Stream becomes a rushing river

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2018 (2658 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Remember when everyone pretty much watched the same shows? Back when there were fewer channels, fewer ways to watch television, fewer shows?

In 2018, it’s possible to have entirely different viewing habits than your best friend or cubicle mate or partner. Arguably, we’ve reached the peak of Peak TV; we’re positively marinating in content.

Per the annual survey from FX Networks Research, an ungodly 495 English language scripted original series aired in 2018. And by “aired” we mostly mean “streamed”; of those 495, a record 160 were produced for streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu.

Nearly 500 shows is… too many shows. No wonder we’re feeling a little stressed about our bursting Netflix queues and PVRs.

In this kind of landscape, it’s almost impossible to do a tidy Best Of recap. So, three of the most avid TV watchers in the Free Press Arts & Life department — Erin Lebar, Jill Wilson and Jen Zoratti — discuss the year in television.

Jen Zoratti: Let’s start with our favourite shows of the year.

Jill Wilson: It’s probably The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel just because it has everything: drama, comedy. I think what I love about it specifically is that it’s very Jewish without… like, Seinfeld is Jewish too, but it’s never stated outright. This is like yarmulkes, and they’re celebrating Passover, and they buy brisket and you don’t see that a lot on TV.

And the costumes are just to die for, like everyone has the most perfectly tailored dresses.

I love it so much that there’s this New York Times piece about why it’s terrible and I refuse to read it because I just don’t want my eyes opened. I’m sure it has many, many flaws but I just love everything about it.

Jen: It’s yet another show on my “to-watch list.” It’s kind of bananas I haven’t seen it, since I very much loved Amy Sherman-Palladino’s other shows, Gilmore Girls and Bunheads, which I still want someone to bring back somehow.

Jill: The quirk factor is way down from both those shows. When Bunheads was cancelled I almost cried. But I think it has a broader appeal because it’s a bit less aggressively quirky.  

Big Mouth, the animated Netflix series, is also one of my favouries — that show makes me laugh out loud.

Erin Lebar: ‘Bubble bath.’

Jill: Maya Angelou is a national treasure —

Erin: — you mean Maya Rudolph.

Jill: — yes! Maya Angelou is also a national treasure, but I mean Maya Rudolph, who plays the Hormone Mistress. She deserves to be enshrined.

Erin: For those who don’t know the bubble bath reference, she always suggests having a bubble bath to make things better, but she always says it in a really salacious way. There’s a whole video on YouTube of her saying ‘bubble bath.’

I watched the first season and I wasn’t sure what to think because it’s so vulgar, but it’s so accurate about how horrible puberty really is.

Jill: It’s very sweet, though, despite being the most filthy show I’ve ever seen. David Thewlis voices The Shame Wizard, and his voice is just so perfect.

Jen: I haven’t started that one yet! I have a few-way tie for favourite shows that debuted in 2018.

No. 1 — Killing Eve. Speaking of national treasures, Sandra Oh is incredible in the role of Eve, a disillusioned spy. So is Jodie Comer, who plays Villanelle, the cunning assassin Eve becomes rather obsessed with. It’s dark but it’s so wickedly funny and smart.

No. 2 is Kidding, which I feel like is the show no one’s watching, starring Jim Carrey as a very depressed children’s performer, Mr. Pickles, grappling with the death of one of his young sons. Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) directs and produces, so it has his very specific, surreal look. It’s a beautiful, poignant show.

And Barry, starring Bill Hader as a hired assassin who wants to become an actor. What I liked about Barry and Kidding — and this season of Better Call Saul — I find that we’re getting more interesting male leads on shows now. It’s not just the Tony Soprano/Don Draper stoic manly men thing.

Jill: That’s why I stopped watching Ray Donovan. I can’t watch another guy like this, that we’re supposed to like even though he’s an ass.

Jen: I feel like Barry, Mr. Pickles and Saul are just more complicated and emotionally vulnerable, and I really appreciated seeing that. The phrase ‘toxic masculinity’ went mainstream this year, and I think more nuanced portrayals of men is at least one antidote.

Erin: I haven’t seen the second season yet, but I really enjoyed the first season of The Sinner with Jessica Biel. I’ve never been a Jessica Biel fan at all but I find her very good in this role.

And GLOW Season 2 was a big surprise — I liked the first season, too, but I found the second season so much stronger.

Jen: Same! I loved the second season of GLOW.

Jill: And there again, Marc Maron’s character was much more nuanced in the second season.

Erin: I also want to highlight Schitt’s Creek — we don’t talk a lot about Canadian TV. I’ve loved it since the beginning, but as it has gone on, it’s become more excellent. It’s really witty, really quick. For a CBC show?

Jill: Not even for a CBC show, it’s a good show in general.

Jen: Ditto Workin’ Moms, which is back in January, and Baroness Von Sketch Show — both excellent CBC shows.

Moving on. A lot has been written about this being the era of peak television, and how much our viewing habits have changed in a relatively short amount of time. We’re binge watching, we’re binge racing.

I personally feel like PVR Zero is my new Inbox Zero, and like I can’t keep up. For example, you both are watching things I haven’t watched yet. There’s too much TV and I have trouble deciding where to spend my time. And I watch a lot of TV.

Jill: I have anxiety about it, too. I used to feel like I was really on top of pop culture and I had an opinion about everything, even shows like Say Yes to the Dress which I would occasionally catch. Now it’s crushing me.

Erin: I am the queen of TLC. Gypsies, wedding dresses, 90-day fiancés. I can tell you the plot line of every show.

Jill: The other issue is, I don’t live with my boyfriend and there are shows we watch together…

Erin: Ugh, I hate that.

Jill: … and then there are shows I want to watch but I want to watch with him, and I have to wait. Or shows I have to watch on my own because he’d have no interest, but I have to gauge that before.

Like, I’ve watched all of Big Mouth which he will love. Do I watch it again?

Jen: Yeah, that happened with me and Good Girls, which is also super great. When I hit the first joke, I knew my husband would love it and I turned it off to watch with him.

But I also actually don’t love watching TV alone, despite loving to be alone in most other circumstances. I really like experiencing TV (or movies) with an audience, even if it’s just an audience of two.

Erin: Speaking of that, another show I really loved was Haunting of Hill House which was a Halloween binge watch, but we were watching it together and we didn’t finish it until, like, a week ago.

And then I didn’t want to watch it at night because it would give me nightmares, so we have to watch it on a Saturday afternoon, but when are we home on a Saturday afternoon.

Jen: OK, queen of TLC, you are the reality TV expert here. Take us through the year.

Erin: Queer Eye was a big favourite for a lot of people this year; I was very wary of the new iteration of this show, but whoever casted it did a flawless job.

They send these five guys into the heart of Republican America, not often known for its acceptance of the LGBTTQ* community, and where the show could turn into a gag or an us-vs.-them narrative, it instead goes down a road of truth and human connection and the genuine want to help someone regardless of their life views.

I appreciate this show on a lot of levels and am not ashamed to say I cried at more than one episode.

One other trend is the shift in the long-running series. Take Survivor, for instance, which just wrapped up its 37th season (you heard me right, THIRTY-SEVENTH!); while there were some very dry seasons in there, and many gimmicks were used to keep things “fresh,” what has organically begun to happen is that the players on the show now are seasoned students of the game.

They know every hero, every villain, the architecture of every “big move” and every game-changing vote, they know how to be both a social and physical threat and why your typical alliances don’t ever work. They know all of this before they begin, and it’s really changed the way Survivor is played, which, in my opinion, has made it more interesting to watch again.

RuPaul’s Drag Race will always be one of my favourites; those ladies will never not impress me with their skills in both drag and shade-throwing.

Another surprise fave of mine this year is Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. I admit, I watched J-Shore when it was first on the air from 2009-2012; like, not just casually, I watched every episode.

I was worried when they announced the cast would be returning this year (minus Sammy Sweetheart) for a reboot that the format wouldn’t hold up, but I have to say, it is very entertaining television.

Really, it’s just a bunch of adults having fun. There’s less clubbing, more babies and while there’s still drama, it’s rooted in very different things. Honestly, these Guidos are actually really funny and the true friendship that has developed within the group over the years is quite an endearing thing to watch.

Jen: I have zero reality TV in my viewing diet, but this has really made me want to change that.

Jill: I watch it when I’m home and flipping through channels, which isn’t very often because you tend to watch your shows — it’s destination television, you’re not just flipping randomly. But I am a sucker for any of the Real Housewives, even if I haven’t watched it for a year.

Jen: What disappointed people this year? Dietland started out strong (I even wrote a favourable column about it) and I admire what it was trying to do, but it never really came together and it didn’t surprise me when it got cancelled.

The final season of House of Cards was also very strange, but Robin Wright was fascinating as ever.

Erin: I didn’t finish The Crown. I thought it was really boring and dry.

Jill: Pose was disappointing to me. It had a whole bunch of trans actresses and it looked fantastic and the spirit behind it was there, but it was very contrived.

Jen: Looking ahead to 2019, what are you looking forward to? I’m super excited about the adaptation of Lindy West’s memoir Shrill, starring the best part of SNL, Aidy Bryant. It’s a Hulu show, though, so hopefully someone will pick it up in Canada.

Erin Lebar: Wentworth, which is like the Australian version of Orange Is The New Black, but it’s darker and actually pre-dates Orange Is The New Black. I believe a new season is being released in North America this year, and I’m excited to see that story continue.  

Game of Thrones is also back in 2019, but I feel like it’s almost been too long. I don’t feel invested in it at all anymore.

Jill Wilson: I want to point out, saying out loud how many shows I watch is making me feel a bit ashamed.

Jen Zoratti: It’s making me feel like I should go outside.