This show is also the reason everyone in your life suddenly picked up the game, so get in on the action if you haven't already.Â, Icons Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin play two women who form an unlikely friendship after their husbands (played by Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) leave them for each other.Â, This Mindy Kaling–produced show (loosely based on her own experiences growing up in Boston) is currently filming its second season, thank goodness. —Amanda Schurr, Created by: The Wachowskis, J. Michael Straczynski Stars: Tuppence Middleton, Brian J. Smith, Doona Bae, Aml Ameen, Max Riemelt, Tina Desai, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Jamie Clayton, Freema Agyeman, Terrence Mann, Anupam Kher, Naveen Andrews, Daryl Hannah Original Network: Netflix, There may not be a bigger WTF TV show in the world than Sense8. The notion that countries and people can work together to achieve greatness is the consistent and very welcomed undercurrent to the series, making the drama not only inspirational but aspirational. But when watching mother and son together, there’s hope that the story will diverge from the way we know it must go, and there’s the constant fear that what we know must happen can occur at any point. BBC Two’s Giri / Haji, available in the U.S. via Netflix, is already one of the year’s best surprises. Tragedy and fantasy engage in a complicated dance in Scott Frank’s scripts, as Beth is fed (and quickly develops an addiction to) tranquilizers as an eight-year-old child, something that opens her mind up but (obviously) plagues her throughout her young adult life. The unraveling of the mystery is the thing, but The Sinner makes it all about the psychology of the crime; the mystery to unravel is embedded in the past of the person who committed this heinous act. The series focuses on a London family with eight children, all of whom were blessed with good genes and five (or six?) —Allison Keene, Created by: Dan Harmon Stars: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Chevy Chase, Ken Jeong, Jim Rash Original Network: NBC, Yahoo, As a half-hour sitcom, Community didn’t merely break the fourth wall; it broke it, openly commented on the fact that it broke it, only to then build a fifth wall for the express purpose of further demolition. By the time John says to Debra’s beloved nephew, “You should be glad your dad killed your mom,” the series has moved into straight-up horror thriller territory. With two more seasons officially on the way—and who knows how many more possibly beyond those—the only thing we can really be certain of is that nothing at Las Encinas will ever be boring. —Alexis Gunderson, Created by: Jenji Kohan Stars: Mary-Louise Parker, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, Justin Kirk, Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins, Romany Malco, Demián Bichir, Before Walter White broke bad or Piper Chapman started selling panties, Weeds introduced us to the privileged protagonist who resorts to crime when faced with dire circumstances. —Jacob Oller, Created by: Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling Stars: Brit Marling, Jason Isaacs, Scott Wilson Original Network: Netflix, Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij’s flawed, transfixing science (or is it spiritual?) —Matt Brennan, Created by: Kevin Kolde, Warren Ellis Stars: Richard Armitage, James Callis, Graham McTavish, Alejandra Reynoso, Tony Amendola, Matt Frewer, Emily Swallow Network: Netflix, Comic legend Warren Ellis, despite apparently having no familiarity with the Castlevania videogame series, somehow managed to take one look at its imagery and turn it into gold for Netflix. Lorelai and Luke (Scott Patterson) are one of TV’s greatest love stories. And for good reason: Penélope Cruz is uncanny as Donatella Versace, and Darren Criss gives the performance of his career as Gianni's murderer, Andrew Cunanan. But the series is truly an engrossing ensemble drama with a witty and charming sense of humor, as it tells the sprawling story of a now-blended Yorkshire family and their many personal conflicts (and reconciliations). It’s cerebral and emotional. All Rights Reserved. The hope is that bringing Yuto back will stop a sprawling war that he helped kickstart among the Yakuza factions. Worf. It’s a tough job playing a character known for his emotionlessness, made tougher when he’s also appointed the shepherd to a storied fantasy universe. Vanessa Redgrave narrates the experiences of Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine), a privileged young woman who must quickly adapt to life in an impoverished district, where medical resources are precious and newborns are plentiful. Voices: Gina Rodriguez, Finn Wolfhard, Abby Trott, Michael Hawley Network: Netflix, Kids these days live on screens, and while the adults in their lives know that there are plenty of downsides to that fact, it at least has the side-effect of giving them a chance to develop a more sophisticated relationship with the mechanics of storytelling than any generation to come before them. The series’ truly wonderful cast is augmented to the stratosphere by its leads, whose chemistry will make you believe in love at first sight. Or just straight up attacking their rivals for the most petty and superficial of reasons? And hopefully it lets people know that mental illness is a regular part of life—even in other worlds, and even when there’s magic. Praise hands emoji. Â, Krysten Ritter is so, so good as Jessica Jones, a troubled private investigator with superpowers. —Corey duBrowa, Created by: Joe Penhall Stars: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Hannah Gross, Anna Torv, Cotter Smith and Cameron Britton Original Network: Netflix, The name and the description may have you assuming that this is a typical network procedural: FBI agents interview psychopaths in order to catch murderers. They even brought on the original shark-jumper—Henry Winkler—as the family lawyer. It can be sad or heartbreaking, but it can also be luminous and joyous. On April 19, 1989, 28-year-old Trisha Meli was jogging in Central Park when she was brutally raped and left for dead. There is a depth of knowledge that defies casual understanding, but it is also never a barrier. It's funny, cutting, insightful, and compelling. That might sound obvious, but it’s no small thing. But The End of the F—ing World doesn’t want your morbid fascination. Critically acclaimed, but with the tags left on. M.A.S.H., Seinfeld, Arrested Development: It’d be hard to argue that the majority of their characters aren’t self-involved, intolerant or downright assholes. And crucially, funny. —Sean Edgar, Created by: Lauren Schmidt Hissrich Stars: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Eamon Farren, Anya Chalotra, Joey Batey Original Network: Netflix. After a series of dares that get each other out of their respective comfort zones and a romantic back-and-forth via written letters in a red notebook, the duo have to face the truth of how their love translates to real life. Shipka, taking all that she earned from Mad Men, dominates the screen while snipping and snapping with each potent line delivery. Despite the time period (in a surprise perhaps to American viewers), the first time we are shown a swastika is not until the Season 2 finale. and everyone either hates him or is horny for him. Sometimes it’s messy, but that’s what GLOW is all about. There are too many characters who make gold with their limited screen time to mention individually, but suffice it to say that there’s enough comedy, pathos and tragedy here for a dozen shows. Halt and Catch Fire was always, as Joe (Lee Pace) proclaims in the pilot episode, about “the thing that gets us to the thing,” but it’s the series’ final season, set amid the scramble to build the Internet’s dominant search engine, that draws the point most elegantly. There are balls and rakes and other things that had a completely different meaning in the 1800s, but one thing that has not changed is how electrifying the buttoning of a glove or the slight touch of hands can be in the right context. That is clear enough: Anyone who loves it. You cannot look away from When They See Us or shelter yourself from the blinding truth. And give full credit to Odenkirk (and his co-stars Michael McKean, Rhea Seehorn, and Jonathan Banks) for further bringing to life how shaky a person’s morality can be, especially when there’s great gobs of money involved. The special effects are so precise and authentic you feel like you are in space with the astronauts. There are mistresses and sexual romps to spare in the series, but also mysteries, double-crossings, and witchcraft. Despite her foibles, Anne’s charms won them over enough to allow her to stay, and the same charm ultimately works on viewers as well. —Alexis Gunderson, Created by: Sally Wainwright Stars: Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid, Sarah Lancashire, Nicola Walker Original Network: BBC One / PBS, On the surface, Last Tango in Halifax looks like a sweet but slight story of two British widowers who knew each other in childhood and who find each other again to rekindle a lost love. There's just too much good content to choose from, and it ranges in style, genre, and taste. Breaking Bad may not have set the paradigm of unlikable anti-heroism in pop drama, but it certainly put the “pop” in the designation. For comedy lovers, there are beloved sitcoms like New Girl and Netflix originals like Grace and Frankie and GLOW (RIP). The Great British Baking Show. —Allison Keene, Created by: Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, Amy Poehler Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee, Yul Vazquez, Elizabeth Ashley Original Network: Netflix, Netflix’s Russian Doll was almost too good to be renewed. © 2021 Paste Media Group. The Borg. —Ross Bonaime, Created by: Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg Stars: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni Decenzo, Martin Kove Original Network: YouTube Premium, With 11 award nominations (one Emmy included), the Golden Tomato Award for Best TV Drama, and a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, you don’t need us to tell you that Cobra Kai is more than worth your time.