm away from scandal, the actual murder main plot) with such craziness that Eric Andre, at basically his most Eric Andre-ness, could seamlessly fit in. Again, my only real qualm was that I don't think there's a level of Baby Billy I am against, so any time he wasn't involved was a missed opportunity. In the end, the show has what could be a very troublesome plot to work with fine tuned to a science, and contineud to mix truly great comedy with about as dark as storylines as you can get in what is on its face a 30-minute comedy.
7.) We Own This City (HBO)
I'm a sucker for anything David Simon, it is fair to say. Add in a return to the Baltimore Police Department, and a show that featured a whole lot of people that were on The Wire (including some hilarious casting, like Marlo as a cop), and I was fully bought in. My only true quibble was the time jumping was very hard to follow, but admittedly that's a small price to pay for what was an incredible series. One of the few criticisms often levied at The Wire was it portrayed an idealized version of cops. I never fully bought this but for whatever truth there was in that, We Own This City broke that down squarely. This was all about crooked cops, about a task force let to do whatever it pleased and run havoc on a city, and how everyone enabled it in the name of stats. There were a lot of similarities to The Wire in the way it was crafted - the way it was shot, the realness of the scenes and the dialogue, but this had a hyperfocus to tell one story (granted a few threads, like a less effective one about government employees trying to monitor a consent decree) and do it with aplomb. Two things about the show, first it made me immediately start rewatching The Wire (in Season 4 right now, and man is it heavy with those damn kids), and second, it shows that as good as David Simon is at telling very different stories (Treme, The Deuce), Baltimore is his main muse.
6.) What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5, FX)
I think its official (though I'm doing this without really looking at the list ahead), What We Do in the Shadows is the best pure sitcom on TV. I know for a fact one of my higher ranked shows is very funny, but there's zero real meaningful plot in this show other than to service about as absurd, but brilliant a cast of characters put on tv. It took a while to admit this, but truly it is true. The writing is incredible, and some of the ideas, like to make Colin reborn an grow from a newborn to a surly teenager over the course of one year, was inspired. But really the performances are what makes this, particularly none better than Matt Berry. I will never not laugh at his ridiculous line read of "New York Citaaaayyyy" in the House Hunters episode. Nandor with the genie was an endless source of laughs. Like another slightly absurdist, but sharper than you think, comedy on FX (Always Sunny), I honestly think this show could go for 10+ seasons easily without losing its sharpness and effectiveness. I truly never want this to end. They've even figured out a way to use Kristen Schaal really well, which can be a challenge, but much like everything else, they excelled at it.
