Need an engrossing show to keep my mind off the current madness

sheroman01

Obvious choice: Bodyguard.
Hidden gem: Giri/Haji.

ShineOn7

sheroman01 wrote: »

Obvious choice: Bodyguard.

A poor man's Line Of Duty

ShineOn7

weemcd wrote: »

I don't think anyone has mentioned The Leftovers here yet. The last truly engrossing show I watched.

An amazing show. I may well give it a re-watch in a month or so

The last kingdom is a bit sh1t anyway, in case anyone is considering it..

LilacNails

Homelander wrote: »

If you're a Breaking Bad fan Ozark is surprisingly similar in a lot of ways and it moves at a very fast pace across all 3 available seasons. Far fetched, but great performances, good characters, plenty of violence and no end of twists and scheming.

If you like balls to the wall action, Banshee is probably the 'best in class' as far as I'm concerned. It's outrageously far fetched but the insane action scenes, brutal violence and amazing characters just make it so good. Possibly my favourite TV show of all time and had a solid end season.

If you're more into drama/thriller territory, Homeland is excellent and just wrapped up it's 8th and final season very well also - it's a show that reacts to what's happening in the world around it, and the later seasons are quite unique with their own sense of identity. Same characters, but almost like a different show at times, in a positive way.

The Last Kingdom, to me, is like a better version of Vikings - not that Vikings is bad, I enjoy it, but The Last Kingdom really trims the fat and has excellent pacing. First season is good, but from the 2nd season onward it's really excellent, full of brutal battle scenes. Probably closer to a hybrid of Game of Thrones and Vikings.

If you're into historical drama, it's almost impossible to beat Boardwalk Empire. An astoundingly violent look at gangs in 1920's America with incredible production values. It's centered on one man - slightly reminiscent of Soprano's in that sense, though it's far more wide ranging than that show and a hell of a lot bloodier.

Catch 22 was a pretty decent mini-series I watched lately - it's not spectacular, but I really enjoyed it because it offered something very different. It's a production that focuses on US bomber crews operating in Italy in 1943 - visually it's an excellent watch and the acting is pretty good too. It's not a huge investment, as it's only six episodes or so.

Staying with WW2, Man in the High Castle is a great piece of alternative history that explores a reality where the Germans and Japanese defeated the United States. Very slick production, wrap-up season wasn't as strong as it could have been but the overall journey is pretty interesting and that 'what if' question is endlessly intriguing.

The Deuce is another HBO home-run, a really graphic but fascinating look at the rise of prostitution and pornography in New York in the 1970's with an absolutely amazing cast. One of my favourite HBO productions of the last few years.

Another one of my favourites in recent years was Quarry - it was cancelled after one season but thankfully it works perfectly well as a stand-alone mini-series so is easy to recommend. It's a violent, gritty crime-drama centered on a Vietnam veteran who drifts into a life of crime when he returns home in the mid 1970's, when public opinion has turned overwhelmingly against the war.

Other honorable mentions - Westworld, Gangs of London, Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, Chernobyl, Black Mirror, Big Little Lies, The Terror, The Leftovers, Godless, Fargo, True Detective, Penny Dreadful.

These are all based on shows I watch, or have watched that I'd genuinely consider binge-friendly.

Not all of these are on Netflix.... Where can I watch them??

ShineOn7

weemcd wrote: »

Shout out to The Deuce - one of the most tasteful endings to a show I've ever seen.

Looks great. Apart from Maggie Gyllenhaal being in it ;-)

Rest of it looks very promising though

Theonly way

Chicago PD is very good .

Elementary not bad also

Enjoy

retalivity

Been watching a few korean dramas on netflix recently.

Kingdom - Zombie thriller/horror/drama set in medieval times. 2nd season came out in Marxh, 3rd season later this year. Very good watch.

Extracurricular - think this is new, about a high school orphan with a secret life as a pimp. Halfway through this and has been great so far.

Badabing1

Bosch

V good L.A. detective show.

retalivity

retalivity wrote: »

Kingdom - Zombie thriller/horror/drama set in medieval times. 2nd season came out in Marxh, 3rd season later this year. Very good watch.

This is what I was looking for, and instead I watched 'the last kingdom' by accident..
I was expecting Korean zombies and got some rubbish with some lad talking about destiny in a dodgy accent..

artvanderlay

Badabing1 wrote: »

Bosch

V good L.A. detective show.

I've been addicted to Bosch for the past 2 weeks. It's the only show I watch now. Love it!!!

Sugarlumps

Hamilton's Pharmacopeia - On Vice and its ****ing awesome.

Theonly way

Giving Ozark a go after good reviews on this thread .

Ha .

Treppen

Theonly way wrote: »

Giving Ozark a go after good reviews on this thread .

Ha .

Ya that's good especially the most recent season, nearly didn't bother going back to it but glad I did.

Treppen

Sugarlumps wrote: »

Hamilton's Pharmacopeia - On Vice and its ****ing awesome.

Ya heard him on Joe Rogan and he's very measured... For a dope fiend... With a PhD

matthewmurdock

A few that haven't been mentioned yet, or I have just missed them:

Mr.Robot - starring Rami Malek of oscar winning fame. Season 2 is probably the worst season. This has some of the best individual episodes of TV I've ever seen. There is an episode in season 4 which is constructed like a play with 5 acts which has to be up there with the best episodes of television of all time. About a socially awkward hacker who gets roped into a very ambitious job.

Godless - Went really under the radar but is one of the best westerns I've seen in recent memory. Stars Jeff Daniels and Jack O Connell. It's about a gang of criminals who hunt a young former member who betrayed them. 1 season long but really made me miss heyday of the genre.

Vice Principals - Comedy/Black comedy starring Danny McBride and Walton Goggins who play off each other so well. McBride plays a version of a character he has often played, but the story and the laughs are so good that you cant help but get sucked in. Goggins is absolutely epic and the show is just 2 seasons long with a pre planned story, so it doesn't drag.

Dark - Wrote a response to this in the Dark thread but its without question one of the best shows I have ever seen. Probably best to go into this one with as little info as possible, but it's a masterpiece. 2 seasons so far with the final season to be released next month.

Escape at Dannemora - Ben Stiller created a show about a prison break which I did not expect to find as good as I did. Benicio del Toro, Patricia Arquette and Paul Dano act it out of the park

Daredevil - The second half of season 2 aside, this is the best comic book character ever put to screen, and I include Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy in that. I dont care much for most comic book movies as they feel a bit assembly line now, but this was very special.

Barry - A hitman turned actor, starring Bill Hader. Strange concept but absolutely amazing execution. A dark comedy which turns more dark than comedy.

unhappys10

Has The Punisher been mentioned?
Recommended it to a lad in work to which I was told "Nah I don't like that superhero sh1t".
Told him to give it a go, if it wasn't for the Marvel logo at the start you wouldn't know it was connected.

He came back a week later saying he had watched the entire first season.

Great show.

Panda Killa

All the Netflix marvel series are watchable...
even Iron fist...it's the weakest of the lot.. but still a good giggle
Punisher... Daredevil...Jessica Jones...Luke Cage ...& The Defenders, all excellent watches

Amberjack

Don’t think Suits has been mentioned, I’m hard to please and really enjoying it, some great characters in it too.

Also enjoyed Succession, the theme music is amazing

Harlan Coben’s Safe and The Stranger were watchable if you like a bit of a thriller

Penn

Amberjack wrote: »

Harlan Coben’s Safe and The Stranger were watchable if you like a bit of a thriller

I hated The Stranger. It seriously annoyed me. Haven't seen Safe but The Stranger would put me off trying it considering they're from the same author.

Homelander

There's a really cool show on Apple TV called "For All Mankind" that fairly flew under the radar.

Set in an alternative history where the Soviet's landed on the moon first, and the subsequent space race accelerated into the 80's and beyond rather than drop off as it did in reality in the 1970's.

Excellent grounded alt historical-drama with a really good cast that explores the really intriguing question of 'What if?'

I absolutely loved it and would highly recommend it.

In relation to Safe/The Stranger above.....I thought The Stranger was utter nonsense but Safe was an easy enough watch, certainly a better show in any case.

Weepsie

Seinfeld is available to watch in it's entirety on the channel 4 app.


Also, I'd give the wire another go. It's all a matter of personal taste but I think it's far superior to the shield but they are polar opposite type of show. Slow burn, common threads compared to the back and forth helter skelter shield.


Oz, excellent.

Deadwood. For Ian McShane alone. It's brilliant though aside. Even with the film, it didn't quite get the ending it deserves.


Homicide life on the streets. It was a great show.

Revisit Cracker and Prime Suspect if you like happy valley etc.


Fargo (well first 2 seasons)

Probably mentioned already, but Better Call Saul is arguably the best thing on TV right now. It's brilliant, bit deliberately a lot slower than breaking bad.

fr336

Bodyguard is by the same writer as Line of Duty and almost as brilliant - highly recommend. If you like LOD then you might be a fan of Killing Eve too.

ShineOn7

matthewmurdock wrote: »

A few that haven't been mentioned yet, or I have just missed them:

Mr.Robot

Great show, but the last 2-3 episodes of the final season felt overly complex and too knowing for it's own good



Would overall recommend though. Some of the best TV of the last 10 years is in there

ShineOn7

Weepsie wrote: »

Revisit Cracker and Prime Suspect if you like happy valley etc.

Cracker, what a classic that was. In the Top 5 British Dramas ever for me

ShineOn7

Amberjack wrote: »

Don’t think Suits has been mentioned, I’m hard to please and really enjoying it, some great characters in it too.

Think I dropped Suits around season 3. They just repeat the same nonsense over and over



Strong first two seasons though

Amberjack

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Think I dropped Suits around season 3. They just repeat the same nonsense over and over



Strong first two seasons though

I’ve only started Season 3, so it may go downhill from there, lol

matthewmurdock

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Great show, but the last 2-3 episodes of the final season felt overly complex and too knowing for it's own good


Would overall recommend though. Some of the best TV of the last 10 years is in there

I agree, I wasn't completely happy with the ending but didn't feel like it was enough of a letdown to tarnish what came before. Just dropped it from a 9.5/10 for me to an 8.

Get Real

Trial By Media on Netflix. Excellent series.

I (pessimistically) gave the first ten mins of episode 1 a go. Hooked.

A good watch.

paddythere

Dexter