BERLIN STATION REVIEW: “PROOF OF LIFE”NOVEMBER 28, 2016
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BERLIN STATION continues to improve with “Proof of Life.” The episode wraps up the intense hostage situation that cropped up towards the end of last week’s “Just Decisions.” And while the situation doesn’t go quite as Hector and Frost would hope, the action plays out well in a climatic ending worthy of the flawed characters who initiated its consequences in the first place.

Also featured at the end of this episode: Daniel finally connects the dots about Hector! Good grief, it took him long enough. It was actually very confusing – Hector is clearly emotionally compromised from Clare’s kidnapping and is sent home by Frost after a very angry confrontation at Berlin Station. Daniel suggests to Frost that perhaps he should accompany Hector and try to diffuse the situation, since they both know that Hector is a loose canon. The strange thing is, without actually mentioning Thomas Shaw, they both discuss Hector as if they already know that he is the mole. At least, that’s the impression I got from it. I was actually mildly impressed, while simultaneously being confused. Even though there had been no mention of either of them uncovering Hector’s identity as Thomas Shaw, I thought perhaps it was the show trying to reveal that Daniel and Frost were more competent than I gave them credit for, in a ‘spies don’t show their full hand’ sort of way. However, at the end of the show it becomes clear that that wasn’t actually the case before, and neither is the idea that this show wouldn’t reveal it’s whole hand to you as it unfurls. Which is disappointing, because while this show is easier to follow with the story playing out as it is, it would be so much more interesting and spy-worthy if there were things that we as an audience weren’t actually privy to.

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The hostage situation and negotiation is actually really interesting, though. Frost is working under pressure from both sides. The wife of the reformed terrorist taken captive believes that the Americans have taken him, as they were in the middle of the Op when the kidnapping happened. She is holding Clare and threatening to kill her if Frost doesn’t give her proof that her husband is still alive. Unfortunately for Frost, he still doesn’t know where her husband is or who took him. Not only is he having to negotiate a hostage situation, but he’s having to do it on both sides. His resources are stretched on both ends, as he tries to uncover the location where they are keeping Clare while also trying to figure out who kidnapped the terrorist and where they took him.

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Meanwhile, Hector and Daniel are onto a lead as Frost’s negotiating turns south. Once Frost finally figures out that there was Romanian mafia involvement, he tells the wife that her husband has been taken to Romania, and that they are in the process of trying to get an audio link setup to prove that he is still alive. Hector and Daniel find the location of where Clare is being held near the same time that the wife is able to get on the line with her husband. Only things go from bad to worse as her husband tells her he was put on a plane, told he had the right to a lawyer (not something the mafia would likely say) and that there are palm trees where he is. She immediately believes that Frost has been lying to her the whole time, and the negotiating ends. Daniel and Hector find her holding a gun to Clare’s head.

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The standoff goes just as smoothly as everything else for these CIA agents: not at all. Clare, exhausted and defeated from being held captive and tortured, tries to free herself and gets a fatal shot in the back. Hector, distraught as he watches Clare die in his arms, snaps the terrorist woman’s neck, leaving Daniel to figure out how to cover their tracks.

It’s a bitter end, and while it was very entertaining to watch, I don’t think I am as emotionally invested in these characters as this show would like me to be. While I was rooting for Clare to make it out alive, I wasn’t emotionally distraught when she didn’t. I didn’t feel any heartache for Hector, either. The thing about this show is, I can’t tell if I’m supposed to be feeling these things or not. Are these characters supposed to be unsympathetic? Am I not supposed to fully trust what they say or how they present themselves to other characters? And if not, how do I invest in these characters, if I can’t be sure that I know who they truly are? It’s the conundrum of this show, and I’m not sure that any amount of interesting drama will change that.

TB-TV-Grade-B

Season 1, Episode 7 (S01E07)
Berlin Station airs Sunday at 9PM on Epix

Read all of our reviews of Berlin Station here.
Read our reviews of more of your favorite shows here.



Tasha is a freelance writer currently based in Los Angeles. Originally from Kansas, when she’s not writing about or watching TV, Tasha is searching for the best BBQ place in LA to fill the KC BBQ hole in her stomach.
Keep up with all of Tasha’s reviews here.



Tasha Cerny | Contributor

Zur 7. Episode:

http://www.tracking-board.com/berlin-st ... f-of-life/

The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2016

Chief TV Critic
Maureen Ryan
Chief TV Critic
@moryan



1
Stranger Things TV Review NetflixCOURTESY OF NETFLIX
DECEMBER 12, 2016 | 02:00PM PT
Approximately 18,450 new shows premiered in 2016. All right, I apologize, that’s an exaggeration. But it feels true, and isn’t that what matters?

In all seriousness, there were months in which it felt as though a dozen new shows were premiering every day, and it is true that there are now more than 400 scripted shows (new and returning) competing for viewers’ attention.

And yet, I can’t quite bring myself to complain about this deluge, which has brought so much thoughtful and arresting work to our screens. As I wrote in March (and in a giddy September piece as well), the half-hour arena has been particularly fertile, and that’s been an exciting development to watch during the past few years. Television still can be good at inviting viewers to engage with a mainstream-oriented, big-tent kind of program, but much of the cutting-edge creativity and excitement in the TV realm has come from those who are exploring the uses of the limitations of the form.

RELATED
Best TV Shows of 2016 Variety List
The Best TV Shows of 2016

Limited-run shows, miniseries, anthologies and half-hours force writers to concentrate their efforts, and in using the specific to get to universal truths, they’ve come up with some incisive, funny, surprising and heartbreaking stories. As un-American as this may sound, bigger is not always better — and “small” does not have to mean insignificant. It’s quite the opposite, at least when it comes to many of the shows below and on my overall Top 20 shows of 2016.

Before I get to the list, a couple of notes: My Variety colleague Sonia Saraiya has also posted her Top 20 Shows, as well as a roster of her favorite TV episodes of the year (here is one short piece that combines both our overall Top 20 lists). Coming soon: My list of the year’s best returning shows, as well as a staff-written array of the worst TV moments of the year.

Here’s my roster of the best shows that debuted this year.

“And Then There Were None” (Lifetime): If you were one of the four people in America who saw this beautifully appointed and well-acted miniseries, then you know how utterly delicious it was. Agatha Christie’s best work is all about the psychological and social factors that drive people to rebel against class norms and act on the kind of rage that springs from disappointment and stifled aspirations, and every single member of “None’s” large cast brilliantly embodied variations on Christie’s perceptive themes. This was a very smart, silky adaptation that understood the cruel emotions and ruthless urges that inform so much great detective fiction, especially those set among repressed and intelligent Brits. Just fantastic. Here’s my review.

“Atlanta” (FX): This distinctive, important and wryly observational show “quickly built from its strong start, and the installments in the second half of the season, particularly ‘Juneteenth’ and ‘B.A.N.,’ were spectacular,” I noted on my Top 20 Shows of 2016 roster.


“Better Things” (FX): Thanks to its “extremely talented and truthful child actors, great supporting performances and a lead actress/creator who could transition between silly, devastated, angry and bemused without ever missing a beat,” this terrific new half-hour landed on my Top 20 Shows of 2016.

“Berlin Station” (Epix): Epix’s first foray into drama wasn’t the most revolutionary or ambitious spy show on TV, but, having seen the entire season, I can report that it was an energetic and enjoyable ride. Richard Armitage’s character may have been a little on the bland side, but the entire cast, which included Michelle Forbes and Richard Jenkins in key roles, brought all of their considerable talents to bear on the topical material. And yet, for all that, Rhys Ifans walked away with the entire thing by giving a scene-stealing performance as unconventional CIA agent Hector DeJean, one of my favorite characters of the year and a classic type of the spy genre: An amused, cynical man of the world who has seen too much but carefully hides the depth of his romantic soul. My review.


“Billions” (Showtime): As I wrote in my review, “This is a generally well-crafted soap opera about rich people, one that crackles with energy and insider knowledge of its well-heeled territory and the narcissistic insiders who live there. …Too many dramas these days, even modestly ambitious ones, mistake plodding glumness and a dour tone for seriousness of intent,” but “Billions” doesn’t make that mistake. Paul Giamatti, Damian Lewis, Malin Akerman, David Costabile and Maggie Siff all gave fierce, wry, committed performances as high rollers in the Manhattan financial elite, but “the most salient fact about ‘Billions’ may be that it’s funny. Sarcastic asides, humorous insults and well-targeted quips are folded into it like truffles in a plate of handmade ravioli.”

“The Crown” (Netflix): This show is generally smarter and more ambitious than “Downton Abbey,” which never met an obvious plot it couldn’t beat into the ground. But like that PBS show, “The Crown” shamelessly panders to those who love period costumes, dry upper-crust wit and palace porn. Still, even with all those grand ballrooms and sparkling jewels on display, the whole thing might have been too diffuse if not for Claire Foy, who “brings to ‘The Crown’ the watchful intelligence that she displayed in ‘Wolf Hall’; it is a star turn of the highest order, but not remotely showy,” as I noted in my review.

“Fleabag” (Amazon): A “a wicked, spiky gem” that makes you think it’s going to do one thing very well, then does a whole array of hard things brilliantly. For those reasons and more, this show landed on my Top 20 Shows of 2016.


“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” (TBS): A smart, disciplined, take-no-prisoners program that offered a “cold, bracing blast of finely honed rage” every week, as I wrote in my Top 20 Shows of 2016.

“Goliath” (Amazon): As I said in my review of this entertaining legal saga, “Goliath” “is the product of the merging of executive producer David E. Kelley’s “savvy commercial instincts and the possibilities of the streaming arena, and as hybrids go, this entertaining drama has quite a bit to offer,” including terrific performances from Billy Bob Thornton, Nina Arianda and Harold Perrineau.

“Gomorrah” (Sundance): This epic saga of crime and corruption in Italy has a number of familiar elements, but its execution is admirable. “Gomorrah” is essentially a character-driven story that depicts how amorality infects a culture, and as I wrote in my review, it keeps a “laser focus on how crime organizations wielding drug money and ruthless violence corrupt all kinds of people up and down the socioeconomic ladder — even as they provide a leg up to those on the very bottom. The drama follows the money, as it travels from poor neighborhoods inhabited by African immigrants to the posh offices of wheeler-dealers,” and its observant and even compassionate details linger in the memory.


“The Good Place” (NBC): As I wrote in my review, “for all its fanciful elements and whimsical flourishes, [this comedy] has a rock-solid foundation: It is devoted to questions and scenarios that percolate with moral urgency.” Thanks in large part to a very nimble cast and strategically smart reveals, “The Good Place’s” early run of episodes ended up being an ambitious but amiable good time. My review.

“Insecure” (HBO): This confident, complicated and very pleasing show “takes topics that TV has done to death — friendship, romance, awkward work dynamics and the slow death of post-college aspirations — and made them seem fresh again,” as I wrote in my Top 20 Shows of 2016.


Maureen Ryan’s 20 Best TV Shows of 2016

“Lady Dynamite” (Netflix): “The comedy may have an experimental streak, but it’s also quite disciplined in its storytelling, and, despite some loopy segues, it’s matter-of-fact about the ways in which the lead character’s bipolar disorder — as well as the mixed messages of Hollywood’s disorienting funhouse — can end up fracturing reality,” as I wrote in my review. “Lady Dynamite” uses colorful storytelling devices and surreal moments to tell a story that is sad, wise, funny and incisive, and Maria Bamford is a winning tour guide through the crystalline maze of her own mind.

“London Spy” (BBC America): This five-part series has sensational performances from Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling, and features the kind of posh suspense you’d expect from a handsome U.K. production. Yet despite its well-known actors and familiar story elements, “there is something singular about this terrific program, a spare, off-kilter intensity that sets it apart from its peers,” as I wrote in my review. “London Spy’s” lead character never quite knows what is real, given that he’s so frequently being manipulated by people in the government and the media (a theme that feels more topical by the day), but Whishaw gives this haunting drama a necessary and charismatic center.


“The Night Manager” (AMC): This spy drama is a little bit hollow and ephemeral, but it’s also a lot of glossy fun and has undeniably delightful performances from Olivia Colman and Hugh Laurie. Loki is in it too, but the character played by Tom Hiddleston, like Richard Armitage in “Berlin Station,” ends up looking a little staid compared to the devious, manipulative people around him. The core romance never really takes flight, but “The Night Manager” is a seductive but somewhat demoralizing look at the most elite and connected of the super-rich, and the compromised bureaucrats that allow them to bend and break the rules more or less at will. My review.

“One Mississippi” (Amazon): Full of deadpan moments and beautifully subtle meditations on mourning, trauma and romance, “the dry and eventually devastating ‘One Mississippi’ did many things right,” as I noted in my Top 20 Shows of 2016.

“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” (FX): It’s not often that a drama is both ferociously smart and compassionately perceptive, but this addictive miniseries was both those things and much more. It was “an engrossing triumph,” as I noted in my Top 20 Shows of 2016.


“Stranger Things” (Netflix): This supernatural serial “tenderly evoked the fragility of familial love and the fear and exhilaration that can accompany growing up,” as I noted in my Top 20 Shows of 2016.

“Sweet/Vicious” (MTV): Sometimes the freshness of a show’s concept and the energetic execution of the intriguing ideas at its core make up for other wobbles, and that’s definitely the case with this charming show about sexual assault (which is not a phrase I ever expected to write, but here we are). As I noted in my review, the two stars — Taylor Dearden and Eliza Bennett — are capable and well-matched, and the “main accomplishment of the promising show is that it never loses sight of the issues surrounding rape culture, violation, and consent, but it’s not an ‘eat your vegetables’ kind of program — it’s essentially an enjoyable superhero saga.”

“Wynonna Earp” (Syfy): After a somewhat rocky start, this scrappy serial evolved into one of the most enjoyable genre escapes of the year. Anyone looking for a “Buffy”-esque story about a complicated, flawed woman with special abilities and an entertaining array of friends, enemies and lovers should check out this show, which concerns the supernatural travails of the gun-toting heir of Wyatt Earp. It’s campy at times — but knowingly so — and “Wynonna Earp” never loses sight of the guilt and hope at war inside its fiercely independent lead character. Amid the shoot-outs, demon-hunting and flirtation, “Wynonna Earp” sneaks in a lot of intelligent commentary on identity, family and loneliness, and the icing on top is an array of addictive romances and hookups. What this prairie-set Canadian import lacks in budget, it makes up for in gumption, sass and camaraderie. I enjoyed the heck out of its first run of episodes, and I can’t wait for Season Two.

'Atlanta,' 'Baskets' and 'Insecure' among the best on TV in 2016
Keith Stanfield, Brian Tyree Henry and Donald Glover

Robert Lloyd, Television Critic

New series I loved in 2016: 13 shows in 10 items, in no particular order.

"Baskets" (FX) / "Atlanta" (FX)

Zach Galifianakis and Donald Glover find themselves back home and struggling in these personal, downbeat, guardedly hopeful, suddenly beautiful comedies. Louie Anderson, as Galifianakis' mother, is the first series' big surprise and revelation; Brian Tyree Henry, as Glover's rapper cousin, the latter's.

"Insecure" (HBO)

Issa Rae plays a woman stuck in place, grappling with love, friendship, work and identity in and around Inglewood. As above: personal, guardedly hopeful and suddenly beautiful, and a little bit downbeat.

"Better Things" (FX)

Pamela Adlon raising daughters in Hollywood, with love, exasperation and attitude.

"Stranger Things" (Netflix)

This dual-worlds, science-gone-too-far serial, set in the 1980s, is allusive nearly to a fault. But it's fully itself in the end, raised to another level by some fine performances, none more crucial or uncanny than that of Millie Bobby Brown as a little girl raised with a number for a name, on whose shoulders the whole business rests.

“Crash Course: Philosophy” (YouTube)

Vlogger Hank Green helps you learn to think in this sprightly but substantial romp through the history and forms of inward- and outward-looking reflection. "Only when you challenge your understanding of how some people view the world can you decide for yourself if theirs is a view worth having." Just what you might need now.


"Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" (TBS)

The new American moment has brought out the best in a host of talk and topical comedians. But with her punk stand and speed, her unapologetic partisan rage, Bee is a warrior queen, the leader of the pack.

"The Good Place" (NBC)

Ted Danson, Kristen Bell and William Jackson Harper bend the rules of heaven in an afterlife comedy made in the old NBC Thursday night spirit. When I say "old," I mean last year, before "Parks and Recreation" split.
Kristen Bell plays a woman mistakenly sent to heaven in the NBC comedy "The Good Place."
Kristen Bell plays a woman mistakenly sent to heaven in the NBC comedy "The Good Place." (Justin Lubin/NBC)

"Berlin Station" (Epix)

Sleek but not slick contemporary, continental, no-nonsense spy thriller features Richard Armitage, Michelle Forbes and Rhys Ifans as American agents looking to plug a leak in chilly, new-Cold War Germany. From earlier this year, when the CIA still counted.

"Lady Dynamite" (Netflix)/ “Dice" (Showtime)

Comics in straitened circumstances. Maria Bamford is the star of "Lady Dynamite," a bipolar surrealist farce set in three mental states. "Dice" is Andrew Dice Clay, more complicated than you might remember him, scuffling in Las Vegas, with dry support from Natasha Leggero and Kevin Corrigan.

"Easy" (Netflix)/ "High Maintenance" (HBO)

Serial anthologies that move through tangentially linked sets of characters and share a sympathetic view of human difference and frailty. "Easy," from indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg, centers on Chicago creative types; "High Maintenance," set in New York, has pot delivery as its spine.

BERLIN STATION Review: “Oratorio Berlin”
December 19, 2016

Okay, before I dive into this week’s BERLIN STATION, “Oratorio Berlin,” can we discuss how stupid I feel for having watched this entire season and never realized that Richard Armitage is Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit? Yeah, try to watch Daniel Miller the same way again. It’s impossible.

But speaking of impossible things, let’s talk about how incredibly slow the buildup to this finale episode was, and then all of a sudden everything came out in this one episode. I gotta say, all in all, I enjoyed the meat of this show – the characters (as frustrating and flawed as they were) and their stories/motivations – but for goodness sakes the pacing of this show is just all over the place. And honestly? That’s my biggest critique of this particular episode. It was great – probably the best episode of the entire season, simply based on content. It had everything the rest of the nine episodes had been begging for: mystery, intrigue, action, stakes. But the pacing! That’s the flaw with waiting to stuff all of the juicy reveals and catching all of your characters up into the final episode; you don’t get any time to revel in the pay off. Instead, as an audience we’re given eight and a half boring to sort-of-interesting episodes to build to this one point where we rip off the mask of our mystery and then pull the curtain down, roll credits. Where’s the emotional payoff? Where’s the tension?

Unfortunately, we aren’t given enough time to dwell on the stuck-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place mentality that the eyewash – as those CIA kids are calling it these days – really called for. Instead, we’re led through a series of climatic reveals that fall flat because before we really have time to register the new development, we’re on to the next story point. It’s like listening to a speech where the orator doesn’t understand dramatic pause. I mean, this certainly isn’t daytime television, but a little more soap never hurt anyone.

In terms of actual story, though, the episode was pretty strong. As promised in our first episode, we find out what actually happened the day Daniel Miller gets shot. Turns out that on top of the German Intelligence director getting Thomas Shaw to do his bidding, the head of American national security is trying to cover his own tracks. When Daniel calls back to the Station for help to get him and his sister out of the country safely, the national security director shows up at his safe house, where Daniel tells him that the Germans had Thomas Shaw under their thumb. Armed with this knowledge, the security director strikes up a deal with the German intelligence director. They both agree to “take care of” their sides of the bargain: for the American director it’s Daniel, for the German director, it’s Steven Frost. By getting rid of both, they each are covering their own tracks.

Getting rid of Daniel Miller isn’t so easy, though. He comes together with Kirsch, Valerie, and Sandra, and they piece together what’s happening: the national security director is covering his butt for an eyewash-gone-wrong in an attempt to smoke out Thomas Shaw. Turns out none of the stuff on the kidnapped terrorist whose wife killed Clare was true. It was just a way to try and sniff Shaw out. And instead, all it did was cost an agent her life.

Meanwhile, turns out Kirsch’s little foray into espionage was actually above the line the entire time. Unfortunately for him, the Tel Aviv director realizes she’s been played and rats their operation out to the German intelligence officers. Lucky for Daniel, he gets to the jump drive hidden by Hector before German intelligence can get to him. In the drive is incriminating evidence that needs to be publicized in order to clear Frost and Berlin Station. Daniel gets it passed off to Sandra right before he gets shot by German intelligence officers.

Luckily, Daniel doesn’t die and things wrap up nice and neatly. Well, except for the German intelligence director, who gets shot in the head by a sniper while walking his dog. Can’t say he didn’t deserve it after all the backstabbing and blood he was willing to get on his own hands to cover his tracks. I’ll be curious to know how the show goes about building up its second season, with everything wrapped up so nicely in the first. The show feels more like a mini series to me than an actual show with the longevity to span multiple seasons, but that wouldn’t be the first time Berlin Station has surprised me with what it has up its sleeve. I guess we’ll all just have to wait to find out.

ENTERTAINMENT


ENTERTAINMENT // TV
The 10 Best TV Dramas of 2016
Find out which shows made our annual best of list, as we look back at television's finest dramas from 2016.

...

8. BERLIN STATION

image: http://cdn2-www.craveonline.com/assets/ ... review.jpg

Berlin Station Episode 9 preview
Photo Credit: Epix

Berlin Station came out of nowhere, and it quickly rose to be among the best series of 2016. This was one of the first original series on Epix, and it’s been criminally ignored. Discovering this show was one of the greatest joys of the year, as it dived into the world of modern espionage with a little bit more realism than we’ve gotten on Homeland or 24. That’s not to say that it’s completely realistic with its occasional action, but it felt more grounded.

The series was particularly successful at using Richard Jenkins, Michelle Forbes, Leland Orser, and Tamlyn Tomita’s supporting characters and giving each of them an arc to play out over the season. But the real attraction was the cat-and-mouse game between Richard Armitage’s Daniel Miller and his frenemy, Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans). That particular element may be missing from the upcoming season 2, but we’re looking forward to seeing where Berlin Station goes next.


Read more at http://www.craveonline.com/entertainmen ... rCyhlq0.99

The 10 Best TV Dramas of 2016
Find out which shows made our annual best of list, as we look back at television's finest dramas from 2016.

by Blair MarnellDec 27th, 2016



TV is everything. We may go to the movies for the latest blockbusters, the moving dramas, the funniest comedies, or even the spectacle that we simply can’t get on television. But we always go home, and our favorite TV shows are always there at our disposal, now more than ever.

The era of Peak TV is nowhere near finished, even though there’s currently a record number of original series in production. We can thank or blame Netflix for a lot of that, but the trend started over a decade ago on basic cable with the emergence of FX, AMC, and others as viable alternatives to HBO and the major broadcast networks. There’s no going back to those TV dark ages, and the expansion has given us many stories that we would have otherwise been denied.

Could a two hour movie and its sequels give us the grand fantasy of Game of Thrones in all of its complexity? Would audiences have been drawn into the mysteries of Westworld without the unfolding narrative of its weekly episodes? And would the complex characters across the TV landscape resonate onscreen without the hours and hours we’ve spent watching them grow and develop? There’s always going to be a place for films, but television is the narrative that lets creators truly explore their creations at length. It’s not always a pretty picture, but the greatest dramas always leave us eager to see the next installment.

Even with On-Demand at our fingertips and a number of streaming services, it’s incredibly difficult keeping up with even the most popular TV shows, and there were probably a few that fell between the cracks. However, the beauty of television is that some of these series that didn’t find an audience the first time may be rediscovered again in the future. For now, we’re focusing on our annual list of the 10 Best Dramas on TV. This was a more difficult year to pin down, since over half of the shows on last year’s list either failed to repeat, didn’t air new episodes, or simply ended in 2015. As a result, it’s quite a different list this year.

Of course, all opinions are subjective. This list represents our choices, but we’re always looking to check out the next great TV drama. Feel free to share your choices in the comment section below!

10. THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORY

In 2015, no one could have predicted that O.J. Simpson’s famous murder trial would become one of the best series of the year. Ryan Murphy isn’t exactly known for his subtle character portraits, and yet the first season of American Crime Story was unexpectedly gripping. Murphy and his collaborators managed to take all of the larger than life media personalities and humanize them. Even David Schwimmer’s Robert Kardashian was sympathetic, simply because he believably showed a more vulnerable side and some very easy to believe doubts about his client and friend.

There were so many great performances, but Sarah Paulson really stood out as Marcia Clark. And we can’t forget the strong turns by Sterling K. Brown, Courtney B. Vance, and even Cuba Gooding Jr. as O. J. Simpson himself. Gooding’s star has diminished in Hollywood over the last decade and a half. Hopefully this series reminded everyone of what he can do with the right material.

9. THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE

The Man in the High Castle had a strong opening season, which was surpassed by the recently released second season. This year, the series introduced the title character and some of the questions that he represents, but the heart of the show was still with the core group of players from the year before. Alexa Davalos and Rupert Evans had particularly strong seasons as Juliana and Frank were driven in different directions. But Rufus Sewell’s Obergruppenführer John Smith is still one of the best villains on television. Smith is clearly a monster, and yet he is also refreshingly human. It’s almost as if the series dares the audience to feel sympathy for him at times before reminding us just who and what he really is.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa also remained one of the series’ best assets for his quiet and thoughtful performance as Nobusuke Tagomi, a Japanese trade minister who dared to find his own path. This show is more than just an alternate world sci-fi tale. And at times, it’s hitting a little too close to home.

8. BERLIN STATION

Berlin Station came out of nowhere, and it quickly rose to be among the best series of 2016. This was one of the first original series on Epix, and it’s been criminally ignored. Discovering this show was one of the greatest joys of the year, as it dived into the world of modern espionage with a little bit more realism than we’ve gotten on Homeland or 24. That’s not to say that it’s completely realistic with its occasional action, but it felt more grounded.

The series was particularly successful at using Richard Jenkins, Michelle Forbes, Leland Orser, and Tamlyn Tomita’s supporting characters and giving each of them an arc to play out over the season. But the real attraction was the cat-and-mouse game between Richard Armitage’s Daniel Miller and his frenemy, Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans). That particular element may be missing from the upcoming season 2, but we’re looking forward to seeing where Berlin Station goes next.

7. RECTIFY

Admittedly, we’re late to the party on Rectify. But that’s par for the course for this series. SundanceTV just doesn’t have the wide reach of other cable networks, but it did have the foresight to give Ray McKinnon’s series a home as it explored the ramifications of Daniel Holden (Aden Young) and his alleged crimes, while diving into the way it affected Daniel’s family and his hometown after his release from prison.

In only 30 episodes across four seasons, Rectify built up a fascinating cast of characters and a tightly controlled narrative that came to a satisfactory conclusion. That’s a rare feat, even in Peak TV!

6. STRANGER THINGS

Netflix executives have claimed that they knew Stranger Things would be a hit, but we doubt that they ever expected it to be the pop culture sensation that it became over the summer. The Duffer Brothers’ homage to all things ‘80s simply found a way to resonate with a wide audience and some of the best child actors we’ve seen since Game of Thrones. We expect big things from Millie Bobby Brown and her co-stars.

Stranger Things also benefited from its short, eight-episode season, and the sense of discovery as new fans embraced the series. It’s going to be hard for the second season to top this one, but it’s something we’re looking forward to seeing in 2017.

5. WESTWORLD

No show on TV had the hype that Westworld received in 2016. It was also reportedly a troubled production that faced delays and nearly missed this year altogether. Facing those odds, Westworld not only met its expectations, it exceeded them. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s collaborators created one of the most enticing new series of the year, and presented it in a mesmerizing way. It was so well done that it didn’t even matter if the internet quickly spoiled all of the show’s mysteries by correctly guessing where the show was going.

Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright may not have been the biggest names of Westworld’s all-star cast, but they gave the biggest performances as Maeve and Bernard. They were so good that they actually overshadowed Evan Rachel Wood and James Marsden, both of whom were also excellent this season. The slow descent of Jimmi Simpson’s William was also quite compelling, but Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris were in a class of their own. Westworld won’t be back until 2018, but it’s going to be missed next year. This may the Game of Thrones successor series that HBO has been so desperately looking for.

4. THE NIGHT OF

When James Gandolfini died, his HBO comeback project, The Night Of, had to find someone to replace him. That would be intimidating for anyone. Yet John Turturro stepped into the role of attorney John Stone, and The Night Of was one of HBO’s triumphs of the year. Before audiences saw his turn in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Riz Ahmed headlined this series as Nasir Khan, a young man accused of a murder that even he wasn’t sure if he had committed or not.

While Stone’s attempts to defend Khan formed the heart of the series, The Night Of had its most unforgettable moments while tracking the transformation of Khan himself. It’s not clear if HBO is planning to revisit this series in the future, but if it’s just a single season miniseries then The Night Of will probably be remembered as a classic.

3. BETTER CALL SAUL

Better Call Saul is not Breaking Bad. It could never be Breaking Bad. And yet, this series has re-contextualized Breaking Bad in a way that no one saw coming. Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman was the dark comic relief on Breaking Bad, but in this series, his earlier incarnation, Jimmy McGill is the heart of the show. Even as Jimmy, the future Saul has some of his darker impulses. However, Jimmy wears his heart on his sleeve in a way that Saul never could, which makes him infinitely more compelling. We know he can’t win, and yet Jimmy still earns our sympathy.

The second season gave Jonathan Banks’ Mike Ehrmantraut more of a spotlight, and that half of the show felt a lot more like its predecessor. More impressively, the series elevated Rhea Seehorn’s Kim Wexler into a truly compelling lead in her own right, as she tried to navigate the chaos and destruction left in Jimmy’s wake. We also have to give a nod to Michael McKean as Charles “Chuck” McGill, Jr., one of the few villains on TV who doesn’t realize just what an a**hole he is to the people around him. Chuck lacks self awareness, but his unfolding vengeance against his brother has us eagerly awaiting the new season.

2. THE AMERICANS

The Americans was always a good series. But over the last few seasons, it’s become one of the greatest shows on television. It follows a pair of Russian spies, Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys), during the height of the Cold War…and makes them earn our sympathy! Not only that, it challenges the audience to still feel empathy for the Jennings even as we watch them commit murder and destroy lives in the name of their mother country.

This series mined a lot of drama out of Paige (Holly Taylor), the daughter of Elizabeth and Philip, who has become unwillingly involved in their double life. But the thing that elevated the fourth season was the absolutely ruthless way it resolved two of the series longest running subplots: the fate of Nina (Annet Mahendru) as a captive in Russia and the exposure of Martha (Alison Wright) as an initially unwitting spy for Philip and the KGB.

It’s only after four seasons that The Americans is finally getting some of the recognition that it’s due. The good news is that FX has already renewed the series for two more seasons to wrap up the show. Considering the show’s less than stellar ratings, that’s quite a gift for TV fans.

1. GAME OF THRONES

Game of Thrones was the best TV drama of 2016. It’s also the reigning two-time Emmy award winner for outstanding drama, and it deserves to repeat again this year.

It’s all too easy to take this series for granted, and many critics do. But what this show has accomplished is nothing short of remarkable. This is television on a scale that we’ve never seen before, and not even Westworld comes close. Without a new novel by George R.R. Martin to light the way, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss still managed to outdo the earlier seasons in nearly every way. The Battle of the Bastards alone would have earned this show a place on this list, but the season finale was an even greater episode that set the stage for the final two seasons.

Even now, there are some television viewers who can’t see past the fantasy elements of Game of Thrones to recognize its extremely high quality. It’s their loss. But considering the extremely high ratings of this series, anyone who can’t enjoy it is definitely in the minority. All hail the King in the North!

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http://www.craveonline.com/entertainmen ... ramas-2016

Was löst denn Dein aus, Arianna? Ich verstehe das als rhetorische Formel dafür, dass die Serie zu wenig Aufmerksamkeit erhalten hat, und als Lob.