My 5 Favourite TV Series of 2020

 

Continuing on from my 10 Favourite Films of 2020, next up are my 5 Favourite TV shows watched in 2020, along with 5 more honourable mentions at the end.

 

 

Aggretsuko

 

      Don’t be fooled by the simple animation style and the fact that Retsuko is a Sanrio character (the same stable as Hello Kitty), the storytelling here is complex, nuanced and is surprisingly mature. The series follows the daily life of a regular Japanese office worker (who happens to also enjoy some death metal karaoke in order to blow off steam) and the foibles of growing up and struggling to ‘adult’ whilst also trying to find their own place in the world. The details are so keenly observed.

      Perhaps what’s more surprising is that rather than just random one-off episodes, there is a continual story arc over all three seasons and the relationships between various characters grow and change as they interact with each other. Light and breezy on the surface but some serious issues are also explored such as workplace harassment, societal pressures on being a woman and stalking.

 

 

 

Cobra Kai - Season 1 & 2

 

 

      You might first start watching this simply as a comedic curio – exploring where these characters are 30 years later and how the events of way back when have completely impacted their lives. Whilst not quite playing into the ‘Daniel was always the villain’ joke videos on Youtube, this series presents much more of a grey area. It’s not just about good guys and bad guys but rather about perspective, which is guess what, often just like in real life. The various characters are all flawed in their own ways, but are endearing to the point you actually care about them and that’s what keeps you watching to find out what happens next.

 

      And that’s the main draw really. The actual fighting isn’t even all that special to be honest, but instead helps facilitate the conflict in the story. And you are so invested in the characters that when something serious does happen you do get choked up a bit. Granted there is a lot of teen melodrama, especially in Season 2 when the focus shifts more toward the entire cast rather than being mainly on Johnny, and occasionally you feel a lot of the conflict is introduced through misunderstanding and miscommunication just for the sake of creating more drama, but its all in the service of making you feel good when the characters do manage to get along. The occasional scene where Johnny and Daniel do momentarily bond on common ground are so satisfying – the writers know this and continually flirt with your emotions.

 

      Whilst I’m not a fan of The Karate Kid in general (watched the original the other day and was very much a ‘meh’ film and a product of its time) Cobra Kai takes that material as a jumping off point and elevates it to something far more nuanced.

       It’s also amazing how much of the original cast have come back to reprise their roles. Season 3 is out in January and I am very much looking forward to it.

 

 

 

Criminal - Season 1 & 2

 

 

      As the show is all about the writing and the acting, Criminal is definitely my jam. Each episode only incorporates the same single set, with the vast majority taking place only in the interrogation room, the adjoining viewing room and sometimes even (gasp!) the corridor outside.

      Most episodes have a famous face as the guest star (David Tennant, Hayley Atwell and Kit Harrington to name a few) which can be regarded as stunt casting but really its more of an opportunity for them to showcase their acting talents through plenty of dialogue and the occasional monologue. It’s very play-like in that respect and is fascinating to watch.

 

      Each episode centres on the interrogation/interview on a particular case and it is fun to try and play ‘guilty or no’ as the episode goes on, as each story has some kind of surprise or twist along the way – nothing is ever as straight forward as it first appears.

      There are only a few episodes in each series but the good news is if you really like it, this is actually only Criminal ‘UK’! Netflix also has a German, French and Spanish version of the show – each utilising the same core concept and even the same set – just with different actors and stories. Genius!

 

 

 

The Mandalorian - Season 2

 

 

       There have been complaints that some episodes (especially the middle few of each season) just being repetitive ‘fetch quests’ for Mando to go on – but this is missing the point. It is indeed derivative of the Samurai Western but that is by purposeful design. And whatever is happening is so well executed it is always a joy to watch.

 

      It’s impressive that so much is done with The Mandalorian on a TV budget and schedule and the wonder that is ‘The Volume’ (the technology that is used to generate almost all the backdrops for the show) is astounding in terms of the end result we see on screen. We are going to see more TV shows and films utilise this technology in the future, guaranteed.

 

      Maybe its just that the recent Star Wars films have proved disappointing making this smaller scale ‘back to the roots’ style adventure (that just so happens to be set in the Star Wars universe) feel more appealing to people. Some things are plainly obvious: Mando is a badass, Baby Yoda is cute – but there is an attention to detail and appropriately placed fans service here that really makes this show stand out amongst all other Star Wars spin-offs – which is not surprising since long time Star Wars contributor Dave Filoni has been heavily involved from the off. It’s good that they are taking their time with this as well and not just rushing it out- with Season 3 not slated for release until at least 2022.

      Ludwig Goransson’s music is excellent as well – after every episode we just sit and watch the end credits as we are treated to the theme tune playing over a sampling of that particular episode’s fantastic concept art.

 

 

 

What We Do in the Shadows – Season 1 & 2

 

 

      A spin off of the Taika Waititi film of the same name that somehow managed to improve upon the source material, with a cast of new characters and the backdrop now being shifted over to Staten Island.

      The series format actually allows more room for the characters to breathe and develop; and surprisingly also appears to have a larger budget, with more scope to the world as well as better effects than in the film. Although the basic concept is the same, the wider world of the vampires is explored more in addition to introducing many other supernatural entities that exist in the same space.

 

      The cast is excellent: Matt Berry is good in everything despite once again seemingly just playing another version of himself, Kayvan Novak provides an endearing childishness as Nandor, Natasia Demetriou offers a welcomed female perspective to the vampires and the addition of the ‘energy vampire’ Colin Robinson (played by Mark Proksch) is something we have not seen before. Harvey Guillen as Nandor’s loyal familiar Guillermo is also a sweet through line for the whole series.

      There are tons of suprise cameos that pop up throughout – especially one episode featuring the ‘vampire council’, which has to be seen to be believed. Consistently funny and surprisingly inventive with each episode, if you liked the film at all you will equally enjoy this series.

 

 

 

Honourable Mentions

 

Floor is Lava – Generic American trash TV presentation but the concept is so simple and well executed. A grating host and cringey contestants – but that somehow makes it all the more fun to watch.

 

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal – Excellent new series from this animation legend. I wrote about this previously here. It’s just a shame there are too few episodes otherwise it would definitely have placed higher.

 

Ghosts – Little talked about BBC comedy about a couple who move into a house occupied by several spirits. Tons of lesser known but great comedy actors involved – give it a watch.

 

The Queen’s Gambit – Perfect casting and a great performance from Anya Taylor-Joy. Great cinematography and production design also make the period piece setting come alive. No knowledge of chess necessary to enjoy.

 

Year of the Rabbit – Another Matt Berry vehicle but I love him all the same. The Victorian era London setting is fantastic and ripe for tons of irreverence and anachronistic jokes. The Elephant Man steals the show!

 

 

 

Next up: My 5 Favourite Videogames played in 2020.

 

 

28^th Dec 2020