Which sometimes gets cut. The three come together in an acting class run by a deliciously manipulative Frank Langella. Unscripted thrives mostly on the agonizing, funny, occasionally surreal business of making it in Tinseltown. Back in the s, EC Comics published some of the most scandalous magazines on the rack, featuring gory, heavily ironic horror stories that shocked parents across America.
But the show had some class too, enlisting some of the best genre filmmakers of the era Walter Hill! Robert Zemeckis!
Tobe Hooper! William Friedkin! John Frankenheimer! The short-lived spinoff series Perversions of Science brought back many of those same creators, to adapt stories from EC titles like Weird Science and Weird Fantasy. As Westworld entered its second season and the multiple timelines and identity switcheroos metastasized, Joy and Nolan spent too much time trying to outwit Reddit puzzle-solvers.
When the third season all but left the park completely, it was symbolic of a show that had lost its way, but even amid the chaos of simulation and automation, the series still sounded a plausible warning about a future where our creations — and our hubris — overwhelm us. By description, Hung sounds like a sniggering one-joke comedy , following Thomas Jane as a down-on-his-luck high-school basketball coach from Detroit who puts his generous member to work as a gigolo.
But while it did exploit this situation to comic advantage — especially in the casting of Jane Adams as a friend who pimped him out — the show took its characters and its setting seriously enough to evolve into something more substantial than just a girthier Weeds.
His power in the sack is inversely proportional to his power outside of it. In both seasons, though, the real draw of Big Little Lies was its cast, with each of its lead actresses taking turns dominating scenes while working in different styles. All aside from Streep are doing some of the best work of their careers. The sketches are quick-paced and wide-ranging, occasionally pointed on social issues but more often exuberantly silly — like the women making fun of clumsy cartoon chipmunk on a hiking trip, or a church potluck turning into an open-mic fiasco.
It seems only a minor distraction. Still, taken strictly as a James Ellroy—style neo-noir set against the strange, shady history of Los Angeles politics and culture, the HBO miniseries version of Perry Mason is plenty entertaining. A lot of that is due to a terrific lead performance by Matthew Rhys as the title character: a diligent detective realizing that he needs to be a better man. Not every narrative choice works, but the excellent cast — including Jonathan Majors as a pulp-fiction-obsessed veteran and Jurnee Smollett as his free-spirited childhood chum — keeps even the wildest digressions grounded.
If nothing else, Lovecraft Country is the rare show in which each episode is unpredictable. Set in New Orleans in the years immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Treme detailed how even a devastated community could coalesce around shared cultural values, historical traditions, political activism, and bitter conflicts.
With an eclectic cast that included all-time greats like Wendell Piece, Melissa Leo, John Goodman, and the wondrous Khandi Alexander, this was always a series that was intended more to be lived in than to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
Broadway star Jonathan Groff gives a fine performance as Patrick: an overly cautious young tech professional who juggles multiple relationships and job prospects throughout the series, uncertain of who he wants to be as he moves into his 30s.
The series and its fantastic finale movie considered the big decisions in life through the smaller choices that make up a typical day for any person, gay or straight. In the first season, they became a team of rivals in order to sabotage the African-American woman Kimberly Hebert Gregory hired to be principal, even going so far as to burn down her house. The series premiere of Luck was hotly anticipated: A new show by Deadwood creator David Milch, directed by Michael Mann , starring Dustin Hoffman as a mobster hellbent on revenge after a three-year prison stint.
And the show mostly delivered as promised, offering a prismatic and personal view of a racetrack: from the cutthroats who operate it, to the trainers and jockeys, to the degenerate gamblers who turn up every day, thinking they have the angle. Three horses died during production, and the safety of future animals could not be guaranteed.
Set entirely in one motel room — with different occupants each episode — this show gives some of the most talented storytellers of their era a chance to express something complicated and true in 30 minutes or less. Not every installment works, but with a creative team of brilliant young writers, directors and actors, more often than not these stories are vibrant and memorable.
Though some friction intercedes here and there, the show is a hopeful and gorgeous vision of what creative lost girls can do in an unstructured urban playground and the family they can find in each other. Based on an Israeli series called BeTipul , In Treatment produced an astonishing episodes over three seasons, each airing on successive weeknights, and each about single characters discussing their problems with a therapist, played by Gabriel Byrne. Or an architecture student diagnosed with lymphoma?
You could tune into their sessions on the same days every week. But In Treatment remains an absorbing experiment and as thoughtful a window into therapy as TV has produced. The show was strongest in its second season, when Andy finally lucks into his own sitcom, then faces the fresh humiliation of seeing it dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. The first season took some time to find its footing, but it developed into a ruthlessly funny commentary on our current era of high-living grifters.
A sort of cross between Downton Abbey and Fleabag , this energetic historical dramedy stars Suranne Jones as the real-life early 19th century English land-owner Anne Lister, who kept detailed diaries documenting her attempts to compete in a business environment controlled by men — while also, in code, describing her sexual affairs with women. Jones, playing a woman who dresses and sometimes behaves like a typical cad, is outstanding throughout.
Getting On may have scared some viewers away with its bleakness, but those who stuck with it through its three seasons were rewarded with rare, wonderful moments of beauty and compassion.
The difference is that Bored to Death was also a postmodern mystery series, created by offbeat novelist Jonathan Ames , with Jason Schwartzman playing a heavily fictionalized version of Ames: a writer who makes ends meet by helping people out as a DIY detective.
By splicing together down-to-earth New York stories with elements of film noir — and adding gonzo supporting performances by Ted Danson and Zack Galifianakis — the series both commented on 21st-century urban rootlessness and put it into a larger cultural and historical context. But Tell Me You Love Me is more like the HBO equivalent of a Dogme 95 movie: a raw and unvarnished look at three couples, refreshingly candid about their emotions, in and out of the sack.
Each of the couples are in varied relationship stages. One is married with children, another is struggling to conceive, and a third is going through a bumpy engagement period. Over five seasons, Mark V. The show was a suitably bumpy ride at times — and it never quite made the action at a dust-choked polygamist compound as compelling as the Hendrickson household — but it transcended the controversy surrounding it. Case in point: re-creating Ancient Rome for the purpose of mounting an intricate, intimate political drama, more akin to Deadwood and The Sopranos than Ben-Hur.
Its two seasons spanned decades. Nance brings that same sense of eclecticism and adventurousness to his sketch series, Random Acts of Flyness , using quick jokes, lyrical interludes, man-on-the-street reports, personal anecdotes, cartoons, and musical performances to riff on the theme of Black identity. This sprawling historical drama made all kinds of noise and won its fair share of awards when it first premiered and rightfully so. The real draw of this series though, aside from some superb acting and an intriguing narrative, is its sheer scope.
If you thought GoT battle scenes were ambitiously planned, wait until you watch this show. The second Jean-Marc Vallee entry on this list marks yet another series about complicated, flawed women. Her homecoming is fraught with family tension, courtesy of an abusive mother played by a devilishly sinister Patricia Clarkson and a rebellious younger sister newcomer Eliza Scanlen.
Judge and co-creators John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, however, approach the tech industry with the same biting, satirical edge that Judge took to Office Space. Nominated for 22 Emmys winning two , the HBO series follows the ups and mostly downs of a group of six friends trying to get a start-up off the ground. It works as both a scathing takedown of the tech industry as well as a traditional comedy. With an intriguing storyline, an A-list cast, and roots in the beloved sci-fi genre, it was clear early on that HBO was banking on Westworld to fill the hole that would be left when Game of Thrones eventually ended.
It looks like the powers that be made the right bet. Do not underestimate the watchability of those two. Nominated for 57 Emmys winning 20 , Boardwalk Empire takes a simmering novelistic approach to its storytelling. Brilliantly acted and meticulously plotted, Boardwalk Empire can be a slow burn while the audience waits for the pieces to come together, but they always do with near-perfect execution. Williams, and Kelly Macdonald that prove most riveting.
The adaptation of Stephen E. Meticulously researched with consultants who were actually in Easy Company , Band of Brothers is the best fictional account of World War II ever recorded. Nothing else comes close, really, to capturing the true sense of sacrifice of these men, nor documenting the slog and banality of war — long stretches of boredom punctuated by extreme violence.
Following the lives of four New York City women, the series reveled in decadent fashion, relationship drama, and of course, sex. It was a fashion magazine come to life. Lasting six seasons and 94 episodes , the series peaked in season 4, but would still go on to spawn a bad Sex and the City movie and an even worse sequel.
Still, the groundbreaking series is essential viewing because of the way it changed the conversation about women and sex, even if some of those themes are ultimately neutralized by the materialism and the self-absorption of its lead character, played Sarah Jessica Parker. Set in , the first season sees Cohle and Hart questioned about a murder investigation they were involved in after new evidence surfaces and ultimately reunites the estranged partners. Unfortunately, the second season of the anthology series, which takes up a new case and features all new characters, is every bit as disappointing as the first season is great.
The tech-brother of Entourage , Silicon manages to tell its story with considerably fewer jerks than its bro-y counterpart. The comedy continues to draw critical acclaim, even after its untimely end. Michaela Coel's HBO series is widely seen as one of the best series of Unrelenting and impossibly brave in its discussion of sexual assault, Coel's character, Arabella, faces the truths of her assault and how it affects her job, her relationships with those closest to her, and most importantly, herself.
Nothing like a massive nuclear accident to get the family around the television, right? The miniseries was a stalwart during awards season and holds a 96 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But no review can sum up the performances in this dramatization of one of Russia's biggest national disasters. Dark horror set in Louisiana, based around sharp-talking vampires with sharper teeth? Sign us up. The sexy premium cable drama features some of the best television work out there, and Anna Paquin shines in it.
Based on a novel of the same name, the series followed along with the book's plot pretty closely before getting renewed for a Season Two. That's when it went downhill. This series is probably a bit too relevant for our times. The British series follows one family through the ups and downs of a 15 year span, often jumping in time from episode to episode, but it exists in our current timeline: desire for Trump is up, just like opposition to immigration. The series is a haunting collection of what-ifs, making for an uncomfortable watch that is as affecting as it is well-performed.
Insecure is phenomenal. The Issa Rae-creation deserves more love than it gets, and it provides a lens that we haven't seen much in the television landscape: a comedic look inside the life of two black women trying to find success after college through the complications of being in their 20s.
What happens when you combine Steve Buscemi, New Jersey, and prohibition? You end up with a really great HBO show. Boardwalk Empire only falls so low because the rest of the list is so incredibly strong. Amy Adams' psychological thriller, Sharp Objects , based on a book of the same name, seemingly dominated summer a couple years ago.
Playing an alcoholic reporter, Adams returns to her hometown to investigate a murder and finds herself back under the thumb of her Missouri-dwelling mother Patricia Clarkson. By the end, the whole story turns into something more complex than a brief summary could explain. Looking is one of the first of its kind. While Queer as Folk and Queer Eye may have cleared the path, Looking looked no pun intended to revolutionize the way that stories are told about gay men. The series was always a bit of a little engine that could, but its reverberations are still being felt after its ultimate demise.
Succession might have been a slow burn when it comes to building an audience, but after two successful seasons, the sardonic drama about an elite media family is a dark look into wealth and dominance. With Brian Cox's Logan Roy at the helm of the Roy family, he navigates the power hungry intentions of his children.
I got it! The four words are a hallmark of the Lisa Kudrow staple. To qualify for the list, a series must have at least 10 reviews counting toward its score. Usually within his His ascension appears Cain's classic novel, the five-part miniseries stars Kate Winslet as Intended for rich vacationers, the futuristic park -- which is looked after by robotic Abrams , Athena Wickham C.
After a When his best friend, out-of-work actor Alex, Three years later, residents of Mapleton, And the man who runs He faces a constant barrage of life's Selina Meyer is fond of saying. Unfortunately, the people Meyer, a charismatic leader and This series offers a behind-the-scenes look at late-night talk show host Larry Sanders Garry Shandling and the production Like this?
Subscribe to our newsletter and get more features, news, and guides in your inbox every week. On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News. Top Box Office.
Jester McGree. What's the Tomatometer? Follow Us. Home Home. Well, the short answer is no. Is your favorite HBO title missing? Tell us in the comments. Updated : ranking updated to reflect the latest scores. Synopsis: Arliss Michaels is the super athlete's super-agent, wheeling and dealing in the higher echelons of the sports world - an Starring: Matt Lucas , David Walliams. Synopsis: Led by Vince, an actor deemed the next big thing, four buddies migrate west from Queens, N. Synopsis: A confident, controlled and personable space cruise ship captain tries to get along with everyone Synopsis: A sex columnist, Carrie Bradshaw, and her three friends -- Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda -- explore Manhattan's dating scene, chronicling Synopsis: Small-town Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse already is viewed as an oddball by her friends and neighbors, since she can read Directed By: Alan Ball.
Synopsis: A superstar during his football playing days, Spencer Strasmore tries to find the same success as a financial manager for Synopsis: "The Comeback" tells the story of a B-list sitcom star so desperate to revive her career that she agrees to Synopsis: Tiger Woods' dedication and obsession with the game of golf takes him not only to the heights of international fame Starring: Tiger Woods. Synopsis: Following the parallel lives of identical twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in a story of betrayal, sacrifice and forgiveness Synopsis: The music scene in s New York is still awash in sex and drugs, but rock 'n' roll is giving Synopsis: Following the experiences of people deeply involved in the self-improvement group NXIVM, an organization under siege with charges including sex
0コメント