Chechen Mobsters, Good Depictions of Addiction, and Discussions of the Metaphysical

Barry

I’m going to start off this list with what is my favorite show streaming right now: Barry. Despite

Bill Hader, completely worthless Chechen mobsters, a feral Tae Kwon Do child one episode and an amazing story that constantly switches between laugh out loud and amazing drama? Maybe you haven’t heard of Barry, but the show is an absolute phenomenon. While it initially starts off looking bleak as Bill Hader, staring as depressed hitman Barry, is trudging through life with no motivation, that all changes when Barry enters an acting class. The show soon follows Barry having found a new purpose in life, and struggles to put his past behind him. The show poses the question of redemption, after all can a man capable of murdering people for money have good in him? While Bill Hader is a known comedian, we find out just how amazing of an actor, screenwriter, and even director he is in the nonstop adventure that the show provides. While the audience roots for Barry throughout the show, his past continues to follow him. While the show is critically acclaimed with multiple awards for acting and screenwriting, too often I find people who have no idea what the show even is. Honestly I consider this an absolute shame. It has some of the greatest examples of dramatic irony you could find online, poses very real moral questions, and can even be extremely relatable and introspective. Discussing how people glorify their own story, try to move on, and too often have their past define them.

One last mention I’ll bring in the show is the phenomenal cast. Henry Winkler and Bill Hader have both been awarded, but even minor actors are highly recognizable. A personal favorite of mine is Anthony Carrigan’s character NoHo Hank, everyone I know who’s seen the show brings up this character because of how enjoyable he is to watch. While the Chechens are all friendly and incompetent as mobsters, it’s the very loveable Hank who keeps them involved throughout the series. The character was apparently modeled after a very hospitable uber driver which I can totally imagine, and especially if you continue watching to Season 2 you’ll discover some hilarious situations from his inability to lead a mob..

Feel Good

When I think of the portrayal of drugs in shows today I instinctively think of Euphoria, a beautiful show for sure, but the character development and plot revolve around victimizing every character. The show Feel Good is a breath of fresh air in comparison. The show follows the story of a stand up comedian/recovery drug addict named Mae, a romantic and extremely dramatic person who finds trouble managing her work, addictive tendencies, new relationship, and misunderstanding parents. While the portrayal of her withholding her addictive tendencies may be a bit cheesy, it ultimately puts it in a perspective that is highly relatable and understandable to anyone who even tried holding back on eating another piece of chocolate. It’s this struggle with temptation that makes Mae the best depiction of an ex-addict I could hope to see on television. She’s extremely relatable, hosting a variety of personal issues and insecurities. One reason why I introduced Feel Good with the comparison to the show Euphoria, is as a comparison is how dark and hopeless Euphoria feels. In contrast, Feel Good has a constant energy and momentum that give off the impression that Mae is only distracting herself, and is overall extremely fun to watch. The depiction of a 12 step program in the show discusses the idea of how people displace their addiction with different unhealthy behaviors. It’s the small additions of these interactions that bring the show and the topic it discusses to more real life situations. Overall Feel Good is a hidden gem that definitely deserves all the attention it can get. The biggest takeaway that the show has to offer is how people can be supportive of each other, and the constant energy and light humor ultimately makes you feel good just watching it.

Midnight Gospel

One thing that I find extremely interesting about Netflix is how much they’ve started to focus on animation, and honestly I imagine they’ll become more of a powerhouse in the near future.. Many of the best animated shows I’ve seen in a while come from Netflix, Bojack Horseman, Big Mouth, and Tuca and Bertie. Honestly, when I think of modern animation, I think of Netflix before Disney. Most recently are their two Oscar Nominated films Claus, followed by I Lost My Body a French production which is one of the most innovative animations I’ve seen in a while. The reason why I bring all this up is because of the last show I have on the list. Midnight Gospel. This adult animation is made by the same creator of Adventure Time, as well as comedian Duncan Trussel, and follows an amazing concept that combines animation with podcasts that largely focus on the metaphysical. The premise is that a space broadcaster uses his universe simulator to travel to different planets, find someone interesting to talk to, and explore that topic throughout the episode. Never in my life would I have imagined getting so interesting in Ceremonial Magick, yet here I am listening to an Arkansas white trash fish in a bowl introduce it as a more individualized form of enlightenment for western cultures. Every episode has a guest speaker, for example a mortician one episode who discusses life and death with the protagonist and goes on to explain how the embalming industry has been capitalized in the US. The animation that goes on throughout this discussion is usually absolutely insane, interesting, but occasionally somewhat disturbing and overall weird. That being said, there is a general plot that the show moves towards, though it’s not really a show you watch the plot. You watch it for the amazing conversations that go with each episode. Life/Death, Buddhism, Ceremonial Magick, Psychedelics, etc. This show is one of my favorite finds of all time because of how approachable each topic is, and I’ve rewatched episodes multiple times because of how much a single conversation could change my world view.