18 Of The Best Series To Binge-Watch
BoJack Horseman – Series 1-6
A humanoid horse lost in a sea of self-loathing and booze, BoJack Horseman (Arrested Development’s Will Arnett) has decided it’s time for a comeback. Once the star of a 90s sitcom, BoJack wants his dignity back so, with the aid of a human sidekick (voiced by Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul) and his feline ex-girlfriend/agent, he sets out to make it happen. This first-ever animated Netflix Original might be a cartoon but – with plenty of references to sex, drugs and alcohol – it’s not for children. It’s something that can hit surprisingly hard among the humour.
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Better Call Saul – Series 1-5
From parking tickets to mass murder, from slip-and-fall claims to bond fraud, Saul Goodman handles it all. This five-season series sees ex-con artist Jimmy undergo a series of trials and tragedies as he transforms into his alter ego Saul, a morally challenged criminal lawyer. A prequel of sorts to the exceptional Breaking Bad (another series to add to the list), Better Call Saul is slow burning and smarter than the original.
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Mindhunter – Series 1-2
Catching a criminal often requires the authorities to get inside the villain’s mind to figure out how he thinks. That’s the job of FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench, who pioneer the development of modern serial-killer profiling. Directed by David Fincher (Gone Girl, Fight Club), this is a slow-burning mid-century thriller – based on a true story – that will have you hooked. An excellent soundtrack only adds to its watchability – stream the Spotify playlist here.
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Homeland – Series 1-7
Homeland has been an edge-of-your-seat sensation since 2011. CIA officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) is at the top of her field despite being bipolar, which makes her volatile and unpredictable. With the help of her long-time mentor Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), Carrie fearlessly risks everything, including her personal well-being and sanity – all in the name of her job. A gripping, emotional thriller –the first two series are particularly special.
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Parks & Recreation – Series 1-7
Parks & Rec follows Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, as she works tirelessly to make her quintessentially American town just a little bit more fun. Leslie’s office mates include Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe), a health nut who wants to live to be 150 years old; Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), a fashion-obsessed wannabe player whose greatest dream is to own a nightclub; and Leslie’s boss, the hirsute Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), who hates the very government he works for, and sports one of the most impressive moustaches on TV. Laugh-out-loud funny.
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True Detective – Series 1-3
This searing series focuses on troubled cops and the investigations that drive them to the edge. Each season features a new cast and a fresh case: in series one, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson investigate a deadly cult; in series two Rachel McAdams and Colin Farrell team up against Vince Vaughn; and in the most recent outing, Oscar winner Mahershala Ali takes a starring role in a case involving two missing children.
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The Wire – Series 1-5
The Wire is now widely considered to be one of the greatest shows ever made. In Baltimore, detective James McNulty and his team try their best to dismantle the links between the city’s drug kingpins and the law enforcement agencies. Each The Wire zooms in on a different institution of the city and explores its relationship to law enforcement: the illegal drug trade, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy, education and schools; and the print news medium – in each sector, those who run them are compromised at every turn. Stars Dominic West and Idris Elba at their very finest.
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Boardwalk Empire – Series 1-5
This period crime drama is set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era. It stars Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson, a shady political figure who rises to control the city. Through five series, Nucky navigates mobsters, politicians, government agents and the common folk who look up to him. Soon, the federal government also takes an interest in the bootlegging and other illegal activities in the area, sending agents to investigate possible mob connections as well as Nucky’s lifestyle – deemed expensive and lavish for a county political figure.
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Six Feet Under – Series 1-5
Early 2000s sensation Six Feet Under stars Peter Krause as the self-destructive Nate Fisher, whose funeral director father (Richard Jenkins) suddenly dies and bequeaths ownership of Fisher & Sons Funeral Home to him and his brother David (Michael C Hall). On one level, the show is a conventional family drama, dealing with issues such as interpersonal relationships, infidelity and religion. At the same time, it is distinguished by its focus on the topic of death, which it explores on personal and philosophical levels. A masterclass in blending darkness with humour.
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Twin Peaks – Series 1-3
A crime drama mixed with healthy doses of the surreal, David Lynch’s 90s cult show Twin Peaks centres on coffee-loving FBI agent Dale Cooper, who travels to the small logging town of Twin Peaks to solve the murder of seemingly innocent high schooler Laura Palmer. Almost nothing is as it seems, however, and the show's eerie visuals, oddball characters and wild dream sequences make that abundantly clear. Now available to watch is the long-awaited third series, which first aired in 2017. It picks up 25 years after the inhabitants of the quaint north-western town were stunned by Laura’s death.
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Mad Men – Series 1-7
Set in 1960s New York, sexy and stylised drama Mad Men follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive advertising folk of Madison Avenue. The series revolves around the conflicted world of Don Draper, the best ad man (and ladies’ man) in the business, and his colleagues at the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Advertising Agency. As Don makes plays in the boardroom and the bedroom, he struggles to stay a step ahead of the rapidly changing times and the young executives nipping at his heels.
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The Sopranos – Series 1-6
Hailed as one of television’s most essential dramas, The Sopranos follows the late James Gandolfini in his career-defining role as Tony Soprano: a husband, father and mob boss whose professional and private strains land him in the office of his therapist time and again. The show shines a light on the difficulties an Italian-American mobster faces as he tries to balance family life with a role as leader of a criminal organisation. Ground-breaking in its portrayal of a feared mob boss as an ordinary man with the same issues as any head of household, this character-based show is a masterpiece.
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Deadwood – Series 1-3
Deadwood is set in 1876, when the richest gold strike in US history drew a throng of restless misfits to an outlaw settlement in the Black Hills of South Dakota. People flock to Deadwood, with the dream of cashing in. However, not everyone can survive the chaos and confusion of a town that is unrestrained by the rule of law. The show features a cast of surly inhabitants led by Timothy Olyphant and the inimitable Ian McShane, who won a Golden Globe for his performance in this fun yet violent 36-episode show. When you’re done, check out 2019’s Deadwood: The Movie, which picks up the tale ten years on.
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Veep – Series 1-7
Former senator Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) gets an opportunity to serve as vice president of the United States, but soon finds the job is everything her incompetent staff warned her about. As she tries to prevent various political uproars, juggle her public and private lives, and create a legacy, she’s mired in day-to-day political games. Created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his UK political sitcom The Thick of It, you can expect whip-smart dialogue, a flawless supporting cast and Louis-Dreyfus in a screwball role that won her five Emmys.
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Seinfeld – Series 1-9
Want more Julia Louis-Dreyfus? Stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s eponymous 90s sitcom – co-created with Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David – has recently landed on Channel 4, with every single episode available to stream on All4. The hit show stars Seinfeld as a fictionalised version of himself, wrestling with life’s most perplexing yet trivial questions. An outstanding cast of eccentric friends and acquaintances includes Seinfeld’s neurotic best pal George Costanza (Jason Alexander), his friend and ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes (Louis-Dreyfus) and his unique neighbour across the hall, Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). Cringe-making and hilarious, Seinfeld is perfect for anyone looking to escape the Covid-19 gloom with nightly laughs.
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The Americans – Series 1-6
Set during the Cold War, The Americans tracks Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys), two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple living in Falls Church, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC. The show explores the conflict between the FBI office and the KGB Rezidentura by showing the perspectives of agents on both sides, including the Jennings’s neighbour Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), an FBI agent working in counterintelligence. Beginning with the aftermath of Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in January 1981, this tense series transports viewers through 80s suburbia via a smart and thrilling cat-and-mouse game.
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Atlanta – Series 1-2
Starring, written and directed by Donald Glover – aka Childish Gambino – Atlanta centres on rap and racism in present-day America. The series follows Earnest ‘Earn’ Marks (Glover). Having dropped out of Princeton University, Earn has no money and no home, and consequently switches between staying with his parents and his on/off girlfriend Van. When he realises his cousin Alfred ‘Paper Boi’ Miles (Brian Tyree Henry) is on the verge of musical stardom, he desperately tries to reconnect with him in order to improve his own life and that of his young daughter. Through Earn, Glover creates an opportunity to celebrate blackness and explore race and identity in America –through the lens of his eccentric sense of humour.
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This Is England – Series 1-3
Shane Meadows’ 2006 film of the same name was one of the very best of the decade, and cemented the Midlands-born director as one of the UK’s finest. An ensemble cast – including 12-year-old newcomer Thomas Turgoose and Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure – with some compelling backstories made it essential viewing. Fans were thrilled when Channel 4 launched This Is England ’86 in 2010 – a four-part series showing us what the gang were up to four years later. This Is England ‘88 and ‘90 followed. They focus on mod culture and the rave scene respectively, while – in classic Meadows style – never flinching from the grittiness of growing up working class.
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