My hidden gems from the golden age of TV

Egyptian-american struggles to navigate faith and family amid the many secular temptations of life in New York City. It’s great telly – funny and raw. Across 10 episodes, we get to know Ramy’s friends, his parents and sister. Each is richly drawn, defying stereotypes in their own way, utterly empathetic. Ramy’s own slow, tentative embrace of Islam is anything but preachy, instead offering a touching and relatable portrait of a young man searching for meaning and belonging.

Another, somewhat lighter, take on the American immigrant experience is Master of None (two seasons on Netflix). It follows the lackadaisical adventures of Dev (comedian Aziz Ansari, who also writes the show) as the 30-year-old son of an Indian doctor as he shuffles through the New York dating scene while half-heartedly pursuing a showbiz career. Thanks to sharp writing and the star’s effortless screen presence, it’s a Lol-worthy delight.

In Atypical (three seasons on Netflix), we meet the working-class Gardner family, whose oldest son, Sam, suffers from autism. Largely avoiding disease-of-the-week cliches, the show spends just as much time with Sam’s parents – wrestling with infidelity – and his sister, Casey, a high school athlete who faces her own challenges (no spoilers).

It’s not perfect by any means. But the Gardner family, for all their imperfections, are one of the most authentically endearing screen families I can recall. Tissues advisable.

How does one begin to even describe the wonders of Patriot (two seasons on Amazon Prime)? A high-stakes spy caper featuring a folksinging undercover operative who lurches from one implausible scenario to the next, testing the outer limits of pure absurdity. It’s brazen, audacious and often so insanely funny I had to hit pause just to catch my breath.

Rake (four seasons on Netflix) follows the travails of a brilliant but flawed Sydney barrister, Cleaver Greene – well, ‘‘flawed’’ is underselling it. Greene is an unabashed hedonist – a gambling fiend, boozehound and inveterate corner-cutter – whose life permanently teeters on chaos. As well as showcasing some of the best writing on television, and Richard Roxburgh in the lead role, Rake works pretty well as a legal procedural too.

OK, one blockbuster: The Morning Show (Apple TV+) is a thinly veiled fictional retelling of one of the first major #Metoo scandals involving disgraced TV anchor Matt Lauer. Featuring an allstar cast with the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, it’s beautifully executed and gratifyingly subtle. Aniston’s performance is a standout.

Finally, check out the HBO comedies Barry and Veep, both available on Neon. In the latter, Julia Louis-dreyfus’ performance across seven nearflawless seasons as the craven Selina Meyers is a wonder to behold. Barry, in which the titular character (Bill Hader) trades in his day job as an assassin to take up acting classes, is darkly hilarious and well worth a look.

For all my constant viewing, I’m sure to have missed any number of gems. Tweet me @philquin with your suggestions.