OK...we're there.

For years, I read that we were hitting Peak TV, a time when the quantity and quality of shows will start to drop.

We're there. It was a lot of fun up until...2022? There are still some good shows to watch, but it's not like the mid to late teens.

Marlin Fitzwater flatly called him an idiot after a short and uncomfortable interview.

The Pantheon

The best of the best. My Hall of Legends. Not in order:

• Six Feet Under. Perfect. Fascinating characters, especially the women.
• Halt and Catch Fire. "The computer isn't the thing, it's the thing that gets us to the thing." A thousand times yes. Lee Pace was masterful.
• Banshee. I didn't know how well lightning + metaphorical crack cocaine + artful TV could go together. A tremendous show.
• Mad Men. Sometimes slow, but so good most of the time.
• Da Ali G Show. Marlin Fitzwater flatly called him an idiot after a short and uncomfortable interview. Genius.
• The Wire. Brilliant in every way. Even Season 2, which I loved.
• Breaking Bad. I didn't know how well lightning + actual crystal meth + artful TV could go together. Oh, and I liked Skyler.
• The Leftovers. Season 2 was arguably the most perfect season of TV ever, climaxing at Episode 8, "International Assassin."
• The Office. (UK and USA). Nothing to say other than they were fantastic, hilarious shows.
• The Shield. What would Vic Mackey do? Turns out, anything. Addictive and just a little bit different.
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People. The BBC miniseries with Sir Alec Guinness as George Smiley. I loved the novels and I watch these series every couple of years. They're magnificent.
• Atlanta. I don't know which season was the best—they were all so good—but I have deep and sincere love for Season 3. This show is simply incredible. Funny, incisive, dreamy, occasionally weird. My favorite episodes feature Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry).
• Ozark. After every episode, I'm grateful for my normal life and relationships. I liked the season finale, too. Take that, internet!
• Black Mirror. When it's on, which is most of the time, it's brilliant, sad, and scary.
• Better Call Saul. Better Call Breaking Bad: I liked the prequel even more. I really did.

Watching German fire trucks answering calls on YouTube. Jun 2019

Unless they pull a House of Cards, Game of Thrones, or Penny Dreadful, (ie, complete derailment), these shows may enter the Hall of Legends when they're over or when I finish them:

• Billions. Dick-swinging is usually boring. Not here. (Season 6 is a real drop-off)
• Engrenages (Spiral). In France, both cops and criminals love this show. It was so hard to find, I don't know what's going on. I mean I just stopped watching after Season 4, I think.
• Fleabag. Just enough neurosis. She's a riot. She only wanted to do two seasons?!? Not enough!
• Curb Your Enthusiasm. Anger at the little things, plus Susie and Leon. My kind of show.
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Pure fucked-up brilliance.
• Le bureau des légendes (The Bureau). French spies! Travel! Wrecked relationships! This might be the show most perfectly suited for me, specifically, ever. Phenomenal. And the lead character's name is fun to say: Malotru. But, like Spiral, it's hard to find. 😡
• Barry. The only problem with S2 E5, "ronny/lily," was the dearth of Noho Hank. Other than that, I could watch the episode every week or so. I enjoyed the last season a lot. I just didn't love it, and I can't quite explain why.
• Archer. A few weak seasons, but the hardest I have ever laughed in my life has been when they caught me by surprise with a good line. Still true...but I stopped caring. Maybe it was all the new settings...?
• Mirzapur. An excellent series about gangsters in northern India. Pankaj Tripathi is magnificent.
• The Bear. I will never open a restaurant, ever! But it's fun to watch the mayhem.

After every episode, I'm grateful for my normal life and relationships.

Saving

Shows I'm looking forward to watching someday soon:

• The Handmaid's Tale
• BoJack Horseman Watched three episodes. Funny, not hilarious. Meh.
• The Chi Season 3 was unwatchable
• Mr Robot
• The Good Place I started this in June of 2021 and was on the fence, but then S1 E9, ...Someone Like Me As a Member (where they bargain to bring Eleanor to the Bad Place), was so embarrassingly terrible that I stopped watching the series.

Francis watching Bob the Builder. May 2019

Lunch at the Arcade, Cleveland, OH. Not TV, I just like the picture. Dec 2019

Overrated

These shows are good, even very good, I just don't think they're awe-inspiring—and I'm in the minority:

• The Crown. Honestly, not much happens, but they make it look fascinating.
• Russian Doll. Good show, but I liked Run Lola, Run better.
• Altered Carbon. Interesting idea. I loved parts of the show, but it had a gimmicky feel.

Ended too soon

This list is about bad numbers or dumb network executives or, in the last case, simple tragedy:

• Deadwood. Stopped right in the middle of the arc. The movie didn't make things better.
• Marco Polo. I loved this show. Did someone get greedy? What happened?
• Watchmen. WTF? You're just going to stop?
• Au service de la France. This show was hilarious if you know how France and the French were in the 50s and 60s. Actually, through the 90s. Actually...maybe still?
• Patriot. It's criminal that this brilliant show never saw Season 3. Criminal.
• Parts Unknown. Sometimes, I think of Bourdain and I cry. His death was deeply personal for me. Funny thing is, I hadn't watched a single show of his until after he died. (It's a long, complicated story.)