As 2020 rattles on, slowly bringing more and more lousy news, people are starting to declare the year itself has been canceled. A popular Tik Tok showed a history teacher in the future telling his class now they’re done with 2019, they’ll move on to 2021. “What happened to 2020?” the student asks. “We don’t talk about 2020.”
Still, with all the madness swirling around us in 2020, one thing has been a shining glimmer of light: television. Binge-watching took on a new meaning as, across the world, people were confined to their house and found that their weekends, evenings, and even lunch breaks needed filling. There have been plenty of shows released this year to fill that void, and many have become major talking points like the bizarre nature of Tiger King or the collective thirst surrounding Normal People. However, with COVID regulations likely sticking around until 2021, there's still a lot of watching to be done. Here are a few of the best TV shows that most people probably haven’t watched yet.
The Plot Against America (HBO)
Based on Philip Roth’s novel of the same name, The Plot Against America follows the Levins, a Jewish family living in the suburbs of New York in 1940. The world is on the brink of war with Hitler and America is in the midst of a general election: Franklin D. Roosevelt vs Charles Lindbergh. The latter, an anti-Semite and Nazi sympathizer, wins over Roosevelt and the show follows a twisted alternate history in which America makes a deal with Nazi Germany to avoid entering the Second World War.
The main story follows the implantation of an ‘assimilation’ campaign to get Jews to "integrate" with “real” America by sending young boys and girls to work on farms in the Midwest. This worries Bess Levin (Zoe Kazan) as one of her sons becomes excited by the prospect which is helmed by her sister, Evelyn (Winona Ryder), a woman who is blind to the evils of Lindbergh.
Filled with complex family dynamics the show is profoundly unsettling and, unfortunately, relevant. Still, it is a fascinating show filled with great performances by the likes of Ryder and Kazan, as well as Anthony Boyle (Tolkien) as Alvin, a young Jewish man dismayed at what his country is becoming. It’s a study on what can happen when the powers-that-be embolden racists to speak out, and how quickly a country can turn in on itself.
High Fidelity (Hulu)
Please, a moment of silence for High Fidelity, a show gone before its time. In this gender-swapped adaption of Nick Hornby’s book, record shop owner Rob (Zoe Kravitz, Big Little Lies) recalls her five most prominent and most depressing heartbreaks. Number one? Her recent ex, Mac (Kingsley Ben-Adir, The OA), with whom she thought she might spend the rest of her life. Gutted from the break-up, Rob tries to revisit all her major break-ups in the hopes she might find something that connects them which would mean her next, with Clyde (Jake Lacy, The Office), will not end the same way.
The show was, inexplicably, canceled in August after only one season (to a surprisingly large backlash online even from stars like Lena Waithe, Reese Witherspoon, and Tessa Thompson), but its sharp writing, a killer soundtrack, and a cast of brilliantly diverse characters is well worth catching up on. Whether the show might find another life elsewhere is yet to be seen. However, it appears unlikely, even after its star, Kravitz, criticized Hulu for canceling their only show starring a woman of color.
Alas, High Fidelity will join the ranks of Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, and My So-Called Life as a beloved cult-show gone too soon.
Run (HBO)
Created by Vicky Jones, part of the creative team behind mega-hit Fleabag, Run follows two thirty-somethings, Ruby (Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie) and Billy (Domhnall Gleeson, Black Mirror), as they abandon their lives at the drop of a hat (well, a text) to travel across America together. If by the time they reach their destination, they have chosen each other, they will both leave their old lives behind and be together. Their complicated history is brought to light as they jump onto a cross-country Amtrak and things become more complicated as they are implicated in a crime.
Part The Thirty Nine Steps and part When Harry Met Sally, Run benefits from two charismatic leads who bounce off each other with ease as well as super-fast pacing with plot twists at every turn. HBO chose not to renew the show in July (which, like High Fidelity, is maddening) however, as one season of television it did feel relatively complete and so is well worth a watch.
Awkwafina is Nora From Queens (Comedy Central/HBO MAX)
In 2018, Awkwafina burst onto the scene in a huge way. Her supporting role in the box office smash Crazy Rich Asians, and her inclusion amongst the all-female cast of Oceans 8 put the comedian and rapper on the map. She followed this up with a critically acclaimed and understated performance in The Farewell in 2019, and it seemed like there was nothing Awkwafina couldn’t do.
In her semi-autobiographical show, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens; she reveals that something she had trouble with was growing up. Starring as a fictionalized version of herself, Awkwafina is a 20-something, still living at home, who strives for a “larger than life existence”. She appears alongside BD Wong (Jurassic World) as her father and Lori Tan Chinn (Orange Is the New Black) as her grandmother. It also includes memorable guest stars such as Bowen Yang (SNL), Harry Shum Jr. (Glee), Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black), and everyone’s favorite gruff-voiced New Yorker Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll).
The show's wacky comedy stylings and stoner attitude make it a perfect replacement for fans of Broad City (which aired its fifth and final season last year). It also showcases Awkwafina’s range as she’s able to switch between wild and restrained brilliantly. Already greenlit for a second season, unlike a few others on this list, there’s potentially a lot more to come!
Noughts and Crosses (Peacock)
This adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s acclaimed young adult novel in which the black “crosses” rule over the white “noughts”. This alternate version of London, 700 years after the formation of the African Empire, is a place filled with prejudice and mistrust. The story follows two star-crossed lovers, a Naught, Callum (Jack Rowan, Peaky Blinders) and, a Cross, Persephone (Masali Baduza, in her first major role), as they try to navigate their complicated relationship.
The show, which raises issues of oppression and racism within its concept, also addresses issues of class, politics, and culture whilst remaining gripping and entertaining.
The Capture (Peacock)
Over the past few years, the idea of the “deepfake” has permeated the internet. It has become possible to create accurate renderings of people without their consent that can be animated to do things the real person never would. This is the central point of The Capture as a young soldier, Shaun (Callum Turner, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald), is supposedly caught on CCTV committing a horrible crime.
Sure of his innocence, Shaun goes on the run – trying to avoid all the surveillance cameras modern-day Britain has to offer – and a detective, Rachel Carey (Holliday Grainger, Strike), begins to question the validity of the footage while uncovering a much larger conspiracy. Over six episodes, both Rachel and Shaun question who they can trust, and their own sanity as it believed that these images, recorded by CCTV, cannot lie.
For fans of Netflix’s Bodyguard, The Capture is a must-see with its twist and turns as well as its gritty, and sometimes violent, realism.
Alex Rider (IMDB TV)
After 2006’s Stormbreaker failed to launch a major franchise based on the series of books by Anthony Horowitz, it was assumed that was the end of the teenage spy’s life on screen. However, in 2020, Amazon swooped in and created a TV show which follows the titular young teen as he is recruited to MI6 after the death of his uncle.
Skipping the action of Stormbreaker (the first novel in the series) the show focuses on the second novel, Point Blanc, which sees Alex Rider (Otto Farrant, War & Peace) infiltrate a controversial corrective academy for wealthy children who’ve gone off the rails. Featuring exciting set pieces, a gripping mystery, and an array of British talent including Farrant, Vicky McClure (Line of Duty), and Stephen Dillane (The Crown) this show about espionage and danger is one that all ages can enjoy.
Never Have I Ever (Netflix)
2020 has been, admittedly, quite dark, however in this sitcom, partially based on creator Mindy Kaling’s (The Office) life is a bright light. Never Have I Ever follows Devi (newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and her friends at high school in California as they deal with popularity, first love, and the prospect of sex. Told with the sardonic wit that Kaling has become known for with her show The Mindy Project, the show engages with the experiences of a young brown Hindu girl in a way no American show has done before. It also delves into sexuality, insecurity, religion, and grief whilst remaining laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Sure, outside of Ramakrishnan, most of the actors are twenty-somethings playing high school kids but the casting department must have worked super hard because, unlike shows like One Tree Hill or The OC, these people actually look like teenagers.
The show’s second season is expected in 2021, so there is plenty of time to catch up before it comes back. Also the show, for reasons that become clear, is narrated by the great tennis player John McEnroe which adds an extra cool level to this well-thought-out teen comedy.
Feel Good (Netflix)
Canadian comedian Mae Martin both writes and stars in this semi-autobiographical comedy about a recovering addict falling in love with a closeted school teacher. Set in contemporary London, Mae is trying to navigate her recovery. She’s attending meetings and doing stand-up gigs, even if she is routinely triggered by her fellow comedians snorting lines. Then she meets George, a middle-class woman who has never been with a girl before. As the two try to manage the tricky parts of their relationship, potential relapses, and the process of coming out, Feel Good offers a warm and funny look at modern-day romance. It also features Lisa Kudrow (Friends) in a scene-stealing recurring role as Mae’s emotionally distant mother.
I May Destroy You (HBO)
Hailed as the best show of 2020, I May Destroy You was a massive hit when it aired in the UK earlier this year. It follows Arabella (Michaela Coel), a semi-successful writer living in London working on her second book. One night, as she pulls an all-nighter to finish her first draft, she takes a break to meet some friends in a local bar. The next morning she wakes up with no memory of what happened to her, only occasional flashes of a man in a suit standing over her on a toilet stall.
Throughout 12 expertly written half-hour episodes, Arabella begins to piece together what happened to her and goes through the process of coming to terms with the fact she has been sexually assaulted. Created by Coel and based on her own experience, the show delves into the subject of consent from every angle, and its various characters both cross lines and draw their own.
The show is both wickedly funny and intensely emotional, with Coel emerging as one of the most critical voices in British television and giving a compelling lead performance. It’s also been widely hailed for its outlook on sex, race, and queerness within contemporary programming. The show is only one season, and it was conceived that way too, so it feels complete and builds to a resolution that will keep you gripped. It is a must-watch for fans of Fleabag or Russian Doll.