The chemistry of the ensemble cast captures the special alchemy that defines Lawrence’s projects, but Ford steals the show as a curmudgeonly therapist grapplying with a Parkinson’s diagnosis and a strained relationship with his daughter. Ford shines, bringing his signature gruff, taciturn nature to the role, while layering in touching notes of mortality and grace. A huge complication arises when her manga quiz over-nurturing mom Carol (“SCTV” great Andrea Martin) is hired by the show as an intern. Meanwhile, Fey herself also appeared in a three-episode stint as Diana St. Tropez, the new head of the MMN cable news network. In the wake of brilliantly funny comedies like “30 Rock” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” series creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock also produced “Great News.” The NBC sitcom was written and created by Tracey Wigfield and set in the world of television news. The show focuses on Katie Wendelson (Briga Heelan), who has just landed her dream job as a segment producer on the cable news show “The Breakdown.”
Listen, we applaud the dedication it takes to memorize every line from your favorite TV show—be it a new release you can’t help but keep bingeing or a classic series you love to rewatch. But if your watchlist is itching for freshness, plenty of excellent underrated series are waiting in the wings. Kaling’s writing is beyond hilarious, and the show’s packed with brilliant one-liners you’ll be thinking about months later.
But their desperation reaches new heights in season 3, because no matter how much they achieve their dreams, it’s clear these two will never stop feeling like the other two in their own lives. Before Phoebe Waller-Bridge starred in and created her revolutionary comedy “Fleabag” (based on her one-woman stage show of the same name), she also headlined (and created) this quirky British comedy that ran for a single six-episode season in 2016. Waller-Bridge played Lulu, who pays a visit to her longtime friend Anthony (Damien Moloney), who lives in an abandoned London hospital with a bunch of disparate people who become unlikely roommates because of the cheap rent. Adult Swim’s hilarious animated series, The Venture Bros., which premiered in 2003, focuses on the eventful lives of twin brothers, Hank and Dean Venture, along with their family friends — and murdering bodyguard. It’s a real good time for all, except the people getting killed, of course. Though the series puts a focus on the family’s twisted history, there’s also plenty of drama in the present lives of Byron and Benny, too.
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With its muted colors, realistic action, and Eastern European setting, it seemed like a more subdued series compared to other thrillers. In 2023, he created his own series, the dark comedy “Beef,” starring Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun and Emmy nominee Ali Wong. A year ago, Bupkis was widely considered to be one of the most anticipated shows of 2023. Co-created by its star, Pete Davidson, based on his life as a celebrity and his family on Staten Island, and featuring a stellar supporting cast, the comedy barely made a ripple when it debuted in May. “How do you get Joe Pesci and Edie Falco, and no viewers? Either way, if you give the show a chance, you’ll find a poignant, frequently hilarious, wonderfully acted hybrid of showbiz satire and family sitcom that brims with genuine insight into the 21st century fame machine. Perhaps it just premiered on the wrong network at the wrong time, because it is hard to imagine how a sci-fi television series with none other than Steven Spielberg as executive producer could go so underappreciated if it premiered today.
The show works really hard to emphasize the importance of what these cooks do and how they each do it in their own unique way. It’s just a positive show about great people and the universal power of food. The show takes place in the 1970s and follows Detectives Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Chee (Kiowa Gordon) as they take on a shocking double murder case that makes them question everything they ever knew. The show has everything you could want from a good crime thriller, and McClarnon delivers one of the most overlooked performances of 2022. 1994 is a rich, informative, and fascinating account of this violent and tumultuous year in Mexican history, featuring in-depth interviews with many of those pulling the strings at the time, including former president Salinas.
From the creators of Chef’s Table, Street Food takes viewers to some of the world’s most vibrant cities to explore the rich culture of street food all over the globe. Season one explores nine countries across Asia, from the hawker stalls of Singapore to the food carts of India. Each episode highlights the stories of perseverance and culture that bring life to each country’s cuisine. For the life of me, I don’t know why this show doesn’t still exist in seasonal releases around the Halloween holiday.
Underrated TV Shows We’ll All Need to Watch
Rome is kind of like Game of Thrones meets a History Channel documentary. It tells the true story of Marc Anthony, Julius Caesar, and Cleopatra through dramatic reenactment and weigh-ins from historians. You don’t even need to be a history buff to appreciate it… But if you are one (like me), this show is even more binge-worthy. The Big Brunch brings together cooks from across North America to compete in a series of brunches for a cash prize of $300,000. Each competitor was chosen because of their commitment to bettering their communities through their food.
We don’t expect a Season 2 for this one, and that’s okay; sometimes its nice to see a mystery actually run its course over a one-and-done season. Sometimes, even supernaturally charged, angsty teenage dramas just don’t catch on with audiences the way you might expect. Such is the case of IANOWT, an adaptation of Charles S. Forsman’s graphic novel by the same name, from Jonathan Entwistle who previously adapted Forsman’s similarly themed The End of the Fucking World. Plus, IANOWT had the added star power of two up-and-coming characters from the hit IT movies. Now it’s only been a couple of months, but Season 1 left us with a big ol’ cliffhanger, so we’d love to know if and when Season 2 will be arriving, ASAP. The 1980 Paul Schrader neo-noir crime drama, American Gigolo, is something of a cult classic from a filmmaker known for writing some of the most complex and morally gray characters to ever grace the silver screen.
If there’s one thing you can count on in the streaming era, it’s that there will always be more worthwhile shows made than anyone could conceivably watch. That was even the case in a year when platforms scaled back on development in hopes of finally turning a profit and creatives went on strike. So, before we look ahead to 2024, here are some of the best TV series—many of them imported from the UK, Australia, or Canada but plenty homegrown in Hollywood as well—that failed to get the attention they deserved in 2023. “People who love The Office — please, please, please give Kath & Kim a try. As with The Office, it takes a couple of episodes to get a feel for the rhythm of the show, but I promise it will fill The Office–sized hole that Netflix left us with.” This action-packed psychological thriller follows rogue Division agent Nikita Mears (Maggie Q) as she tries to take down the covert organization that recruited her as a troubled teenager and subsequently murdered her fiancé. Using a young girl named Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca) as a mole on the inside, Nikita fights against the network of spies and assassins she once worked for.
Maxton Hall — The World Between Us (Prime Video)
A tally of underrated anything might be one of the most challenging lists of recommendations to assemble. After all, the term can mean many things to many people — but we’ve done our best to put together a group of shows that fit the bill. In “Silo,” the world has been besieged by destruction, forcing what’s left of civilization into the confines of an enormous 144-story grain silo. All of society has been restructured within, with a tyrannical ruling class that keeps the population in check.
Finally, in 2016, Eli Cohen and Taylor Harding are a thoroughly modern couple with a fittingly alternative marriage. Having long enjoyed an open marriage, the pair now opens their home to the beautiful Jade, Taylor’s longtime lover. As the initially happy living arrangement invites danger into their lives, the pair soon discover that perhaps three is a crowd. Season one stands out as a masterclass in humor and heart, with a bit of nostalgia highlighted in the costuming and sets, and the ensemble cast delivers the drama and comedy with equal aptitude. Hulu squeaks in at the end of the year with the rare female-fronted British traumedy that actually earns the inevitable comparisons to Fleabag and Michaela Coel’s breakout Chewing Gum.
And that’s precisely what fans of glossy, shamelessly fun forerunners like Revenge and Pretty Little Liars will cherish about it. Paapa Essiedu, who broke out in an emotional supporting role in I May Destroy You, demonstrates his remarkable range in this British sci-fi thriller about a man who finds he’s repeating long stretches of his life on a loop, with different outcomes each time. It turns out that, decades ago, the top-secret Lazarus Project discovered a way to turn back time—thus averting any disaster that threatens the survival of the human race—and Essiedu’s George is one of very few people who can perceive these resets happening. As he’s absorbed into Lazarus, George is faced with wrenching ethical dilemmas over whether to use the de facto time machine for selfish purposes. More than its action or intrigue, what makes The Lazarus Project such a compelling work of science fiction is its insights into human psychology and relationships. A Very English Scandal follows the true story of politician Jeremy Thorpe, who arranged for the attempted murder of his former lover Norman Josiffe (later and more widely known as Norman Scott).