Watchlist Roundup 2020 - TV Shows

Watchlist

This year was - out of the many different ways to describe this year - definitely the year of the streaming. We were stuck in wildly different situations and most of us were lucky enough to have this medium of escape. A significant part of what we ended up streaming were TV Shows / Web Series.

This is the list of the best shows that I discovered this year - some new, some long overdue in my watchlist and others that had a new season this year. So, in no particular order:

The Wire (2002 - 2008)

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

There was a lot of hype around this show. It was in my watchlist for a very long time. I started it multiple times throughout these past years, but I couldn’t get past episode 1. There was always something else a little more captivating to watch. This year, I decided to just patiently sit through it. And somewhere between episodes 4 and 6 of the first season, I was hooked. The same things that stopped me from watching it, became the main selling points.

Don’t let the name fool you. This is not your regular cop show or a very simple cops vs drugs plot. This show is about a city, the people and the institutions that run it and how everything is connected. The wire is slow, it’s amazingly detailed, has great performances and most importantly tells a story that is still relevant, in a very real way. There is a lot to write about this, but maybe some other time.

Paava Kadhaigal (2020)

Streaming on Netflix

India is a newcomer to the web series space. While there were a decent number of shows in Hindi, southern industries have just started exploring this format. While not exactly a series, this Tamil Anthology explores the practice of honour killing, carried out in the name of caste, religion or gender, across Tamil Nadu.

It is refreshing to see big name directors work without the fear of the box office and tell stories that would be considered a hard sell in the conventional formats. While all shorts are good, the best is easily Oor Iravu by Vettri Maran. I don’t know whether it was the production format or the story but this short felt more composed and focused compared to his mainstream outings.

Better Caul Saul (2015 - 2021)

Streaming on Netflix

If you thought this was just a random Breaking Bad prequel/spinoff, you would be very wrong. Prequels/spinoffs don’t always work, but when they do, it should be like this. While on the surface, it might look like there is a lot of Breaking Bad influence, this show stands on it’s own and tells a great story that consistently keeps getting better season after season. This show hooks you right from the beginning, by portraying characters that you thought you knew in completely new dimensions and introduces new characters that you care about.

The fact that you know the eventual fates of some of these characters from the original really makes you want to keep going. The characters are, in most cases, nothing like the original and you slowly see the transition happen in believable, emotional and sometimes dark ways. You also start to wonder, whatever happens to these other likeable new characters and why we never hear about them in the original. All the Breaking Bad easter eggs are another plus. With one final season left, Better Call Saul is the show I am most excited about.

The Queen’s Gambit (2020)

Streaming on Netflix

This, totally deserving breakout hit of 2020, is a limited series that follows the life of a young female chess prodigy, as she navigates the chess world of the 50s and 60s. There is a lot to love about this show. Other than the brilliant performances and period design, there were two things that stood out to me storywise: the way it beautifully captures the various emotions surrounding the game of chess and the underdog/superhero template of the narration. Chess was never this exciting to watch!

Succession (2018 - )

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

What if Game of Thrones happened in Present day New York City in the Media Industry? The show can kind of be described as Game of Thrones meets Arrested Development meets Billions. The show follows the Roy Family as questions arise on who will be the next CEO of their global media empire. The show is categorised as a “sattire-comedy” but the show has many smart twists and things do get dark at times.

The Good Place (2016 - 2020)

Streaming on Netflix

The premise of this show - Once you die, you are either sent to “The Good Place” or “The Bad Place” based on your life - might look simple. At the heart of this comedy lie many philosophical and ethical questions about life & choices. It handles them in very entertaining, and at times emotional, ways. The show packs in a ton of twists and also is very optimistic about human nature. It really believes that no one is a lost cause and everyone can change.

Dark (2017 - 2020)

Streaming on Netflix

What on the surface looks like a Stranger Things ripoff, is a highly complicated/convoluted and entertaining show about the entangled lifes of 4 families living in a mysterious town. The show explores several philosophical questions about time and deals with the implications of time-travel. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and as the show progresses their actions across time cause a lot of ripple effects. But with a limited run of three seasons, the show answers almost all the questions it raised and brings everything to a satisfying conclusion!

Westworld (2016 - )

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

Based on the movie of the same name, this show is about a futuristic theme park filled with Android robot “hosts” where human “guests” can do whatever they want to without consequences. This description doesn’t do any justice to this show that handles themes ranging from God vs Man to ethics of AI to human’s innate addiction to violence to philosophical themes such as bicameralism and the concept of reality itself. The show has brilliant music and set design. The show spins a lot of mysteries and has a complex narrative structure that pays off the most attentive audience!

The Mandalorian (2019 - )

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

For Star Wars fans, this show is a delight. For others, like me, who knew of the mythology of Star Wars only from the movies, this show is a welcome surprise! If you thought Star Wars was only about the Jedi, watch this show. The show follows a Bounty Hunter through the galaxy as he tries to find his latest bounty.

What makes The Mandalorian work is how it takes familiar narrative tropes from the Western Genre and puts them in the Star Wars Universe so that even if you have no idea about this Universe you still enjoy it. But this show will eventually make you want to learn more about the Star Wars universe, its lore and the multitude of characters that populate them. This is the Way forward for this franchise!

The Umbrella Academy (2019 - )

Streaming on Netflix

A dysfunctional family of Superheros. An impending Apocalypse. A mysterious death. A talking monkey. Time Travel. Do I need to say more? This show is a beautiful blend of some of my favorite genres & tropes and is wildly entertaining. There is a lot to love about this show and it just keeps getting better!

Elite (2018 - 2020)

Streaming on Netflix

This is the show that I didn’t know I needed. This teenage high school drama set in a school for the rich is also a binge-worthy whodunnit. The story has a lot of clichés associated with teen dramas, but the show always finds a way to portray them interestingly. It also explores various other contemporary issues, which are sometimes complex in nature, in a good way.

Although renewed for newer seasons, the first three seasons, with 24 episodes in total, wrap up all the major plots and brings the series to a satisfying conclusion. So, if you want your daily dose of drama (the thriller and trash TV kind) with a lot of twists and don’t want to thing too much about what’s happening, this is the show for you!

Upload (2020)

Streaming on Amazon Prime

The core premise of this show relies on this question - What if you could continue to live after death, by uploading your consciousness into a Virtual Reality Afterlife? But unlike The Wire, this is not a serious drama. This show is quirky, fun and shows a very plausible future based on the tech that we currently have. And on top of it all, there is a murder mystery that requires cooperation from people in the real and virtual worlds.

The show does have a few shortcomings and at times it leaves you with a feeling of “that concept had a lot more potential”. But it is largely entertaining and I am eagerly waiting for the next season!

Queen (2019)

Streaming on MX Player

Queen is loosely based on the life of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa. But this is not a documentary. The main character is called Shakthi Seshadri. The show tracks her life from her childhood days, to her cinema and then her political entry. The show is a dramatized narrative that is staged as a reflective look back over her life through the course of an interview. The show does play it safe but this is an engaging underdog story that is worth a watch.

Delhi Crime (2019)

Streaming on Netflix

Based on the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi Gang Rape case, this true crime series follows the police as they try to track down the culprits. This show is focused on the investigation and resolution of the case and spans 5 days. This detailed look at how a tightly funded police department with a limited task force managed to complete the case is definitely engaging and totally not what you thought would have happened.

The Loudest Voice (2017)

Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar

This limited series follows the life of Roger Ailes, from the inception of Fox News till his death. The show tracks the evolution of the channel across 3 elections and establishes the power of the media. The show covers how the focus of news channel shifts through time, in how it determines what is “news-worthy” and how they can control the public perception on events. It also deals with other aspects of his life including his eventual demise.

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