Like FOX’s The Exorcist, this adaptation of a beloved movie franchise has no right to be as good as it is. While Lethal Weapon is a standard police procedural series like anything else on television, the chemistry between the leads makes it work. You may say no one could replace Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, but Damon Wayans and Clayne Crawford do an admirable job. Their names may be Riggs and Murtaugh, but the backstories and growth of these characters is distinctly their own. This show is an honorable follow-up to the film franchise and is a lot of fun to watch week after week. If you don’t believe me, check it out and I would be shocked if anyone actually disliked it.
"); postscribe('#'+dynslot, 'cmnUNT("inline'", tile_num++, 0, "'+dynslot+'");'+'ipt>');
Bruce Campbell’s iconic Deadite hunter, Ash Williams, is finally back. After three EVIL DEAD films, it felt like we may never see a fourth. Instead, we are on the third season of the series that gets better and gorier with each new chapter. While I would have loved a straight horror follow-up, I cannot complain about the hilarious continuation of the ARMY OF DARKNESS tone. Sam Raimi’s creation lives on and Starz knows no limits with just how vulgar and demented this show can get. Absolutely great viewing week after week.
HBO’s adaptation of the popular web series, High Maintenance is a series of disconnected stories and vignettes that share the fact that every character either directly or indirectly can be traced back to the nameless pot dealer in the image above. Ben Sinclair, who stars and co-created the series with ex-wife Katja Blichfeld, delivers a show that can be anything from week to week. Episodes go from sexy to funny to dramatic to twisted all in a matter of half an hour. You can watch any episode in any order and it works as a standalone, but you owe it to yourself to watch the whole series which is available on HBO now.
While everyone talks about Black Mirror and American Horror Story, audiences are missing one of the most creative anthology series on television. Don’t let the fact it airs on SyFy deter you: Channel Zero is good. The current season, subtitled Butcher’s Block, features Rutger Hauer in a tale that involves demon children, impossible staircases, and cannibalism. Watching this season feels like an homage to David Lynch, Dario Argento, and movies like DON’T LOOK NOW. If you like horror or even just really weird cinema, this is the show for you.
Kiefer Sutherland’s return to TV was more of a conspiracy thriller wrapped in a network show. But that was the first season. Now in it’s sophomore run, the conspiracy element is still there, but the series has transformed into an heir to NBC’s lauded The West Wing. Full of palace intrigue and political machinations, this is a much more aspirational series than House of Cards and is getting closer to the inspirational tone and feel of The West Wing. It may be the most mainstream series on this list but it is also a very enjoyable and easy watch.
"); postscribe('#'+dynslot, 'cmnUNT("inline'", tile_num++, 0, "'+dynslot+'");'+'ipt>');
Donald Glover was busy making SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY which put a year long break from the first to second seasons of his FX series. Very different than his performance on Community, Atlanta is something very special. It taps into the current political and societal woes of minorites in the United States while also stretching the creative abilities Glover has in such abundance. Like Louis CK’s series or Jordan Peele’s Oscar winning GET OUT, Atlanta takes some daring chances with what could have been a conventional thirty minute show, turning it into a masterpiece of TV.
This TBS series ended it’s second season a few months ago, but it is absolutely worth checking out. The Millennial-centric series started out as a twisted take on Scooby Doo or Nancy Drew style mysteries but developed into a much darker tale this season. The third season is going to get even more intense as the black comedy and thrills blend even further. Absolutely great starring turn from Alia Shawkat that anchors this entire show.
The first two seasons of this Zach Galifianakis sitcom focused on the main character’s quest to become a famous clown. Since then, the show has turned into something of an ensemble with the focus shifting to Louie Anderson’s role as the matriarch of the Baskets clan. Louie may be in drag, but you forget that immediately as his acting is very natural and very funny. Galifianakis may be the star but the title has shifted to be about the entire Baskets family which makes for an even better series.
Pete Holmes may be best known to people as the dirty Batman character from YouTube and Facebook videos. The guy is a really hilarious comedian who creates a fictionalized version of himself for this series. Pete plays a guy who catches his wife cheating on him and spends the series crashing on the couches of his fellow comedians as he tries to make it big as a comic. The second season just recently concluded but you should go back and check it out. Featuring appearances from Bill Burr, Artie Lange, Sarah Silverman, and countless more comics playing themselves, this is a great and highly underrated show.
"); postscribe('#'+dynslot, 'cmnUNT("inline'", tile_num++, 0, "'+dynslot+'");'+'ipt>');
HBO didn’t do a very good job marketing this dramedy about a divorced couple dealing with the process and fallout of their uncoupling. Many assumed this was Sex and the City 2.0, but it is a much better and layered show that has some truly great performances from Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church and memorable turns from the supporting cast that includes Molly Shannon and Tracy Letts. Definitelt a show for adults but one everybody can enjoy.
Back when I reviewed Gotham for this site, I was rarely kind. The show was a very goofy look at a version of the Batman mythos without Batman. It was weird and didn’t quite work. Since then, the show has tossed logic out the window and has become a complex pulp masterpiece. Imagine if Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan had directed the old Adam West series and that is Gotham now. Easily featuring one of the best versions of the Joker we have ever had, this season is getting very close to introducing Batman.