Severance is the ultimate example of this. It is very inspired, however, thanks to Ben Stiller at its creative helm.
It’s the only reason I signed up to Apple TV+. I looked for other shows on there, but cancelled not long after.
And I’m massively underselling it :)
In a different vein. Ted Lasso and The Morning Show.
Couldn't get into Foundation though. Not terrible but meh. May try again at some point.
The first episode of Severance is quite slow with regards to plot but still visually compelling. The cinematography, music and character building stay consistently excellent throughout the series but the drama and tension increasingly ramp up so much that my wife and I were on the edge of our seats for the last few episodes. It was so good that I intend to re-watch Season One before watching Season Two (I’m guessing that there will be follow-up) comes out.
My wife and I both really enjoyed the first two seasons of For All Mankind. She generally dislikes science fiction and anything to do with space but was soon won over by the human element and the great characters. However, we both felt that the quality of the show (particularly the writing) fell hard with the third season.
We both also thought that Shining Girls was an excellent mini-series and have Slow Horses lined up to watch next.
S02E04 that came out today (Friday) had me uttering "He's so fucking good" out loud, despite being alone in the apartment. About Gary Oldman, that is. The way he hates absolutely everyone and cares about nothing, while showing that he deeply cares about his employees/Joes and justice. It's all there in the writing too, of course. There's just something about the way Gary Oldman portrays it that gives it an extra layer of authenticity. The man can act.
On a more serious note, I'm open to the idea it could be great. I hate HBO and their business model, but I'll be damned if they didn't use their power to make some phenomenal television. That being said, the irony is more in the context of the source material, rather than how good or bad the show might be. At the very least, Rings of Power doesn't portray a Numenorean package fulfillment center...