I'm always open to deeper thoughts. Even if they do absolutely nothing to sway me (I usually choose what I watch next at random from my watchlist), I love geeking out. I could go on about my favorite shows all day and frequently do.
Well, I'll take that as permission granted to geek out
Some expended thoughts on
BoJack Horseman...
Surely I've written/talked enough about this on this board and elsewhere in the past, but, who am I kidding, I can never say enough about this. What started in my eyes as yet another uninspired & raunchy adult animated comedy gradually grew into my favorite television series of all-time, somehow only getting better with each of its five seasons (and counting). I always contend my recommendation of this show with the warning that the beginning is the weakest part -- the first half of season one is comparatively unfunny and uninteresting in the shadow of what follows it, kind of just taking its rhythm and humor from shows that came before it. It's not that it's horrible by any means, and the early stuff is still incredibly important for contextualizing the characters and the world (a number of events prove to be surprisingly consequential later on), it's just not anything to write home about. Honestly, though, the natural improvement of the show is one of the things that makes it so remarkable, as you can watch as the show & its creators mature and grow from being another generic comedy to realizing itself as something that's never been done before.
When the show finally kicks it into high gear, it is absolutely masterful, becoming easily one of the most unique & singular things I've ever seen, regardless of medium. I have nothing but praise for it across-the-board -- the animation is gorgeous & oh-so-colorful, the world-building is staggering in the way it gradually carves-out a wholly unique and eccentric universe of its own, the comedy is confident, fresh, and wonderfully eccentric. The satire is constantly on-point ... of course the majority of it focusing on the entertainment industry, given its subject matter, which has me convinced that any film fan would love this, focusing on a variety of facets & often in the form of a season-long arc, i.e. making fun of studio melodramas in season 2, of the awards circuit in season 3, of "prestige drama TV" in season 5, etc., as well as constantly poking holes in the Hollywood culture and lifestyle, even featuring a number of guest stars who voice caricatured versions of themselves. But even beyond that, it often sets its sights on taking on political and social issues, and it usually does so with more originality, humor, and purpose than I've seen elsewhere. Though what's perhaps most remarkable is its unpromising and achingly true examination of mental illness -- of the well of depression we're left with when life isn't as satisfying as promised, of the way we cope with that from alcoholism and addiction to irreverent sexuality, of the trauma left by troublesome upbringing and complicated past, etc. The honest way it deals with all of this makes the show often downbeat, but never at the sake of its darkly-comic edge, and the drama always lands with the utmost emotional poignancy. It may be a cartoon about talking animals who live among humans, but it takes a deeper look at the human condition than anything else out there today. It's smart and aware like few others, but it also thrives so well with its characters: the main cast are improbably all consistently likable & genuinely relatable, and their humanism and charm makes it all the more frustrating as we witness their mistakes and flaws. Like any great show, it's not just easy to love these characters, but it's also impossible to not have to reconcile their morality.
So, yeah, consider your priority swayed!
...As for the others:
The Leftovers is perhaps my favorite of the recent "highbrow" dramatic television series, if only for the simple fact that it's not afraid to not take itself too seriously. It's another one that gets off to a rocky start with a less-than-great first season that nonetheless has a few incredible episodes. But the second and third seasons are really something special, as it becomes one of the most ambitious and creative things to ever hit television, managing to be experimental, oddball, and deeply poignant all at the same time. The cast is aces with Carrie Coon giving an all-timer tour de force performance, and Richter's score is iconic.
The Americans may very well be my favorite product of "anti-hero TV." And that may be because it blurs its morality better than the lot of them -- while the likes of Walter White and Don Draper are unquestionably bad people, it's always a question mark with Philip and Elizabeth Jennings. They sure do a hell of a lot of bad shit, but it never feels right to classify them as evil. The morality is incredibly murky, in a very authentic way that's super easy to be invested in, and Rhys and Russell both turn-in some legendary performances. It's a hell of a show that thrives in its potent period atmosphere and the delectable complexity of its characters.
Parks and Rec is something of a very different nature, but it's the top-tier of modern sitcoms as far as I'm concerned, which makes it essential television viewing. As I've said on here before, I've always felt it deserves the praise that
The Office gets instead. Again, it's yet another show that gets off to a shaky start (I guess that's a thing with me...), but it starts growing into its own by the second season, and once it does it's truly something special. The characters, who can seem caricatures on-paper but are anything but on-screen, are some of the most endearing out there, immensely likable but never at the sake of their believability. This one is definitely more traditional than the others I've mentioned ... but as far as traditional stuff goes, it doesn't get better than this.
With regards to some of the other stuff you've already mentioned, well, you definitely have a lot of the essentials covered.
The Wire and
The Sopranos are perhaps the two most remarkably well-written series of all-time, and I used to consider the former my favorite series of all-time, and while I do still hold it in extremely high-regard now, I've sort of lost passion for that brand of television. It may have to do with the fact that it's been awhile since I've watched them, and my recommendations prove that I have bias towards stuff that I've seen more recently. So, yeah, they're certainly essential viewing, but they've been praised so much already that they don't incite anything new to me.
Mad Men sort of falls into that same niche, though like
The Wire I still consider it a long-standing personal favorite --
Mad Men is one that I know doesn't work for A LOT of people, but I love it. And then there's
Twin Peaks, which, gun to my head, is my favorite dramatic series. The first two network TV seasons sure have their problems and I kinda doubt if you'd like them, but the uniqueness of the characters & the setting still endear the early stuff to me. Regardless of how you feel about it, it's worth sticking it all out for
The Return, which I'm sure many on this board will agree is the greatest achievement in the history of television -- or, at least, the most ambitious & ballsy one. It's genuinely surprising that some of it was even allowed to air; but that's what makes it such a triumphant, one-of-a-kind epic. Now
that's what I call essential viewing.
Stranger Things is great stuff, another one that puts-off a ton of people, but I love the shit out of it and think it's a blast. Glad that Viced mentioned
Freaks and Geeks, I'll enthusiastically endorse that one as well ... ditto
Six Feet Under.
Some other stuff I'd recommend: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (bad oversight on my part not mentioning this before), Atlanta, The Shield, Boardwalk Empire
Really, I'm not sure how much of this, if any, you'll actually like. It's kind of hard to accommodate your taste specifically, because I find it always really hard to pinpoint (don't take that as an insult or a complement, because it's not meant as either, lol). Regardless, I hope that my ramblings prove to be at least partially useful to you!
Some expended thoughts on BoJack Horseman...
