Binge-r #160: 10 Shows You Should Have Watched
String Theory: Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Lulu) in Crashing
BLACK SUMMER
Ground zero in a zombie apocalypse (Netflix, one season)
“The handheld camera roams the littered streets, and the gore is matched by very real split-second calculation such as will this door hold? Consider it a welcome B-movie antidote to bloated post-apocalyptic fare such as The Walking Dead.” [full review in BINGE-R #134]
THE BUREAU
Intricate and involving French spy drama (SBS on Demand, four seasons)
“This might be too quiet for some viewers, but to me it plays as a terrific Gallic update to John Le Carre’s labyrinthine 1970s London. The change is gradual, but stark. ‘People you really like,’ a handler calmly counsels Marina, ‘must be destroyed’.” [full review in BINGE-R #104]
CLAWS
Female-fronted Florida crime thriller (Stan, three seasons)
“But once you settle in to this banger-fuelled series, you realise that for the women the attitude is a front, a survival technique in the face of rampant disadvantage … [it] is both pungent and verging on soap opera, but it moves fast and makes a virtue of female solidarity.” [full review in BINGE-R #71]
CRASHING
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s predecessor to Fleabag (Netflix, one season)
“A biting ensemble comedy that could be described as the filthiest, funniest episode of Friends ever.” [full review in BINGE-R #56]
DEAD TO ME
Christina Applegate kills it (Netflix, one season)
“You can call Dead to Me a soap opera, or a thriller, or a comedy, but in reality it folds them all into a series about truth and deception that keeps you on the hook.” [full review in BINGE-R #138]
Firestarter: Niecy Nash (Desna Simms) in Claws
FLOWERS
Wrenching, wonderful and wildly original British comedy (Netflix, two seasons)
“For the record Will Sharpe’s creation debuted on Britain’s Channel Four in April 2016, but for me it’s simply one of the best shows I’ve seen this year.” [full review in BINGE-R #147]
HARLOTS
Incisive period drama about rival London brothels (SBS on Demand, three seasons)
“There’s no pause for moody contemplation, but that doesn’t mean Harlots can’t recognise the stinging acceptance and contemporary allusions that underpin this Georgian era rivalry.” [full review in BINGE-R #109]
I AM THE NIGHT
Vivid mystery that breaks open the 1960s (Stan, one season)
“The idea of being slowly consumed – by a city, by your heritage, by your mistakes – rises over this period thriller. Marinated in film noir touchstones … I Am the Night is a homage to the shadows that are created by the sunshine of Los Angeles.” [full review in BINGE-R #125]
KIM’S CONVENIENCE
A corner store sitcom stands out (Netflix, three seasons)
“The Canadian setting provides a polite acceptance of differences that an American version would never allow for. Kim’s Convenience is never merely sweet, there’s a sting to its dexterous turns, but like the store where it’s set it’s accessible and well stocked.” [full review in BINGE-R #113]
LODGE 49
Bittersweet philosophical drama about belonging (Amazon Prime Video, one season)
“Set in Long Beach, California, where the future appears to be shutting down … the show is cosmically unhinged and ambitious, but it never flaunts its eccentricities and is often funny. Have patience, it’s an original.” [full review in BINGE-R #121]
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>> Check the complete BINGE-R archive: 198 series reviewed here, 129 movies reviewed here, and 29 lists compiled here.
