‘Into the Badlands’: All the TV shows you’re not watching – but should be
Look, we get it – you’re a busy person with a stacked schedule and you already have enough TV shows in your life to catch up on and waste time with. But we also know you’re probably always on the lookout for a new TV discovery to be obsessed with.
There are a lot of shows currently airing or available to stream not currently receiving the volumes of love they quite rightfully deserve and we think that’s a crime. All of these shows deserved to be discovered by more people, but sadly they seem to continue to go under the radar. Here are some TV shows you’re probably not watching right now but probably should be.
Claws
The dark, witty female-driven dramedy Claws got renewed for a fourth & final seasons in October 2019, and if you’re not already an avid viewer you really need to be. Boasting a bodacious cast of fierce & funny women including Niecy Nash (Guess Who), Carrie Preston (True Blood), Judy Reyes (Scrubs), and Karrueche Tran (The Bay), the show is warm, tenacious, and fabulous as f***.
Brockmire
Anyone who has kept up with the fourth season of IFC’s dark comedy Brockmire will likely agree that it’s one of the most subversive yet heartfelt comedies about being a fuck up ever seen on screen. Starring Hank Azaria (Mystery Men) as said fuck up – a self-proclaimed “emotionally manipulative narcissist” with an alcohol addiction – Brockmire is full of humanity while serving up some of the most savage humor on television.
Queen Sugar
Come on people! Do you need a written invitation to be obsessed with this show already? Ava DuVernay’s (A Wrinkle In Time) emotional drama is in the middle of its fifth season right now and is just as gripping and devastating as ever.
The Affair
Showtime’s sexy drama The Affair is gloriously trashy, but thanks to some spectacular writing and standout performances the series also manages to be full of prestige, too.
Examining the disintegration of a complex set of relationships from the different viewpoints of the characters involved, The Affair offers a shrewd take on the nature of truth, memory, and perspective alongside some bold statements about gender politics. Ruth Wilson (Locke), Dominic West (The Wire), Maura Tierney (Insomnia), and Joshua Jackson (Fringe) all pull career-best performances in the show which had its fifth & final season conclude in 2019.
Freakish
The Hulu Originals teen show Freakish is like a soapy hybrid love child of The Walking Dead and Lord of the Flies. Fans of lightweight horror and trashy thrillers will go apeshit for this show – no matter how young or old they may be.
Into the Badlands
AMC’s visually arresting martial arts series is rollicking good fun with truly batsh!t fight scenes featuring some of the choreography ever seen on TV. The series was sadly canceled after three seasons but if you’re a lover of great action and blood-soaked stories then you need to get with the program and bingewatch the hell out of this Daniel Wu (Warcraft) and Emily Beecham (Dephne) starring series.
Terrace House
At this point, you’re hopefully sick of us recommending this show all the time and quite frankly, we’re proud to recommend it endlessly. Terrace House offers a glimpse at what a genuinely good reality show could and should look like and is one of the most addictive TV shows currently available to stream on Netflix.
The Japanese series has far more depth & intrigue than its genre may suggest and is brimming with wit & wisdom. The latest season of Terrace House, Tokyo 2019-2020, started airing in April 2020, but was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the show did resume airing, the season was cancel shortly afterwards due to the tragic suicide of cast member Hana Kimura on May 27th, 2020.
Runaways
Starring up-and-coming actors like Gregg Sulkin (Faking It), Lyrica Okano (Moca), and Virginia Gardner (Lab Rats), this Marvel young adult series is a little smarter and darker than it may appear. It’s full of self awareness and compelling plotting that make the Hulu Originals show worthy of a binge watch.
Counterpart
As a general rule we’re inclined to trust that most things starring J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) will be pretty terrific and the strange sci-fi Starz series Counterpart is exactly that. Following a character facing some heavy existential dilemmas as he discovers a gateway to an alternate dimension and is forced to literally face his identity, the show is fresh, unique, and completely gripping. Season 2 aired its final episode on February 17th, 2019, but don’t let that put you off in this magnificent streaming age we live in.
