With this week being the start of June, it’s important to note that we’re about halfway through 2020. It has been a crazy year full of strange shifts in how we live our day to day. Without the option to go to movies or sporting events, many have found themselves turning to TV with more of a regularity, zooming through shows so quickly that they barely have time to register. For most of us, it was a chance to enjoy escapism for a few hours, watching a story that reminded us of better worlds, where we could go outside and live normal lives.
Okay, there was also Tiger King.
But anyways, the halfway mark of 2020 brings with it a need to reflect on what has made the year definitive, standing out for its own achievements. Because of this, I am going to be exploring my Top 5 favorite new TV shows of the year so far. I will confess up front that while I’ve had just as much free time as you, I haven’t been as quick to hop on new TV shows. In fact, I’ve had the opposite problem where if they don’t hold my interest, I’m dropping them (sorry The New Pope). Despite everything going on, I just don’t have the patience anymore.
This should give every show that I mention more of a glowing praise. These aren’t only ones that I’ve had the interest to stick through and watch to the end, but have exemplified great entertainment at its finest. These are the shows that have made the early months much more tolerable, adding a zest that life has sorely needed. I will admit that my list is incomplete and I’m slow right now to pick up on newer shows, but I hope that any great recommendations in the comments will get me started on my next obsession. Feel free to share your favorite 2020 shows in the comments, and with that said let’s get going…
1. Cheer (Netflix)
Let’s get one thing clear: I love Cheer so much. It’s maybe one of the greatest things that Netflix has ever released. If you’re looking for a series that is quick and digestible, then this is a great place to start. Even if the premise of a cheerleading squad competing for national championships seems like a dull premise, you need to just spend 10 minutes with the team down at Navarro College in Texas to form a deeper admiration for everything. Don’t know the slang? You’ll pick up on it quickly, knowing what the value of being on the mat is, and why people train their whole lives for these two years of glory.
It’s a microcosm of America, finding a way to capture every archetype in these characters. Perfectionists and misfits exist alongside each other, doing everything to keep the school’s reputation as positive as they can. In that time, you get personal stories that are ultimately uplifting, showing the value of team sports in everyone’s lives. There are twists and turns so shocking that you’ll be surprised why anyone dares to stand up and keep going.
It doesn’t even stop there. There are twists up until the final minute, and they’re this wonderful look at how team sports create guidance and acceptance that people need to build self-esteem. It’s the type of message that America needs right now: one of lifting each other up and overcoming personal bias in favor of greater achievement. This is more than a fluff piece about one of the greatest cheerleading squads in America. This is a story about a community that accepts you for you, and you’ll do anything for them.
Also, if you don’t know who Jerry is… then that’s reason alone to start this series pronto.
2. The Great (Hulu)
When The Favourite (2018) came out, it was seen as revolutionary how it turned the stuffy period piece into this dark comedy where everyone was out for revenge while seeking power. Thankfully screenwriter Tony McNamara’s follow-up about Catherine the Great captures all of the exhilarating energy of that film in a “mostly true” retelling of events that isn’t afraid to go for broad satire. A lot of the credit should be given to Nicholas Hoult, whose arrogance and vapidness sells most of his jokes as this ruler who has little regard for anyone other than himself. Even the love he expresses to his wife Catherine (Elle Fanning) lacks much sincerity.
It’s a great period piece that continues to find small ways to infuse modernity into the sets, filling the script with the most colorful cursing since Deadwood. It’s all wonderfully at odds with the elegance, reflecting a crudeness underneath the ruling class, finding the unpleasant keeping them from ever being truly luxurious. Given that the closing credits are their own masterpiece of soundtrack choices (everything from Cat Power to The Buzzcocks), this is a show whose style should seem more tedious than it is. Thankfully there’s a balance and something that compliments that human arrogance on display here.
Of course, this is a lush showcase for Fanning, who has rarely been this subversive with her performances. When she’s allowed to be more than a pretty face, she’s often turning elegant prose into comedy gold, finding deeper substance in this frustration of playing side chick to a worthless ruler. It’s like The Favourite with all of the bite, managing to make history into a landscape of bold satire. It’s one of the best-written series of 2020 so far, and one that makes history far more tolerable than your average series.
3. The Plot Against America (HBO)
The premise of this David Simon series may seem a bit ironic given current events, but there’s so much vitality in adapting this Philip Roth story. Much like every other masterful turn by The Wire creator, this is a chance to watch a society formed on a minute level, showing how micro-aggressions build and fester over time, making people divided among themselves. When World War II is finished not by Franklin Delano Roosevelt but instead a fascist, it leads to all sorts of problems. The civility slowly crumbles, and this series’ ability to not just rush to the finish line is admirable. It forces one to grapple with every small decision that makes this plausible, even if this is one of the few dives into outright fiction that Simon has ever made.
It’s an entertaining alternative history that doesn’t use it for a gimmick. Instead, it’s a warning about how hatred can destroy a society. With a cast of complicated characters, it manages to show that this isn’t a simple answer. Things need to be resolved after the world burns, and it’s in getting out there and voting, serving as an activist for a better cause. If anything, this is one of those shows that is necessary for 2020 for reflecting ironic parallels. In some ways, Roth’s story feels obsolete after recent months, but it still feels like the perfect motivational tool for anyone who needs convincing to go out and vote this November.
4. High Fidelity (Hulu)
You wouldn’t think that this story would work in its new form. The John Cusack film was one of the 21st century’s first great romantic dramas, reflecting a record store owner coming to terms with his failed relationships. However, there’s something to be said about what’s aged poorly about it, reflecting a nagging nature that doesn’t play well to modern generations who see the toxic masculinity in people like this, so isolated by their pop culture knowledge that nobody could actually compare.
But to put them into the hands of Zoë Kravitz as a biracial bisexual makes things much more interesting, adding a millennial perspective that finds her interests being much more complicated. Simple ideas such as buying a record collection out of spite are given ethical debates, supporting characters becoming more emotionally dense. Everything about the show enhances what is known, featuring the year’s best collective soundtrack as well. How could it not, especially when we’re introduced to Kravitz as she is discussing the inner relationships of Fleetwood Mac and what they say about the music. She is self-aware enough to comment on the music, but not enough to understand human desires. It’s the irony that she must overcome, and Kravitz makes it all the more endearing with her charismatic performance.
5. Mrs. America (FX)
There was an alternate world where Hillary Clinton won the presidency and made this story play out a bit differently. The show-runners will be the first to tell you that. However, we know how things ended up and the discussion on modern feminism remains just as heated as it did during the 1970s. With this miniseries, the exploration of the Equal Rights Amendment is given great dramatic treatment as it explores the endless perspectives to which this cause was fighting for. It wasn’t just a story of E.R.A., but also Black politician Shirley Chisolm and Stop E.R.A. founder Phyllis Schlafly. There were so many sides coming to this one issue and the choice to hear them all out gives it a bigger strength.
It’s also full of incredible performances whether it be Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, or Uzo Aduba all doing their best to bring history to life. There is no clear pathway and everyone has their struggles from episode to episode. When they have minor successes, there is a triumph behind these moves. It’s reflective of a time when to be a woman meant something very different than it does today, where the conversation needed to be more aligned in order for laws to change for the better. It’s an enjoyable drama that makes every moment meaningful and full of a purpose that makes its message shine even brighter.
BONUS
Betty (HBO)
As a fan of Crystal Moselle's film Skate Kitchen (2018), I have enjoyed this series that is basically adapting the all-woman skateboarding team into its own laidback series. They may not literally be the same characters, but the atmosphere is the same, managing to make every lingering shot of a skateboarder zooming down the street into this relaxing piece of art. There’s not much to the show besides watching friends hanging out and having a good time, but it’s also one of those endearing shows that make you feel warm inside, finding a shaggy dog vibe that Moselle does so well. You don’t have to love skateboarding to appreciate this show, but considering that Moselle’s time in the community has allowed her work to feel incredibly lived in, I don’t know why you wouldn’t fall in love after spending time with these characters.
What is your favorite series? What should I be checking out during this quarantine, if just to stay sane?
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