Hey everyone! So I thought I'd switch it up as I occasionally do and make a list post. I don't know about you but I love lists. I love reading them and making them so I thought, why not? 2018 was a great year for television. There were so many great new shows that came on and there were also shows that have been out a while that I just discovered and loved. I thought I'd share these with you just in case you're in a slump and need something new to binge because come on... who doesn't love a little binge watching? LET'S GET STARTED.
This list will be in alphabetical order because I couldn't choose a favorite because I loved each and every one of these shows for different reasons.
1. Bodyguard
This show is intense from start to finish. The first 20 minutes will have you on the edge of your seat and it just doesn't let up from that moment on. This show was the most watched series in the UK since 2008 and for good reason.
This show focuses on David Budd (Richard Madden) ,a private protection officer, who is assigned to watch over the home secretary, Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes). Seems pretty simple, right? Wrong! David is a war veteran who suffers from PTSD. He doesn't really believe in the war he fought in. Julia, however, who he is charged to protect with his life voted in favor of the war and sending troops. How is he to protect the person who sent him to war and consistently votes in favor of said war? Julia is a strong willed woman and with that comes enemies. Her life is constantly in danger and it's up to David to protect her. Will he protect her? Is he behind the attacks? Is there something more at play?
I absolutely fell in love with this show from the moment it started. I had heard it was making waves in the UK and I was dying to check it out. Thankfully Netflix bought the rights and it was soon available for me to watch. This show is only 6 episodes and like I said it is intense! Once you start, you won't want to stop watching until you've finished the entire thing. Even after that you'll want to watch more. This show is so brilliantly crafted and constantly keeps you guessing. Both Richard Madden, who just recently won a Golden Globe for his performance and Keeley Hawes give stellar performances and you never quite know where their allegiance lies.
I highly recommend this show if you like political intrigue, action, smart storytelling, stellar performances. This show moves and moves and moves. It never slows down but that's what makes it so great. Check it out!
Available to watch on Netflix.
2. The Durrells in Corfu
So after watching Bodyguard I was on a bit of a Keeley Hawes kick. I had never seen her acting before and she was so great in that show I wanted to check out some of her other stuff. This led me to The Durrells in Corfu.
Louisa Durrell (Keeley Hawes) is a recent widow who has pretty much had it with her life in London. She spontaneously decides to pack up her life along with her children; Larry (Josh O'Conner), Leslie (Callum Woodhouse), Margo (Daisy Waterstone), and Gerry (Milo Parker) and move to Greece. Based on the series of books by zookeeper, conservationist, Gerald Durrell, this show tells the story about the adventures and misadventures of the Durrells and their life on the island of Corfu.
This show really filled the gaping hole in my heart left from Downton Abbey. Although it wasn't exactly like Downton, it had the same charm and feel to it. It was just a fun, easy-going show. It has everything you could want; romance, humor, animals, drama, etc. The story is simple but the way they tell it makes it fun and easy to watch. It's one of those shows you can just put on when you've had a crummy day and instantly feel better. It's a show about family and the lengths we will go for them.
Available to watch on Amazon Prime and PBS.
3. The Good Place
I'm a bit behind on this show but I finally got around to watching it. This show is one of the highest rated comedies lately so I thought I should probably check it out. Although I completely disagree with their view of the afterlife and how one gets to heaven this show is actually pretty dang funny. It's from some of the writers from The Office and Parks and Recreation so you know it has to be funny.
Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) finds herself to be dead. She wakes up sitting on a couch, staring at a wall that says "Welcome! Everything is fine." Michael (Ted Danson) calls her into his office where he tells her she's in the "good place". She's relieved to hear this but as he's describing her life, she soon discovers that he's describing someone else's life and she's not meant to be there. She meets some other newcomers, Tahani (Jameela Jamil), a wealthy, British socialite, Jianyu (Manny Jacinto), a silent, Buddhist monk, and Chidi (William Jackson Harper), a moral philosophy and ethics professor. She must keep her true identity a secret in order to remain in the good place but this proves to be much harder than she thought.
I wasn't sure if I'd like this show or not because I knew about the premise and I was a little hesitant about it. However, it kept showing up on my most recommended shows list on both Netflix and Hulu so I thought I'd give it a shot. This show is hysterical and it seems that each episode gets funnier and funnier. The cast meshes so well and really play off each other nicely. There really isn't a standout star because they all are equally funny and really carry the story. I find myself laughing out loud multiple times throughout an episode. It definitely has the same quirks as The Office and Parks and Rec and a similar style so I was drawn into it pretty quickly.
Available to watch on Netflix, Hulu, and NBC.
4. Killing Eve
The Brits sure knew how to make great television this past year and Killing Eve was no exception. This show is amazing. It's witty, thrilling, and creative. It also features three strong, female leads which is pretty rare. This show was written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge who is a fantastic writer that has a unique voice and style that I absolutely adore. I got interested in this show because word of mouth and everyone who had seen it adored it. It also was getting quite a bit of awards buzz with Sandra Oh winning both a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for her performance. I had to check it out and I was hooked within the first episode.
Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) is a MI5 operative who mostly does desk duty. Her main passion and interest is assassins and those who kill for pay or benefits. She learns of an assassin who is very much active and intelligent, not having been caught. This assassin's name is Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and she is one of the best out there. Eve soon becomes obsessed with learning about her and tracking her down. Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw), an MI6 agent hires Eve in order to help track down Villanelle because no one knows her better than Eve. Villanelle learns there is an agent who is tracking her which intrigues her. She too becomes obsessed with learning everything there is to know about Eve. They play a cat and mouse game and their lives soon become interlinked.
So like I said before this show is wonderful. It has a dark sense of humor that just works and really turns this genre of show on its head. It's also really amazing that there are three strong female characters that are so detailed and different from one another. They all have such distinct and interesting characteristics. The chemistry between Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer is amazing. They don't share many scenes together but when they do, it sucks you in. I couldn't turn away and I was on the edge of my seat because I never knew what they were going to do next. This show constantly kept me guessing. I loved every bit of it. Sandra Oh definitely deserved those awards and I hope she wins more in the future because this role and her performance are just stellar.
Available to watch on Hulu or BBC America
5. Maniac
This show interested me from its announcement. A new show with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. I was sold, I didn't need to know the premise, I already knew I was going to watch this show. Boy am I glad I did. This show was so weird and trippy but it was so creative and deep.
Annie (Emma Stone) is looking to make some money fast so she enrolls in a pharmaceutical test where they are testing some new drugs. Owen (Jonah Hill) is a schizophrenic who is feeling lost in life and doesn't know what his next step should be. He also enrolls in this pharmaceutical test. The drug they are testing is promised to help them solve their problems and cure all disorders. Throughout this experiment Owen and Annie are transported to different worlds within their heads where they will learn and connect with each other and learn more about themselves whether they want to or not.
I'm not going to lie this show was a bit confusing at first because so much happened in such a short amount of time. They also didn't want to give anything away too soon. Despite that I was still engaged and wanted to know what was going to happen next. They don't explain everything right away but that's part of the fun of the show, trying to figure out what's going on. Jonah Hill and Emma Stone are both so good in this show and they really inhabit these characters and capture all their emotions. The worlds they travel to within their heads are all so diverse and creative. This show is visually stunning and it really captures your attention. Although this story can be confusing and a bit over the top, the story is really simple. It's a story about love, loss, and our need to connect with others and it's really interesting how they tackle these different subjects and do it in such a different and creative way.
Available to watch on Netflix.
6. The Newsroom
I was very behind in discovering this show. It's not even on anymore but I am so glad I discovered it. I loved this show so much that when I finished it I immediately re-watched it. That never happens. It's from Aaron Sorkin who created The West Wing, wrote The Social Network, Moneyball, and Molly's Game so I shouldn't be surprised that I loved it so much. I love how this guy writes. There's a lot of dialogue but it's all so quick and witty and if it's delivered right it just works.
Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) is a news anchor for a cable news show on ACN. He and his staff are just going through the motions, not wanting to ruffle any feathers. The show has become stale, they aren't really reporting the news, just what the people want to hear. While speaking at a conference at a college, Will goes off on a rampage which tarnishes his reputation of being a likeable guy, at least in the public eye. His staff know his true personality. His staff along with his executive producer Don (Thomas Sadoski) leave and move to the 9 o'clock slot. Will is left without a staff with the exception of some loyal staff such as Maggie (Allison Pill), Neal (Dev Patel), and some others. Enter Mackenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), a former girlfriend and his new EP who brings her own staff including Jim Harper (John Gallagher Jr.), her senior producer. She has plans for this program where she wants to tell the news and only the news. Will agrees with her plan and he, Mackenzie, and their boss Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston) plan to enforce this change. This show tells the story about this group of people and the behind the scenes action of producing a news program.
I'm not a big news consumer, I like to think of myself as blissfully unaware but in all honesty I'm just lazy. I don't really know what drew me to this show but as soon as I started watching, I couldn't stop. This show is a bit slower paced than most of the shows I've mentioned but I loved it. It's a character driven piece as in not a whole lot of action takes place. I really enjoy character driven shows and films because I love to connect with the characters and get to know more about them. I also really enjoyed seeing a behind the scenes look of what it takes to make a news program. You don't really think of what all it takes to put on a hour and a half to an hour show every night. I also really liked this show because they set the show in the recent past so they would cover different news events such as Gabrielle Giffords, the Boston marathon, Osama Bin Laden and would make it seem as if they were covering it. I loved every single character in this show and I thought they all worked so well together. The writing for this show is so smart and quick which is no surprise given that it's Aaron Sorkin. That guy is a genius. Like I said before I'm not really into the news but this show really peaked my interest and really got me fascinated in this world I probably wouldn't have given a second thought to before.
Available to watch on Amazon Prime, HBOGo, and HBONow.
7. Sharp Objects
I've already done a whole review on this show so this will probably be brief but I just had to mention it again because it's so great. It stars my #1 favorite actress, Amy Adams so of course I was going to watch this show. It's also based off a book written by Gillian Flynn who wrote a little known book by the name of Gone Girl which is one my favorite books ever. This show is very intense and mysterious. You never know what's going to happen next and you're constantly guessing.
Camille Preaker (Amy Adams) is a reporter who gets sent to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri where two young girls have been murdered. She is hesitant to head back due to a difficult past that is shown in small snippets throughout the series. While back in town she meets the lead detective on the case, Richard (Chris Messina) who tries to help her with her investigation. She also reunites with her mother, Adora (Patricia Clarkson) and half sister, Amma (Eliza Scanlen). She has a difficult past with her family but we don't know the full reason as to why until later in the series. Everyone seems to be harboring a secret and Camille must investigate this while also confronting her own personal demons.
I really liked this show because it was a slow build so you were just anticipating what was going to happen. Each episode ended on a cliffhanger to where you instantly want to move on to the next episode. All of the performances were great in this show especially Amy Adams who plays this aloof character who has clearly faced a lot of trauma in her past. Amy just captures this broken woman who doesn't really know where she belongs in the world, who's still trying to figure herself out. She has some really great moments where she just opens herself up to the audience so we're able to get just a small glimpse into how she is feeling and how she's dealing with everything going on around her. The pacing of this story is really great because it will you lead to one way of thinking but then will instantly change its course, throwing you for a loop. You never knew what was going to happen next and it was exciting.
Be sure to check out my full review on this show.
Available to watch on HBOGo and HBONow.
Well there you have it, my favorite shows from the past year. I hope you enjoyed this list and I hope it encourages you to check out some of these shows. Trust me they're good! I'd love to hear what your favorite shows of the year were so make sure to leave me a comment or message. As always thank you so much for visiting this little blog of mine and be sure to tell your friends! Until next time!