78 new york | december 23, 2019–january 5, 2020
year in culture / the critics1.
When They See Us (NETFLIX)
As the title suggests, Ava DuVernay’s
four-part miniseries about the
so-called Central Park Five reframes
history, insisting that a bunch of
scapegoated teenagers railroaded
on rape and assault charges were
innocent human beings with lives, not
just a faceless problem to be “solved”
by police and the courts. But the
production is more than an earnest,
muckraking social drama. DuVernay’s
direction draws on every lesson she
has learned in a filmography that
often zeroes in on institutionalized
racism, wrongful incarceration,
and the use of the prison system to
perpetuate a version of slavery into
the 21st century. The storytelling
structure, cinematography, editing,
and use of music are peerless and
contribute to the sense that we
are seeing an epic American story
about real people in a mode rarely
seen since the 1970s and ’80s.
2.
Better Things (FX)
The third season of writer-director-
star Pamela Adlon’s show about
a 50-year-old actress and single
mother is the series’ best, finding
increasingly inventive yet controlled
ways to tell stories of parenting, work,
relationships, and intergenerational
tension. Every half-hour is a
perfectly shaped short story packed
with moments that are alternately
droll, moving, sexy, disturbing,and profoundly sad, and Adlon’s
filmmaking always manages to find a
way to convey its points with images
and sound, even when drawing on the
actors’ performances for inspiration.
3.
Succession (HBO)
Jesse Armstrong’s series about a New
York media family headed by a Rupert
Murdoch type quickly moved beyond
its basic premise—essentially King
Lear meets Arrested Development—
and became a corrosive study in
the consolidation of financial and
emotional capital. The second season
delves more deeply into the lingering
trauma inflicted by the father on
his children, humanizing the family
without ever losing the electrifying
contempt for the billionaire class that
marks the show as a stealthy populist
satire of the world’s true rulers.
4.
Russian Doll (NETFLIX)
Masterminded by star Natasha Lyonne
and her co–executive producers, Leslye
Headland and Amy Poehler, this trippy
series about a New York computer
programmer coming unstuck in
time is a tribute to the classic films
that shaped their sensibilities—in
particular, All That Jazz, The Shining,
and Defending Your Life—but it
immediately establishes its own
sensibility and manages to neutralize
even the most obsessive plot guessers
in the audience by springing surprises
that come from characterization,
philosophy, theology, and physics.THE TEN
BEST
T V SHOWS
OF THE
YEAR
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december 23, 2019–january 5, 2020 | new york 79
tyonne
eslye
, this trippy1.
PEN15
A coming-of-age story
aimed so squarely at
millennials that anyone
growing up at the dawn
of the 21st century
should have felt a sting
when it came out.
2.
A Black Lady
Sketch Show
How did this hilarious
sketch show’s “Basic
Ball”—its riff on
Pose, complete with
normcore categories
like Awkward in the
Body—not go fully viral?
3.
David Makes Man
This poetic OWN series,
written by Tarell Alvin
McCraney and executive-
produced by Michael B.
Jordan, about a gifted
but overwhelmed black
teen growing up in public
housing, deserved more
attention, especially
given its pedigree.
4.
The Other Two
Former Saturday Night
Live writers Chris Kelly
and Sarah Schneider
birthed this Hollywood-
skewering Comedy
Central show about the
fumbling older siblings
of a rising teen pop star.
5.
Shrill
This body-positive,
observant dramedy based
on Lindy West’s book
gave Aidy Bryant the
starring role she deserves.
6.
Vida
In its second season, the
excellent Starz series
about gentrification
became even sharper, yet
it’s still being marginalized
by the TV culture at large.
7.
Dickinson
The wonderfully
anachronistic portrait of
young Emily Dickinson
has slowly started to
gain some traction with
audiences on Apple TV+.
8.
Back to Life
A British import co-
written by star Daisy
Haggard, this was
marketed as the next
Fleabag. And while it may
not be Fleabag, it is a fine
series worthy of your time.
9.
Unbreakable
Kimmy Schmidt
Can an Emmy-nominated
series be overlooked?
How many of your
friends were dying to
talk about the very funny
final episodes? I rest my
Tituss Burgess case.
10.
Ramy
Talking about Ramy
Youssef’s Hulu series,
about a Muslim Egyptian-
American trying to
maintain a foot in two
cultures, sometimes
felt like sharing a secret
that deserved to be
whispered in more ears.Every scene is packed with so much
detail that repeat viewings are a must.
5.
Euphoria (HBO)
Television and cinema have had no
shortage of tales of drug-addled,
sexed-up, yearning, lonely teens,
but none have taken the genre as far
as creator and executive producer
Sam Levinson, who concocted a
superheated melodrama filmed on
sets that were pulled apart to enable
stylized lighting and acrobatic, and
at times seemingly omniscient,
camerawork. The brazen excess
of Euphoria syncs with the too-
muchness of the story, an ensemble
tragicomedy depicting adolescent
heroes and anti-heroes, along with
their equally screwed-up parents,
stumbling and crashing through life.
6.
Fleabag (AMAZON)
Although it’s destined to be known
as the season with the hot priest,
the second go-round of Phoebe
Waller-Bridge’s fourth-wall-
breaking psychological comedy
is an exponential improvement
on its predecessor, focusing more
sharply on present-tense moments
of interaction between characters
and hurtling through its plot so
confidently that the whole thing feels
like the product of a creative self-
dare: “How perfect can I make this?”
7.
Kingdom (NETFLIX)
The hands-down winner of thisyear’s Best Show You Never Even
Heard Of trophy, this South Korean
import from writer Kim Eun-hee
and director Kim Seong-hun may be
the best use of the zombie genre for
social satire since George Romero’s
Dawn of the Dead. It’s set in the
17th century, when an emperor has
gone ghoul but his advisers keep
his transformation a secret so they
can execute a covert takeover of the
realm. While the series is a study in
how epidemics are allowed to spread
for expedient political reasons,
the script’s depiction of official
corruption, class inequity, and the
triumph of superstition over science
may prove scarier for American
viewers than the brilliantly staged,
flesh-munching action scenes.
8.
The Dark Crystal:
Age of Resistance (NETFLIX)
Directed by Louis Leterrier (the
Transporter films) and developed by
Je ffrey Addiss and Will Matthews,
this prequel to Jim Henson’s
1982 cult classic builds out the
story to allow for political and
theological satire that will intrigue
and amuse adults while flying
over the heads of most kids (who
probably shouldn’t be watching
anyway because of the violence and
scariness). The series is a technical
marvel, seamlessly blending old-
school puppetry, miniatures, and
silent-era sleight of hand with the
latest in digital compositing.9.
Deadwood: The Movie (HBO)
Turning the merciless passage of
time to its advantage, this long-
delayed revisiting of David Milch’s
prematurely canceled Western is set
ten years after the final episode and
weaves brief, quiet flashbacks into
its story line so deftly that it seems
as if the town itself were doing the
remembering. A touching, ultimately
life-affirming meditation on age,
death, evolution, and forgiveness,
the film doubles as a piercing final
statement by Milch, who is suffering
from Alzheimer’s disease and
unlikely to write any more scripts.
10.
Sherman’s Showcase and
Documentary Now! (IFC)
Catnip for pop-culture obsessives, both
these shows are labors of love that
could exist only on IFC. Sherman’s
Showcase is a variety series from
Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle
presenting a long-running African-
American-dominated variety show
set in an elaborately detailed showbiz
universe adjacent to the one we know.
Documentary Now’s third season is
its most audacious, with creators Bill
Hader, Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, and
Rhys Thomas exploring new parodic
terrain; the highlights are a send-up
of D. A. Pennebaker’s Company-cast-
album documentary, with original
music, and a spoof of The Artist Is
Present, which gave guest star Cate
Blanchett one of her most iconic roles.Top Ten
Overlooked
TV Shows
By
jen chaneyPHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF NETWORKSPHOTOGRAPHS: COURETSY OF NETWORKSY ___ DD ___ AD ___ PD ___ EICADVANCED FORM
TRANSMITTED
________ COPY ___ DD ___ AD ___ PD ___ EIC2619CR_YIC_section_lay [Print]_36372551.indd 79 12/17/19 2:32 PMdecember23,2019–january5, 2020 | newyork 791.
PEN15
A coming-of-agestory
aimedsosquarelyat
millennialsthatanyone
growingupatthedawn
ofthe21stcentury
shouldhavefelta sting
whenit cameout.
2.
ABlackLady
SketchShow
Howdidthishilarious
sketchshow’s “Basic
Ball”—itsriffon
Pose,completewith
normcorecategories
likeAwkwardinthe
Body—notgofullyviral?
3.
DavidMakesMan
ThispoeticOWNseries,
written byTarellAlvin
McCraney andexecutive-
producedbyMichaelB.
Jordan, abouta gifted
but overwhelmedblack
teen growingupinpublic
housing, deservedmore
attention,especially
given itspedigree.
4.
The OtherTwo
Former SaturdayNight
Live writersChrisKelly
and SarahSchneider
birthed thisHollywood-
skeweringComedy
Central showaboutthe
fumbling oldersiblings
of a rising teenpopstar.
5.
Shrill
This body-positive,
observant dramedybased
on LindyWest’s book
gave AidyBryantthe
starring roleshedeserves.
6.
Vida
In its secondseason,the
excellentStarzseries
about gentrification
became evensharper, yet
it’s still beingmarginalized
by the TV culture at large.
7.
Dickinson
The wonderfully
anachronistic portrait of
young Emily Dickinson
has slowly started to
gain some traction with
audiences on Apple TV+.
8.
Back to Life
A British import co-
written by star Daisy
Haggard, this was
marketed as the next
Fleabag. And while it may
not be Fleabag, it is a fine
series worthy of your time.
9.
Unbreakable
Kimmy Schmidt
CananEmmy-nominated
seriesbeoverlooked?
Howmanyofyour
friendsweredyingto
talkaboutthevery funny
finalepisodes?I restmy
TitussBurgesscase.
10.
Ramy
TalkingaboutRamy
Youssef’s Huluseries,
abouta MuslimEgyptian-
Americantryingto
maintaina footintwo
cultures, sometimes
feltlikesharinga secret
thatdeservedtobe
whisperedinmore ears.Every scene is packed with so much
detail that repeat viewings are a must.
5.
Euphoria (HBO)
Television and cinema have had no
shortage of tales of drug-addled,
sexed-up, yearning, lonely teens,
but none have taken the genre as far
as creator and executive producer
Sam Levinson, who concocted a
superheated melodrama filmed on
sets that were pulled apart to enable
stylized lighting and acrobatic, and
at times seemingly omniscient,
camerawork. The brazen excess
of Euphoria syncs with the too-
muchness of the story, an ensemble
tragicomedy depicting adolescent
heroes and anti-heroes, along with
their equally screwed-up parents,
stumbling and crashing through life.
6.
Fleabag (AMAZON)
Although it’s destined to be known
astheseasonwiththehotpriest,
thesecondgo-roundofPhoebe
Waller-Bridge’sfourth-wall-
breakingpsychologicalcomedy
is anexponentialimprovement
onitspredecessor, focusingmore
sharplyonpresent-tensemoments
ofinteractionbetweencharacters
andhurtlingthroughitsplotso
confidentlythat thewholethingfeels
liketheproduct ofa creativeself-
dare:“HowperfectcanI make this?”
7.
Kingdom(NETFLIX)
Thehands-downwinnerofthisyear’s Best Show You Never Even
Heard Of trophy, this South Korean
import from writer Kim Eun-hee
and director Kim Seong-hun may be
the best use of the zombie genre for
social satire since George Romero’s
Dawn of the Dead. It’s set in the
17th century, when an emperor has
gone ghoul but his advisers keep
his transformation a secret so they
can execute a covert takeover of the
realm. While the series is a study in
how epidemics are allowed to spread
for expedient political reasons,
the script’s depiction of official
corruption, class inequity, and the
triumph of superstition over science
may prove scarier for American
viewers than the brilliantly staged,
flesh-munching action scenes.
8.
The Dark Crystal:
Age of Resistance (NETFLIX)
Directed by Louis Leterrier (the
Transporterfilms)anddevelopedby
Je ffreyAddissandWillMatthews,
thisprequeltoJimHenson’s
1982 cultclassicbuildsoutthe
story toallowforpoliticaland
theologicalsatire that willintrigue
andamuseadultswhileflying
overtheheadsofmostkids(who
probablyshouldn’t bewatching
anyway becauseoftheviolenceand
scariness).Theseriesis a technical
marvel,seamlesslyblendingold-
schoolpuppetry, miniatures,and
silent-erasleightofhandwiththe
latest indigitalcompositing.9.
Deadwood: The Movie (HBO)
Turning the merciless passage of
time to its advantage, this long-
delayed revisiting of David Milch’s
prematurely canceled Western is set
ten years after the final episode and
weaves brief, quiet flashbacks into
its story line so deftly that it seems
as if the town itself were doing the
remembering. A touching, ultimately
life-affirming meditation on age,
death, evolution, and forgiveness,
the film doubles as a piercing final
statement by Milch, who is suffering
from Alzheimer’s disease and
unlikely to write any more scripts.
10.
Sherman’s Showcase and
Documentary Now! (IFC)
Catnip for pop-culture obsessives, both
these shows are labors of love that
could exist only on IFC. Sherman’s
Showcase is a variety series from
BashirSalahuddinandDialloRiddle
presentinga long-runningAfrican-
American-dominatedvarietyshow
setinanelaboratelydetailedshowbiz
universeadjacenttotheoneweknow.
Documentary Now’s third seasonis
itsmostaudacious,withcreatorsBill
Hader, FredArmisen,SethMeyers,and
RhysThomasexploringnew parodic
terrain;thehighlightsare a send-up
ofD.A. Pennebaker’sCompany-cast-
albumdocumentary, withoriginal
music,anda spoofofTheArtistIs
Present,whichgaveguest starCate
Blanchett oneofhermost iconicroles.Top Ten
Overlooked
TV Shows
By
jen chaneyPHOTOGRAPHS: COURETSY OF NETWORKS