Aniruddha Guha makes a list of his 10 favourite international TV shows of the year (And adds 10 more to it).
10. Game of Thrones: Season 5
When we look back at Game of Thrones in future, we’ll break the show down into what it was like before the events that transpired during Season 5, and what it became after. The last season had all that has made the show such a joyous experience for fans – leisurely-unfolding journeys, an action-filled climax, and unexpected deaths. The threat of White Walkers, much mulled-over in earlier seasons, finally became a reality, making the prospect of future seasons more exciting.
9. Daredevil: Season 1
Marvel’s Jessica Jones weaved serious themes like non-consensual sex, PTSD and alcoholism in the vigilante drama format, but Marvel’s Daredevil was a better-written, consistently-engaging TV show, which kept upping the ante with each episode. Creators of both shows steered clear of regular superhero tropes, treating them as dark psychological thrillers, which augurs well for The Defenders universe (which Marvel is building with Netflix in a manner similar to MCU’s Avengers films).
8. Bloodline: Season 1
One of the most underrated shows of the year, Bloodline turned the “family drama” genre on its head, by dipping into the deepest, darkest secrets of the Rayburns. A show about past mistakes, wayward siblings and selfish parents, Bloodline was relentless from the word go. Superbly etched-out characters were portrayed by a stunning set of actors, consisting of Sam Shepard, Sissy Spacek, Kyle Chandler and scene-stealer Ben Mendelsohn.
7. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst
The fact-stranger-than-fiction cliché came across strongly in this six-part HBO documentary, based on the life of Robert Durst, who is alleged to have murdered more than one person, but managed to escape imprisonment. The show chronicles Durst’s extraordinary life, with filmmaker Andrew Jarecki combining interviews (including that of Durst himself) with recordings of court proceedings, to create a compelling TV documentary that’s a procedural, a courtroom drama and a murder mystery, all rolled into one.
6. Mr Robot: Season 1
Rami Malek featured as a clinically depressed hacker in this show that dealt with themes like corporate greed, pitfalls of technology in the modern world, and how increasingly difficult it is becoming to form real bonds in the social media generation. The show played out like a Nolan movie (which is difficult to sustain over an entire season), and in spite of some pitfalls, it gave us enough characters to make us root for a second run.
5. Mad Men: Season 7
It was always going to be a difficult show to put to rest, but Matthew Weiner & Team ended one of this decade’s most influential, clutter-breaking TV series with a fantastic finale, bringing Don Draper closer to his inner self after an arduous spiritual struggle. In addition to finding appropriate ending points for all its major characters, the show said goodbye with the iconic “Buy the World a Coke” ad.
4. Better Call Saul: Season 1
There was never a doubt about the writing genius of Vince Gilligan, but the Breaking Bad creator (along with Peter Gould) showed that there’s a lot more of that universe left to explore, with Better Call Saul. Bob Odenkirk – an actor who’s been on the fringes for far too long – finally got to headline his own show, and returned as the greasy lawyer, yet to become the hotshot professional we saw in Breaking Bad. Along with Saul, good ol’ Mike (played by Jonathan Banks) returned too, and it would be fascinating to see how Gilligan and Gould take these characters ahead.
3. The Americans: Season 3
The Americans has consistently been the most riveting show on television, expertly walking the fine line between family drama and spy thriller. Set against the Cold War, the show focuses on two undercover Soviet agents who pose as a regular American couple, the conflict arising from bringing their kids up in a world which isn’t strictly their own. The series upped the ante in Season 3, ending with a marvellous cliff-hanger that doubly increased anticipation for its next season.
2. The Leftovers: Season 2
Few shows boomerang into absolute awesomeness after a good first season, and The Leftovers dominates that list. After adapting Tom Perrotta’s novel, about a rapture-like event where a fraction of the world’s population disappears, creator Damon Lindelof wrote a second season from scratch, taking Perrotta’s characters into unchartered territory, while also introducing new players. The freedom to explore a world beyond that of the book has benefitted the writing immensely, resulting in ten fabulous episodes (which can now be consumed along with the ten from Season 1, making it the ideal binge-watch).
1. Fargo: Season 2
Noah Hawley is among the writer/creators bringing about a storytelling revolution in television, and he has, two years in a row, delivered my favourite show in a calendar year. The spectacular Season 1 of Fargo aired in 2014, unfairly overshadowed by the hype and adulation that surrounded True Detective. In Season 2, Hawley further explores the universe first created by the Coen Brothers (and which Hawley is fast staking a larger claim over), and gives us a brand new tale, with a whole bunch of new characters. The show’s set in the late ’70s, and serves as a prequel, even though there is little connection between the two seasons. Masterfully plotted and superbly acted, Fargo plays out like a big screen drama, its ambition and scope far exceeding that of anything else on television at the moment.
And the Other 10
• Show Me A Hero
• Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Season 1
• Veep: Season 4
• Master of None: Season 1
• American Crime: Season 1
• Orange Is The New Black: Season 3
• The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 1
• Silicon Valley: Season 2
• Togetherness: Season 1
• The Affair: Season 2
(Aniruddha Guha is a film & TV critic. Follow him on Twitter: @AniGuha)
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