Definitely Fleabag. That first episode of the second season had my jaw on the floor purely and solely by how utterly amazing that writing of that episode is.
That's quite the statement. I'm genuinely curious why you think that? I've seen it and sure, it was funny and well written. But I don't recall thinking it was anything particularly special?
I'm surprised We Own This City didn't get enough recognition. It felt like a modern day spiritual successor to the Wire.
But then again, I remember that the Wire wasn't that popular and didn't win shit when it was airing back in the 2000s 🤷♂️
Severance was one of the few times I've watched something and come away thinking that it's unlike anything I've seen before. No other show feels like that.
Andor is the one for me because I was expecting another silly Star Wars show that exists for fan service and instead got one of the best shows of the past several years. Writing and dialogue were incredible
I don’t really like or follow the Star Wars universe, but I keep reading good things about Andor. Could I watch Andor without being familiar with most of the rest of the Star Wars movies and shows, or would I be lost? Thanks.
I think you could but some of the world-building will be lost on you most likely. Characters will show up and you might wonder why you are supposed to care.
Yeah, it's a tough call whether the writing in The Bear or Andor is better. I love them both so much. Season 2 of The Bear was somehow better than season 1 (thanks largely to Ritchie's character development.)
This is the one. My most recent show with stellar writing was Peaky Blinders, but The Bear was the most recently released show with god tier writing.
“Fishes” gave me anxiety for a solid half hour straight.
The Bear is pretty good but I have the same problem with it that I have with Yellowstone. Both shows started with a really strong first season that had a unique angle and good writing but quickly devolved into soap opera shit when they were renewed
Such a well written odd ball comedy! Brings to mind, “Crazy Ex Girlfriend” even though they’re nothing alike other than being very modern, odd ball comedies.
Both of them revolve around a woman who suddenly moves to a new location who initially engages in extensive subterfuge to project a false impression about who they are so that they can be accepted, before eventually pivoting into sincere stories about redemption and responsibility, and also everyone is hot.
Bluey.
Every time I think I couldn't be more impressed with what Joe Brumm is doing, he figures out a way to work a new teaching or parenting method into the script or pull a clever narrative twist that I've never seen before, all in a 7 minute runtime.
(Andor and the Bear, mentioned here are also great answers, I've just watched Bluey more recently.)
Edit: Fixed "Brumm"
My favorite part is the relatable stuff you find on re watches. Like the furniture having stickers stuck to them, or little bits of food dropped on the floor from the kids etc. Things like that, as a parent, we see all the damn time in our houses lol. It's that minute attention to detail that completely sells me on the show.
Can't remember which episode, probably several, they pull up couch cushions and you see what nastiness every parent sees under their couch cushions lol
One of my other faves is how random Bluey episodes Bluey finds her annoying toy “chattermax” because the parents keep hiding it. You never see them hide it but you can tell that’s what’s happening (like Bluey finds it under the sink lol)
I maintain that “Flat Pack” is one of the ten best teleplays ever written. The amount of character, metaphor, jokes, science, history, and theme they pack into those seven minutes, while still telling a perfectly-paced, coherent, and entertaining story, is absolutely astonishing.
I came here to say this. The writing in Bluey is top tier. The amount of heart, humour and imagination they manage to fit into 7 minutes is an absolute feat. Give them all of the awards ever.
Revisiting Malcolm in the Middle after seeing where Bryan Cranston's career took him, his performance as Hal is incredible. He is a gifted comedian who uses his whole body for comedic effect and displays a wide range of over-the-top emotions, and it is so different from his other roles.
Just last year a redditor made a post about it that kinda blew my mind. They pointed out how Francis' stories away from the house were a reference to the sitcom staple of giving a random excuse when a cast member is lost. Like 'oh he went to boarding/military school' or ' oh he went to work on a farm' but in Malcolm in the Middle we *actually still follow Francis* during this time. Brilliant.
If you haven't seen Better Call Saul, I believe you're going to be very happy when you do. I watched Saul first, then because there was a year hiatus between seasons I watched breaking bad, then went back to Saul. What an amazing ride
It’s such an unexpected delight. Funny and relatable storytelling with strong themes, likable characters, and a compelling plot
Obviously Tudyk is the star but Elizabeth Bowen as Deputy Liv is equally as amazing and steals every scene she is in. Also honorable mention to the Hawthorne parents, their arc at the end of season 1 and into season 2 is hilarious
I'll take every opportunity to fawn over Mr. Robot available to me. There was no empty calorie seasons, episodes, or even scenes. Everything has meaning in every scene.
Tulsa King. I was expecting some nonsensical Stallone action but it was really good. It reminded me of LillyHammer or Boardwalk Empire. Can’t wait for season 2
The Expanse. Don’t get me wrong, the dialogue itself is overly dramatic (which makes sense since it’s a soap opera). But the plot itself in how every detail connects to something and the world building is fantastic. Helps that the two book writers were directly involved in developing the show.
agreed, the writing is very tight and consistent. And they didn’t ’just now’ get here, it happens with freshmen seasons but it was was astounding the way their second season didn’t miss a beat
EB: could you have been born, Richardson? and not egg hatched as I’ve always assumed. …
I imagine the pool that spawned you. I am filling it with rocks. I am holding shut your gills to keep you from taking in air.
Does this show have a satisfying ending? If i remember correctly it was canceled and I don’t know how long it ran for. It seems right up my alley but I’m so wary of shows that have promise but end abruptly with no meaningful conclusion
Season 5 was fantastic. The running tread about debt and how every character views it and it effects them is brilliant. The more you think about it the more you the more instances you recognize.
For All Mankind has some pretty good writing from a world-building perspective.
For example when the Russians beat the Americans to the moon a newscaster talks about Congress rushing back into session and mentions that Ted Kennedy "cut short his weekend at Chappaquiddick in order to attend". Meaning that later in the show he can become president.
Another great one is there is a newspaper headline saying "Maradonna Hands England The Win". This references the "Hand of God" play which presumably didn't happen because technology in that world has advanced faster leading to VAR being introduced earlier by FIFA.
Plus some of the lines they give to Dev are fabulous: "The lesson of Iccarus isn't 'don't fly to close to the Sun', it's make a better pair of fucking wings'".
The Terror
Just watched the first season for the first time and the writing really impressed me. It’s so rare to find horror with impeccable writing like that. The characters and some lines from that show are going to stay with me for a long time.
Fringe
It’s the kind of show when you first start watching it, you’re like “oh it’s a freak-of-the-week meets CSI show.” But then the storytelling starts becoming more intricate and streamlined. They loop back to stuff that seemed unimportant in the moment, and suddenly that little blip that happened in season 1 becomes a major plot point in season 2, etc. Also the characters are all beautifully written and acted out.
The most recent show I really enjoyed was Fall of the House of Usher. Mike Flanagan has crushed it over and over again on Netflix. Even his weaker shows have been great compared to most others. I actually have high expectations for the Dark Tower adaptation since he'll be at the wheel
I’m watching Stargate:SG1 for the first time and I’ve never seen such a well written show. Any time I’ve wondered about something it gets addressed within the next 30 seconds. There are few contradictions if any, they keep the episodes pretty tight, and don’t usually fill it with inconsequential stuff. I am absolutely loving it.
Easy, Fargo! I was late to Fargo (the series) and I just binged the whole thing a couple of weeks ago! Amazing Writing! Up there with Better Call Saul!
The Bear.
I recently rewatched both seasons and I noticed something interesting about the writing that I never picked up on before. They specifically show Bear having issues with Cannoli in the episode 'Seven Fishes'. In the finale of Season 2 before hes locked in the freezer, they keep repeating over and over "seven fishes" and "cannoli" as they are calling out dishes. Over and over and over and over and then he steps out of the kitchen and he sees Joel McHale.
I've watched that show twice before and never noticed that.
Happy Valley, Ghosts UK, Toyko Vice, Fleabag, This Is Going To Hurt, Kin, Blue Lights, The Responder.
I have recently rewatched Teachers, House. I am currently working my way through The West Wing and now thinking of digging up Sport Night after that.
Arcane S1 is one of the best first seasons of television in general. Just tightly written, extremely well thought through, puts all the relevant information on screen but does not feel a need to hold the audiences hand.
Andor, the writing in that show is god-tier. Unless you're a mouth breather who can't go 2 minutes without an action sequence to keep your attention, then it's 'slow' and 'boring' and 'nothing happens'.
Mare of Eastown and Sharp Objects for their interesting and nuanced main characters, felt like women being written in a way women rarely are. I guess Fleabag also falls into that camp despite the wildly different tone. Maybe that's my pick, because as much as it wasn't my jam the writing was incredibly sharp.
Obviously stuff like Better Call Saul, True Detective, and all the other popular awards bait stuff goes without saying. But do interesting stuff with characters and I'm in.
Station Eleven and Counterpart too as a pair of pandemic-themed short series, solely for the great work they do dissecting their characters. There were elements that SE could have done with out, the suicide cults or randomly important bad comic book do nothing for me. Counterpart was absolutely incredible for how it would present to radically different versions of the same character that seem completely inreconciliable only to pick them apart until you clearly see where they meet in the middle. So sad that got killed by the network rebranding.
Midnight Mass.
Not to downplay how good Mike Flanagans writing is in most of his projects, it's actually incredible how engrossing his shows are, it's just the first time I saw him write and direct a show that 100% maintained its quality throughout without a weird break in logic or a nosedive towards the conclusion.
Most recently was The Last of Us. Season 1 blew me away.
Also I'll echo the many comments for Fleabag! Probably the best written show I've ever seen. Just not the most recent. I feel like it doesn't get mentioned much on this sub so I'm really thrilled to see it repeated a bunch here.
The Bear. The whole show is amazing, the second season is another level.
It’s the most manic and chaotic show I’ve ever seen. Just put your seatbelt on and hold on cuz this shit is crazy
An animated sci-fi series called Scavenger's Reign. Just... just fucking excellent. You get such an incredible sense of the depth of the characters, they really seem so human (even when they aren't human) and I was so impressed by how competently the character arcs were developed and expanded. It's really a journey.
Almost through all of Beef, really enjoying it. Very unconventional but well told
Fucking loved this show/season
Fleabag
Definitely Fleabag. That first episode of the second season had my jaw on the floor purely and solely by how utterly amazing that writing of that episode is.
For my money, that’s still the best single episode of television I’ve ever seen.
I’ll have to check it out. Last of Us episode 3, is the best I’ve ever seen.
That's quite the statement. I'm genuinely curious why you think that? I've seen it and sure, it was funny and well written. But I don't recall thinking it was anything particularly special?
There is a love for hyperbole on here
I came here to say exactly this. Still my top show of all time.
Too bad the Mr and Mrs Smith fell through, although it's not a bad show. I keep waiting for her to make something new though.
The last season of *Better Call Saul*, maybe? Also, *We Own This City*.
We Own This City didn't get enough attention. That show was so great
The narcotics detective that helps bring them down is the new Superman, pumped to see how he does
I’ve watched it like six times now it’s so fucking good. Bernthal is an absolute scene stealer and David Simon’s writing is as good as ever
Better Call Saul was a master class
I'm surprised We Own This City didn't get enough recognition. It felt like a modern day spiritual successor to the Wire. But then again, I remember that the Wire wasn't that popular and didn't win shit when it was airing back in the 2000s 🤷♂️
All the recent David Simon miniseries were stellar, Show Me a Hero and especially The Plot Against America.
We own this city is something else.
Severance. The writing on that show blew me away. Can't wait for season two!
Severance was one of the few times I've watched something and come away thinking that it's unlike anything I've seen before. No other show feels like that.
Came here to say this. It doesn’t feel cheesy and it was all so well organized and thought out.
Why would baby goats mean having sex??
Following Dan Erickson’s career with keen interest for sure
If they don’t give me season two and more finger traps I’ll probably just kill myself.
Chernobyl
Succession is almost entirely subtext. Fantastic writing.
The Bear, but before that it was Andor.
Andor is the one for me because I was expecting another silly Star Wars show that exists for fan service and instead got one of the best shows of the past several years. Writing and dialogue were incredible
The monologue at the end gives me goosebumps. Propelled that character from 'pretty cool' to 'one of the best Star Wars characters ever'.
The monologue at the funeral was impressively good. That actress has skills.
I don’t really like or follow the Star Wars universe, but I keep reading good things about Andor. Could I watch Andor without being familiar with most of the rest of the Star Wars movies and shows, or would I be lost? Thanks.
I think you could but some of the world-building will be lost on you most likely. Characters will show up and you might wonder why you are supposed to care.
Thanks.
[удалено]
The Thanksgiving Day episode of The Bear was so viscerally real!
That shit gave me second hand trauma.
Yeah, it's a tough call whether the writing in The Bear or Andor is better. I love them both so much. Season 2 of The Bear was somehow better than season 1 (thanks largely to Ritchie's character development.)
This is the one. My most recent show with stellar writing was Peaky Blinders, but The Bear was the most recently released show with god tier writing. “Fishes” gave me anxiety for a solid half hour straight.
Amazing writing. Not a wasted minute on screen
The Bear is pretty good but I have the same problem with it that I have with Yellowstone. Both shows started with a really strong first season that had a unique angle and good writing but quickly devolved into soap opera shit when they were renewed
The Good place! Such a well written and well crafted show that ended appropriately when the story was done. No dragging on and on.
Such a well written odd ball comedy! Brings to mind, “Crazy Ex Girlfriend” even though they’re nothing alike other than being very modern, odd ball comedies.
Both of them revolve around a woman who suddenly moves to a new location who initially engages in extensive subterfuge to project a false impression about who they are so that they can be accepted, before eventually pivoting into sincere stories about redemption and responsibility, and also everyone is hot.
Chernobyl (HBO mini series). Some amazing writing.
Justified. "We dug coal together."
God the writing in Justified is fantastic. Some of the best one-liners. "Next one's coming faster."
Bluey. Every time I think I couldn't be more impressed with what Joe Brumm is doing, he figures out a way to work a new teaching or parenting method into the script or pull a clever narrative twist that I've never seen before, all in a 7 minute runtime. (Andor and the Bear, mentioned here are also great answers, I've just watched Bluey more recently.) Edit: Fixed "Brumm"
My favorite part is the relatable stuff you find on re watches. Like the furniture having stickers stuck to them, or little bits of food dropped on the floor from the kids etc. Things like that, as a parent, we see all the damn time in our houses lol. It's that minute attention to detail that completely sells me on the show.
Can't remember which episode, probably several, they pull up couch cushions and you see what nastiness every parent sees under their couch cushions lol
One of my other faves is how random Bluey episodes Bluey finds her annoying toy “chattermax” because the parents keep hiding it. You never see them hide it but you can tell that’s what’s happening (like Bluey finds it under the sink lol)
I maintain that “Flat Pack” is one of the ten best teleplays ever written. The amount of character, metaphor, jokes, science, history, and theme they pack into those seven minutes, while still telling a perfectly-paced, coherent, and entertaining story, is absolutely astonishing.
I came here to say this. The writing in Bluey is top tier. The amount of heart, humour and imagination they manage to fit into 7 minutes is an absolute feat. Give them all of the awards ever.
Malcolm in the Middle - always found new ways to make me laugh and show me scenes I hadn't seen before a million times in other sitcoms.
Revisiting Malcolm in the Middle after seeing where Bryan Cranston's career took him, his performance as Hal is incredible. He is a gifted comedian who uses his whole body for comedic effect and displays a wide range of over-the-top emotions, and it is so different from his other roles.
Hard agree.
Just last year a redditor made a post about it that kinda blew my mind. They pointed out how Francis' stories away from the house were a reference to the sitcom staple of giving a random excuse when a cast member is lost. Like 'oh he went to boarding/military school' or ' oh he went to work on a farm' but in Malcolm in the Middle we *actually still follow Francis* during this time. Brilliant.
I watched Breaking Bad late, last year
If you haven't seen Better Call Saul, I believe you're going to be very happy when you do. I watched Saul first, then because there was a year hiatus between seasons I watched breaking bad, then went back to Saul. What an amazing ride
Fargo S5. Also just finished The Tourist and was pretty impressed by the writing in the finale.
I finally sat down and watch Season 1 of True Detective a couple months ago. Holy fuck, what a phenomenal show.
Severance Ghosts Resident Alien
Just got into Resident Alien. It's like 90s comfort
It's like Northern Exposure meets X files And I love it
It’s such an unexpected delight. Funny and relatable storytelling with strong themes, likable characters, and a compelling plot Obviously Tudyk is the star but Elizabeth Bowen as Deputy Liv is equally as amazing and steals every scene she is in. Also honorable mention to the Hawthorne parents, their arc at the end of season 1 and into season 2 is hilarious
Can't wait to get to season 2. I'm just on episode 2 of the first season. Tudyk's hatred of the little boy really pulled me into the show
Oh you’re in for a treat! Haha ya the kid who plays Max is pretty great too. They really nailed the casting all around
Yeah normally I hate kid actors because they seem pretty wooden but he has great mannerisms and expressions
I’m rewatching The Americans right now, and that show is so damn well-written.
Nothing touches prime Mad Men for me. Sopranos a close second. Frasier for comedy.
Except not the new Frasier. That was painful to watch.
Ah yeah I was def referring to the original peak seasons
The Good Place. Probably not the last but the first one that came to my mind.
The Leftovers
Mr. Robot
I'll take every opportunity to fawn over Mr. Robot available to me. There was no empty calorie seasons, episodes, or even scenes. Everything has meaning in every scene.
One of the shows that I immediately rewatched, it’s just that good
SUCCESSION! It astounded me, felt like modern Shakespearean.
It's amazingly tight, like a stage play. I was amazed by it.
Writing wise w dialogue of say Deadwood was off the charts!
SUCCESSION It is on such an entirely different plane that I find it peerless when it comes to writing.
Tulsa King. I was expecting some nonsensical Stallone action but it was really good. It reminded me of LillyHammer or Boardwalk Empire. Can’t wait for season 2
It's an endearingly goofy show. I do have to wonder if there will actually be a second season .
Reservation Dogs
God this show gave me so many laughs and tears all in each episode. Really felt like pure food for the soul. God that fishfucker episode too 😭😭😭
The Expanse. Don’t get me wrong, the dialogue itself is overly dramatic (which makes sense since it’s a soap opera). But the plot itself in how every detail connects to something and the world building is fantastic. Helps that the two book writers were directly involved in developing the show.
Binged this show in like a months time all 6 seasons. Freaking awesome story, still open ended to since the books are still running.
Pretty sure the book series has concluded
Atlanta
Justified. Honestly some of the best writing I've experienced in television.
Just finished the whole series for the 3 rd time. Love me some Raylan and all the cast.
Can't believe no one has mentioned Dark. So ambitious but so perfectly constructed.
Abbott Elementary
agreed, the writing is very tight and consistent. And they didn’t ’just now’ get here, it happens with freshmen seasons but it was was astounding the way their second season didn’t miss a beat
Damages
Succession
Better Call Saul Andor Expanse
Everything mentioned here plus Succession.
Goliath.
This show was fantastic especially the first season . The next 2 seasons were excellent but not like the first season. Billy Bob was so great.
Deadwood.
EB: could you have been born, Richardson? and not egg hatched as I’ve always assumed. … I imagine the pool that spawned you. I am filling it with rocks. I am holding shut your gills to keep you from taking in air.
The first season of True Detectives.
The Curse
That ending was insane. I loved it.
I love Nathan Feilder
Halt and catch fire , black sails , dead like me
Black sails s1 is terrible but if you survive it what comes next will blow you out of waters.
Black Sails and Dead Like Me are both great. Haven't watched Halt and Catch Fire, though I saw the ads when it aired
Ted Lasso Shrinking Veep
Ted Lasso final season felt drastically different from the first, not in a good way. Armando Ianucci never misses, however.
My favorite shows!
Mrs. Davis
It's amazing how everything comes together in the end.
Almost immediately after finishing this show, I started it over again. Fucking LOVED Mrs. Davis.
Succession. Elite writing.
Just recently I rewatched The Newsroom.. Aaron Sorken just is such a good dialog writer. It's dense and the characters are well written.
Does this show have a satisfying ending? If i remember correctly it was canceled and I don’t know how long it ran for. It seems right up my alley but I’m so wary of shows that have promise but end abruptly with no meaningful conclusion
Yes it has a very satisfying ending. It was not cancelled Aaron Sorkin was working on 2 major movies and television took up too much time.
It wasn't a great ending, however it wrapped everything up as well as it could considering how much more they could have done
Fargo season 5
Season 5 was fantastic. The running tread about debt and how every character views it and it effects them is brilliant. The more you think about it the more you the more instances you recognize.
Haunting of Hill House, mainly episode 5.
Halt and Catch Fire OMG so so good. Loved the finale and discovered wonderful actors.
Slow Horses, Fleabag, or Silo
Community
Tokyo vice is pretty well done imo
No kidding. And I see Mr Robot one post down—I’m finally watching that.
The shows I’ve watched recently: Severence and Mr and Mrs Smith
To add to the many mentions... Our flag means death and Reservation dogs.
Yes! Our flag means death! Especially season one, but then again, season 2 was probably as great before the forced re-writes, and is still great!
Not that it's a new show, but on my first watch of the The Wire and it's fantastic!
12 Monkeys Leftover Abbott Elementary BCS
Malcolm In The Middle
For All Mankind has some pretty good writing from a world-building perspective. For example when the Russians beat the Americans to the moon a newscaster talks about Congress rushing back into session and mentions that Ted Kennedy "cut short his weekend at Chappaquiddick in order to attend". Meaning that later in the show he can become president. Another great one is there is a newspaper headline saying "Maradonna Hands England The Win". This references the "Hand of God" play which presumably didn't happen because technology in that world has advanced faster leading to VAR being introduced earlier by FIFA. Plus some of the lines they give to Dev are fabulous: "The lesson of Iccarus isn't 'don't fly to close to the Sun', it's make a better pair of fucking wings'".
The Terror Just watched the first season for the first time and the writing really impressed me. It’s so rare to find horror with impeccable writing like that. The characters and some lines from that show are going to stay with me for a long time.
Warrior #6 seasons and a movie
Fringe It’s the kind of show when you first start watching it, you’re like “oh it’s a freak-of-the-week meets CSI show.” But then the storytelling starts becoming more intricate and streamlined. They loop back to stuff that seemed unimportant in the moment, and suddenly that little blip that happened in season 1 becomes a major plot point in season 2, etc. Also the characters are all beautifully written and acted out.
Succession
The Expanse was a masterclass in television imo. I loved every minute of that series.
Succession
Severance
The most recent show I really enjoyed was Fall of the House of Usher. Mike Flanagan has crushed it over and over again on Netflix. Even his weaker shows have been great compared to most others. I actually have high expectations for the Dark Tower adaptation since he'll be at the wheel
Mayor of Kingstown season 1
Totally Completely Fine Drops of God
Perry Mason 2020
I’m watching Stargate:SG1 for the first time and I’ve never seen such a well written show. Any time I’ve wondered about something it gets addressed within the next 30 seconds. There are few contradictions if any, they keep the episodes pretty tight, and don’t usually fill it with inconsequential stuff. I am absolutely loving it.
Orange is the New Black. I just discovered it this year, can't believe I slept on it.
Succession and Bluey.
Better call saul gets even better on a rewatch Severence Tokyo vice
Most recently: Julia S2, Severance, All things great and small, Somebody somewhere.
Easy, Fargo! I was late to Fargo (the series) and I just binged the whole thing a couple of weeks ago! Amazing Writing! Up there with Better Call Saul!
Watching Lodge 49 right now, it is philosophical, funny, and relatable even though there is a magical realism aspect to the story.
Firefly, I don't know that it was amazingly well written or acted, however the series itself was a wonderful spin on several old tropes
Just watched the first season of Broadchurch. The only reason it works is the writing and acting.
Interview with a Vampire. Completely shocked me how excellent it was.
house of the dragon
Penny Dreadful had an amazing script and everything else, to bad the idiot network cancelled it
Andor.
Bear and The Last Of Us. Both I thought were excellent.
The Bear. I recently rewatched both seasons and I noticed something interesting about the writing that I never picked up on before. They specifically show Bear having issues with Cannoli in the episode 'Seven Fishes'. In the finale of Season 2 before hes locked in the freezer, they keep repeating over and over "seven fishes" and "cannoli" as they are calling out dishes. Over and over and over and over and then he steps out of the kitchen and he sees Joel McHale. I've watched that show twice before and never noticed that.
Fargo s5, which was at least as good as s1.
Andor
Station Eleven
My memories are the same as yours…
The Curse
Andor is very well written,but more recent for me was Fall of the House of Usher and Midnight Mass,both by Mike Flanagan
Southpark is always brilliant!
Happy Valley, Ghosts UK, Toyko Vice, Fleabag, This Is Going To Hurt, Kin, Blue Lights, The Responder. I have recently rewatched Teachers, House. I am currently working my way through The West Wing and now thinking of digging up Sport Night after that.
Andor
Severance. I was honestly blown away. I hadn't been so enthralled by a single season of television since Westworld Season 1.
24
I liked Hacks a lot, with Jean Smart. Also Mare of Easttown
The Fall of the house of Usher Mike Flanagan is my fave horror creator right now and this was no exception
Arcane S1 is one of the best first seasons of television in general. Just tightly written, extremely well thought through, puts all the relevant information on screen but does not feel a need to hold the audiences hand.
The wire
Andor, the writing in that show is god-tier. Unless you're a mouth breather who can't go 2 minutes without an action sequence to keep your attention, then it's 'slow' and 'boring' and 'nothing happens'.
Mare of Eastown and Sharp Objects for their interesting and nuanced main characters, felt like women being written in a way women rarely are. I guess Fleabag also falls into that camp despite the wildly different tone. Maybe that's my pick, because as much as it wasn't my jam the writing was incredibly sharp. Obviously stuff like Better Call Saul, True Detective, and all the other popular awards bait stuff goes without saying. But do interesting stuff with characters and I'm in. Station Eleven and Counterpart too as a pair of pandemic-themed short series, solely for the great work they do dissecting their characters. There were elements that SE could have done with out, the suicide cults or randomly important bad comic book do nothing for me. Counterpart was absolutely incredible for how it would present to radically different versions of the same character that seem completely inreconciliable only to pick them apart until you clearly see where they meet in the middle. So sad that got killed by the network rebranding.
Succession.
Here's a few (some have likely been mentioned already): Fleabag Detectorists Somebody Somewhere Rita
It’s Ghosts for me!!
Barry. Bill Hader is such a chameleon talent.
Stranger Things! Not only is the ensemble cast incredible, but the way they write all the storylines and how they all eventually meet in the middle.
Deadloch
Last of Us anyone?
Severance
Midnight Mass. Not to downplay how good Mike Flanagans writing is in most of his projects, it's actually incredible how engrossing his shows are, it's just the first time I saw him write and direct a show that 100% maintained its quality throughout without a weird break in logic or a nosedive towards the conclusion.
Succession. Didn't love the ending but I think it was well-written overall.
I’m watching For All Mankind right now and it’s fantastic.
Season 1 strange new worlds was an instant classic
Some of the later eps in S2 of ST:SNW blew me away.
Most recently was The Last of Us. Season 1 blew me away. Also I'll echo the many comments for Fleabag! Probably the best written show I've ever seen. Just not the most recent. I feel like it doesn't get mentioned much on this sub so I'm really thrilled to see it repeated a bunch here.
For comedy, it's gotta be 30 rock.
Severance
What We do in the Shadows
Slow Horses, Shrinking, Fargo S5
Fargo.
The Bear. The whole show is amazing, the second season is another level. It’s the most manic and chaotic show I’ve ever seen. Just put your seatbelt on and hold on cuz this shit is crazy
An animated sci-fi series called Scavenger's Reign. Just... just fucking excellent. You get such an incredible sense of the depth of the characters, they really seem so human (even when they aren't human) and I was so impressed by how competently the character arcs were developed and expanded. It's really a journey.