‘ADZԳ’
This harrowing drama, created by actor Stephen Graham (who also stars) and writer Jack Thorne and directed by Philip Barantini, will surely clean up at the next round of major awards. The story of 13-year-old Jamie Miller, accused of the murder of a schoolmate, and his family was practically flawless in every aspect, from the excellent ensemble cast (including breakout star Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie) to the extraordinary technical skill (each of its four episodes was shot in a single take). “The balletic production processes that must have been involved are simply staggering, but they suck the audience in and refuse to let them go, demanding we share in every uncomfortable second,” our reviewer wrote. “‘Adolescence’ may be one of the most upsetting shows released this year — at times, it’s excruciating — but it is also a remarkable work of art.”
‘Severance’ S2
The wonderfully weird world of Apple’s sci-fi comedy-drama was expanded far beyond the walls of the Lumon offices in season two, as Mark S (Adam Scott) and his team of data refiners dealt with the fallout from their successful, if brief, escape from their ‘severed’ floor — where work and out-of-work memories and personalities are controlled and delineated by a chip embedded in their brains — and alert the outside world to the cruelties of their working conditions. Season two had that same blend of surreal silliness and nightmarish anxiety that made the show so popular — as our reviewer said: “Creator Dan Erickson and director Ben Stiller waste no time in rediscovering the subtle blend of tangible oddness and sinister dystopian creepiness that made the first season such an uncomfortable joy.” “Severance” remains smart, thought-provoking, entertaining, and utterly absorbing.
‘Mo’ S2
The second season of Mo Amer’s semi-autobiographical comedy drama — in which he plays Mo Najjar, a Kuwait-born Palestinian refugee living in Houston, Texas, with his mother Yusra (the superb Farah Bsieso), and his older brother Sameer (Omar Elba), who’ve been waiting more than two decades to have their asylum case heard — proved that the success of season one was no fluke. Amer, our reviewer wrote, continued to explore “incredibly complex and divisive topics — family, religion, imbalance of power, exile, mental health, parenthood, multiculturalism and much more — with an artful lightness of touch, without ever taking them lightly.” The finale — in which the family finally head to Palestine for the first time in more than 20 years — was a triumph of storytelling.
‘Black Mirror’ S7
Charlie Brooker’s near-future-set sci-fi anthology series — which has, since its inception, proven frighteningly prophetic — continued to explore familiar themes in its seventh season, most especially the terrifying potential technology has to reshape our existence. But it did so with a slightly softer touch that suggests Brooker’s cynicism is mellowing just a little — and it was the richer for it. It doesn’t hurt that some fine actors continue to line up to feature in the show — this season saw Rashida Jones, Awkwafina, Peter Capaldi, Paul Giamatti, Emma Corrin, Issa Rae, Patsy Ferran and many more on the roster. And, of course, there was that sequel — the first in the show’s history — to a “Black Mirror” classic: season four’s “USS Callister.”
‘Andor’ S2
It seems a shame that what was by far the strongest of the many TV spinoffs from “Star Wars” was just two seasons long, but maybe that limitation was the reason why it was the strongest: it cut out the indulgent exposition. We already knew what was coming — at least, if you’d seen “Rogue One” you did, and if you hadn’t seen it then why on earth were you watching a “Star Wars” spinoff? Its story of a population rising up against the erosion of their rights was both convincing and timely. “With ‘Andor,’ (creator Tony) Gilroy and (star Diego) Luna have truly set the gold standard for what future “Star Wars” can be,” our reviewer wrote. “Not just a space opera, but real stories of transformation and beauty.”
‘The Studio’
Apple’s star-studded comedy about a newly appointed Hollywood studio head (Matt Remick, played by Seth Grogan), who believes himself to be a supporter of great art, but quickly discovers that he’ll have to park his principles and chase the money, was as sharp a satire as you could wish to see. “Even though “The Studio” is a TV show about the movie business, it still manages to skewer both industries,” our reviewer wrote. “At every turn, Remick is confronted by the inherent silliness of the movie business, and we get to watch it in a series of episodic, bingeable installments, each bursting with cameos and a satirical swipe at everything from celebrity culture to pretentious auteurs.”
