Trailer "Descendants" Season 4 Episode 10 - Final Episode (HBO)
Five days apart at the end of May, four of the most prominent and award-winning series in recent years ended: "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (winner of 20 Emmys), "Descendants" (13 Emmys), "Barry" (nine Emmys) and "Ted Lasso" (11 Emmys). And that's before the 2023 Emmys, where they'll undoubtedly rake in a few more statuettes.
Their passing leaves a big void in the hearts and schedules of many viewers. Each one is unique to one degree or another, which is one of the reasons for their success, but there are still some excellent series that can fill the gaps they left behind. Of course, the recommended and new series guide for June is already available and will certainly help find an alternative, but beyond it there are quite a few series from the past (mostly close) that can fit exactly in terms of tone and taste. Here are some such recommendations.
What series to see after "Descendants"?
Veep
Where to Watch: Yes, Hot and Cellcom TV
HBO's
drama about the upper echelon, with a father with a menacing presence and children who all want to inherit him, is a new take on an old story about succession wars. In fact, one ended a year after "Descendants" began—"Game of Thrones." And if what you love is seeing rich people sonnetize each other, American television has been full of them since the days of "Dallas" and "Dynasty." But "Descendants" possesses a number of qualities that make it an entirely separate creature. First and foremost, it's hilarious.
Jesse Armstrong, the creator of the series, comes from comedy at all. He is one of the creators of the iconic British comedies "Peep Show" and the beloved "Fresh Meat," and is one of the writers of Armando Iannucci's television political satire, "The Thick of It," and then the film that grew out of it, "In the Loop." Iannucci then moved on to create a sort of American version of the series for HBO, one that follows Selena Meyers, a not-so-talented vice president (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and the team that surrounds her—one of the most perfect ensembles television has known (including Tony Hale, Matt Walsh, and Timothy Simmons).
Armstrong himself contributed only one episode script to "Veep" (the one that concludes the first season), but similarities to "Descendants" remain. The incompetence and helplessness of Selena Meyers and her team paints an absurd and ridiculous picture of politics, but also one that is entirely believable that this is how it operates. Add to that razor-sharp dialogue and some of the most amazing profanity and insults heard, and you have very familiar mechanics, especially a great series – at least in its first four seasons (out of seven). After them, Iannucci left and the decline was considerable.
Also of interest: "Descendants": The series finale ensures that it will be remembered as one of the greatest
Very familiar mechanics. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep" (Photo: HBO)
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Broadcast Where to watch: Yes, Hot and Cellcom TV
If what did it to you in "Descendants" is the drama set against the backdrop of the financial world, full of twists and characters trying to figure out how to be good in a world that encourages them to be bad, "The Industry
" is the series for you. Like "Descendants," it begins with a certain falter, and similarly picks up pace as it progresses. In the case of "The Industry," the breakthrough comes in an emotional, gripping, subtle and complex second season.
One of the most striking elements of the series, which follows a group of rookie stockbrokers in the London branch of an investment bank, is the blunt way in which it describes sex and drug use. After all, they're young people who want to have fun, aren't they? But what was clear at the beginning and made even clearer later is that these were attempts to relieve pain and cover up a vacuum. That's why what's so exciting as it progresses is the attempt by some of the characters to sober up, to create a little struggle between light and darkness.
What increases the intensity and beauty of this cleansing is the restraint that the "industry" exercises. The purposefulness with which she describes the purchase and sale of shares, she applies to these moments as well. In a place like the trading floor, cynicism is a necessary armor, honesty means showing weakness. So these processes inevitably take place and surge mainly within the characters, while they try not to allow it to spill over and expose them. But of course, they have no choice but to look directly at the things they are trying to suppress, and the result is often throat-choking.
Two seasons are already available, and the third on the way will be joined by, among others, Kit Harrington ("Game of Thrones") and Sarah Goldberg ("Barry").
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Attempt to relieve pain. "The Industry" (Photo: HBO, BBC)
What series to watch after "Ted Lasso"?
Don't rush to cancel your Apple TV Plus subscription. The streaming service carves out a fine niche of comedies that do good on the heart. One of them could actually be considered an unofficial "Ted Lasso" spin-off and includes some of its people behind the scenes, and the other came before the football comedy but takes place in exactly the same realms.
ShrinkingWhere
to Watch: Apple TV Plus
One of the reasons for the near-total loss of "Ted Lasso" in season three can be traced back to "Shrinking." Bill Lawrence, one of the creators of "Ted Lasso" and who served as showrunner for the first two seasons, left to develop the new series, and did so with Brett Goldstein, aka Roy Kent, who is also one of the writers of "Lasso." With them created "Shrinking" Jason Segel, who also stars in the lead role, one who already knows a thing or two about human and good-hearted comedies - will testify to the wonderful film "Take It Like a Man".
The series follows a psychologist who lost his way after the death of his wife, and although almost a year has passed, he still neglects his teenage daughter and quite a few of his personal and professional duties. When he is with patients, he allows himself to say things he shouldn't and reveal too much personal details, much to the chagrin of his boss and mentor, Paul (Harrison Ford in one of his best roles in recent years).
Considering the previous works of those involved in the craft, it is possible to understand where the wind blows in "Shrinking". This is a story of rehabilitation and human flaws that are confronted by coping and brotherhood, and everything is based on great humanity. There's a bit of inevitable kitsch to it, certainly, and throughout the season there are some developments we've already seen a thousand times over, but "Shrinking" makes up for it with tremendous grace, convincing honesty, an impressive sequence of successful jokes throughout, a wonderful soundtrack, charming characters, and most of all a simply tremendous cast.
The series, which arrived earlier this year, currently has ten episodes, but has already been renewed for a second season that will surely arrive next year (TLC, depending on how long the writers' strike lasts).
Also of interest: Ted Lasso can make anyone the best version of himself, but not the series starring him
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Tremendous grace and convincing honesty. Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, "Shrinking" (Photo: Apple TV Plus)
Mythic QuestWhere
to Watch: Apple TV Plus
In February 2020, a month before COVID-<> took over the world and led to widespread lockdowns, this series — created by "Philadelphia Shines," Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Megan Gantz — came along and helped alleviate uncertainty, instead glorifying human connections and an overall inclusive and good-loving tone. The series even went so far as to create a special isolation special that came later that year and became its best - even today, when there are already three seasons.
In a clever, meticulous and often brilliant script, "Legendary Journey" follows a group of developers of a very successful multiplayer online game a la "Warcraft". Throughout, it is evident that she understands the importance and power of community games inherent in video games, especially multiplayer ones. In and out of the game, Legendary Journey celebrates the sense of belonging, the vitality of being part of something big, creative, inclusive. She creates a delightful and mostly funny vibe, often with a decent dash of madness, but always with a great soul visible through the cracks.
Once a season she goes back in time to reveal interesting and beautiful chunks of the story, pulling it in unexpected but always charming directions. True to her name and the motif of adventure, she does not hesitate to refresh everything from the ground up. Even if she sometimes strays a little along the way while doing so, the boldness compensates and keeps her fresh, and the great soul is always evident.
And apropos Rob McElhenney and possible alternatives to "Ted Lasso" - the actor and creator also stars in the heartwarming documentary series "Welcome to Wrexham", which follows him and his partner in buying a football team from England's fifth division, Ryan Reynolds, and the result is full of humor, self-awareness and a huge heart.
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Contains and seeks goodness. "Legendary Journey" (Photo: Apple TV Plus)
What series to see after "Barry"?
The Righteous GemstonesWhere
to Watch: Yes, Hot and Cellcom TV
Throughout its four seasons, Barry was several things at once. That was part of her greatness. Its starting point was a crime comedy about an assassin who comes to Hollywood and seeks to become an actor in order to shake off his violent past. Over the years, the series has become much darker and more surreal, something that "The Gemstones" doesn't share — and while only two seasons are currently available, it's doubtful that will change.
Created and starring by Danny McBride, "The Gemstones" is about a Southern family that runs a thriving superchurch and broadcasts its sermons on its own channel. Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) is the one who founded the empire at the time and continues to lead it with an outstretched arm. His three spoiled, satiated children—Jesse, Judy, and Calvin (McBride, Edie Patterson, and Adam Devine)—shelter in the heavy shadow he casts on them, but do everything they can to extricate themselves from it and prove themselves. Although, of course, without stopping enjoying the big money that flows to them regularly. Indeed, it could also be another pretty good replacement for "Descendants."
If "Barry" is a satire aimed at Hollywood, "The Gemstones" fires shells at superchurches. What makes it so successful is the fact that its modus operandi is dealing with the dysfunctional and very unholy family at its center. Its wonderful actors—including John Goodman and Walton Goggins, among others—delight in the crazy entanglements that result from loose, broken ties between one Gemstone and another. And although the plot is a crime comedy at its best, and even though the characters are ridiculous and extreme most of the time, the strength of "The Gemstones" lies in its rather amazing ability to prevent them from becoming caricatures, but, on the contrary, to breathe soul into them even when they are at the height of their spoilage.
The first season is awesome, the second is losing its way a bit (the third will start in about two weeks, on June 19). But even in its lagging moments, this is an excellent series that deserves much more resonance than it currently has.
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Crime comedy at its best. "The Gemstones" (Photo: HBO)
Patriot: Where to Watch:
Amazon Prime Video
If surreal humor is what did it for you in Barry, Patriot is a perfect replacement. Frankly, calling it a replacement is insulting - it's simply an excellent, original and special series, and too few even know about its existence. It settled for just two seasons that aired in 2017 (the year before "Barry") and 2018, and from its synopsis, as well as its generic name, you might think it was a Wes Anderson-directed spy movie.
A tale of John Tabner (Michael Dorman before "For All Humanity" is simply wonderful), a depressed spy who tries to thwart funding from a hostile Iranian presidency, but runs into a bump with every step he makes. John would have retired long ago if his handler hadn't also been his father (the excellent Terry O'Quinn, "Lost"), who would get in trouble if his son failed. Thus the hero is forced to continue, repeatedly injured on his way to the goal. Whether on purpose (jumping from the roof of a tall building to penetrate it knowing that he would lose consciousness for a few minutes, fighting a guard dog that bites him, climbing electric fences) or because fate decided (he was shot in the hand, unable to sleep at all and hardly seeing with his eyes due to injuries and exhaustion).
"Patriot" is very funny and very eccentric, like a stew concocted by Wes Anderson, the Coen brothers and "The Americans." She describes a world in which it is reasonable to have a conversation from two benches facing each other, to say the name of the person you are talking to in every sentence, to shoot and hurt the child (don't worry, nothing serious) while the adult next to him continues to stand indifferently, and a host of other strange feedbacks. And beneath this strange surface lies great sadness. More and more people are being sucked into John's mission this time, including some who have fooled him in the past, and various family members are showing up in just the right place to provide him with emotional support and support in general.
Anyone who comes to "Patriot" with the right approach will discover one of the most special and original series on screen, which not surprisingly also includes some great acting performances (including Terry O'Quinn from "Lost" and Cartwood Smith from "That '70s Show"). Her dedication to detail is rewarding as the season progresses, and for all her obvious blunders, she's often touching.
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Very funny and terribly eccentric. "Patriot" (Photo: Amazon Prime Video)
What series to watch after "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"?
Here the issue is more complicated, admittedly. "Maisel" is undoubtedly a special creature for which it is difficult to find exact alternatives. The incessant jokes, the spectacular richness of the production, the musical feel, Judaism, New Yorkness, period reconstruction. Finding one piece that does all this, and more successfully, is a very difficult task.
The only shows that somehow mention her are ones that share her fast-paced humor with a million punchlines per minute, including Amy Sherman-Palladino's previous iconic series, "Gilmore Girls"; Or alternatively, series like "Maisel" depict the story of groundbreaking female comedians. There are two of them that are relatively fresh, but they fall significantly short of it, so that unlike the previous recommendations, this time these are substitutes that are offered not wholeheartedly. Nevertheless, maybe they will do the job.
The first and more successful is "Hacks," available on Bis, Hot, Cellcom TV and Partner TV, and follows Debra Vance, a legendary veteran comedian (Jean Smart) who tries to reinvent herself through a young writer (Hannah Einbinder). The main drawback of the series lies in the fact that it is simply impossible to believe that Deborah's stand-up is real, and Smart herself, with all her virtues, is not as convincing as someone who is accustomed to doing so on stage. And yet, the heart of "Hacks" and the really important thing about it is the relationship between the two women, and it is wonderful and justifies everything. Currently, there are two seasons (the third is on the way), the first is better than the second.
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The second and very mediocre series is the British "Funny Woman", based on the book "Funny" by Nick Hornby. Like Maisel, the plot here is set in the 1960s and follows Barbara Parker, a woman who leaves everything to pursue her dream of becoming a comedian in London - in this case not a stand-up comedian but a comedic actress.
Gemma Arterton is fine in the lead role but far from providing a great comedic display that should make us believe in her character's great talent, and the series for some reason insists on inserting all sorts of "funny" bits (Barbara returns to her former job and bullies her hated boss!) or "suspenseful" (Barbara is late for the important meeting that will decide her fate!) that are rightfully absent from the book.
What still works in it is the historical reconstruction, which does not explicitly mention the BBC and its competitors (again, unlike the book, which assimilates the story in the real world) but invents alternatives, but nevertheless gives a very interesting glimpse into the British television industry of those days.
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Tags
- Inherit
- Barry
- Ted Lasso
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel