Which new TV shows are you liking? (shows still only 1 or 2 seasons deep)

I finished the new show co-created by David Simon, The Deuce, which starts very slow but really finds its rhythm in the last few episodes. It's a great start for a series and has tremendous potential. I'm really excited for another season, it can only get better.

Now I've started and couple episodes into The Handmaid's Tale. It's really beautifully lit, I like the acting, and the plot is interesting so I'm enjoying it so far, though the way it carries itself so seriously, the show could easily be ruined with few missteps. That Elisabeth Moss man, there is something special about her.

My secondary show is GLOW. I think it's a good show and I'm gonna stick with it. Alison Brie really walks a tightrope and Marc Maron playing a dick is kinda golden. The dramedy works for me and it's a half hour show so that's actually a major plus.

What new shows are you liking and excited to follow and keep up with?

Just finished Godless on Netflix. Highly recommend. Mindhunters too.

Westworld - It's not really for the faint of heart, but boy, it's a quality show. I appreciate that it paints an awful picture of how people behave in a world without consequence. There's a good amount of intrigue going on behind-the-scenes, and it really goes some places as things spiral out of control. It also has one of the best twists I've seen in a long time near the middle of the season. The show isn't really a Western so much as it is a power struggle, but it sure succeeds at that. Without getting too spoiler-y, most of the characters are scratching and clawing for control in one way or another, and there's a brutal dog-eat-dog quality to it that keeps you glued to the screen. Ed Harris is maybe at peak Ed Harris here, and that's saying a lot. Watch this show. It's great.

The Man in the High Castle - Man, this show is done really well. They built a genuinely frightening alternate reality. It avoids the spectacle and mecha-police state of say, Wolfenstein: The New Order, but achieves a similarly frightening nazi spectre via calculated, sinister rule. The presence of a Japanese colony of sorts adds a third wrinkle to everything. The acting is terrific throughout. Rufus Sewell and Joel de la Fuente are intense. Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa speaks very little in the series, but owns the screen. The series also challenges the viewer by developing characters really well to the point you feel invested in their success, even at times when you don't really want to be. It really hits its stride in season 2.

Sneaky Pete - This is far more lighthearted than the first two darker shows. Well, mostly. Giovanni Ribisi is a quick-witted, charismatic con man who's on the run from his past and pretending to be someone he isn't to avoid enemies made in his criminal past. Bryan Cranston is in Walter White form as a crime boss who is looking to exact vengeance upon Ribisi. Ribisi, in efforts to stay off his radar and try to make some quick cash to pay off his debt, finds himself often scrambling to pull off this fake life and hide his past. He's bullshitting his way through everything, and it's pretty damn entertaining. As a Graham Yost joint (Justified, The Americans), I suspected I might enjoy this, and I do. It's a fun show.

definitely Mindhunters on netflix.

Also only the first season of True Detective.

I've just finished The Sinner on Netflix and thoroughly enjoyed it. That show gets way darker than I expected, and pretty uncomfortable at times but the tension kept me glued throughout with some good acting from Jessica Biel and particularly Bill Pullman. Would highly recommend.

"I'm Sorry" on Tru Tv. It's the funniest sitcom I've seen in years.

Just finished punisher and enjoyed that even more than Daredevil. The first 2-3 episode started off a bit slow for me but gains some nice momentum after that. All the narrative arcs ended up weaving in together pretty well. Jon Bernthal did a fantastic job.

Still need to watch season 2, but season 1 of Billions (Showtime) was fantastic. A US Attorney of NY going after one of the biggest hedge fund managers in the world, all the while his wife works for the guy he's trying to bring down.

@rigas: Which one did you prefer?

@notnert427: My next show is Westworld, looks like something right up my alley. Which show you like better: Justified or The Americans?

I just finished season 2 of The Expanse and I love that show so much. It will be the first timeI'm actually sad when it get's cancelled way before schedule.

Went from that to The Punisher and I like that alot too. I don't really like Bernthal that much, and in some weird way that's one of the Things that really makes the show so good.

I just finished Mindhunter and am debating on what I would rate it. I enjoyed it a lot but there were just enough things I found frustrating. I think ultimately I would give it a 4/5 because of it's highs.

I feel like an overlooked show was The Knick. It's first season is only rivaled by True Detective season 1 for me. It ended up only going two seasons before ending though.

I'm really enjoying The Good Place with Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. The episodes are only 25 minutes or so and it's had some wonderful twists and turns.

Just started season 2 so looking forward to seeing where they take it.

The Good Place which I ended up marathoning during the holiday weekend is very cute and funny. The gist of it is that Kristen Bell is accidentally sent to Heaven aka The Good Place despite being a horrible person in life because she died at the same moment another woman with the same name died who was a humanitarian. Basically she is learning to be a good person in the afterlife from her assigned soulmate so as not to get sent to the Bad Place. Plus it's got Ted Danson as an angel who runs The Good Place and Danson is always good. That just the premise there are a lot of fun twist the show throws in to keep it interesting.

Also finished American Vandal which is an excellent spoof of those true crime series like Making Murderer, Serial, and The Jinx. The premise is a high school kid and his friends investigate whether or not the school troublemaker vandalized the faculty parking lot by spray painting penises on all the cars. Honestly for a true crime parody about who did or did not spray paint penises on some cars it has some really solid dramatic elements and is genuinely well done.

@sloppydetective: Definitely gotta see The Knick, it's been recommended to me a few times. Love Steven Soderbergh, love Clive Owen.

Justified and The Americans are both great, for different reasons.

I have to go with Justified, though, as its probably my favorite show ever. The dialogue is as good as it gets, the show has arguably the best villain to ever grace a TV series, and it deftly executes humor, drama, and action throughout the show. It is the definition of entertaining, and the stories are generally very good, often having an in-episode, in-season, and overarching storyline simultaneously. Justified is eminently rewatchable, as I've seen the whole series countless times and still catch sly little jokes or subtle references every time. The characters on the show, even the ones with small parts or who are in just one episode, are generally fantastic to where you miss them the second they're not on screen. Season 4 is probably the show at its best, but Seasons 3, 2, and 6 are all tremendous as well. Season 1 takes some time to build characters and find its footing from a bad-guy-of-the-week format, and Season 5 was a little weak on the villain front, but it's pretty damn solid throughout. It also wraps up nicely and doesn't overstay its welcome. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and I can't seem to get tired of it. I cannot recommend it more, as it's just great television.

The Americans is way different in tone. It's dark and generally bleak. If you're into the Cold War-era as I am, it stays pretty interesting, but it is kind of a slow burn. They really capture the 80s feel, though, and the depiction of fear-based politics in both the FBI and Russia makes for some tense scenarios that often have brutal results. As a viewer, you're constantly wrestling with who you're actually rooting for, and often its no one and you're just hoping one side doesn't escalate things, which is a perfect depiction of the Cold War. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell are both terrific in their roles, and a few of the ancillary characters, specifically the ones played by Noah Emmerich and Costa Ronin on the U.S. and Russian fronts respectively, are ones you really get invested in. It is not typically an upbeat show in the slightest, but its done really well overall and it's often emotionally affecting. It's a bit like Breaking Bad in tone without the cliffhangers, although I'll admit it's not on that level, but that's also a pretty high bar there. It a quality show, but I'd recommend Westworld, Justified, and The Man in the High Castle over it.

Still think Clive Owen should have been Bond and Children of Men is one of my all time favorite movies. So I really need to see The Knick.

@bartok: Yeah, Children of Men is the shit. Been thinking about rewatching it, haven't seen it probably in a decade. I think so highly of it that I'm almost afraid to see it again in the off chance something about it rubs me the wrong way, though I doubt it 'cause I have seen it a few times before. I wonder if Clive Owen was actually offered Bond, those rumors been around for so long. I'd like to see him in 1 or 2 but if they're any success, it seems like he'd definitely be contractually on the hook for at least 4 pictures, which I can understand would be a hard pill to swallow for any self respecting actor.

Mindhunter on Netflix. It helps to have interest in true crime, but the development of the FBI's take on serial killers is fascinating. Some outstanding performances, especially those playing the likes of Ed Kemper etc.

Stranger Things

STANGER THINGS.

Yeah, the same here. Absolutely amazing show, definitely the best space sci-fi we've had since Battlestar Galactica, possibly even Babylon 5.

Really hope it'll at least get cancelled with enough advance warning so that they can wrap things up better than B5.

I'm 2 episodes in on Search Party and am really digging it. Going to try to get through season 1 in the next week or so and then get up to speed with season 2.

@notnert427 said:

thor

Mr robot consistently blows me away. American gods was the best kind of weird. And Dirk Gently is laugh out loud funny and smart as hell at the same time.

I don't have a cable package so most of what I watch is on Netflix at this point when I do watch a tv show.

Cosmos & Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey if you like science, Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan and Neil deGrasse Tyson
Mindhunter for those who saw Zodiac and liked it.
Stranger Things for those who like 80's and 90's movies
Sens8 for those who liked Heroes and feel good moments
Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories for those who like short stories about the patrons of a diner and food recipes
Narcos for those interested in Colombian drug cartels and Pablo Escobar

I haven't finished or started watching these but they look interesting and worth seeing to the end.
Alias Grace if you like Margaret Atwood books or watched Handmaids Tale
GLOW if you like wrestling

Shows that have a small number of seasons and have completed their run or have an end that can be considered complete.

Halt and Catch Fire it has 4 seasons, but the show is now finished and is really, really great. For those who like 80's & 90's tech, video games, the early days of the internet and great characters.
Twin Peaks for those who want a beautiful and haunting show with some of the most memorable/odd characters and moments in television. 3 seasons, but all well worth watching, even the bad parts in season 2.

I really enjoyed the first half of Star Trek Discovery. I was a bit cautious going in, but so far it's exceeded all of my expectations. I really like the new crew, Lorca in particular is fascinating and ambiguous in a good way.

It's a limited run mini-series on USA but The Sinner is a great mystery/psychological-drama with an amazing performance from Jessica Biel. Just like Mr. Robot, it has beautiful cinematography and really well written characters.

I have found myself watching a lot more tv-shows recently than I had previously. Not entirely sure why but there's been a lot of good stuff. Netflix does have most of it though. But here's a brief list.

• The Punisher - Probably my favorite of the Marvel shows.
• Luke Cage - My second favorite of the marvel shows.
• Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories - (does technically have 2-3 seasons outside of Netflix) A really relaxing show, wish they made more seasons of it.
• The Sound of your Heart - Korean comedy show, probably the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Also a show I want them to make more seasons of.
• Taboo - Can't get enough of Tom Hardy being a brooding mumbling badass.
• Mindhunters - Interesting show, even more so when I found out how good that dude was at mimicking how Edmund Kemper actually talked.
• 13 Reasons Why - Found the show to be a pretty fascinating take on the complications of life and relationships.
• The Orville - I quite liked the show but part of me wish they leaned a little more into comedy and a little less into being a fan fiction version of TNG.
• Westworld - I enjoyed the fact that the show almost turned into an android Lost.

Probably forgetting something.

The Orville

Star Trek Discovery

The Good Place

I recently watched through 75% of The Punisher on Netflix with my roommate and I enjoyed it for the most part. I liked what they did with it but wasn't really dying to know what was happening next until a few episodes in. I don't think the start is very strong.

I did however loveMindhunter it reminded me a little bit of True Detective Season One which I really really enjoyed. If you want a show that has some great writing and cinematography Mindhunter is really good. I have some anal problems with it, but nothing that detracted from the overall experience.

If you like true crime stories containing strong characters and told with high production values then Mindhunter is essential viewing.

Mindhunter is one of my favourite shows after just one season, so definitely that.

Westworld was good but season two will likely be the determining factor in how I feel about it overall. Stranger Things I'm pretty into, sure. I'm on season two of The Man in the High Castle and god sometimes that show is boring as shit. But when stuff finally happens, boy is it intriguing. Hope to get around to The Handmaid's Tale sometime soon.

My wife and I have been watching This Is Us and it's a pretty good emotional tearjerker (no joke I think I may have teared up at least once every one to two episodes.)

• Bosch (Amazon) - LAPD detective Harry Bosch struggles to find integrity in an imperfect justice system. It's gone three seasons so it's outside the scope of this thread, but it's good. You should watch it.
• Dark Matter (Netflix) - In the dystopian 27th century, six people wake up on a deserted spaceship with no memory of who they are or what they're doing there. They reluctantly team up and set off to find answers with the help of a female android. This one went three seasons too, and has been canceled. It's way better than you'd expect for originally being on SyFy.
• The Grand Tour (Amazon) - Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond doing what they do. Season one has some rough edges, but I think they're making some good changes for season two.
• Mad Dogs (Amazon) - When a group of underachieving 40-something friends gather in Belize to celebrate the early retirement of an old friend, a series of wild events unfold, exposing dark secrets, deception and even murder.
• Ozark (Netflix) - A Chicago-based financial advisor secretly relocates his family to the Missouri Ozarks when his dealings with a drug cartel go awry.
• Tin Star (Amazon) - A British detective moves his family to a small Canadian town to become their Chief of Police. It's a slow burn, to the point where I almost stopped watching, but it picks up nicely about halfway through.

Bosch is solid. I've just started watching The Wire (finally, I know I'm really late on that one), and Bosch is remarkably similar in tone and style. It even has several of the same actors. I actually like Titus Welliver in the lead role better than Dominic West, but both shows are quality. I can't pass full judgment on The Wire because I've been told it goes places and gets really good, so I'm looking forward to that.

Good call; I've been meaning to watch that. Tom Hardy rules. I've added it to my show backlog.

Legion on FX. Only one season, second one should be airing early next year. It's a Marvel show, but not really connected to anything else in that universe, and definitely doesn't feel like any other Marvel thing. It's much darker, but mainly just super weird and visually it's astounding. There are some real "wtf did I just watch" moments in that first season.

I believe you can stream it on Hulu now, and while you're at it check out the Fargo tv series too (3 seasons). Same showrunner, and while not as out there as Legion, it really captures the feeling of the movie surprisingly well.

• Baskets - Louie Anderson steals the show and deserved to repeat at the Emmys.
• Colony - Pretty decent premise/setting but doesn't have the budget to fully realize it. Josh Holloway had me giving it a chance (why the hell didn't he become the next big thing after Lost?), Sarah Wayne Callies kept me coming back, she's easily the glue that holds things together. This series kinda fills the void of 24 in terms of its tone. In fact, after the super lousy 24: Legacy, I wish this had become the next iteration of that show somehow, minus the aliens.
• Daredevil - The chase scene at the beginning of 2.8 is one of the best shot things I've ever seen.
• Deutschland'83 - Recently lost Sundance in a DirecTV package downgrade so I'm gonna miss the second season of this standout German export.
• The Exorcist - Surprised this got a second season after the horrible ratings the first received, and it probably shouldn't have as this year isn't nearly as good.
• GLOW - It's alright. Super cheesy. I'm mostly in it for the wrestler cameos. Could be better.
• Humans - Love it. Everyone tells me the original Swedish version is better though.
• Legion - Best thing Fox has ever done with the X-men license hands down.
• Ozark - Took me awhile to get into it, it definitely feels like an amalgamation of several popular shows in recent years, but it eventually picks up speed and ends pretty nicely. Extremely interested in seeing where it'll go in season two.
• The Shanara Chronicles - Might be the best worst show I watch. Terrible dialogue, even worse casting for the secondary characters, a first season which was a little too teeny bopper-ish for my tastes, a hard to get past setup for the show's world (never read the books), but for everything that irks me about it, it makes up in its high production budget, gorgeous locales, and the awesomeness that is Manu Bennett (and Ivana Baquero). I'm a sucker for fantasy shit, and television is sorely lacking in this sort of fantasy. Hopefully the upcoming LotR show will be better, but y'know....it's not all bad...season two (which just wrapped) was an improvement on the first, so hopefully that trend continues with the third....despite how things ended this year.
• Snowfall - Style over substance, and there's better offerings of a similar nature out there right now, but it's got such a great GTA vibe about it, I'm willing to stick with it for season two, especially with all three storylines converging. Franklin's arc is the only one that kept me coming back though.
• The Son - Took me awhile to get into it, and I still think Sam Neill would've been much better in the lead role over his replacement Pierce Brosnan, but it turned out to be perfectly watchable show in another genre that's sorely lacking these days.
• Stranger Things - Season one was better than season two, but still this is the event series for me right now.
• Taboo - Slow burn but fantastic, can't wait for season two.
• Vice Principals - Just ended its run, not as good as Eastbound and Down, but I enjoyed it. I kinda wish it hadn't been cancelled given how they left things.

I'm in post Stranger Things depression. Gonna check out Mindhunter.

I'm really into Designated Survivor and Mindhunters at the moment. And i'm hoping for an anouncement of a successor for American Vandal

Since no one mentioned it I'd like to say Ash vs Evil Dead. That show is a laugh riot of a horror comedy with a very clear love of the source material as well as that era of campy horror cinema that those movies hail from. Bruce Campbell's return to the character as the biggest asshole is great and there's a shocking amount of logic to the batshit crazy plot. Also enjoyed GLOW and even got my mom, who has no affection for pro wrestling to watch it.

I reaaaally like American Gods. That thing is all manner of divisive and it's easy to see why. It's a plodding, slow, intentionally obfuscating drama about having your life upended.

It's also fantastically written, breathtakingly shot, original at a time when so much feels formulaic, and it has the best soundtrack I have heard in years.

I also enjoyed Taboo quite a bit. It's a very Tom Hardy style show, where-in he gets to flash every last one of his acting chops by performing as yet another nuanced madman. Topnotch acting all around and stunning to look at.

Taboo and Ash vs Evil Dead are my two favorite newish shows at the moment.

They both hit what they're going for wonderfully.

I've seen other people mention Westworld and Lost, but I don't see the connection. Lost does have a spiritual successor and it's a HBO show, but it's not Westworld... that would hands down be The Leftovers, which is a phenomenal show. I think Westworld is very overrated, but still a good show. I'd maybe recommend it to someone, but I'd warn them that it's slow, repetitive, and you probably have to like the concept and mystery, since all the characters are pretty "meh", especially the humans. I doubt it'll every reach Game of Thrones type pop culture due to the pace and characters, so I'd like to see what HBO tries to replace GoT with as their tentpole show.

If someone likes comedies such as Always Sunny, South Park, Bojack Horseman, etc I'd highly recommend Big Mouth on Netflix. Most the other newer shows I watch have already been mentioned here. I'm hoping Black Mirror season 4 is this year. It is the fourth season, but it only has around a dozen episodes.

Just finished Ozark. Man, that show is grim. Jason Bateman plays a good everyman on the brink of sanity. I can see the similarities to Breaking Bad for sure, but it's different enough to be its own thing. I also really like Esai Morales, alas he won't be returning for season 2.

I like most of the stuff mentioned here, but if you have not watched it...( and if it's available at all in your local Netflix) I gotta say Dark is pretty good.

I'm currently watching Stranger Things 2 and 13 Reasons Why. I'm enjoying both very much but 13 Reasons Why gives me a Life Is Strange vibe, which is great for me since I'm a sucker for melancholic and depressing themes.

Finished GLOW. Decent series but ended with a couple duds. I'll still check out the 2nd season when it's out.

Started up on LOVE. Couple episodes in, liking it so far. Kinda obsessed with Gillian Jacobs, she's stunning! Still making my way through The Handmaid's Tale. It's a great show but couple odd things happened in the last episode I saw, hope it doesn't go downhill.

American Gods was pretty good, really didnt know what to expect but I like Ian McShane in most things and I figured i'd give it a shot since he was in it. Ash vs Evil Dead is far better than it has any right to be. I also liked Mad Dogs but i'm pretty sure that isnt getting a second season. Stranger Things was more of the same which is okay I guess. I like the Expanse but i'm only really interested in Tom Jane's character and actively dislike Steven Strait's character. (I'm bad with names, but he might as well be Ryder from ME:A)

The Deuce is so good. Looking forward to more of that. Though double Franco is a bit hard to get used too, sometimes I'm not sure which brother I'm supposed to be seeing until they make an indicator. Maggie Gyllenhaal is damn good on it.

I also enjoyed Preacher, the first season was better over all than the second season I felt, but the second season still had a lot going on for it. I hope the third season picks up the pace a bit though.