SERIES
These are the acclaimed shows you need to catch up on during the holidays, writes Pearl Boshomane
Award nominees to binge-watch
Watching TV is hard work. As the skit of the same name on Collegehumor points out, there is a ton of pressure on us to not only know what all the hot shows are, but to have seen them and have fully-formed opinions on them too. How are you going to impress people at dinner parties if you don’t discuss the Walking Dead finale in excruciating detail? Bonus points if you can convince everyone that it’s an analogy for the current sociopolitical climate.
Luckily, awards season relieves the pressure by narrowing down what we should be talking about. Here are some 2018 Golden Globe Award nominees of note.
Big Little Lies
Number of Golden Globe nominations: 6 Categories it should win: Best Supporting Actress – Limited Series, Best Supporting Actor – Limited Series, Best Actress – Limited Series, Best Limited TV Series A delicious show about pettiness, cattiness, jealousy, secrets, sex and lies.
Set in the dreamy coastal town of Monterey in California, it features sun-kissed, rich blondes in expensive clothes who hate each other, or themselves, or their spouses, or all of the above. It’s an addictive show that demands to be finished in one sitting (it’s only seven episodes long).
The murder mystery at its centre is really just a sideshow to the juicy, ridiculous drama between the moms and dads at a posh primary school. Reese Witherspoon is magical and highly quotable (“I love my grudges — I tend to them like little pets”), Nicole Kidman is magnetic and Alexander Skarsgard is chilling.
It also has one of the best soundtracks this year, courtesy of Witherspoon’s sixyear-old daughter Chloe (Darby Camp) whose iPod is filled with artists like PJ Harvey, Alabama Shakes and Elvis.
The Crown
Number of Golden Globe nominations: 2 Categories it should win: Best Actress in a TV Series, Best Drama
You don’t have to be a royalist to enjoy Netflix’s sumptuous series (the second season was released last week). If you appreciate fantastic cinematography, sweeping scores (made by Hans Zimmer protégé Rupert Gregson-Williams), dazzling costumes and riveting dialogue, this show will be right up your alley.
It’s a magnificent exploration of power, gender dynamics, tradition, imperialism, greed and lust. It’s a higher grade soap opera — and far better than Downton Abbey and Victoria. Claire Foy is magnificent as Queen Elizabeth and Matt Smith (both pictured) is infuriatingly charming as the Duke of Edinburgh.
The supporting cast is just as good. Vanessa Kirby is dangerous, magnetic, fragile and petulant as Princess Margaret, Alex Jennings is a snobbish and smug asshole as the Duke of Windsor (he also has the best lines in season one) and Victoria Hamilton is a delightfully bad parent (and low-key drunk) as the Queen Mother.
Master of None
Number of Golden Globe nominations: 2 Categories it should win: Best Television Series – Comedy
People keep asking when season three of Aziz Ansari’s comedy with lots of heart is coming, but the show-runner and star insists it’s not any time soon. In a must-read interview with GQ, he said more people need to quit when they are on top. Let’s hope he doesn’t mean that.
Season one of the Netflix show was funny and smart, but season two takes things to a higher level. After breaking up with his girlfriend, Dev (Ansari) has moved to Italy to attend pasta-making school, speak terrible Italian, dress like a Sicilian and snog beautiful brunettes.
The soundtrack is filled with Italian pop songs (Ennio Morricone!) and chirpy ’60s classics (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons!) and the show features one of the best episodes in a series this year: Denise (Lena Waithe) coming out to her mother (Angela Bassett). It will tug at your heartstrings.
Insecure
Number of Golden Globe nominations: 1 Categories it should win: Best Actress – Comedy
It’s a travesty that Issa Rae’s comedy has been nominated for only one Golden Globe because season two of the HBO show was one of the best things on TV this year. While the first season was free-spirited and quirky, this season has lost its dope black millennial charm and replaced it with many a quarter-life crisis.
It was a heartbreaking and frustrating season. Watching Issa (Rae), Molly (Yvonne Orji) and Lawrence (Jay Ellis) constantly make bad decisions was painful. For some, it hit a little too close to home.
But I guess that’s what your 20s and 30s are for: fun, regrets, fuck-ups and fucking.
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