The time has finally come. A handful of gratitude, a pound of indulgence, a pinch of family, patience, bad traffic, an excess of TV, and there you have it: Thanksgiving 2019. Let the physical and mental gluttony commence. To guide you through this most cherished of holidays, we’ve put together your ultimate escape-reality TV guide—7 shows just waiting to be binged.
A disclaimer: I realize this list is European leaning, and I want to be clear I’m not making a petty point in response to a certain recent CrimeReads post. Now read on, choose wisely, and enjoy the long weekend.
If You’re Looking to Be More Grateful for What You Have…
Happy Valley (Netflix)
Starring the incredible Sarah Lancashire as a 47-year-old Yorkshire police sergeant, Happy Valley, like Fargo, does not look away from the darkest, most sordid human impulses. While it treads some familiar crime waters (a kidnapping gone wrong, a powerful vendetta, a spattering of violence), this is one of the most fully realized and real crime shows around: subtle, emotionally salient, and human. But be warned: it’s not light post-turkey viewing; perhaps not the right pick over which to bond with your chummy aunt, but if you’re craving a different kind of family time, here’s a show so absorbing you’ll forget they’re even there—only to realize, when it’s all said and done, how thankful you are that they are.
If You Want to Put Your Family’s Heated Political Arguments in Perspective…
Our Boys (HBO)
This beautifully done 10-episode miniseries is based on the unforgettably violent summer of 2014, the Israel-Gaza conflict, which began when three Israeli teens were kidnapped and killed by Hamas, and was fueled by the retaliatory torturing and subsequent murder of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy. Equal parts family drama and police procedural, Our Boys is also an illuminating glimpse into the psychology of identity—the tit-for-tat doctrine that rules hearts and minds in the region. It’s the story of weaponized emotions and disproportionate responses, of accumulating historical rage, presenting a painstakingly even-handed depiction of a tragic summer. Through crowds gathering at the Western Wall, mothers praying for their sons’ return, protesters chanting their version of justice, you can’t help but wonder if a prayer for one is anything more than a prayer against another.
If You’re in the Mood for Something Sweet, Simple, and a Bit Quirky, like Your Aunt Judy…
Back to Life (Showtime)
This acclaimed British show (by the producers of Fleabag!) is a blend of comedy and crime, following Miri Matteson, who returns to live with her parents in her childhood home in southeast England after 18 years in prison (like Rectify, but not quite as self-serious). As Miri is trying to pick up the pieces of her life and press play on a nearly two-decade long pause, her new/old community is pushing her away, and someone is reinvestigating the circumstances of that fateful night… Created by and starring Daisy Haggard, it’s well-plotted, sometimes hilarious, cutesy, and manages to strike a chord equal parts funny and tragic—and like Fleabag, it moves seamlessly between the two. It’s for after dessert, a sentimental cherry to end your evening. Let this one be your antidote to Happy Valley: a warm, cozy note to end your four days and five nights of binging.
If You Like Your Spy Thrillers Smart, and You’re with Family, so You’re Trying to Be Someone You’re Not…
The Bureau (Sundance TV)
Plain and simple: this is the best geopolitical spy show around. Listen, it’s not hard to subscribe to Sundance TV. Just add the channel to Amazon Prime for god’s sake. There’s even a free trial, so you can binge and then cancel after you’ve torn through it. Starring Mathieu Kassovitz (Amelie, Le Haine) as Malotru, the indomitable French spy who, after six years undercover—befriending people, gathering information, inauspiciously falling in love in Damascus—resumes a stilted life back in Paris. The intelligence officers at the DGSE are perfectly cast and finely drawn, each grappling with the emotional toll of living under false identities for years as missions unfold across the Middle East. Restrained, understated, but never sacrificing tension or momentum (watching blinking dots on a computer screen as they track a moving target has never been so tense), this show’s four seasons are near-perfect as strained loyalties weigh on the heart, tugging that ever-fraught relationship between personal and political.
If You’re Trying to Get Some Distance from Your Uncle Who Voted to Keep Pot Criminalized…
Top Boy (Netflix)
Six years ago, Top Boy made a huge splash in the UK, where it was compared to The Wire, and lauded for its sharp writing, fresh style, and authentic depiction of gang drama in London’s East End. This year it was picked up, dusted off, and brought back to life with the help of Netflix and Drake—and it’s even better for it. Starring a new generation of criminals, it’s an unflinching look at the reality so familiar to those living in poor neighborhoods. Note: the original two seasons from 2011 are also on Netflix, billed as Top Boy: Summerhouse.
If This Extended Family Time Reminds You of the Spine You Didn’t Have in High School…
Veronica Mars (Hulu)
I was ten when Veronica Mars hit the small screen. She was a shining light through those dark middle school years, an example of the rule-breaking, self-sacrificing, no-fucks-given person I wanted to be. No one else made doing the right thing look so bad ass. When she was brutally cut from the air by the Evil CW, I was finishing up seventh grade, facing an onslaught of mean girls in a school I hated as much as Veronica despised Neptune. In the letter I penned to the network president disputing the cancellation (and posing a number of strategies to improve viewership), my twelve-year-old self wrote: “I am yet to see a show so complex … I beg you; do not just throw this amazing show away.” Fortunately for us all, its original three seasons are preserved on Hulu, with this year’s reboot finding the whole crew a dozen years later, still noir to the god damn bone.
If You’ve Been Waiting for the Perfect Moment to Watch a Modern Masterpiece…
The Irishman (Netflix)
Personally, I’ll be watching The Irishman. It hits Netflix today, just in time for your multi-day food coma. Too uncomfortably full to consider getting up, too satisfied to reach for your phone, there you will sit, relishing this fleeting vacation while it lasts. This, I believe, was just as Scorsese intended; and with a three and a half hour runtime, it’s longer than the whole first season of Back to Life.
