3 TV Shows I Recommend as a TV Professional #1
Finding a good show is always a struggle in this abundance. If our tastes align, you’ll likely love these 3.
If you’ve been searching for a show recently, this may be of interest to you. In this article, I’ll be explaining my criteria for choosing a show to watch, recommending 3 series without any spoilers. I’ll share details for each series, including basic information (like genre and episode numbers), the ideal watching mood, a 2-4 sentence subject summary, and my review. The goal of this article series is for you to read this 7-minute-long article and have an in-depth idea about whether any of these series would genuinely interest you.
If you are new here and don’t know much about me, first of all, hello and welcome to my corner of the internet. I am Nur, and I’ve been working at a TV distribution company. To give you a bit of background information in case any of you are wondering, we sell TV shows and co-produce with partners (by partners, I mean channels or streamers like Netflix, ZDF, Channel 4, etc.). Each department has its agenda, and in Sales, we attend events like MIPCOM, NATPE, Seriesmania, and others. Part of the job is, of course, watching and discussing our shows and competitors' shows. Even before working in TV, I was a TV show person. In a nutshell, I watch a lot, and I love recommending good shows.
My Criteria for a Good Show
Let me tell you what I look for in a show that matters the most to me, so you can decide whether my taste and choosing method align with yours:
Authenticity. I don’t like to smell commercialism in shows. I don’t like it to be made just for the sake of “entertainment.” I need the creator to have a personal motivation to do it. Then it becomes something authentic.
“Why would I care?” factor. Some people like some stories very much, thinking, “How creative!” about the minds behind them. For instance, one of my friends said about Alice in Borderland, “I would never be able to imagine a world like that; it’s creative!” I agree, but that show has nothing appealing to me. Or, The Boys (or most superhero shows, actually) is the same for me. I find it dull. I think I can’t be just “entertained.” I need to see another brain doing or trying something different and meaningful (of course, the definition of 'meaningful' is highly subjective) behind any art form.
Story, Story, Story. I want a really good story, not just a hook, but also well-thought-out execution. When the mathematics of a show doesn’t work, we sense it. When I was studying, I started a poetry club and was chatting with our Literature professor regularly about our poems. One thing he kept saying was: “If you remove one line from the poem, will it lose anything? If no, you can remove it.” Just like that, every episode should carry the story to another level. Similarly, each scene in an episode should carry the story to another level. If an episode or a scene has no value to the story, it is just there to keep me in front of the screen. I’ll mention one show below that captured/created an amazing story by doing something almost no shows do.
Unique Characters. If there’s a character that I feel connected with or relate to, even if it’s not necessarily a likable character, I’ll watch it. By “unique”, I don’t mean edgy or super interesting. They could be interesting or boring, too. What makes them unique is what part of their journey the writer chose to tell us. I highly believe in the craftsmanship of writers when it comes to carving interesting details out of ordinary things and people.
Craftily Designed Plot. Some shows just make it impossible to stop watching them, like The Queen’s Gambit or Stranger Things. You want to know what happens in the next episode. Although I don't find Stranger Things meaningful (for me, it’s an incredibly executed yet basic “monster” story), I can’t deny its watchability. Whereas for some shows, if you get a pen and paper and write down what the heck happened in that episode, you would see there are many so-called “producers” out there who could afford putting an A-star actor/actress in a show with “No Story.” Just a string of “Happenings.”
When Captivating World Creation Blends Well with the Idea/Message. Sometimes I zone out immediately the moment I can vividly see the scriptwriter writing that scene in my mind. I want to feel lost when watching a show. There should be a balance between the created world, the characters' belonging there, and the idea. For instance, although I liked 3 Body Problem very much, I honestly zoned out every time I saw Eiza González. I have nothing against her, but she seemed unnatural in that world to me. I’m not sure if the casting of her bothered me or her character’s existence in the show.
3 TV Show Recommendations
1- Dark (Netflix) - Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Drama. 3 seasons. 26 x 1-hour episodes.
Watching Mood: When you are in the mood for mystery-solving and are curious. A serious watch, not something to watch while eating, especially if you don’t speak German. Needs a bit of mental dedication to enjoy.
Subject: Set in a small village in Germany, the story starts with the normal lives of two families. One family has a teenage son and daughter and an 8-year-old boy, and the other family has a teenage son. One day, all these kids, plus some of their school friends, go into the forest, and in the middle of the night, they hear a voice and start running away. That night, the 8-year-old boy went missing without a trace, just like his uncle did 33 years ago.
Review: I think this is the first show that comes to my mind anytime I talk to someone about TV shows. My connection to it comes from my existentialist questioning. This show is executed incredibly well, mainly because the creator of the show wrote all 3 seasons before starting the production of the first season. I can’t express enough how it affects the consistency and meaningfulness of this show. When I watched the creator, Baran Bo Odar’s, interview, I saw a good reason “why” he decided to tell this story. He’s crafted the story from this question: “Why are we here?” If you still haven’t watched the show, don't check it out online too much and just watch it. Just to let you know that there are many characters, and many people stop watching it because they don't remember them. Overall, the world creation, the story, characters, casting, and the acting are great in Dark, and it’s one of the rare series I’ve watched 3 times.
2- Better Call Saul (Netflix) - Genre: Crime/Drama. 6 seasons. 63 x 1-hour episodes.
Watching Mood: If you want to get to know interesting, multi-layered characters and complex relationships. Sad, exciting, emotional, bingeable series.
Subject: The life story of Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman) from Breaking Bad: how he became a lawyer, his interesting relationship with his brother, and his becoming a cartel lawyer. Watching Breaking Bad is not mandatory beforehand - you’d still understand and enjoy it.
Review: Where to start? It’s not a show I would ever have thought I would like. It’s not even my genre. The only reason I started this show is my husband's unstoppable compliments about Breaking Bad, and he’s saying that this one’s even better. I tried to watch Breaking Bad, but I think my soul is a bit too naive and fragile to be consumed wholly by the world of the shows I’m watching. There needs to be some kind of positivity I can hold on to. Otherwise, the uneasy backdrop consumes my emotional energy and doesn’t give me room to recharge. Anyway, back to Better Call Saul. For the first 4-5 episodes, I was watching without any expectation, and it was slow. But by the middle of the season, something interesting happened: I realized the writer had written a proper story. I started to like the main character, and I found myself caring about him. It was not just a “Breaking Bad” prequel; it was an honest, genuine story crafted by a genius mind. And this feeling just kept increasing for the rest of the series. By the time I was watching the last season, I felt like, “How could someone finish this story from now on without messing it up?” He didn't mess up. Vince Gilligan (The creator of the show) is a genius, and I respect his story-creating skills very, very much. I still couldn’t get over it. Some of the scenes – I don't believe they were written; I think they were all real. The writer captured a story that is so close to reality, and that’s why it makes it one of a kind. Saul Goodman is a character you want to know, you want to hang out with, and you feel sorry for him when he is unhappy. A touching story.
3- Gravity Falls (Disney+) - Genre: Adventure/Mystery/Animation. 2 seasons. 40 x 22 min.
Watching Mood: A feel-good animation series with energetic theme music. Great for after a long, tiring day. Comforting and easy to watch.
Subject: 12-year-old twins Mabel and Dipper visit their great uncle (aka grunkle) Stan for the summer in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls, Oregon.
Review: I recently realized it’s been a while since I first watched this series, and felt so good that I forgot all about it, so I could enjoy the second round! The story is focused on the twins and their bickering relationship. Mabel is a very enthusiastic young little girl with braces who has a crush on another guy every week. Dipper is the geeky, “smart” sibling. Combining its mystery-solving theme, funny and sweet characters, good dynamics and conflicts between characters, and good episodic stories, it’s a fun watch. Whenever I love a show or a book, I love researching who wrote it and why. When checking this one, I wasn’t surprised that the producer of it, Alex Hirsch, was inspired by his own childhood trips to his great aunt with his real-life twin sister, Ariel. I found out that Ariel's real-life interests directly influence many details in Mabel's character and the series. I love it when someone genuinely creates something creative out of their own real-life experiences. To sum up, it’s a fun, entertaining, comforting show for both adults and children 8+.
Did this article help you add a show (or three!) to your watchlist? I’d love to hear it! Please share in the comments.
Great recommendations. Saw both of the dramas and a little of the cartoon with my nephews.