It’s the new golden age of television. Quality tv series are novelistic and immersive, providing a different experience from two-hour movies, which can now feel compressed in comparison, a different genre. (Movies are short stories, maybe? TV series are novels.) The Chronicle of Higher Education calls this new TV series genre “Arc TV” — because its stories follow long arcs of development — and insists that “at its best, the world of Arc TV is as exquisitely calibrated as the social matrix of a Henry James novel.”
Here are seven series I recommend:
My Brilliant Friend. Based on the exquisite quartet of “Neopolitan” novels by Elena Ferrante (and translated by Ann Goldstein) about a lifelong friendship between two women in Naples, this captivating Italian series has been renewed for a fourth and final season. As The Washington Post puts it, "The production and scenery are gorgeous; the score (by Max Richter) lush and haunting; the direction grand, immersive and occasionally hallucinatory; the performances seldom not pitch-perfect." HBO.
Shtisel. This addictive Israeli drama is about an ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem reckoning with universal themes of grief, love, and art. Amid the struggles, there are comic, tender moments. As The New Yorker puts it, Shtisel "mines drama from the restrictions of ultra-Orthodox life but doesn’t suggest that its central characters want or need to escape." Netflix.
Succession. A satirical dark comedy about a wealthy, powerful, and dysfunctional family (think Rupert Murdock and his ilk). The Roy family's voracious greed and corruption, and disloyalty to each other, are terrible but enthralling, and occasionally powerfully moving. These people are awful, but I can't stop watching! The acting is superb, especially Brian Cox, who brings his King Lear chops to the role of the Roy patriarch, and the immensely talented Jeremy Strong, as the heir apparent but damaged son, Kendall Roy. Nicholas Braun as Cousin Greg is freaking hilarious. Turn on closed caption for this one, you don't want to miss a line of the rapid fire, witty dialogue. HBO and Hulu.
Dopesick. This eight-part docu-drama— based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Beth Macy— examines the the opioid crisis unleashed by Purdue Pharma, and its “non-addictive” painkiller OxyContin. Michael Keaton plays a family doctor in a tiny Appalachian mining town, wooed and targeted by Purdue to prescribe opioids, claiming it will help his patients by taking away their pain. Heartbreaking but informative. Hulu, Disney +
Euphoria. And speaking of addiction...In Euphoria, superstar Zendaya stars as 17-year-old Rue, a drug addict fresh from rehab in this gorgeous drama series that follows a group of Gen Z high-school students making their way in a world of drugs, trauma and high emotions, sex and social media. The show is intense, stylized, at times operatic, and often emotionally wrenching. The soundtrack is eclectic and terrific. HBO
Winning Time: the Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. This ten-episode sports docu-drama chronicles the rise of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, one of sports' most revered dynasties. You don't have to be a basketball lover or sports fan to appreciate this series, enriched with the fascinating backstories of coaches, owners, and players such as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Celtics competitor Larry Bird. HBOmax, Hulu
Love & Anarchy. Ready for some comic relief? This Swedish office rom-com set in a Stockholm publishing house is about the evolving relationship between a married consultant and a young IT tech guy. Funny and subversive. Twisted, in a good way. Netflix