THE CAST – Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Blake Ritson, Kelley Curran, Harry Richardson, Jordan Donica, Ben Ahlers, Taissa Farmiga, John Douglas Thompson & Audra McDonald

THE TEAM – Julian Fellowes (Showrunner/Creator) & Sonja Warfield (Showrunner)

“The Gilded Age” has quickly become appointment television: every year, it is a blessing to return to 1880s Manhattan with the city’s most pompous, gossipy, and utterly memorable cast of characters. The detailed costuming, production design, and hairstyling go a long way to transporting audiences to this lavish world, but what makes this show so special is how it weaves together the inner lives of dozens of characters and manages to make you care about every single one. You may love or hate certain people, but you will never be indifferent to anyone in this show. Their petty trifles with one another have sustained several series-long storylines; once this show sucks you into the personal drama, it is impossible to even consider tuning it out.

But as fun as it is to escape into “The Gilded Age,” a show where a war to see which opera house becomes more popular is treated with the same gravity as an actual war, season 4 explicitly pits these characters we have grown to love against immovable social barriers. This time, the primary obstacle to most of their goals is not one another, but the limits to what they can do because of their gender, race, and class. It leads to some of the show’s most exciting storyline ideas yet, and for the most part, the show delivers another excellent, gripping season of television. After Bertha (Carrie Coon) finds her marriage in jeopardy, she does whatever it takes to win back George’s (Morgan Spector) favor, setting her sights on the presidential dinner Agnes (Christine Baranski) is driving herself mad over hosting. Oscar (Blake Ritson) and Enid (Kelley Curran) begin their strategic dalliance by scheming ways to ingratiate themselves further in high society. Peggy (Denée Benton) and Marian (Louisa Jacobson) grapple with unexpected turmoil in their relationships and must decide the identity they wish to carve out for themselves.

On paper, Bertha and George’s storyline should have been the slam dunk best plot of the season. And for the first few episodes, it absolutely is. Watching George surrender further and further to his twisted morals while Bertha desperately tries to win him back is A+ television. It doesn’t hurt that Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector are firing on all cylinders here, conveying the pain and anger at the heart of these characters with fine-tuned precision. Yet the plotline loses steam halfway through the season. It also feels a bit odd in hindsight that the show dipped its toe into making George a more despicable, Logan Roy-esque character without fully seeing it through. Where these characters end up by the end of the season feels somewhat underwhelming after the climactic season 3 finale.

In reality, the best storyline has Oscar and Enid attempt to carve out a new spot for themselves in Manhattan. Their lavender marriage does not disappoint, as this flamboyant, manipulative duo complements one another perfectly. Every scene where they concoct a plan to reinvigorate high society contains the perfect amount of scenery chewing from Blake Ritson and Kelley Curran, and there is really no better treat.

Meanwhile, Agnes’s attempt to remain relevant in current society while clinging to tradition grants Christine Baranski her best season to date. In season 3, her sudden lack of capital and influence was touched upon somewhat, but her insecurities are on full display this season. Baranski has always made a meal out of every crumb of material she is given, but when she is given such high-quality ingredients, she serves audiences a Michelin star-worthy performance. There is no shortage of excellent additions to her hall of fame line readings this season.

Most of the other storylines are strong, with Marian and Peggy’s plotlines being particular highlights. Again, the reason why “The Gilded Age” has caught on the way it has is that its batting average for engaging character arcs far exceeds most other shows on TV. However, the season does suffer from the first half speedrunning past numerous high-stakes events in quick succession and the back half simply lacking momentum. While the finale wraps up certain arcs particularly well, and in quite emotional fashion, it does not compare in terms of grandeur or overall narrative satisfaction to previous season finales. The first episode felt far more momentous than the last and might even be the best episode of the season.

This may not be the best season of “The Gilded Age,” but rest assured that it is nonetheless a thoroughly entertaining season of television. As always, the ensemble is brilliant from top to bottom, bringing a unique identity to every character in this dense cast. If it suffers somewhat from the structure of its season-long arcs, it is only because it is overly ambitious in what “The Gilded Age” can be as a television series. And for a show that could so easily repeat its winning formula over and over again, it is a true blessing that it doesn’t.

THE GOOD – The season is ridiculously entertaining, juggling dozens of storylines to great success. The costuming, production design, and hairstyling continue to be breathtaking.

THE BAD – The show loses momentum after its sizzling first half and ends on a decidedly less riveting note than previous seasons.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series & Outstanding Direction for a Drama Series

THE FINAL SCORE – 8/10

The post Christine Baranski & Carrie Coon Shimmer In The Solid Fourth Season Of “The Gilded Age” appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Ali Ahn, Ato Essandoh, Nana Mensah & Rory Kinnear

THE TEAM – Deborah Cahn (Showrunner/Creator)

Negotiations are about compromise, about finding a middle ground that lets both sides walk away feeling like they won. But when dealing with large foreign powers and even larger egos, diplomacy becomes murkier. How far can you appease the other side before it becomes utter capitulation? How much can you insist on your own perspective before discussions become demands? Following the bombshell revelation that President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) and Vice President Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell) decided to remove a nuclear weapon from a sunken Russian submarine without the permission of the United Kingdom, Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) finds herself caught between her duties as an ambassador, her fealty to the presidency, her love for her husband, and her fundamental belief system.

“The Diplomat” season 4 is the natural escalation of the show’s narrative so far, balancing sky-high geopolitical stakes with immensely tense interpersonal relationships, with the same flair that made the show so addicting in the first place. The latter is on another level this season, due in no small part to the main quartet of Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, Allison Janney, and Bradley Whitford. Wisely, the show elevated Janney and Whitford from scene-stealing guest stars to main cast members, creating countless new dynamics that the writers and actors alike feast on. The psychosexual nature of Grace and Hal’s spontaneous subterfuge alone could have a lesser show focused entirely around it! Equally entertaining is Kate and Todd’s (Bradley Whitford) awkward bond as the overlooked spouses of the two ticking time bombs running the United States of America. The show may be best known for its political intrigue and jaw-dropping cliffhangers every episode. Still, by now, the writers clearly understand that the show’s best attribute is its fascinating character dynamics.

The bulk of the show’s drama stems from Kate and Hal’s marriage perpetually being on the rocks. Betrayal is a part of their love language at this point! The best scenes this season are the ones where they can steal a moment of privacy to air out their grievances. Yet this relationship remains the crux of the show because, at its core, we root for them to work things out. Kate’s attempts to subdue herself to make their relationship healthier are sorely misguided, but they prove she still sees something worth fighting for. Watching her quietly simmer and hold in the biting barbs audiences love her for adds tension to the smallest scenes, makes the moments when her frustrations finally spill out all the more exciting, and lets Russell give her best performance to date. If you are going to parallel an international conflict with a marriage, it had better be with one as dynamic as the Wylers.

“The Diplomat’s” greatest strength has always been its pacing. Every episode zips by, and every season is ridiculously easy to binge-watch while still having enough substance to keep you thinking long afterward. So much happens in each season of “The Diplomat”—and season 4 is no different—but it is presented in a reassuringly digestible, constantly compelling way. The series has always been unafraid to change the status quo at the drop of a hat, to the point that several episodes this season could have served as season finales.

Yet this goes hand in hand with “The Diplomat’s” biggest weakness: its formulaic nature. This may seem like an odd critique for a show as iconically unpredictable as this one. Make no mistake, the events that unfold in the narrative are shocking. But the way they unfold episode to episode is a bit standard. The most egregious example is the insistence on ending every single episode with some kind of reveal. This gets to the point where, even if you didn’t guess a twist from the beginning of the episode, it is so telegraphed that something shocking will happen by the end that you can call the surprise more than half the time. Of course, when the show breaks the formula and experiments with how it presents information, it is all the better for it.

Still, “The Diplomat” is such a fun watch that this flaw hardly detracts from the experience. As easy as it is to rave about the intense performances from its main quartet, the whole ensemble dazzles. In fact, certain supporting characters surprisingly walk away with the season after their subtler arcs are brought under a magnifying glass. Ironically, the theme of fraught compromise this season revolves around is an excellent unifying factor for the various storylines it juggles. And in typical “The Diplomat” fashion, the season finale is a stunner, with a final scene that makes you ache for the next season.

THE GOOD – The season doubles down on everything that makes “The Diplomat” so compelling: the tight pacing, the tumultuous relationships, and the terrific acting.

THE BAD – The show has a formula from episode to episode that it sticks by to a fault.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Direction for a Drama Series & Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

THE FINAL SCORE – 8/10

The post Keri Russell Gives A Series-Best Performance In This Gripping Fourth Season Of “The Diplomat” appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Summer H. Howell, Samantha Sloyan, Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Joel Oulette, Josie Totah, Arthur Conti, Thalia Dudek, Amber Midthunder & Matthew Lillard

THE TEAM – Mike Flanagan (Showrunner)

THE GOOD – This modern update of the Stephen King classic effectively translates the cautionary tale to the modern age of social media. Compelling performances throughout, especially from Alison Thornton as Carrie’s bully Chris.

THE BAD – Some of the new plot beats are admirable for their existence but not entirely successful in their execution.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie, Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series & Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

THE FINAL SCORE – 6/10

The post “Carrie” Is An Effective Modern Update, But Far From Mike Flanagan’s Best appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Joseph Zada, Joe Anders, Hoon Lee, Ciarán Hinds, Martha Plimpton & Tracy Letts

THE TEAM – Zoe Kazan (Showrunner/Writer) & Jeb Stuart (Showrunner)

Amid Hollywood’s never-ending tradition of reinventing adaptations of celebrated classic literature for television, Zoe Kazan’s “East of Eden” has done what many of her contemporaries have failed to do: make an exceptional work that improves upon its predecessor. Kazan is already fighting an uphill battle translating John Steinbeck’s magnum opus into a visual medium, given its arduous length as the author wades through generations of the Trasks and Hamiltons, two American families sifting through the complexities of navigating life, emotions, and familial preservation. At least a television adaptation would give a momentous work like this time to breathe, fleshing out the experience in the most novelistic manner possible.

This seminal work of American fiction has certainly impacted the Kazan family. The original film adaptation back in 1955, directed by Zoe’s grandfather Elia Kazan, an acclaimed filmmaker of Golden Age Hollywood, is forever cemented in cinematic history as the lead acting debut of the one and only James Dean. The film, however, stands the test of time more as a monument to Hollywood iconography than as an effective adaptation, especially since it focuses primarily on the novel’s final third. Within the first few minutes of the first episode of Zoe Kazan’s iteration, it’s clear she isn’t willing to repeat her grandfather’s mistakes. In fact, she brings something necessary to ensure a project like this would thrive: perspective.

Audiences see in the series’ opening moments a bloodied and battered Cathy Ames, played by Florence Pugh, crawling through the mud desperately clinging to life. She stumbles upon the steps of a household owned by two Trask brothers, Charles, played by Mike Faist, and Adam, played by Christopher Abbott, who reluctantly come to her aid. The narration shifts from a Steinbeck-esque stand-in to Cathy, and Pugh’s signature raspy voice immediately adds dimension to “East of Eden” from the start. Kazan, along with series showrunner Jeb Stuart, also uses a non-linear structure, replacing Steinbeck’s patient storytelling with something more cinematic. Each episode dives into portions of the novel, exploring the Trask family’s history from their upbringing under Tracy Letts’ Cyrus, a swindling veteran whose harsh treatment of the violently brooding Charles and soft-natured Adam damns them to a lifelong cycle of pain.

The two brothers, modeled after the biblical figures Cain and Abel, weave in and out of each other’s lives as the mysterious Cathy enters, threatening to tear apart everything they have reconciled over. It’s a story spanning five decades, showing how the simplest of seeds these characters plant, whether in how they treat one another, the relationships they form, or the decisions they regret, only permeate over time. Kazan takes Steinbeck’s words to heart, pouring them onto the screen in every moment these characters stare searingly at one another. Kazan’s perspective as a woman makes Cathy an even more compelling character than in previous depictions. Steinbeck paints Cathy as one of the most callous creatures ever to walk the planet, a character utterly transfixing from the moment he introduces her.

Kazan’s teleplay, while bringing perspective, never degrades the audience’s intellect in favor of apologia. “East of Eden” doesn’t shy away from the cruelty that festers in Cathy’s heart, showing that she’s a woman in a world where she has traded empathy for freedom. Yet this behavior has deeper roots, as Cathy remains in a world she can hardly control, a point Pugh’s powerful performance underscores. Many series today steer away from challenging audiences’ perceptions of the characters and even the stories they consume because of unlikability. Kazan weaponizes this weakness in how modern writers translate lauded works, seeing it as a chance to confront audiences’ emotions and help them understand who these people are. It’s a pretty fair preservation of Steinbeck’s novel, which, at the time of its release, was far ahead of its time in the subject matter he broaches.

Garth Davis, of “Lion” fame, steps in as director for the series’ first four episodes and perfectly captures how readers would imagine this story on screen. It may not have the visual splendor of seeing the Salinas Valley in CinemaScope, but it’s a handsomely shot series that Davis and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre direct with precision. Luckily, the series avoids the pitfalls of the Netflix aesthetic most commonly associated with many of their programs. The technical work, from the stunning production design to the costuming, is all exceptional.

Of course, the stacked ensemble that populates each frame and delivers Kazan’s words with such potency is marvelous. Pugh, who will garner most of the attention because of Cathy’s character, delivers her best work since “Little Women,” pulling audiences’ eyes with every mediated reaction as her unsettling energy stays present throughout. Abbott is also on an exceptional run, from off his Tony nomination for “Death of a Salesman” to his newly announced foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In “East of Eden,” he strips it all back, laying bare the broken soul of the once-kind Adam, slowly worn down by the world around him. Abbott is heartbreaking, especially whenever he’s opposite Faist or in the final few episodes of the series. Faist is great, delving into a darker performance he never has had the chance to display before, yet Charles presence is quite limited in the narrative. Kazan smartly weaves Faist throughout the series, but he is so great that every second he isn’t on screen is harder to accept.

Despite all of these star-heavy performances, it’s Hoon Lee’s performance as Lee that brings “East of Eden” to another level. Lee, the Chinese-American servant to the Trask family who becomes not only a loyal confidant but essentially the patriarchal figure that keeps the family together, is one of the more radical inclusions in Steinbeck’s novel. Lee feels like one of the more Mulligan-coded aspects of “East of Eden” that Kazan truly wanted to improve on from the 1955 feature. Not going into much detail, but while Dean is doing his thing on screen, Lee’s absence is enough to make the film a cinematic mistrial as an adaptation, given how integral he is to the story. Lee brings such warmth with his presence that it perfectly contrasts with the stern persona the character has to maintain to protect himself. Lee’s reliably comedic performance in “Your Friends and Neighbors,” while massively entertaining, only makes what is a career-defining performance here in “East of Eden” all the more impressive. He’s the best part of the series, and it isn’t even close.

My one gripe, which comes from my own experience with the novel, is that this occasionally abridged adaptation, while translating Steinbeck’s words faithfully, relegates the story wholly to the Trask family, leaving the Hamiltons as figures who appear to support Adam and company. While it shapes the narrative effectively for a cinematic translation, it also waters down a character like Samuel Hamilton, brought to life by a brief but lovely turn from Ciarán Hinds. The dichotomy of the two families makes for a fascinating examination of the perceived American household, especially in a period of change towards the dawn of a new century. Kazan makes this difficult decision for the most part, at least maintaining a narrative focus that many claimed Steinbeck lacked when “East of Eden” was first released. As far as adaptations go, “East of Eden” really set a bar that many that come after it won’t achieve. It’s for sure one of the best shows airing on television this year. To me, it may be the definitive cinematic iteration of one of the greatest American stories ever told.

THE GOOD – A near-perfect adaptation of one of classic literature’s greatest novels with marvelous writing, acting, and direction.

THE BAD – The decision to focus entirely on the Trask family waters down some supporting characters, occasionally making the narrative feel rushed.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series, Outstanding Direction for a Limited Series & Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series

THE FINAL SCORE – 9/10

The post “East Of Eden” Review – Zoe Kazan Delivers The Definitive Adaptation Of John Steinbeck’s American Classic appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Ella Beatty, Vicky Krieps, Charlie Hunnam, Rebecca Hall & Sarah Paulson

THE TEAM – Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan (Creators)

Lizzie Borden took an ax

And gave her mother 40 whacks

When she saw what she had done

She gave her father 41

Culturally, Lizzie Borden needs no introduction. Immortalized by a haunting nursery rhyme and decades of pop culture, Borden and her infamous crime remain deeply etched in the public consciousness. So one might wonder what new insight Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the creators behind this season of “Monster,” could possibly bring to the story. The answer, unfortunately, is nothing – unless they’re willing to make it up. “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” falls victim to Murphy’s penchant for exploitation and sexualization of an infamous story, adding nothing new beyond overly stylized set pieces meant to shock and awe. And it’s shockingly awful.

The beats of the story remain the same: we open with Lizzie Borden (played by a naturally talented Ella Beatty) whacking her father and stepmother with an ax in their home (which, by the way, isn’t even correct – the father, Andrew, was killed on the sofa, not in the entryway while catching his daughter killing his wife). So, after only a few minutes, not off to a great start. We then backtrack a few months to see what led up to these tragic events. Murphy and Brennan take more than a few fictitious liberties with the story, including altering Lizzie’s personality to being a young, naive, isolated woman who’s basically a prisoner in her own home. In reality, Lizzie was 32 at the time of the murders, a Sunday school teacher with plenty of friends, and had traveled Europe. In the show, she befriends Bridget (played by Vicky Krieps), a new housemaid, and their relationship quickly turns romantic before the two engage in a little murder. In reality, there’s no evidence the relationship was ever more than platonic, save for the rumors after the killings.

This version of events places the new housemaid, Bridget, at the center of Lizzie’s story and her parents’ eventual downfall. Bridget entertains her new friend with tales of young women who allegedly murder young girls and bathe in their blood. Creeped out? Not our Lizzie, who apparently finds it inspiring. Bridget also teaches Lizzie about the wonders of an orgasm, making her her own sex toy, and giving her her first kiss. By all accounts, none of this actually happened, but don’t let that stop Ryan Murphy from making a soapy, sexy drama out of it. Vicky Krieps takes real ownership over Bridget, never letting her play the victim but embodying the original cool Brooklyn coffee shop girl a degree too far. This is supposed to be a poor housemaid in Massachusetts in the 1890s, not someone serving you $9 freshly whisked matcha.

As for motive, Murphy and Brennan shape the victims as flat antagonists. Evil stepmother Abby, played by Rebeca Hall (who’s over-the-top in a cartoonish way), has raised Lizzie since she was two and is terrible to her daughter for no apparent reason. A neglectful, cheating father – played by a deliciously yet overly-campy sad sack Charlie Hunnam – is no recourse for Lizzie, more concerned with his business and, inexplicably, axes. The parents are irredeemably one-dimensional, with Brennan and Murphy throwing motive in the audience’s face from the jump. They’re apparently just simply evil with not a nurturing bone in their body. Wouldn’t you be driven to murder as well?

As for Lizzie herself, Hollywood royalty Ella Beatty does a fine job elevating the theater camp dialogue without overdoing it. She balances Lizzie’s self-preservation with inherent guilt in a way that makes you believe she’d feel both – she had to escape, but regrets doing so. It’s too bad Beatty was given such a salacious script, because she could’ve brought a lot more to the role if given the chance. We also don’t get to see much interaction with Lizzie and a major force in her life: her sister, played by Ryan Murphy mainstay Billie Lourd, who’s essentially written off as a side character in this version of events. The writers had a ripe opportunity to explore feminism, revenge, and what drives women to commit unspeakable crimes. Instead, they chose to focus on over-sexualizing and sensationalizing a centuries-old true crime story for the modern crime junkie. What’s left is a hollow, glitteringly fictitious and modernized account of a legend spun out so far it barely resembles the story it sets out to tell.

There’s an interesting choice by the storytellers about halfway through the season to tie Borden’s case to another famous female killer: Aileen Wournos, played by Sarah Paulson. Paulson is by far the best performance of the series, as she completely encapsulates Wournos upon entering the season’s fourth episode. Obviously Charlize Theron is the gold standard here – she did win the Oscar for it, after all – but Paulson does a helluva job throwing caution to the wind and transforming into the blighted and fraught Wournos – both a victim and perpetrator in Murphy’s rendition. I appreciate the attempt to tie the two stories together (I really do), as the message they’re trying to send is one worth exploring. Victimized women are sometimes left with no other choice in life but to commit unspeakable crimes, and the men at fault are rarely held accountable. Unfortunately, these scenes prove more distracting than thematically resonant, making it difficult to justify devoting so much of the season’s back half to them. Wournos’s story is one that would be better served in isolation, and, frankly, one that has already been told before (though this is certainly not an invitation to make another show about it).

The production is what you’d expect: way too much for a show like this. There’s always a certain distinct visual element to a Ryan Murphy production – the overly glamorized, stylized, and cast of actors that look straight out of a popular teen drama.  It’s a little campy and theatrical, with set pieces thrown into each episode, and intended to be binge-watched in a day. There’s terrible CGI with blood splatters that look like they’re shot out of a cannon. There’s way too many center-framed shots that seem lazy rather than deliberate. And the score is, well, a choice. When “Cuntology 101” by Lambrini Girls started to play when the girls concoct their murderous plot, I simply had to laugh. The formula for a Ryan Murphy production is 1) make everyone hot, 2) exploit what you can, and 3) make stuff up if you have to. As for the Emmys, I’d love to write this off as another gluttonous flash-in-the-pan crowdpleaser, but one must never discount Ryan Murphy. There’s a case to be made for Sarah Paulson’s performance, but that’s (hopefully) the ceiling.

Eight episodes is simply way too much time and effort to dedicate to this story without telling anything new that isn’t fictionalized. As with most Ryan Murphy productions, the story cares little to examine the “why” behind the supposed “monster,” instead focusing on how far to push the envelope in sensationalizing very real tragedies. It’s a series seemingly tailor-made for the true-crime obsessed who have turned killers into objects of fascination, perhaps in the most grotesque way. The central performances work when they need to, and it’s easy to understand why the series lends itself to an addictive, bingeable watch. But that may be precisely the problem: It’s so consumed with the mechanics of the story that it forgets to ask why this story needs to be told at all. Ultimately, what should feel unsettling instead becomes disturbingly easy to consume.

THE GOOD – Ella Beatty and Sarah Paulson bring rich performances to a bingeable watch of a familiar story.

THE BAD – It’s an overly-sexualized, exploitative, and salacious retelling of a story that seems to take no issue with making up details to fit the writers’ narrative for dramatic effect.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie

THE FINAL SCORE – 3/10

The post “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” Turns Infamy Into Empty Spectacle appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Lisa Gilroy, Holland Taylor, Dax Shepard, Brian Williams, Brittany Ishibashi, Highdee Kuan, Natalie Martinez, Oona Yaffe, Ella Grace Helton & Nolan Almeida

THE TEAM – Lee Eisenberg (Creator/Showrunner), Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson & David West Read (Creators)

Ever had the thought, “Matthew McConaughey should have his own reality show?” Well, alright, alright, alright, now’s your lucky day, because he’s finally (kinda) done it. Based on a true rumor, McConaughey teams up with his spiritual – and possibly actual – brother, Woody Harrelson, for this rambunctious ride of two famous best friends who discover there might actually be a truth to those “are they related” rumors after all. There are pockets of network family sitcom that poke through, but McConaughey and Harrelson are a rowdy, fun time filled with enough laugh-out-loud moments in every episode to make it worth a trip down south. It’s a lot of dad humor, a lot of Texas, and a lot of fun.

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson play heightened, not-so-fictionalized versions of themselves: still famous actors, lifelong best friends, and proud Texans, although Harrelson has decamped to the affluent hippie enclave of Malibu. That life-of-leisure setup comes crashing down when Harrelson, fleeing his family’s problems, piles his wife and two daughters into their RV and sets off across the country, unannounced, to his real-life best friend’s home in Texas. McConaughey and his wife, three kids, and larger-than-life mother, Ma Mac (played by the outrageously funny Holland Taylor), find themselves in a wealthier version of Clark Griswold’s nightmare when his own Cousin Eddie parks on his lawn. As if an uninvited house guest weren’t enough, McConaughey is also contemplating a run for governor. Their lifelong friendship is thrown into chaos when they uncover a decades-old secret: they might actually be brothers. Sound absurd? Well, truth is stranger than fiction, lending co-creators McConaughey, Harrelson, Lee Eisenberg, and David West Read a high-concept true story ripe for mining its inherent absurdity, warmth, and sheer comedic potential.

A fear going into the series was that it might inadvertently inspire even more celebrities to run for public office, or that this was a test run for McConaughey’s own campaign. We’ve reached our quota at the highest office in the country, thank you very much, and let’s just say there’s plenty of room for improvement when it comes to electing candidates with actual qualifications. The show rightly avoids the party-politics debate, framing McConaughey as the independent Texan everyman with the money, power, and right morals to fix Texas. He just wants outsiders and insiders to love the state he’s known and loved for five generations. It’s a noble effort, if not sanctimonious, but it doesn’t layer on the political aspirations too thick.

The entire premise hinges on Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson’s chemistry and comedy, and is the series’s selling point and strength. Upon first glance, McConaughey and Harrelson are cut from the same southern cloth. But the pilot episode focuses on establishing how different these two famous Texans really are. Harrelson is the type-B, go-with-the-flow foil to McConaughey’s straight-laced, uptight man with ambitions bigger than a longhorn. He’s the QB of the football team and the class president to Harrelson’s hippie beach bum who can’t make or follow a plan to save his life. McConaughey in particular has a number of callbacks to his most famous roles (he delightfully does “The Wolf of Wall Street” chest beat again), nodding to his storied career.

McConaughey is also, perhaps most famously, known for his rhythmic storytelling, akin to an Evangelist preacher, and in “Brothers” he lets it fly. Those long vowels turn a one-syllable word into an open vowel, never knowing when it’ll ehh-yend. The schtick gets a little old at times, particularly in a few episodes in the middle of the season, but if you prefer listening to the audiobook version of Greenlights, you’ll enjoy it. The long takes of a Lincoln must’ve been in McConaughey’s contract, too, a bit distractingly so. Meanwhile, Harrelson takes his laid-back persona and amps it up to a hilarious degree. While all of us type-A perfectionists look on with horror and a little bit of envy, Harrelson is cool as a cucumber, smoking a joint and wondering what all the fuss is about. Together, McConaughey and Harrelson are a riot, and you’ll be thankful they let you in to the party.

The rest of the cast is stacked with supporting and guest actors that amp up the hilarity, most notably Holland Taylor as Ma Mac, Matthew’s overbearing mother. Taylor fully transforms into the role, orange spray tan, pink lipstick and all. She nails not only the southern lady yellow-blonde aesthetic of her real-life counterpart, but lets the embodiment of her muse take over. Taylor’s combination of sass and twang lets us know she’s having an absolute ball, and we should all join her. And while Taylor is an absolute hoot, another performance risks eclipsing them all: Lisa Gilroy as the foul-mouthed, demanding, hysterically funny campaign manager. As established in our review of season 2 of “The Paper,” Lisa Gilroy is a comedic superstar. So when she appears in the second episode of “Brothers” as a potential campaign manager, Gwen, you can’t help but feel delight. She (of course) nails the role as the unflappable, relentless woman trying to rein in the guys’ hijinks; the Jen Barkley to the male Leslie Knope, but with sharper timing.

Unfortunately, the series is too lean in its writing of each family. The wives are sidelined for much of the season, with only a supporting line or two from each husband. And there are a few B and C plots involving one or two of the kids, but the characters aren’t fleshed out enough to make it as compelling as anything involving Harrelson or McConaughey directly. You’ll also find Skyler Gisondo as Harrelson’s daughter’s sad-sack ex, Dax Shepard as himself, and Jeff Kober as the bad guy. Come for Matthew and Woody’s adventures; stay for the friends. While the season is a tight eight episodes, the series could have lent itself a hand by developing richer supporting characters.

The production itself is a high-quality Apple TV output, if not a little too polished. Filmed on location in Austin, it captures a sweeping sense of scale, with expansive visual richness in every scene. There’s some incredible costume and makeup work done by Colin Wilkes, Gary Archer, Chris Clark, and Nancy Rankin Escovedo in the series’ fourth episode, reminiscent of Michèle Burke’s work in “Tropic Thunder,” which was the exact inspiration. If you close your eyes, the score (by music composer Kristen Higuera) will transport you to a dive bar in the middle of nowhere, where you’d be nodding your head and tapping your toes while sipping on your 3rd beer and munching on a basket of onion rings. In short, straight bangers.

The series truly feels like two best buds getting into some absurd, middle-aged sitcom-esque hijinks. And while the star leads play exaggerated versions of themselves, there’s still a lot of heart at their core. It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that several scenes were just McConaughey and Harrelson riffing off each other, akin to “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” McConaughey and Harrelson are having a ball, and they’ve finally invited us to join, even if it follows familiar beats too often.

THE GOOD – McConaughey, Harrelson, Taylor, and Gilroy are all a hilarious riot. An absurd concept that has some genuine, laugh-out-loud moments.

THE BAD – A bit too network-sitcom at times, with underdeveloped supporting characters.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

THE FINAL SCORE – 7/10

The post “Brothers” Brings McConaughey And Harrelson Together Again For A Rowdy Ride appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Linda Cardellini, William Catlett, Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins, & Gwendolyn Sundstrom

THE TEAM – Brad Caleb Kane (Showrunner/Writer)

It’s very likely no horror villain has transcended their own franchise quite like the iconic Jason Voorhees. The lumbering silhouette emerging from woods and water, donning a hockey mask and brandishing a machete, has terrorized nightmares for decades. Undoubtedly infamous enough that even those who have never seen a single “Friday the 13th” film could pick Jason out of a lineup. Though since the original 1980 film kickstarted the franchise focusing on a grieving mother driven to violence after having lost her son, four decades and a dozen or so films later have transformed Jason into somewhat of a motiveless killing machine. And as entertaining as the slashers have been over the years, it’s rather disheartening to see Pamela Voorhees’ anguish, her love for her son, and the deeply human center of “Friday the 13th” being buried underneath the gallons of blood, jump scares, and inexhaustible appetite for slaughter. But 46 years later, A24 and Peacock are returning audiences to New Jersey with the long-awaited prequel series “Crystal Lake,” once again revealing the humanity behind the mythology.

Created by “It: Welcome to Derry” showrunner Brad Caleb Kane and produced by the behemoth studio A24, “Crystal Lake” takes audiences back to the early ’70s, long before the bloody events of “Friday the 13th” and paints an intimate portrait of Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini) and her beloved young son, Jason (Callum Vinson). Though smart, sweet, and kind, Jason lives with a physical and facial deformity that spurs a barrage of bullying from his peers, especially at Camp Crystal Lake summer camp, where his mother works as a camp cook. Of course, this leads to a devastating tragedy at the lake, and Pamela is distraught, tormented by the disappearance of her son and trying to navigate life a year later, while not giving up on finding her boy. Observed by the generally innocent community around her as well as local police chief Levon Brooks (William Catlett), one thing leads to another, and Pamela is forced to resort to (a lot of) violence to protect herself and her son’s memory… and we can’t even blame her.

“Crystal Lake” is surprisingly sensitive and intimate, while still delivering a grisly and gruesome good time. The two episodes premiering at TIFF boast unique kills, cover-your-eyes moments, and buckets of blood aplenty, but it also focuses on the humans behind the notoriety and legends, and that balance makes this latest Jason installment as effective as it is. The first episode starts strong and only stumbles slightly in the second, when it focuses on the less-than-interesting horny teen camp counselors or hints at some covert CIA mob, but even those scenes are compelling enough. “Crystal Lake” has fun with a delightfully satisfying retro-style intro and title cards, with plenty of nods to the original films, including Harry Manfredini’s score and his iconic ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma (which he created by reverberating, distorting, and shortening the phrase “kill her mommy”). From campy smash zooms to cheeky freeze frames, the show has just enough callbacks to the original source material, balanced by contemporary touches, including excellent sound and stunning cinematography by Maceo Bishop (“The Smashing Machine”).

Linda Cardellini delivers a sensational performance that will no doubt carry through the rest of the series, making Pamela perhaps the show’s most riveting element. Her relationship with Jason is heartfelt and believable thanks to her little costar Callum Vinson, who meets Cardellini at her level and reminds audiences of Jason’s innocent beginnings and unfortunate childhood. Both actors pay tribute to the 1980 film by bringing a profound amount of heart to the show and reminding audiences that the machete-wielding legend began with the immense love between mother and son. Additionally, William Catlett brings substantial empathy and kindness as police chief Brooks, who develops a soft spot for the mysterious, grieving mother and ultimately gets involved in what’s bound to be a bloody mess with a high kill count.

“Friday the 13th,” its lore, and the universe it exists in have become bigger than anyone could’ve predicted – from a dozen or so installments to multiple video games and a number of comic books. As iconic as that is, it’s clear the core of who Pamela and Jason are as characters has become an echo of what it started as back in 1980. That’s why it’s as satisfying as it is thrilling that with “Crystal Lake,” audiences can once again be reminded that there’s a human underneath that hockey mask – one that had a mother he adored, and who used to be a sweet child. A medley of old-school slasher fun, psychological drama, and intimate character study, “Crystal Lake” will assuredly delight longtime fans of the franchise while inviting new audiences to witness the ground-zero origin story of one of the most fearsome, iconic, and recognizable killers in cinema history.

THE GOOD – This rich and heartfelt retelling of Jason’s beginnings boasts excellent performances, satisfying callbacks to the source material, and a wonderful script that balances character study with grisly kills.

THE BAD – The show stumbles slightly when it overexplains itself or focuses on characters and side-stories of lesser interest.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie

THE FINAL SCORE – 8/10

The post “Crystal Lake” Finds the Human Behind the Hockey Mask appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Sharon Horgan, Scarlett Rayner, Nadia Parkes, Aran Murphy, Sharlene Whyte

THE TEAM – Sharon Horgan (Writer & Showrunner)

Sharon Horgan has long proven herself to be a masterful auteur of refreshingly honest portraits of life and all its hilarious misfortunes. From “Catastrophe” to “Bad Sisters,” Horgan consistently blends her distinctive comedic voice with stories of life’s high stakes. It’s no surprise that with “Youth,” her newest endeavor on HBO, she once again turns the indignities of aging into something sharp, complex, and deeply funny. Through her signature wit, richly drawn characters, and meticulous world-building, Horgan makes growing older without grace feel like something we should all be watching.

Horgan plays Alex, a middle-aged divorcee with aging parents and a son, Ruari, played by Aran Murphy (a clear descendant of his father, Cillian), who’s about to graduate high school but has no idea what he wants to do with his life. But that’s okay; Alex doesn’t really know yet either, even in her 50s. She’s a literary agent, dealing with difficult clients and her BFF boss (played by a warmly funny Sharlene Whyte) who doesn’t really give her the respect she doesn’t necessarily deserve. She also has her eccentric ex, played by Owen McDonnell – a deadbeat dad who pops up at the worst possible times. In and out of her life are men of various ages, with Alex testing the waters of how young (or old) she really wants to feel by dipping her toes in the dating pool. Two of the mainstays are Rupert Friend, playing her on-again-off-again younger lover with delightful Irish charm, and Tim McInnerny, a man more seasoned – and stable – than Alex in life and relationships.

Alex’s increasing concern with aging is met with both fear of the unknown and jealousy of the past. She wears clothes that invoke a 20-year-old’s streetwear style while dealing with her dad’s inability to figure out how to work a podcast. She still deals with awkward encounters with strangers (some of the series’ best laugh-out-loud moments), while trying to remain the guiding light for her son. It’s a bitingly funny look at a transitional phase of life, someone stuck in the middle while not knowing which way to go.

Because Horgan writes for herself, she knows her strengths well. She fully embodies Alex and all her hilarious antics, making herself the center of the series. She’s skillfully gifted at playing authentically flawed women who are way funnier than anyone you personally know. For her son, she cast another Irishman: newcomer Aran Murphy. If you take one look at the kid, you’ll have no doubt of his lineage; he is a dead ringer for his Oscar-winning father, Cillian, in both looks and mannerisms. Aran also has that same natural ability to seem apathetic about what he’s doing, and it’s perfect for the role of Ruari. He’s going through a pivotal time in his life, just turning 18 and off to college, but doesn’t deal with the changes so well. He panics after some awkward encounters at school, returning to his mom, who attempts to figure out what’s wrong and inevitably tries to solve it. Their relationship grounds the series, and Horgan and Murphy’s familial chemistry works extremely well. Hopefully soon enough, and with no thanks to this critic’s previous mentions, Murphy is able to separate his talents from his famous father’s and stand on his own, which he’s well on his way to doing.

The series leans heavily on Alex’s relationships with her friends and family, elevated by Sharon Horgan’s signature talent for assembling a flawless cast. Sharlene Whyte balances this dynamic beautifully as Sam, artfully walking the line between authority figure and best friend while serving as a relationship north star Alex so desperately needs. Rupert Friend and Horgan are drawn together, and anytime he’s not on screen you’ll find yourself missing his presence. Alex’s parents are used mainly for comedic bits (which always land), but also provide a layered look at the blessing and curse of aging with your parents. While everything’s funny on the surface, it’s also a little sad, and those moments of pause and reflection are the most gripping. As with most Horgan productions, the script is tight, with each moment serving a purpose. It’s one of her strengths, but one may wish for more comedic opportunities in this tight eight-episode series. There are also a few flashy moments in direction, but nothing consistent enough to make it a standout of the year.

As the series builds and ventures outside of London, the stakes get higher and more interesting for Alex and her crew. A particular episode toward the end of the season, set in Ibiza, is the series’s highlight, building momentum and empathy for our protagonist. You have to suspend reality in a few moments, mainly the inability of Alex’s friends to separate her exes from their group, but by the season’s end, it’s hard not to be invested in and root for Alex in all her adversity.

It’s simple in concept, full of hysterical misfortunes, and layered with Horgan’s signature wit. The series is intriguing enough, if not a bit slow at the start, but each episode does a fine job of compounding interest on the last, building stakes and character development so it’s hard to turn away. With sharp humor and biting commentary on how life never really goes the way you want, Horgan brings together generations of struggles – from Gen Z’s transition into adulthood to Gen X’s daily annoyances and erosion of youth; she dares to ask the question, “When did it all stop being fun?” Youth may be wasted on the young, but that doesn’t stop Horgan from stealing all the fun back for herself. It’s a show that, while not one you’d likely consider your favorite, you’ll binge in one sitting.

THE GOOD – Sharon Horgan’s authentic wit and humor lend to sharp writing and strong character development. The series is well cast and well acted.

THE BAD – It takes a while to get going, and some episodes could use more comedy from its talented cast.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Comedic Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

THE FINAL SCORE – 7/10

The post Sharon Horgan’s “Youth” Finds the Comedy in the Chaos of Aging appeared first on Next Best Picture.

How did the Next Best Picture team do with our predictions? Here are this year’s winners…

Outstanding Comedy Series
“Abbott Elementary”
“The Bear”
“Hacks”
“Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
“Nobody Wants This”
“Only Murders in the Building”
“Shrinking”
“Widow’s Bay“

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson – “Abbott Elementary”
Ayo Edebiri – “The Bear”
Elle Fanning – “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
Lisa Kudrow – “The Comeback”
Jean Smart – “Hacks“

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – “Wonder Man”
Matthew Rhys – “Widow’s Bay“
Jason Segel – “Shrinking”
Martin Short – “Only Murders in the Building”
Steve Carell – “Rooster”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Dale Dickey – “Widow’s Bay”
Hannah Einbinder – “Hacks”
Janelle James – “Abbott Elementary”
Kate O’Flynn – “Widow’s Bay“
Michelle Pfeiffer – “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
Meg Stalter – “Hacks”
Jessica Williams – “Shrinking”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Colman Domingo – “The Four Seasons”
Paul W. Downs – “Hacks”
Harrison Ford – “Shrinking”
Nick Offerman – “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
Stephen Root – “Widow’s Bay“
Michael Urie – “Shrinking”
Tyler James Williams – “Abbott Elementary”

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Lucia Aniello – “Hacks” 
Mary Lou Belli – “The Ms. Pat Show”
Andrew DeYoung – “The Chair Company”
Randall Einhorn – “Abbott Elementary”
Hiro Murai – “Widow’s Bay“
Christopher Storer – “The Bear”

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs & Jen Statsky – “Hacks”
Quinta Brunson – “Abbott Elementary”
Katie Dippold – “Widow’s Bay“
Anthony King – “Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat”
Michael Patrick King & Lisa Kudrow – “The Comeback”
Tim Robinson & Zach Kanin – “The Chair Company”

Outstanding Drama Series
“The Diplomat”
“The Gilded Age”
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
“Paradise”
“The Pitt“
“Pluribus”
“Slow Horses”
“Your Friends & Neighbors”

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Carrie Coon – “The Gilded Age”
Chase Infiniti – “The Testaments”
Keri Russell – “The Diplomat”
Rhea Seehorn – “Pluribus“
Zendaya – “Euphoria”

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown – “Paradise”
Gary Oldman – “Slow Horses”
Mark Ruffalo – “Task”
Rufus Sewell – “The Diplomat”
Noah Wyle – “The Pitt“

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Taylor Dearden – “The Pitt”
Fiona Dourif – “The Pitt”
Allison Janney – “The Diplomat“
Katherine LaNasa – “The Pitt”
Sepideh Moafi – “The Pitt”
Juliane Nicholson – “Paradise”
Karolina Wydra – “Pluribus”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Patrick Ball – “The Pitt” 
Billy Crudup – “The Morning Show“
Shawn Hatosy – “The Pitt“
Gerran Howell – “The Pitt“
Jack Lowden – “Slow Horses”
Carlos-Manuel Vesga – “Pluribus”
Tom Pelphrey – “Task“

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Hanelle M. Culpepper – “Paradise”
Vince Gilligan – “Pluribus”
Saul Metzstein – “Slow Horses“
Salli Richardson Whitfield – “The Gilded Age”
Salli Richardson Whitfield – “Task”
Noah Wyle – “The Pitt”

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Peter Ackerman & Debora Cahn – “The Diplomat”
Varlerie Chu – “The Pitt”
Vince Gilligan – “Pluribus“
Brad Ingelsby – “Task”
Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman & R. Scott Gemmill – “The Pitt”
Will Smith – “Slow Horses”

Outstanding Limited Series
“All Her Fault”
“The Beast in Me”
“Beef”
“DTF St. Louis“
“Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bissette”

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series/Anthology/TV Movie
Claire Danes – “The Beast in Me”
Sally Field – “Remarkably Bright Creatures“
Carey Mulligan – “Beef”
Sarah Pidgeon – “Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bissette”
Sarah Snook – “All Her Fault”

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series/Anthology/ TV Movie
Riz Ahmed – “Bait”
Jason Bateman – “Black Rabbit”
Charlie Hunnam – “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
Oscar Isaac – “Beef”
Matthew Rhys – “The Beast in Me”

Outstanding Variety Series
“The Daily Show”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”
“Saturday Night Live”

Outstanding Competition Series
“Dancing With the Stars”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”
“Survivor”
“Top Chef”
“The Traitors”

The full list of nominations including the directing, writing and craft categories can be found here. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will take place on September 14th, 2026 and the Creative Arts Emmys will take place on September 5th – 6th, 2026. What do you think of the nominations? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account.

The post The 78th Primetime Emmy Award Winners appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Olivia Cooke, Harry Lloyd, Kyle Soller, Lucian Msamati, MyAnna Buring, Lenny Rush & Hugo Weaving

THE TEAM – Gaby Chiappe (Showrunner/Writer) & Adam Randall (Director)

Bar none, one of the best developments of this decade in television is its slow rejection of the medium’s eventization. The ever-rampant desire to turn television into a platform for grandiose storytelling has had its highs at the expense of years of development between seasons, ballooning budgets, and the unshakeable fact that it’ll never replicate the magic of the silver screen. Now, seasons with longer episode counts and yearly turnarounds have led to an almost traditionalist revival that has made series like “The Pitt”, “The Bear”, and Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ empire the driving forces of water-cooler conversations. It also lets smaller series rise organically through the ranks, which is all the more impressive in the streaming era. That’s what makes “Slow Horses” one of television’s most rewarding stories. An international series consistently churning out exceptional seasons of television, scrappily making itself a staple for both audiences and awards bodies. Even when the series isn’t hitting every mark this time around, “Slow Horses” sixth season shows no signs of slowing down, even amid a creative shakeup. It continues to prove why it’s one of the year’s essential watches.

To no one’s surprise, everyone’s favorite rejects of MI-5 are still wasting away at Slough House, as Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb slovenly continues to watch over his flock of failures, including River Cartwright, played by Jack Lowden. River, who has proven himself time and again over the course of the series, is somehow the best Slough House has to offer and yet an often bumbling agent of espionage. Trapped working in Slough House in the middle of a family tragedy is just the beginning of River’s worst season so far, as the bodies of former Joes start turning up. River, Jackson, and the rest of Slough House are on a scattered search for safety as they find themselves in the sights of a two-person hit squad (played by Kyle Soller and MyAnna Buring) and a conspiracy that takes this all the way up to Kristin Scott Thomas’s Diana Taverner, who is now operating in the position of First Desk.

Gaby Chiappe, who steps in as showrunner this season, pulls from the series’ past, essentially making it the spy equivalent of an all-star season of “Survivor.” Familiar faces are in abundance, including the return of series favorites like Hugo Weaving’s Jack Harkness, the elusive mercenary and father of River and Rosalind Eleazar’s Louisa, who left the world of espionage in pursuit of a normal life. While the absence of former showrunner and writer Will Smith is noticeable, Chiappe and company still manage to hit all the essential hallmarks of what makes a season of “Slow Horses” as satisfying as it could be. While not as sharp as last year, there’s a comforting familiarity, mainly because of the typical framework of each season. If anything, this shouldn’t set off alarm bells about the series’ creative juices, even when it feels a bit more orchestrated than it ever has.

The fifth season, a Ho-heavy adventure with Christopher Chung at his best, returns to his role as the pestering man behind the chair while Chiappe rotates which agents have a more prominent presence this time around. That’s nothing new, as the series has always managed to shift focus exceptionally well on which agents stay in the spotlight as they’re thrust into whatever adventure. It’s a testament to the ensemble making the most of what is, at times, a brief appearance, only to get the ball rolling narratively. Where other shows would falter, “Slow Horses” thrives because it has what is arguably the most underrated ensemble in television. All these years later, Oldman has morphed Jackson’s coarse nature into one of television’s most charmingly disheveled characters. Every wise crack, grotesque bodily function, and unsightly bite of food is part of the idiosyncrasies that make Oldman’s performance one of the most memorable of his career. Meanwhile, Lowden, alongside Oldman, remains one of the series’ most consistently prominent actors, delivering his career-best work while amping up our favorite failed secret agent, still wallowing in loss and his ongoing daddy issues.

What feels different this time around is the reintroduction of characters like Olivia Cooke’s Sid Baker, who have been absent since the series’ freshman season, adding lovely energy not only to “Slow Horses” but also to what Lowden is trying to convey as a performer. Cooke’s presence is essential to the story, as she’s at the center of the calamity brought upon Slough House, which also feels like a rewarding development in a narrative that’s been years in the making. It remains to be said that despite how good Thomas is in the series, the ever more apparent splitting of storylines that has relegated her to the bureaucracy of the Park leaves someone of her caliber to the wayside more noticeably than ever. At least “Slow Horses” remains steadily helmed, with director Adam Randall tackling the entire season to a more than marvelous result. The season consistently ups the ante, especially in its latter half, delivering some of the best sequences in the series so far.

With a sixth season about to release and a seventh season currently in production, it’s a miracle a series like “Slow Horses” has managed to maintain the level of quality it has throughout its run. It may not be the best season so far, yet it’s a more-than-worthy addition to what is by far one of the best series on television. It would be a shame for one to miss out on what is one of the most entertaining shows out right now, but it could be Oldman’s last performance of his career. If that’s the case, we’re without a doubt going to need more adventures with the worst spies in England.

THE GOOD – Still as witty and riveting as it’s always been with Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, and others at the top of their game.

THE BAD – The absence of Will Smith is noticeable, leading to some of the more noticeably planned and occasionally circular writing of the series so far.

THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series

THE FINAL SCORE – 8/10

The post “Slow Horses” Proves It’s Still One Of TV’s Best Series appeared first on Next Best Picture.