I am a perennial quitter of TV shows. I start a lot and rarely finish them and re-watch even less. It's the opposite of books for me, which I am usually compelled to finish, no matter how awful. But this week, I finished Succession (in record time, for me) and its pitch-perfect ending has shot it straight to the top of the list of my favourite shows of all time – i.e. shows that I have actually bothered to finish and enjoyed and could conceive of rewatching. I came up with five that I would or have rewatched. Not bad for a few decades.
Here they are. Happy watching!
1. Succession
Look, it could be because I just finished this, but over four seasons this became among my favourite shows of all time. It's got SO much going for it. The writing is brilliant. It crackles with electricity and some of the darkest humour ever to hit television screens. Every single character on it is an absolutely vile human and yet you root for them in some way as you watch them destroy themselves and everyone around them again and again.
It's timely, incredibly well-acted (particular shoutouts to Kieran Culkin as the loathsome Roman and Jeremy Strong as Kendall) smart, sharp and ruthless. Its family drama and power politics are medieval in scale (minus the murder). It's also a sobering reminder of what life actually looks like for the billionaires running our planet – and how little regard they have for anyone but themselves and their interests as they watch the world burn around them. Outstanding. Never before have I been so curious about what will happen to characters once the show ended and simultaneously so glad that it ended when it did.
Watch it if you have not.
Fave Character: It's got to be Cousin Greg. Our average(ish) Joe conduit into the world of the point-zero-one percent. We learn the social mores of this world alongside him and watch him become more and more conniving and strategic as he puts the rules of the game into play. He's also inadvertently absolutely hilarious, particularly alongside Tom. Sporus and The Disgusting Bros for life.
Fave Episode: It's a tie between “Church and State” and “Boar on the Floor”, the latter of which is among the most sadistic and unhinged hours of television that I can recall.
Fleabag
Okay this is one show that I have, in fact, watched twice and that I found every bit as charming, hilarious and heartbreaking the second time around. Phoebe Waller-Bridge's fourth-wall-breaking titular character is funny, broken, cheeky and relateable. The episodes are short and pithy and the second season with Andrew Scott as the Hot Priest simply flies by.
This show will make you feel everything. You will laugh, you will (if you're like me) cry and you will fall in love with the title character for all her flaws.
Fave Character: Sian Clifford's Claire is hilarious and singular. I can't think of another character quite like her and Clifford's delivery is always A1. Particularly post haircut.
Fave Episode: The series finale. "It will pass" to the gentle strains of Alabama Shakes "This Feeling" hits hard and tugs at your heartstrings. It was the perfect place to end.
Deadwood
There is so freaking much to love about this show – the writing is brilliant. It’s Shakespearean in the best possible way, meaning it’s the perfect combination of deliciously filthy and lusciously poetic. You will hear swearing combinations you never dared dream of before. It’s also a superbly cast and acted historical drama set in the real post-Civil-war era gold rush town of Deadwood and effortlessly fuses really-life characters (the hot-tempered Bullock and his business partner, Buffalo Bill, Calamity Jane and the infamous, incomparable saloon and brothel-keeper Al Swearengen – with Ian McShane in the role of his lifetime) with layered, intriguing imaginary ones like Trixie the sex-worker and the crafty widow Garrett.
The only downside is the abruptness with which it ends after its third season – a fact not entirely alleviated by the addition of a film. The fact that the film came out a whopping 13 years later though should give you a hint as to how beloved by fans the show was. It’s aged into an HBO staple and if you haven’t seen it yet, you absolutely should.
Fave Character: No-one touches Swearengen. Watching Ian McShane chew the scenery and wax lyrical in one of his many (often mid-fellatio) soliloquies is a pleasure.
Fave Episode: “Sold Under Sin” which is about as perfect a first season-ending episode that any series has ever had with highs and lows taking us from violence to mercy in an hour long rollercoaster ride.
The Good Place
I stopped watching this show after the first season because I was sure I knew where it was going. My partner, David, kept going late at night when I went to sleep and finished the series. He urged me to give it a second chance. And I’m so glad I did. Because I was completely wrong about where it was headed. It actually went in a delightfully different direction and became one of the only TV shows ever to make me bawl like a goddamned baby in the last episode.
Long story short on plot: A recently deceased dirtbag finds herself in a case of mistaken identity when she wakes up in a heavenly utopia – “the good place” – and has to keep everyone in charge from finding out who she really is to avoid being sent to “the bad place.”
It’s goofy, full of gag and slapstick humour while also being incredibly poignant and honestly beautiful. It has great characters – Eleanor, a serial jerk, Tahani, a self-absorbed do-gooder, Chidi, a nervous wreck of an ethics professor and Jason, the quintessential Florida man, alongside Ted Danson as Michael, their guide to the afterlife and Janet who’s not quite a robot and not quite a girl.
If you are at all interested in philosophy, ethics, or just what it means to live a good life and be a good person, you’ll love this show.
Fave Character: It has to be everyone’s favourite idiot himbo with a heart of gold, Jason Mendoza.
Fave Episode: “Whenever You’re Ready” the series finale. It’s perfection. You will definitely cry.
Band of Brothers
People are often surprised when I mention that I re-watch Band of Brothers semi-regularly. At first glance, a WWII miniseries wouldn’t necessarily be my cup of tea. But this series is spectacular – and so was the book it was based on and so was the original (and true) story the book tells.
It follows the men of Easy Company, who would find themselves in many of the key battles of the allied liberation of Europe from the Nazis. They parachute into Normandy, become entrenched in Bastogne, and are the first ones in to Hitler’s Eagles Nest. It’s, as you would expect, a wild ride.
This series had the highest budget of any miniseries ever filmed when it was made, and was backed by Tom Hanks’ production company – so it has all the exceptional set pieces you’d expect. It was also the first big production for a shit-ton of young actors who would go on to become household names including Damien Lewis, Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, Simon Pegg, Jimmy Fallon, James McAvoy, Andrew Scott (Hot Priest!) and Dominic Cooper. Watching them all as babies with (in most cases) bit parts is great to see. Also watching the real-life commentary from the soldiers being portrayed interspersed with the episodes is really special, especially as all of them have since passed on.
Fave Character: Damien Lewis as Dick Winters – a legitimate hero if there ever was one.
Fave Episode: “Day of Days” – the episode covering the invasion of Normandy is some of the most harrowing television ever made.
Weekly Bits and Bobs
Watching: I intend to fill the Succession-sized hole in my emotional life with the second season of The Bear.
Reading: House of Dreams by Liz Rosenberg about the life of L.M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables. It’s a delightful little biography with the sweetest illustrations and I’m really enjoying it.
Listening to: Walter Isaacson’s incredible biography of Leonardo DaVinci read by Alfred Molina. It comes with this amazing 100+ page PDF of images from Leonardo’s life and notebooks and paintings and it’s just amazing to go through. Really loving it and intend to write more about it next week.
Playlist of the week:
When I go in, I go all in.
Until next time friends! As ever if you enjoy, please feel free to sub and share with friends or family.
Happy viewing!
All excellent choices. Fleabag especially is an underrated show and Phoebe Waller is a genius but Deadwood is a masterclass.