Advertise Here and Reach Highly Engaged Media/Ad Industry Decision Makers

Home , Charlie Barnett (actor), Charlie Cox, Holt McCallany, Jon Bernthal, Lance Reddick, Legal drama

August 2019 #70 ______

Some Hidden Gems to Stream in the Era of Peak TV By Steve Sternberg

In the era of Peak TV, there are more original scripted series on more platforms than ever before. Ten years ago, there were no streaming services – today, two-thirds of homes in the U.S. have at least one, and over the next year or two more major players are on the way. A few years from now, the majority of TV homes will probably subscribe to three or more streaming services.

Some of the higher-profile original series, such as Netflix’s House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, Narcos, Black Mirror, and The Crown, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Looming Tower, and Amazon Prime Video’s The Man in the High Castle, Transparent, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, have won awards and received a lot of press coverage. So even though most viewers may not have actually watched them, many have at least heard of them (and might be among the first shows they check out when they subscribe to one of the major streaming services). There are numerous other good-to-great TV shows on these platforms that most people have probably never heard of. I’ve been analyzing television programming for more than 30 years and pride myself on keeping up with the TV/video landscape, and there are many shows I hadn’t been aware of until I started doing research for this report. I’ve already written about some of the best original series to stream and binge, highlighting such excellent shows as Amazon Prime Videos Bosch, Netflix’s Ozark and GLOW, and CBS All Access’s The Good Fight and Star Trek Discovery. I’m including them here, along with several other gems that you may not have yet discovered. I’ll try my best not to provide any spoilers.

Advertise here and reach highly engaged media/ad industry decision makers. Contact [email protected].

______

Bosch: This is hands down the best procedural drama on television. Titus Willever is perfect

as the brilliant, tough as nails, flawed, and haunted detective Harry Bosch. He’s been brilliant in many supporting roles over the years, and it’s great to see him in the lead. He melts into the role (as he does with virtually everything he does). The ensemble cast of regulars – Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, Madison Lintz, Troy Evans – are spot on as well. The guest stars have been a string of superb character actors who you will immediately recognize (if you’re over 40) and wonder where you’ve seen them.

Each season focuses on one main crime that Bosch and crew need to solve, along with one or two secondary crimes. The murder of Bosch’s prostitute mom when he was 12, how it impacted who he is today, and his relentless efforts to solve the crime, is a thread that has sewn its way through the first four 10-episode seasons. Season 5 hasn’t lost a step. It continues to be tight, straightforward, and unhurried as it gradually unravels clues to solve each crime. It remains as addictive as ever. If you haven’t discovered Bosch yet, you’ll have the joy of being able to binge 50 episodes. They are currently filming season 6.

______Fleabag: The immensely talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge (she created and writes for Killing

Eve) stars in this comedy-drama as Fleabag, a depressed, dysfunctional, yet strangely confident single woman with a voracious sexual appetite, navigating the streets of London (surrounded by other depressed and dysfunctional people), and dealing with her equally dysfunctional family.

Breaking the fourth wall has never been done this brilliantly with her side-eyed glances and talking directly to the camera, as the show provides insights into the ongoing themes of love, grief, faith, and using sex to fill a void in your life. The sex scenes (of which there are many) are sometimes hilarious and sometimes squirm-inducing, so it’s not for everyone. That said, it should be for everyone else. The supporting cast is excellent. A uniquely inventive gem.

Fans had to wait three years between the first two seasons, but it was worth it. There probably won’t be a third season, but it’s not out of the question. It has managed to break through the clutter of a Peak TV world, at least with Emmy voters, being nominated for 11 awards this year. No one deserves it more than Phoebe Waller-Bridge (who is Executive Producer and writer as well).

Goliath: Billy McBride (Billy Bob Thornton), once a high-powered lawyer ln Los Angeles, has

become a burned out and washed-up ambulance chaser, who spends more time in bars than in a courtroom. But he’s still got the skills.

In season 1 he reluctantly agrees to take on a wrongful death lawsuit against the biggest (and extremely dangerous) client of the giant law firm he helped create (William Hurt plays his former partner, now biggest adversary). Maria Bello is his ex-wife, also a partner in his former firm. He puts together a ragtag team that helps him uncover a big and deadly conspiracy.

______He returns in season 2 to defend his friend’s 16-year-old son who is wrongly accused of a grisly double murder. He and his team uncover another conspiracy, which leads to the highest levels of city politics and corruption. This season has a harder edge than season 1, as it becomes more difficult for David to slay all the Goliaths.

Created and written by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, Billy Bob Thornton’s naturalistic, laid back style is well suited as a former Goliath, now a David, beaten down but still confident in his ability to take down new Goliaths each season.

Randy Quaid, Amy Brenneman, Beau Bridges, Griffin Dunne, and Sherilyn Finn have signed on for season 3 (scheduled for sometime in 2019).

Hanna: Based on the 2011 film of the same name, 15-year-old Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles) has

been raised in the forest by her ex-spy “father” (Joel Kinnaman) to be a hunter and killer, as they evade the relentless pursuit of off-the-book CIA agents (one of whom is played by Mirielle Enos, who teamed with Kinnaman in AMC’s The Killing).

Part thriller, part coming-of-age drama, Creed-Miles and Kinnaman give performances over eight episodes that elevate this beyond just another action series. Season 2 will air sometime in 2020.

Jack Ryan: John Krasinski is the fifth actor to portray Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst first

introduced in a series of best-selling Tom Clancy novels in the 1980s. This is the character’s first incarnation on the small screen, and one of the best. It covers his early years in the CIA, as he’s just starting to make a name for himself.

______In the 8-episode first season, Jack is thrust into his first field assignment after he uncovers a suspicious pattern of terrorist communication. The supporting cast is excellent. Part of the character’s appeal is that Jack Ryan is no Jason Bourne-type superspy. He’s a regular guy (although more clever than most) who works in an office, who, as a former marine, can defend himself if he has to. It has been renewed for a second season.

Sneaky Pete: Giovanni Ribisi plays a con man who assumes the identity of his prison cell

mate, Pete, to escape a vicious mobster. He moves in with Pete’s family (who haven’t seen him for twenty years), including his grandma (Marge Martindale), grampa (Peter Gerety), and cousin (Marin Ireland), who run a bail-bonds business. They have their own secrets and lies (and world of shady characters) that make “Pete’s” new life as dangerous as the one he is trying to escape. He uses his well-honed skills to help them out of one jam after another. His past, however, is never far behind, constantly threatening to expose him to his new extended family.

Bryan Cranston is executive producer, and has a role as a gangster who is after Pete in season 1. Intelligent, gritty, and a good mix of drama and humor. Season 3, which premiered this past May, is the last for this fine series.

______

The Good Fight: Christine Baransky stars, along with Cush Jumbo and Rose Leslie in

this female-driven legal drama (and spinoff of CBS’s The Good Wife). They make a diverse team that is as much in (or out of) control professionally as they are in their relationships. Audra McDonald and Delroy Lindo also star.

Sexual harassment, racism, and income inequality have been dealt with here in a more thought- provoking way than is typically seen on television (or anywhere, for that matter). Having Christine Baransky’s character, Diane Lockhart take a partner position at a majority black-owned and staffed Chicago law firm lends itself to a number of race-related storylines, which the writers have handled well, without getting too heavy-handed.

There remains a clear anti-Trump tone, particularly with the over-the-top animated shorts that appear in each episode during the third season. Just the right mix of drama and humor, along with the excellent cast and superb writing, make this great television – although returning to more courtroom drama and less anti-Trump rhetoric would not be a bad thing.

Season 1 is being aired on CBS this summer (something I suggested the network do when CBS All Access debuted in 2017). If you don’t subscribe to CBS All Access, watch this cleaned up version. Then subscribe and binge all three seasons of what is one of the very best series on television.

______

Star Trek Discovery: Taking place a decade before Captain Kirk and crew’s original

five-year mission, the series follows the exploits of the U.S.S. Discovery as it seeks out new worlds and new civilizations (and battles Klingons and other alien forces along the way).

Star Trek TV series are not known for strong starts – the original series was continually on the verge of cancellation during its three-season run, while both Next Generation and Deep Space Nine didn’t hit their strides until their third seasons. Discovery’s first season was no exception – it showed potential but was uneven. Season 2, however, found its way, revved up the action, and gave this series real potential to become a classic and revitalize the Star Trek franchise (there are more Trek series on the way).

Sonequa Martin-Green is excellent as science officer Michael Burnham, a human who was raised on Vulcan by Spock’s parents. Michelle Yeoh is also excellent as Captain Philippa Georgiou. Season 2 has several nods to the original series, introducing us to a young Spock and Captain Christopher Pike (James T. Kirk’s predecessor on the U.S.S. Enterprise), but you need not be familiar with Star Trek canon to like this series.

Season 2’s ending propels Star Trek Discovery into new terrain to make Season 3 a completely new entity with endless possibilities. After season 3, CBS should air this series on its broadcast network during the summer as it is doing with The Good Fight.

______Strange Angel: This Ridley Scott production is about Jack Parsons (Jack Raynor), who

started as a janitor in a chemical factory, and had fantastical dreams, a visionary imagination, and reckless boldness that led him to develop the then-unknown (and quite dangerous) discipline of rocket science. In the 1940s, he tries to build a rocket to send men into orbit.

One of the strangest historical figures to receive bio-pic treatment, he also became a disciple of famed occultist Aleister Crowley, gets involved in a sex cult, and crossed paths with Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. The always compelling Rupert Friend plays his mysterious and creepy neighbor and Bella Heathcote is excellent as his wife. Filmed and lit to make even the more domestic scenes have an almost ominous tension about them.

This is one of the true gems that is easy to fall under the radar on a streaming service that spends more energy promoting better known franchises, such as The Good Fight, Star Trek, and The Twilight Zone. Season 2 premiered this past June. No word yet on whether there will be a third season.

______

Harlots: Samantha Morton portrays a brothel owner trying to secure a better future for her

two daughters (Jessica Brown Findlay, Eloise Smyth) in 18th century London. When her business is attacked by a ruthless rival madam (Lesley Manville), it sets off a war over the sex trade.

This is a story of how every class of woman navigates and tries to survive and thrive in a world where wealth and social standing mean everything, women are essentially the property of men, and either good fortune or disaster is just a deception away. The show is full of sex (although not as much nudity as you might think – they wore so many layers of clothes back then), most of it not for pleasure, but for power or to gain some advantage.

The series is created, written, and directed by women, and it shows, as the point of view is refreshingly from the female, not male perspective. Enjoyable, entertaining, and insightful, season 3, which premiered this July, hasn’t lost a step from the great and gritty seasons 1 and 2.

Marvel’s Runaways: Lots of teenagers think their parents are evil, but in this case

they really are. A group of six diverse high-school students with varying degrees of powers must band together to fight their parents, who may be part of an otherworldly threat to humankind. The second season is faster paced than the first, but both are good. Season 3 is set to debut in December.

______

Altered Carbon: Science fiction cyber punk. In a dystopian future 300 years from now,

new technology has transformed society by making human bodies interchangeable (if you can afford it), and death no longer necessarily permanent (your consciousness can be put into a new human “sleeve”). Joel Kinnaman portrays the lone survivor of a group of elite warriors who were defeated in an uprising. His mind was imprisoned for years until a wealthy businessman gives him a chance to live if he solves the murder of his previous “sleeve.”.

The second half of the season is better than the first, but the entire series is gripping, and touches a surprising number of topical issues (income inequality being the most obvious). Visually stunning production values, action-packed, and violent, it’s reminiscent of Blade Runner. It’s not for everyone (particularly the squeamish), but it’s great on many levels.

The second season, which should drop in early 2020, will have a new cast, with Anthony Mackie (aka The Falcon in the Marvel movies) reportedly taking over for Kinnaman (the same character in a new human sleeve)

______Bad Blood: Canadian mob drama based on a true story about a Montreal-based Italian

crime family that consolidates varios mob factions – Haitians, bikers, the Irish – to completely control Montreal, the entry point for much of the drug trade going to the Northeast United States. Things run smoothly until other gagsters try to muscle in on their turf.

Anthony LaPaglia and Paul Sorvino bring their “gangster cred” as heads of the Rizzuto crime family, as does the always interesting Enrico Colantoni as the family’s consigliere. Kim Coates (who you might remember from Sons of Anarchy) shines as their ambitious and often brutal right-hand man.

The first season is just six episodes, and the second season eight, which makes for crisp, tight strorytelling with no wast or filler. The acting is better than the writing, but it’s definitely worth a look. Season 2 is better than season 1. A third season has not yet been announced, but it would likely run in Canada in fall 2019 and then on Netflix in summer 2020.

Bodyguard: British television hit centering around a special forces war veteran with PTSD

(Richard Madden), who is now a police sergeant in London. After thwarting a terrorist attack, he is assigned to protect the home secretary, a controversial politician and major proponent of the conflict he fought in.

You’ll be hooked after the first 15 minutes or so as the intensity of the opening sequences continues unabated for the entire six-episode run. Complicated, taut, absorbing, violent, and perfectly paced. It will hold you and keep you guessing from start to finish.

______They’re still discussing a potential season 2, but it probably won’t be until 2020-21 at the earliest. According to its star, Richard Madden, “We’re going to give it a breath and do it justice…and not just repeat the cycle, repeat the formula.”

Daredevil: When Daredevil debuted on Netflix in 2015, it raised the bar for superhero

storytelling on television. Charlie Cox gives a strong performance as Matt Murdoch/Daredevil – blind lawyer by day, vigilante crimefighter by night.

While he has no actual superpowers, Daredevil has ninja-like fighting skills, and heightened senses to make up for his lack of sight. As with most Marvel vigilantes, he is haunted by events in his past, and struggles with the violence he is forced to inflict on the bad guys – at what point do you become what you are fighting? Some of the best choreographed fight scenes on television.

Great heroes are often defined and elevated by great villains, and Vincent D’Onofrio is larger than life as Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin. In the comic books, he’s one of Daredevil’s and Spiderman’s greatest foes. Living up to one of the most iconic bad guys in comicdom is no easy task, but he pulls it off.

Unfortunately, as Marvel ended its deal with Netflix, the stellar third season was its last (unless Disney decides to eventually resurrect it on Disney+ or Hulu).

Dead to Me: Christina Applegate gives a career performance in this dark comedy as a

woman whose husband recently died in a hit-and-run crash, who meets and becomes fast friends with another woman (Linda Cardellini) at a grief-support group. Her new friend may not be all she seems (as it turns out, her husband wasn’t all he seemed either).

______The show seamlessly moves from comedy to crime mystery and back. There are numerous twists and turns, most of which happen in the first few episodes. Produced by Adam McCay and Will Ferrel (the team that brought us Anchorman) this is definitely worth a look and a binge. It has been renewed for a second season, which will probably drop in mid-2020.

GLOW: A fictionalized behind-the-scenes look at the 1980s syndicated TV show, the low-

budget Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

Alison Brie, as an unemployed actress, and Betty Gilpin, as a former soap star, who become GLOW stars, and Marc Maron as a washed up “B” movie director who leads the ladies to fame, are standouts. Along with an excellent, diverse ensemble cast of misfits, they make this way more fun than I expected iit to be.

Geena Davis will appear in 5 of the 10 episodes in season 3, which is scheduled for this August. She’ll portray the wrestlers’ new boss, when the women of GLOW move to Las Vegas as the headliner at her hotel and casino.

Jessica Jones: Krysten Ritter shines as Jessica Jones, a reluctant hero, brooding and

haunted by her past (given super strength in a medical experiment that saved her life after a car crash killed her family). More noir, and at times darker than other Marvel TV series, the show turns the standard genre elements of the show upside down. More hard-boiled detective than femme fatale, Jessica swears, drinks too much, has meaningless sex, and thinks nothing of breaking the rules if it suits her idea of the greater good – the type of woman you virtually never see on television (or in the Marvel universe). Traditional female roles – sidekicks and “the girlfriend” – are the male characters in this world.

______

The first two seasons were strong social commentaries on male/female relationships and the abuse of privilege and power, focusing on topics such as addiction, sexual harassment, rape, retaliation, and redemption – subjects seldom dealt with on television, and never in the Marvel universe at large. Season 1 also had one of the great supervillains of all time in the mind-controlling Kilgrave (David Tennant). Season 3 dropped in June, and is a fitting end to Jessica’s journey as she fights a serial killer and struggles with what it means to be a hero. This is the last of Netflix’s Marvel series to be officially canceled (as Disney ramps up its own streaming service and takes full control of Hulu).

The Kominsky Method: Created by comedy master, Chuck Lorre, and starring

Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as an iconic aging acting coach, Sandy Kominnsky and his long-time agent and friend. Life is constantly throwing them curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that places more value on youth and beauty.

The inspired pairing of Douglas and Arkin, combined with brilliant writing, make for a hilarious and often poignant 8-episode first season. Danny DeVito has an extremely funny recurring role as Kominsky’s urologist. If you’re over 50 (or 60), this will resonate, if you’re under 50, this is what you can look forward to (or not).

This was the first Netflix series to win a Golden Globe for best comedy (and lead actor in a comedy for Michael Douglas). It has been renewed for season 2, but no date has yet been announced.

Mindhunter: In the late 1970s, FBI hostage negotiator Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and

veteran agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) pioneer behavioral profiling of a new type of murderer –

______the serial killer. Anna Torv also stars as a psychology professor who helps them categorize the killers and predict future behavior.

Rises way above a typical procedural. Smart, compelling, and cinematic. If you enjoy series such as Dexter, Criminal Minds, and Hannibal, you’ll probably like this too – but keep in mind there’s no murder of the week that conveniently get solved by the end of each hour. This aims much higher, and, for the first season at least, hits the mark. Season 2 is slated for this August.

Ozark: Jason Bateman (in his best and most nuanced performance) is Marty Byrde, a Chicago

financial advisor. After Marty’s business partner steals money from a drug cartel and is subsequently killed, he is forced to pay back the debt by laundering money for a drug lord. He moves to a summer resort community in the Missouri Ozarks with his wife Wendy (Laura Linney, who is also great here) and their two kids to work with the cartel. When they get there they also have to deal with some vicious local gangsters.

Quirky and gritty, dangerous characters and situations abound. An unusual but very effective mix of humor and violence (which can be sudden and jarring). Season 3 probably won’t be ready until sometime in 2020.

The Punisher: Marvel’s most violent anti-hero, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, is

perfectly embodied by Jon Bernthal. He’s a former special forces soldier seeking vengeance on those who murdered his family. His internal struggle is more straightforward than other Marvel vigilantes – he has no qualms or remorse about the high body counts he leaves in his lurch, but his dilemma is simply after you kill everyone who has wronged you, can you once again become a normal human

______being? The answer seems to be maybe, at least until he sees some innocent person in danger in season 2 – then he’s compelled to come to the rescue and again mercilessly put down the bad guys.

The fight scenes are fantastic, and virtually every episode is exhilarating (if you like this sort of thing). The Punisher was canceled with the rest of Netflix’s Marvel series after two high-octane seasons.

Russian Doll: Star, Natasha Lyonne created this comedy-drama with Amy Poehler. She

is stuck in her own “Groundhog Day” loop, as she repeatedly attends her own 36th birthday party in New York City, dies at the end of the night, and reawakens the next morning unharmed as though nothing had happened, only to reach the same end by a variety of means (getting hit by a car, falling down a flight of stairs, etc.) no matter how many times she tries to alter the events.

When she meets a guy Charlie Barnett) who is going through the same thing, they team up to try and figure out what is going on and how to stop it (and how they are connected).

Natasha Lyonne gives an award-worthy performance in this inventive, clever, thought provoking, and all-around wonderful series. The dialogue is fast-paced and witty, and provides several different and insightful views of life in New York City. A rare gem that borders on art. There will be a second season, but it probably won’t be until summer 2020 at the earliest.

These just scratch the surface, and are just the ones I would personally recommend. But there are numerous other original scripted series on various streaming services that have received some positive critical reviews. Here are some of the more notable ones.

______Amazon Prime Video

Absentia: Stana Katic (Castle) is an FBI agent who was captured and presumed murdered by a serial killer. Six years later, the “killer’ reveals she is still alive and she is resued. She now has to reclaim her family (after her husband, also an FBI agent, remarries), her identity, and prove her innocence when she becomes the prime suspect in a string of murders. It has been renewed for a third season. The Tick: Bizarre six-foot-four blue superhero, The Tick, teams up with Arthur, an unassuming accountant, to battle evildoers. Based on the comic book characters of the same name. It was canceled after two seasons. Tin Star: Tim Roth and Christina Hendricks star – he’s a former London detective who moves with his family to become Chief of Police in a small town in the Canadian Rockies (to escape his violent past, which, of course, catches up with him).

Hulu

Castle Rock: Castle Rock, Maine, a location familiar to Stephen King fans, is the setting for this psychological horror anthology series that delves into worlds and themes that unite King’s canon. Sissy Spacek and Bill Skarsgard (who starred in King’s Carrie and It, respectively) are among the first season stars. It has been renewed for season 2. Future Man: Josh Hutcherson plays a janitor who spends most of his free time playing a video game that is so hard to win that most people have given up on it. After he finally beats the game, warriors from the future appear to tell him the game was a test to find a champion who can save the Earth from extrateresstrial invasion. Seth Rogan is one of the executive producers. Two seasons are currently available, and it has been renewed for a third season. Shrill: Aidy Bryant (SNL) stars in this dramedy about a full-figured woman who wants to change her life (but not her body). She’s trying to make it as a journalist while dealing with bad boyfriends, sick 17 ______The Sternberg Report ©2019

______parents, a perfectionist boss, and a world that favors thin over “fat.” A second season has been ordered, which should debut sometime in 2020.

Netflix

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A darker re-imagining of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, with Kiernan Shipka in the title role as Sabrina Spellman, who has to deal with her dual nature (half witch, half mortal), while fighting evil forces that threaten her family and the human race. There are currently two seasons, with a third on the way. Dark: In a fictional German town, children start disappearing. Secrets and hidden connections among four estranged families and a time-travel conspiracy are slowly uncovered in this sci-fi thriller that spans four generations. There are currently two seasons available. A third and final season has been ordered. The OA: An adopted blind woman who disappeared seven years earlier resurfaces and now calls herself “The OA” (Original Angel), has scars on her back and her eyesight has been restored. She refuses to tell her parents or the FBI where she has been. She recruits a team of four local high- school students and a teacher, to whom she reveals everything, and gets them to help her try to rescue other missing people by opening a portal to another dimension. Two seasons are available – fans were in an uproar when Netflix announced there would not be a season 3. Travelers: Hundreds of years in the future, the last remnants of humans discover how to send their consciousnesses back through time, into people of the 21st century. These “travelers” work in teams to save humanity from its horrible future. Eric McCormack stars in this sci-fi thriller that was canceled after three seasons.