It's already over a week into September, and although it feels a bit late to be doing this, the month of August was one hell of a month in the realm of TV shows.
Its actually appalling, realizing I've made a lot of posts about movies and anime but never once about Tvshows even though I'm such a huge fan of them.
The right TV show can refresh your entire day, week or even month either with an episode or a binge released season. But finding them isn't so easy, at least not as easy as finding great movies, and I'm here to introduce you to a few of these hot new shows worth trying out.
There's a show for every mood, and the month of August has been one of the most impactful month this year in TV, delivering a good number of hit new shows and sequels alike.
Titans Season 3 kicked off the following week on HBO Max with the anticipated 'Red Hood' saga. Although it did leave a solid impact with its first three episodes with that unexpected cliffhanger, so far it's had the same cartoonish and ridiculous flow of events as the previous seasons, only being saved by its plausible production quality.
Finally, The Walking Dead returned with its 11th and Final Season, and although I'm not caught up with the show, I can say that the acceptance of this season from fans and critics so far has been pretty impressive.
Of course I'll be doing this in form of a countdown of 10 notable new shows, with a brief summary of the premise and a quick review of them in their currently released episodes.
So without wasting much time, here's a ranking of the newest shows of August titled;
10) NINE PERFECT STRANGERS
(Drama, Mystery)
This is pretty much the only thing on this list I can describe as a disappointment. Highly anticipated with its perfect ensemble cast lead by none other than Nicole Kidman, the show delivered nothing more than solid performances.
The setting is a pretty familiar one, a group of flawed individuals and couples finding themselves in an unorthodox secret island for self healing only to meet a lot of weird situations.
The Mini series wasted it's potential even with such a powerful cast with its forced character dynamics, straight up stupid dialogues and unintriguing mystery buildup.
(Drama, Crime)
Feels refreshing to finally get something listworthy from my home country, Nigeria. It's none other than the sequel to the famed Crime-Drama blockbuster, King of Boys (2018) by Kemi Adetiba, released as a New TV show airing on Netflix.
The show pretty much picked up where the movie left off, Sola Sobowale reprised her role as Eniola Salami, Crime Goddess who returned to Lagos after years of exile and decides to run for governor of the state despite the many criminal and political adversaries in her way.
I feel a TV show dedicated to this plot is a bit drawn out and would've been way better as a single sequel movie, and it's pretty much this low on the list despite being impressive and entertaining because of the many imperfections of Nigeria's growing cinema industry.
The movie and the TVshow are a big step forward for Nigeria, but still pale in comparison to glorious foreign productions in Cinema and TV.
(Drama, Horror)
The new horror Tvshow from Epix, Chapelwaite follows Captain Charles Boone whom after losing his wife at Sea, relocates with his family of three children to the small town of Preacher's Corners in Maine, only to encounter a lot of mysterious dark forces and mysteries in their ancestral home.
Although not on the level of modern Horrific Psychological Thriller TV hits like The Haunting of the Hill House and Evil, it does deliver a lot of well crafted horror aesthetics.
The show brings forth genuine moments of shock with its scares and naturally eerie environment, and though the story's drama doesn't do much, the conflicts that erupt from the family's ostracism enhance the experience of the show.
(Drama, Comedy)
Apple TV+ and A24's 'Mr Corman takes the 7th spot on this list.
The world of Dramedy TV has given us more than our fair share of stories centering flawed individuals, most times ironically named after the main character.
Mr Corman follows that path as it's centered on a grade school teacher bearing the same name who struggles with anxiety, loneliness and is gradually being hit by the reality that he pretty much just sucks as a person.
Although this might make it feel like a limp-dicked version of Fleabag or Atypical and could probably be accurately described that way, the show does have its unique charms.
It's drama or comedy may not be that assertive but it excels at creating genuinely awkward situations and great scenes with its colourful set designs and strong acting performances.
(Drama, Crime)
Once again, the most controversial show of the month is a Netflix production. With the vast difference between the ratings and reviews from critics and fans, it's certainly a show with likeability worth question, but on my end I can assure you that every good thing said about Click Bait by fans are actually accurate.
Click Bait is a thrilling whodunit show which centers on the abduction of family man, Nick Brewer by an anonymous group who uploaded a video of him seemingly confessing to female harassment, with the threat to kill him when the video hits 5 Million views. Of course such a groundbreaking event would cause a surge, the video goes viral, viewership rising swiftly in millions, and his family members and the police race desperately to find him and uncover the mysteries behind the abduction.
Needless to say, as to expect from such a show, it becomes so much more after a few episodes.
While basing on a concept that's not new at all to Movie and TV fans, This show adequately depicts the themes of the negative effects of social media and modern technology, and creates a gratifyingly amazing thriller experience with its intense buildup, climactic plot twists and dramatic expressions of the effected characters.
It's not perfect, but despite what the critics say, it's a show most fans of mystery-thrillers would enjoy and get captivated by from start to finish if watched with an open mind.
(Animation, Sci-fi)
The new animated anthology from the legendary Marvel Cinematic Universe probably needs no introduction as it's continued to make waves in popularity with its weekly releases.
It's stories are a reimagined exploration of pivotal moments in the MCU, creating alternate timelines and infinite possibilities of story progression from the already established ones.
This was pretty much the most anticipated TVshow of the entire month and not being higher up on the list is just a result of being overshadowed by more fantastic and meaningful new shows.
The visuals and production quality are stellar as anyone would expect from a Marvel Cinematic production.
When it comes to anthology, I think the most important thing is 'impact'. Telling distinct stories in each episodes only leaves a narrow room to make that impact and most anthologies actually do this pretty well. Whether it's Sci-fi anthology in Black Mirror or Love, Death and Robots or Horror anthology in Monsterland or The American Horror Stories ; these all have highly impactful and climactic episodes that'll leave fans morally and psychologically stunned by their compactness and complexity. I just felt the first few episodes of What If compared to these were just plainly fun and entertaining, at least until the recently released 4th episode, which was completely phenomenal, authentic and left that impact and jarring after-effect the previous episodes lacked. It wouldn't be a stretch to call it one of the best single episodes of the past month and if only the earlier episodes were as great, it may've even been at the top of this list. Seeing as how the episodes were gradually increasing in quality as it progressed before the explosion in Episode 4, I have high hopes for the upcoming episodes.
(Drama, Comedy)
A far less controversially amazing August 2021 show from Netflix I'd happily recommend is The Chair.
The Chair follows Dr Ji-Yoon Kim who becomes the first woman of colour to get the position of 'The Chair' of the English Department of the prestiged Pembroke University, now having to face the unlikely challenges, trials and tribulations of such a position in a failing department.
This show is a very enlightening and enjoyable show in its own right as it excellently exposes the inner working structure of an academia in a realistic and well crafted manner. From the academic perspective of classroom teachings to the political perspective of board room conflicts and leadership struggles to the dramatic perspective of the teachers' personal life problems to the social perspective of real world themes of racism and feminism, The Chair draws you into an enthralling comedic drama story that'll make people actually care about the educational system and its effects on society.
Sandra Oh gave a stunningly fantastic performance as expected, leading the other stunning performances of the main cast in giving well executed dramatic and empathic scenes. It feels a bit short but I certainly hope it gets renewed for another season.
(Mystery, Comedy)
While the first FX on Hulu show on this list, Nine Perfect Strangers is a hot trash, the most recent show on their roaster, Only Murders in the Building isn't anything short of completely stunning.
Being lead by a powerful main trio cast of the Legendary duo- Steve Martin and Martin Short, and famous music star- Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the building is a crime-comedy which follows three true crime enthusiasts; Charles, Oliver and Mabel, who suddenly get caught up on one. The death of Tim Kono fails at causing much of a stir at the Upper West Side Apartment building as it's quickly ruled out as a suicide and not given much of a second thought by his neighbors due to their shared displeasure with his attitude towards them while he lived. But It's personal for Mabel who knew the victim for years and the former strangers become a dynamic trio and starts a true crime podcast with determination to solve the mystery behind Tim's death.
This show might be the most instantly enjoyable and charming on this list. The fantastic performances by the main cast is all but expected, highlighted in the witty and insightful dialogues adding a tense effect to the sturdy plot progression.
Only Murders in the Building blends a well-written and naturally intriguing murder-mystery with a creatively executed comedy to give a truly wholesome experience, and a show that's easily lovable if only given a chance.
(Comedy, Drama)
Topping off one masterclass FX on Hulu Comedy with another, the released episodes of Reservation Dogs so far have been absolutely phenomenal.
A Dramedy telling a simple progressive story of four Native American teenagers in Eastern Oklahoma going through life as small-time delinquents.
The premise is that simple but the show has far more value than even the more complex more compact plots on this list.
The show accurately depicts Native American life in a Reservation in a manner that's not only completely relatable to people who fit this description but completely lovable to even those who don't.
It's a Drama-comedy, yet nothing's forced or too assertive. It's humor is low-key yet direct, creative and naturally hilarious, intelligently integrated in its nuanced dialogues. The Cinematography is just perfect, the atmosphere is naturally inviting, and this added to the high quality writing and astounding acting performances from the main cast, making every episode one hell of an experience.
There's a sort of controlled frenzy in the scenery of this show and when it switches up towards the dramatic, it gets really touching and emotionally resonant with its quality moments of character development.
It's equally fun, significant and wholesome, and exactly something to expect from Taika Waititi, who seems to have gone back to his roots with this show as it's similar in vibe to Boy , one of his greatest works.
Reservation dogs is one I see as a completely perfect show anyone would love, and in all its flawlessness, I could only think of one show last month that could top it.
(Drama, Sports)
It was really tough deciding the top show of August between this and Reservation Dogs; I mean, how do you choose between two perfect shows anyway?; But I think in terms of impact, no show on this list can come above the newest Starz Original Drama: Heels.
Starz seems to have been on what could only be described as a productive roll this year with more than enough hits this year alone. From the mind-bending American Gods Season 3 to the great wholesome dramedies; Run The World and Blindspotting , to the completely fantastic Crime-Drama blockbuster, Power Book III- Raising Kanan , and in the month of August they blessed the fanbase once again with Heels.
The idea of creating a dramatic narrative story with exposure to Wrestling Entertainment isn't new in the world of pop culture. In 2019, the biographical sports drama, 'Fighting With My Family' by Stephen Merchant did this perfectly in telling the story of professional wrestler, Paige.
While Heels may be purely fictional, it's uses the Wrestling background to tell a far deeper and more captivating drama story than the afformentioned movie.
It tells the story of two troubled brothers, Jack and Ace Spade whom after losing their father in a suicide are in constant struggle in continuing the failing family business of Wrestling at the DWL , establishing a sort of competition with eachother as to who'll be the scripted hero or 'Face' , and who'll be the bad guy or 'Heel'.
Of course it's a progressive drama story, so it becomes a lot more than that after the first episode, as it perfectly integrates family drama into the business and productive aspects of Wrestling Entertainment.
The production values of this show are just perfect, the phenomenal acting performances from the amazing cast being lead by former CW's Arrow star, Stephen Amell in what could be described as his absolute best performance yet.
The exposure runs far deeper than just showing the secrets behind the superstar performances we see on the Wrestling rings, but the entire business and organizational struggles and how it affects the lives of the characters.
Heels is one I see as a perfect show, every episode has been great so far and it's one I certainly recommend to anyone looking for a hard hitting drama.
Also anticipate the August 2021 Movie Ranking list I promised, waiting for the digital releases of Free Guy and Candyman before I could finish writing it up.
Until Next Time Guys!
Amazing write up
ReplyDeleteDope list bro... I will check reservation dogs and only murderers in the building
ReplyDeleteWhere will I find time to watch all these, engineering sef eh
ReplyDelete