THE BEST 15 SHOWS TO WATCH RIGHT NOW
DON’T GET US WRONG, weloveaseasonpreview.But when the question you’re asked most frequently is “What should I be watching right now?” looking to the future has its limits. So instead of a calendar of the summer premieres we’re most excited about, we’re changing things up with a list of the best TV shows of 2021 (so far), curated by The Times’ TV team.
CHAD
> This comedy, which stars former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Nasim Pedrad as the most awkward teenage boy ever (if that’s even possible), has been in the works for a while. So my expectations were low when I tuned in to its premiere. But I was taken with Pedrad’s convincing performance and its sweetness of tone. The humor is sharp and the cast’s chemistry is strong. I realize the show isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but “Chad” has the potential to grow on you if you give it a chance. (TBS)
— Greg Braxton
CITY OF GHOSTS
> Los Angeles is often misunderstood by those who don’t bother to see beyond shallow clichés and outsider hot takes. A solid rebuttal is “City of Ghosts,” an all-ages animated series that follows a group of kids who look for ghosts around the city to document their stories. As quirky and cute as it is soothing and informative, the show celebrates L.A.’s often overlooked history, diverse communities and neighborhoods. It also shows that topics like discrimination, gentrification and cultural appropriation can be approached in ways that younger viewers can understand. (Netflix)
— Tracy Brown
GIRLS5EVA
> Another fractured fairy tale of New York from executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock (“30 Rock”), Meredith Scardino’s satirical musical comedy charts the turbulent reunion of a briefly famous ’90s girl group. A marvelous, motley cast whose combined experience takes in pop music, sitcoms, “Saturday Night Live” and Broadway — Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell and Renée Elise Goldsberry— mocks culture old and new, mixes humiliation and empowerment. Like many show business stories, it is at once anti-sentimental and sentimental as hell. (Peacock)
— Robert Lloyd
THE GLOAMING
> One of the joys I’ve experienced as a TV reporter is discovering a series that I know absolutely nothing about. The only things I knew about “The Gloaming” before it premiered was that it had a weird title and the network had sent me a creepy candle in the shape of a baby’s head as a promotion. My TV was tuned to Starz when the first episode came on, and I was instantly hooked. The show is set in Australia’s Tasmania, and the scenery is both moody and stunning. There’s an unresolved old crime, a grisly murder mystery, attractive but damaged characters, ghosts and witchcraft. Watch it with the lights off. (Starz)
— Greg Braxton
HACKS
> Jean Smart continues her welldeserved career renaissance in “Hacks,” a bitingly funny and surprisingly moving comedy about comedy — and much more. She stars as Deborah Vance, a legendary Joan Rivers-esque stand-up whose Las Vegas act has grown stale. To freshen up her shtick, her agent pairs her with Ava (Hannah Einbinder), an entitled 20-something comedy writer whose career has stalled thanks to an insensitive tweet about a closeted politician. The yawning generation gap between the women eventually gives way to a kind of wary understanding about the fickle nature of their industry. (HBO Max)
— Meredith Blake
MARE OF EASTTOWN
> Obviously, there’s the accent. The way Kate Winslet has mastered the Philadelphia inflection of her character in HBO’s “Mare of Easttown” — generating dozens of headlines
and inspiring a sketch on “Saturday Night Live” — is more than enough of a reason to tune in. But the crime drama is also one of the most tense and riveting mysteries on TV.
Winslet plays Mare Sheehan, a former high school basketball star who now serves as a local detective in a fictional small town in Pennsylvania’s Delaware County — known affectionately to residents as Delco. As jaded about her job as she is tenacious, Mare is haunted by the unsolved disappearance of the daughter of a former teammate while trying to investigate the recent murder of a teenage girl — all while dealing with her own personal turmoils. It’s a nice mix of a slow burn and a nail-biter, and the cherry on top is the superb scene work between Winslet and Jean Smart, who plays Mare’s mother, Helen. The duo’s dynamic, toggling between moments of epic comedy and heartbreaking drama, makes for scenes worth re-playing … and turning into memes; #sneakerfart (HBO)
— Yvonne Villarreal
PAINTING WITH JOHN
> A show about art that is itself an art project. Mixing the staged and unstaged in some unreckonable proportion, John Lurie’s quasisequel to his series “Fishing With John” finds the erstwhile saxophonist and indie film actor living in tropical semi-isolation, riffing with his (more amused than bemused) hired help, remembering the old days, contemplating the new days and making detailed stream-ofconsciousness watercolors. He also pretends to be an elephant but lets you know, “I’m not really an elephant. I’m John.” (HBO)
— Robert Lloyd
PHILLY D.A.
> In their eight-part documentary about newly elected Philadelphia Dist. Atty. Larry Krasner, whose reformist zeal becomes one of the city’s central flashpoints, Ted Passon, Yoni Brook and Nicole Salazar achieve that rarest of feats: to produce “political” television that succeeds in dramatizing, at human scale, the most pressing issues of the moment — thorns still attached. As Krasner and his handpicked advisors face recalcitrant prosecutors in their own juvenile division and judges hellbent on maintaining power, “Philly D.A.” emerges as a complex, compelling portrait of a system in the throes of change, trading neutrality for honesty, balance for truth. Plus, it features a cast of characters — such as bail reform activist LaTonya Myers — and a number of set pieces — including a closed-door meeting about Krasner’s victory speech — so sublimely memorable you could never mistake it for fiction. (PBS)
— Matt Brennan
THE REAL WORLD: HOMECOMING
> Reality TV returned to its kinder, gentler roots this year with “The Real World: Homecoming: New York.” The nostalgic six-episode series follows the original cast of “The Real World,” now in their 40s and 50s, as they return to the SoHo loft where they taped the groundbreaking show in 1992 and reflect on their unexpectedly transformational role in American pop culture. For Gen X and older millennials, who grew up watching early seasons of “The Real World” on MTV, the reunion feels like our very own “Big Chill” moment and serves as a reminder that reality TV, though frequently maligned, can also be a force for positive social change. (Paramount+)
— Meredith Blake
RUN THE WORLD
> Starz’s aspirational comedy takes the “Sex and the City” formula and elevates it. By the end of the debut season, I was deeply invested in each of the four ambitious and accomplished women at its center, and loved the strong and honest bonds they shared. And because it makes hanging out in Harlem hot spots look so glamorous and fun, the show has cured me of whatever anxieties I once had about rejoining society after the pandemic. (Starz)
— Ashley Lee
SASQUATCH
> Bigfoot lore, true crime and weed culture meet in “Sasquatch,” Hulu’s three-part docuseries about the mysterious 1993 murder of several men in the Emerald Triangle, a swath of wilderness renowned for its natural beauty, marijuana production and Yeti sightings. Who, or what, mutilated their bodies? The question is at the center of this way-too-intriguing tale, which features Hells Angels, “squatchers,” tweakers and guys with names like Bobo. Ancillary subplots abound, including a thread on the fascinating evolution of the region from a 1970s hippie utopia to a high-stakes drug syndicate of booby-trapped compounds, where the missingperson count is higher per capita than anywhere in the nation. (Hulu)
— Lorraine Ali
STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY
> Name a better combination than Stanley Tucci and fine Italian cheeses. In “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” the veteran actor turned social media thirst trap captured our taste buds as he wandered across Italy with all the swagger of a man whose body can process dairy, exploring the culinary scene and rich food history of its different regions over six episodes. It’s as close as any of us may ever get to roaming the streets of Italy and elegantly inhaling a bowl of pasta with the Tucc. And the masses want more: It will be back for a second season. (CNN)
TOP CHEF: PORTLAND
> The long-running reality series’ pandemic-compliant tweaks have made the competition even better. I do not miss watching contestants run around Whole Foods like chickens with their heads cut off, and I love hearing critiques from its panel of fan favorites, who rotate as guest judges for the various contestant challenges. (Moving forward, “Restaurant Wars” — in which two teams face off to create a fine-dining establishment from scratch — should be conducted chef ’s-tablestyle only.) Plus, “Top Chef ” responded to the past year’s conversations about racial inequity by exploring the underappreciated cuisines of the African diaspora and the Indigenous peoples of Oregon. If only every reality show were this real about the industry it showcased. (Bravo)
— Ashley Lee
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
> Based on Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name, this stunningly beautiful, harsh and indelible limited series tackles the horrific reality of American slavery through a surreal fictional lens and messes with time to show how far we have and haven’t come. The 10-episode drama, from director Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”), imagines a subterranean locomotive system that travels the Southern U.S., connecting runaway slaves to a network of abolitionists and safe houses. But what they find in so-called liberated states are forms of racism and servitude disguised as something more progressive or pious. Safety and freedom are illusive in the land of the free, no matter how fast or far that train goes. (Amazon)
WANDAVISION
— Yvonne Villarreal — Lorraine Ali
> Marvel Studios’ first TV series was teased as an homage to sitcoms, with a couple of supporting players finally getting top billing. But “WandaVision” is so much more. Set after the events of “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), “WandaVision” follows Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) as they start their life as newlyweds in a New Jersey suburb. What begins as a mysterious time warp through TV history is revealed to be a poignant exploration of loss and grief capable of captivating viewers beyond the Marvel faithful, sprinkled with Easter eggs to keep fans engaged from week to week. (Disney+)