Alex's Favourite TV Shows of 2014 (Part Two)
Omg top 10! My favourite shows of the year! IT’S ALL HAPPENING! This was super hard - I considered doing a top 30 so I could include other shows I enjoyed in 2014 like Key & Peele, The Leftovers, The Affair and Bob’s Burgers but then I decided things were escalating. So here we are.
10. Louie. I think people either loved or hated this season, which I understand because it was a very weird season but I absolutely loved it. After taking a one-year hiatus, Louis CK returned with this beautiful, strange season that included mini-arcs that carried out over a few episodes. It was funny, but it was also very dark, and I thought he did a good job of focusing in on the character’s relationships with women - his ex-wife, daughters, girlfriends, etc. - and exploring them in new and interesting ways.
9. The Americans. On the one hand, this is a show about undercover Russian spies living as a suburban American couple during the ’80s and sometimes it stretches credulity. But on the other hand, it’s an exciting thriller with excellent acting from both Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. Beyond the whole spy thriller aspect (and a superb collection of wigs), The Americans sets itself apart by exploring an unconventional partnership and family.
8. Rick and Morty. This show is like Back to the Future except so, so dark - Rick is an alcoholic scientist who forces his anxious grandson Morty to participate in his wacky sci-fi adventures with mostly horrifying results. It’s hard to fully describe how clever and bizarre this show is without experiencing it, but it tackles everything from alternate dimensions to evil aliens in a way that’s hilarious and often surprisingly heartfelt. I think I like Rick and Morty so much because it often knowingly references other material, only to quickly jump past the same old tropes to new, disturbing ideas.
7. You’re the Worst. This is like, the millenial rom com I didn’t know I needed until it came to exist. It’s about a narcissistic man named Jimmy and a mess of a woman named Gretchen who meet at a wedding and have what’s supposed to be a one-night stand. They somehow find themselves in a relationship despite their hatred of relationships. And people. And love. And normalcy. Honestly writing this out it sounds dreadful but somehow it isn’t! Gretchen and Jimmy also each have a self-aware sidekick best friend character to round out the dynamic. All the characters are forced to confront their many issues from time to time, which can actually be interesting, but more importantly it’s a genuinely funny show.
6. Mad Men. I think I’m a bit complacent about Mad Men now that it’s been on for seven (six-and-a-half?) seasons, but it’s for sure one of the best things on television and the first half of the final season was no exception. It kind of felt like the characters lost a lot during those seven episodes - marriages ended, daughters ran off to communes, beloved copywriters developed severe mental illness. It felt like a set up for the final episodes in 2015, but it was a very good and very compelling set up.
5. True Detective. True Detective is a tough one because I certainly enjoyed watching it every week and seeing the mystery unfold as detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart investigated the Yellow King. Like everyone else in the world, I was especially into Matthew McConaughey’s endlessly quotable character. But after seeing it all play out I felt less enamoured with the season as a whole. It felt somehow dissatisfying, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’m not sure how well it holds up when it’s all out there. Still, True Detective deserves recognition if only for the first four episodes, which created a wonderfully sinister atmosphere and made it seem like just about anything could happen next.
4. The Comeback. It has been both a painful and beautiful experience, witnessing the return of Valerie Cherish. Nine years ago The Comeback was a mostly ignored show on HBO about a washed up former sitcom star played by Lisa Kudrow who attempts and mostly fails to get back in the spotlight. This second season in 2014 picks up nearly a decade later, following Valerie under the guise of a reality show as she lands a role on a gritty HBO show, confronts skeletons from her past and risks her marriage for her career. The Comeback is often uncomfortable to watch because Valerie is a fully-realized, complicated character. There’s also the fact that she knows how she wants to be publicly portrayed, but there’s a disconnect between that persona and her actual self. Apparently no one’s really watching the second season either, which is insane because it’s been so incredible. Yes it’s cringeworthy (I kind of hate that term, but it applies) but it’s also completely worthwhile. I haven’t seen the finale yet because it airs tonight, but I really want all of Valerie’s hopes and dreams to come true, even though I realize that might not happen.
3. Fargo. A TV show based on the movie Fargo could easily have gone awry, but somehow this first season of the show was just about perfect. The cast was excellent - most notably Allison Tolman as a small-town cop who steps up her detective game to doggedly investigate a murder and follow her intuition. We also got Martin Freeman as the most weaselly, hateful little antihero ever, and Billy Bob Thornton as a force of pure chaotic evil. The connections to the source material are there, through both the characters and the ice cold atmosphere, but Fargo the television show is its own delightful thing, humorous and dark and a joy to watch.
2. Broad City. I love a show about female friendships and this one is kind of the best ever. Co-creators and stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer play versions of themselves in this Amy Poehler-produced show based on their existing web series. The premise is simple enough - Abbi and Ilana are two 20-something New Yorkers and best friends working shitty jobs, making questionable life choices and getting into all kinds of pathetic, gross misadventures. No matter what else is going on in their lives, their friendship is the core of the series, and it’s a beautiful thing. As they suffer through a range of indignities, from disgusting roommates to the difficulties of transporting weed across the city, they always support each other. At its surface I know this sounds like a show that only other 20-something women will enjoy, and I may be biased as a 20-something woman, but I swear, it’s the funniest thing on television and anyone who likes things that are awesome and hilarious should get on board with this show.
1. Transparent. OK, this one, I admit, may not have such broad (heh) appeal, but when I think back on the many shows I watched in 2014, Transparent is the one that really stands out. Starring Jeffrey Tambour as the patriarch of a dysfunctional, broken family, the show follows his journey as, after years of hiding, he comes out to his grown children as Maura, a transgender woman. It’s also about the many issues of his children, played by Gaby Hoffman, Jay Duplass and Amy Landecker, each of whom suffer from some version of arrested development. This family is a mess, their lives are in shambles, but the show examines subjects like gender identity in a way that’s funny, enlightening and painful, sometimes all at once. Transparent is at times a difficult and sad show, but it’s tempered with emotional resonance that makes it worthwhile and, in my opinion, the best show of 2014.
gummygunk
jimmyeatworldofficial
blakekathryn
pixelskylines