With David writing for Slate and Andrew currently working in a literary agency, Critics in College has been a little quieter over the last few months. But this has been a great fall TV season, and so we wanted to share the five best new shows that we’re watching right now — and that you should be watching too.
ATLANTA
Perhaps the most important attribute of Donald Glover’s startling new FX series is its humor. While ambitious, auteur-driven half-hour series are all the rage these days, they tend to be so (intently) unfunny that SNL managed to recently produce an all-too-accurate parody of the genre. Atlanta, fortunately, is different, intermixing spellbinding photography and a sharp cultural critique with generous comedy that’s often aimed squarely at its audience. The most recent episode, “Juneteenth,” is a particularly excellent example: It effortlessly presents the diversity and complexity of modern black life while satirizing the white viewer’s response to it.
Glover, who wrote for 30 Rock and starred in Community, has been intrinsically tied to several of the last decade’s more notable comedies. But his singular achievement in Atlanta extends far beyond what he’s tried before; the episodic constructions, from the POV episode “Value” to the atmospheric “The Club,” tend to be polished and refined, even as the character dynamics within them continue to feel intensely authentic. And the performances are uniformly terrific. As Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles, Brian Tyree Henry is the standout, bringing an inviting melancholy to his low-level rapper character — but Glover’s deadpan, Zazie Beetz’s assuredness as Van, and Keith Stanfield’s scene-stealing work as Darius are all equally worthy of praise. It’s been a great fall for new series, but thus far, nothing’s topped Atlanta.
BETTER THINGS
We’ve been fans of Pamela Adlon for a long time, and her first major series vehicle has not disappointed. With the help of co-creator Louis C.K. Better Things has increasingly leaned into the experimental vignette structure of predecessor Louie, offering a freewheeling, gently cinematic look at motherhood and middle-age. Adlon, always effortlessly comic, is surprisingly tremendous in the series’ more dramatic moments, intimately connecting with her character Sam’s exasperation at raising three challenging (but rewarding) daughters.
Better Things is always good, and its Hollywood satire — though mostly familiar — hits a few fresh notes, stripping the industry of its mystique and treating acting like a job of traditional highs and lows. But the show is at its best when focused on family and friends; this is a show as comfortable in conversation and in argument as I’ve seen. Adlon and C.K. can be sexy, they can be poignant, they can be raunchy — but no matter who’s in the scene, Better Things is great because it always feels real.
FLEABAG
This bite-sized Amazon-Channel 4 co-production flew under-the-radar this fall, which is too bad. Fleabag is easily the most audacious new series I’ve seen this year, and among the more surprising and powerful pieces of art I’ve encountered in awhile. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, writer and actress, proves to be a revelation of a darkly comic feminist bent, slowly peeling the layers of a story and character defined by a knowing sense of humor, shrouded in mystery, and ultimately marked by tragedy.
Adapted from Waller-Bridge’s stage play, Fleabag brings theatrical conventions to the episodic medium brilliantly: her asides to the camera create an uncommon relationship with the audience, an intimacy that ingeniously plays into the series’ bleak final chapter. In mastery of performance, Waller-Bridge is matched by Sian Clifford, who plays her buttoned-up sister and foil. Indeed, while Fleabag will probably go down most notably for its smart, intricate approach to sex, this is also as innovative and unpredictable a study of relationships as you’re likely to see.
PITCH
Pitch, the new Fox drama about a female baseball player making it to the majors, is not without flaws. But the show deserves utmost credit for spinning a potentially hacky premise into something genuinely inspiring, a lush melodrama complete with strong characters, quality production values and great direction. This is probably the best new network series of the fall, not because it takes any ambitious steps in its approach or execution, but because it gets the fundamentals just right.
Much of this is because of Paris Barclay, the series’ producing director and a veteran of the business if there ever was one. His Pitch pilot is among the best-directed network pilots in recent memory, unifying a soulful R&B score with an assured sense of pace, and rightly leaning on Kylie Bunbury’s exceptional lead performance. Barclay’s style has fed into subsequent episodes, particularly in actress Regina King’s helming of “The Break,” the series’ fourth installment. It makes for an incredibly pleasant, involving watch. Not much is novel about Pitch beyond its selling point. But this is a great example of what networks should be investing in.
QUEEN SUGAR
Filmmakers moving to TV have a mixed track record — and the news that Ava DuVernay, of Selma fame, would be showrunning an ambitious 13-episode family drama was thus both exciting and terrifying for fans. Could she pull it off? Eight episodes into the first season of the OWN series, and the answer is a rousing “yes.”
Queen Sugar is among the best-looking things on TV, with DuVernay and her assembled collection of female directors gorgeously realizing its rural Louisiana setting. It’s also shaping into the best, most thrillingly modern family drama since Six Feet Under, investing in the joy and the sorrow of relatives coming together and trying to build a life as one. Rutina Wesley, Dawn Lyen-Gardner and Kofi Siriboe are magnificent as the adult Bordelon siblings, their finicky personalities, deep reserves of emotion and commitment to painfully honest interaction translating into a bracing exploration of love, resentment and everything in-between. But Queen Sugar is more than good domestic drama. It’s a political statement, seamlessly weaving feminist and Black Lives Matter perspectives into its rich emotional tapestry. It sings every week, with stunning cinematography and an expertly compiled soundtrack only enhancing the compelling journey of one family’s reunion and life beyond tragedy.