Television can be a tricky thing when it comes to capturing an audience. Sometimes a show can start slow but become completely unforgettable, and sometimes a series can put its hooks into you from the get-go and never let up. I’ve found some of my favorite shows either way, but I have to say there’s something special about the latter.
A self-assured piece of entertainment that knows exactly what it is from the start can really make all the difference. Obviously, that’s a little more on the rare side, but thanks to an increase in prestige television, it’s actually a little more common than it used to be. But there’s still only a handful that have ever really captured me from that very first moment.
Breaking Bad
Watch Breaking Bad on Netflix
I mean, it’s Breaking Bad. It’s not only one of the best binge-worthy thrillers currently on Netflix, but one of the best shows of all time. A lot that starts with a premiere that understands its premise and the exact kind of story it wants to tell. Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and decides to start cooking meth.
This set-up works so well because there are endless opportunities for character exploration, and the follow-through works equally well because creator Vince Gilligan doesn’t squander those opportunities. Every episode works as a piece of the whole, and Breaking Bad is just one of those shows that feels so distinct compared to a lot of media out there.
Twin Peaks
Watch Twin Peaks on Paramount+
What’s better than a captivating, soap opera-like murder mystery with all the weirdness and surrealness of a David Lynch movie? Turns out, not much. Yet even when the mystery is solved (much too early, if you ask me), and Twin Peaks begins to flounder a bit in the second season, the residents of the eponymous town kept me watching and mostly engaged.
Then there’s that third season, where Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost returned to the series approximately 17 years later, freed from the constraints of network television. The move to Showtime allowed Lynch to embrace his weirdness even more, and Twin Peaks only benefited from it. Bingeing the entire thing now is a ridiculously rewarding experience. And it all began with a murder mystery in a small, fictional town (and arguably one of the great pilot episodes in existence).
Severance
Watch Severance on Apple TV+
Severance is that workplace show that is wholly unlike any other workplace show out there. It reminds me of Lost in a lot of ways, the way it stacks mystery on top of mystery while inching the audience ever closer to the answers. But there are also elements of comedy, science fiction, and dystopian thriller here. Severance is as ambitious as it is high quality.
Severance is still ongoing as of this writing, but so far, the first two seasons have delivered big time. Whether it continues to follow through on that expected quality is anyone’s guess, but I’m betting that it does. This has all the makings of an all-time great, and personally, I can’t get enough. Severance has filled that mystery show hole I’ve been missing since The Leftovers wrapped up.
Stranger Things
Watch Stranger Things on Netflix
Nostalgia for ’80s horror and coming-of-age media may be the selling point that gets Stranger Things in the room, but it’s the quality of the actual series that will keep you engaged. Taking place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, Stranger Things covers everything from secret government conspiracies to kids with supernatural abilities to parallel universes.
It’s basically a conglomerate of Stephen King novels in television form, and that’s not a complaint. Stranger Things is almost custom-made to be binge-watched, and the creators, the Duffer brothers, are experts at making that compelling. We get one more season to see if they can stick the landing, but so far, I’ve found Stranger Things to be a very compelling viewing experience.
The Boys
Watch The Boys on Amazon Prime Video
The perfect antidote to superhero media is a show where most of the super-powered beings are not exactly great people. That’s where The Boys comes in, and it’s immediately interesting from the get-go. Focusing on the eponymous group, The Boys tells the story of regular people who hunt down corrupt super-powered people (called Supes in the show) and make them pay, often in violent ways.
The Boys is the perfect satire of superhero movies and our culture’s obsession with them. There’s a reason it’s become one of Amazon’s most popular shows, and that’s due to a catchy premise that constantly delivers. A final season is on the way, so we’ll see if things end as well as they began, but the track record thus far points toward The Boys becoming one of the best shows around.
A good beginning can create a lot of momentum
While there have been many shows that have gotten away with having something of a slower start, I think in modern times, it’s important for a series to get off to a fast start. Binge culture means that viewer patience isn’t exactly high, because they’ll just move on to the next streaming show. For me, these are series that are incredibly easy to binge because they have incredibly compelling beginnings.
