Here’s the back half of my list of 10 awards contenders you need to move to the top of your watch list.
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With a week to go until the Emmy nominations are announced next Tuesday, time is of the essence to catch-up on the not-so-obvious shows that are bucking for Academy recognition. So, here you go: the final five of my top 10 shows to binge before you finalize your at-home ballot picks, each touting central performances that aren’t to be missed.
Catastrophe (Amazon Prime Video)
It’s very possible that this little show-that-could—essentially a bouquet of bon mots about the funny and touching realities of an unlikely marriage between a Boston guy and London school teacher after a one-night stand gets real real—flies too low under the radar to register with voters in the wake of fellow Brit hit Fleabag (rightfully) taking up so much space in the buzz-o-verse. But the unique tale that co-stars/creators/writers Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney cooked up over four seasons culminated in a final stretch of six lovely episodes that rounded out a bittersweet rollercoaster ride of a story that deserves notice.
Schitt’s Creek (Pop TV)
In it’s fifth season, the water cooler chatter around this Canadian comedy from Eugene and Daniel Levy hit epic new proportions, breaking through the pop culture noise to become one of those rare, late-in-its-life word-of-mouth breakouts. And the timing of the high-profile attention couldn’t have been better: mixing guffaw-inducing humor with never-too-sweet sentimentality as its ensemble of priceless characters evolved and grew in new directions, this past season was by far the show’s best. If you somehow haven’t already caught it, add this dark horse Best Comedy Series contender to your list, if for no other reason than to see the ever-divine Catherine O’Hara serving over-the-top splendor opposite Daniel Levy’s to-die-for sweater collection.
Black Monday (Showtime)
There’s a lot to like about this Seth Rogen-produced ‘80s-set, greed-is-good Wall Street satire: the whiz-bang cast, the era-perfect costumes and consistently funny writing. But it’s the interesting way the show plays with time in its rewind-to-reveal narrative approach that builds mystery leading up to finding out who—and what—caused its namesake stock market crash in 1987 that will rope you in. Taking the essence of The Wolf of Wall Street and mixing it with an almost cartoonish quality, Don Cheadle’s central performance opposite the ever-sharp Regina Hall and Andrew Rannells (plus a hilarious supporting turn from Casey Wilson) is reason enough to watch.
Wanderlust (Netflix)
This well-reviewed British treasure from esteemed playwright Nick Payne didn’t break big in the States, but the hour-long dramatic comedy about a couple at a crossroads questioning what happiness is, their tight-knit family dynamic and the origins of why they’ve all arrived at the place they are in the aftermath of a life-changing accident is utterly excellent. The cast of wonderful ‘I know them from somewhere’ actors is led by a truly superb Toni Collette, who has created a character so richly layered and nuanced that she runs deep in ways you would never anticipate until unexpected revelations hit you like a Mack truck. If nothing else, sample it and stick around for Episode Five—essentially a two-hander between Collette and the remarkable Sophie Okonedo as her therapist that, for my money, is one of the best written, directed and acted episodes of TV from the last year.
Yellowstone (Paramount Network)
No one does a modern day Western like actor-turned-writer Taylor Sheridan, who brings every inch of the quality of his Oscar-nominated film debut, Hell or High Water, to his stellar first TV series while raising the dramatic stakes considerably. Telling the sweeping story of a Montana rancher and his family’s fight to keep their land intact in the face of condo developers and fraying age-old connections of necessity with local Native Americans, the show is gorgeously cinematic in its visual scope and draws you in immediately with its intriguing, elevated soap opera storytelling. And if you had any doubt that Kevin Costner is still a force after a decades-long career, you can put it to rest: as the family patriarch reeling from loss and a threat to his very existence, he may very well be giving the most powerful and interesting performance of any actor on this year’s ballot.