Outstanding Drama Series
3 Body Problem – ★★★★
“A big-ticket production that may well be Netflix’s best scripted original series since Beef, 3 Body Problem hits the (not so) sweet spot between wonder and horror. ‘In nature, nothing exists alone,’ one character ominously warns, and it’s the same with this series, which is a masterclass in adaptation that underpins its vast canvas with intimate dynamics.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
Fallout – ★★★½
“Goofy when it’s bloody, glinting when it’s conspiratorial, and always looking for another way to surprise you, Fallout has a counterintuitive rhythm: there’s too much going on, but it feels right.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
Mr & Mrs Smith – ★★★★
“Mr. & Mrs. Smith does so many things so well, whether it’s the staging of a car chase through the winding roads of an Italian village or putting Glover in an all-cream outfit. Even the movie’s greatest hits get remixed amid the emotional intricacies.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
Shogun
“Shogun is epic television as it should be. Wild plotting, complex characters and a real sense that you don’t quite know where it’s going, but you’re happy to stay for the ride.” – Read Louise Rugendyke’s full story here
Slow Horses
“Gary Oldman was outstanding. It was as close to perfect as you can get.” – Read what other readers of this masthead thought here
The Crown
“In its modern iteration, the royal family is more garden variety soap opera than political thriller, and the show’s storytelling hems too closely to the established media script instead of the untold (or at least, seemingly untold) political backroom plays which supersized it initially from mere streaming telenovela to genuine blue-chip drama.” – Read Michael Idato’s full review here
The Gilded Age – ★★★★
“If it had nothing else going for it, The Gilded Age would be a must-watch simply for Christine Baranski’s wonderfully sour one-liners.” – Read Karl Quinn’s full review here
The Morning Show
“It continues to do what the show did so well in its celebrated debut season: offering an insightful perspective on the brutal business of media; portraying a hothouse of ego and ambition in the glossy, high-stakes world of a New York TV station; presenting an array of intriguingly flawed characters; and examining a range of complicated workplace relationships.” Read Debi Enker’s full opinion piece here
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbot Elementary
“For now, this is one of the best surprises of the television year so far. And those 22-minute episodes are an absolute balm in the current age of demanding drama.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
Curb Your Enthusiasm
“If we have actually taken anything from one of TV’s greatest minds … Larry David is not here to learn, and he’s not here to teach us a lesson; he’s here to make us laugh.” – Read Thomas Mitchell’s full review here
Hacks – ★★★★★
“Among the rapid-fire one-liners and scathing critiques of everything from culture wars, the wellness industry and Hollywood’s sexism and ageism, it’s Ava and Deborah’s relationship that remains the core of Hacks. And this season sees it, and both characters, evolve further.” – Read Kylie Northover’s full review here
Only Murders in the Building
“One of the series’ strengths is the undercurrent of emotion that runs beneath the madcap antics, and it’s anchored in the idea that these loners, each with their own private pain and regrets, have found a loving and accepting place, and a sense of purpose, in a surrogate family.” – Read Debi Enker’s full review here
Palm Royale
“From the opening frames of the technicolour beach soap opera Palm Royale, it’s clear there’s a lot more going on that acting. The frames look hand-painted in bright primary colours. And the dialogue has a wildly musical style, rhythmically bouncing from scene to scene.” – Read Michael Idato’s full review here
Reservation Dogs
“Few titles on television right now have a better sense of the perfectly timed finishing touch – the bittersweet kicker, the deadpan aside, the cutting retort – than this Native American comic-drama.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
The Bear – ★★★★★
“These 10 new episodes ... not only complement their predecessors, they serve up new insights, telling history, and unexpected paths forward. It is, like the dishes this crew aspire to make, an artisanal wonder.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
What We Do in the Shadows
“While the series is very funny, there is a subtle and serious resonance in the work.” – Read Michael Idato’s full story here