Television Highlights of 2017

Published in FEED magazine - Issue 10: February 2018

By 2017, television shows have become an unstoppable tour de force in the entertainment world, and quite frankly, my life. Who doesn’t enjoy the exciting prospect of 10 hours of TV ready to binge, and laughing at Netflix when it asks you – “Are you sure you want to continue watching Black Mirror?” when you’re 10 hours deep in a session? With cinema ticket prices on the rise, and our pockets getting ever tighter, TV is the ultimate home comfort – easy to access and providing hour-long episodes to watch in between doing the laundry.

The small screen these days lets us enter all sorts of different worlds and sagas. It drags us in with twisty storylines, and huge special effects, not to mention big budgets. Here I plan to talk about my personal highlights of 2017 television, some that everyone talks about (for good reason), and some more obscure. Some you may disagree with and some may intrigue… either way, get to your television pronto and explore!

Peaky Blinders (Series 4, BBC)

Set in the grimy streets of Small Heath, Birmingham in 1924 – Peaky Blinders follows the Shelby family. They are a family of grass roots gangsters, having climbed the ladder of success and wealth, but still getting caught in many pitfalls along the way.

In Series 4, the Shelbys soon discover that they still have nasty business left with the infamous Changretta Italian gang, and as ever, violence and dodgy dealings ensue. Adrien Brody makes a surprise turn as Luca Changretta, a venomous man full of hate and on a mission that will not cease until every Shelby is dead on his vengeance list. After what many called a very wobbly season three, this fourth series is more confident and simplistic to it’s benefit, but with more clear direction and pacing like no other.

They pack so much into each hour long episode, yet it never feels rushed. This BBC drama shines brightest in its costumes, music and sets, but highest of all for the superb acting, most notably from Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, the family matriarch with nine lives – his eyes alone can tell a thousand tales from one shot.

Preacher (Series 2, Amazon Prime)

Co-created by comedy duo Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, Preacher is anarchic, bizarre and bloody fantastic! Irreverent to its core, you won’t see another show like this. Based on the comic book of the same name, Preacher follows Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) on a mission to (quite literally) find God after being gifted with the power called Genesis, which allows the beholder to compel anyone to do anything they want.

Series two picks up with Jesse and his two best pals, Tulip – Jesses’ on-off girlfriend and ex-con (played by Ruth Negga) and Irish vampire Cassidy (played by the fantastic Joseph Gilgun) on a cross-country road trip. This motley trio are on the run after causing all out chaos in Jesse’s hometown in Series 1. God is still missing so Jesse heads to Vegas, then New Orleans to find him.

Snappy editing, love triangles, demons sent from hell and crazy soul removers – Preacher has it all in droves. It feels like a manic, beautifully put together ride, helmed by the three main actors (all Brits too) who shine and their performances are refreshingly free and rebellious. Please keep writing this gem, Rogen and co!

This Is Us (Series 1, Channel 4)

This Is Us was a surprise hit of 2017. Based around the lives of three siblings – Kevin, Kate and Randall Pearson – the show follows the trials and tribulations of their lives in the present day, but also at the start of their lives when they were raised by parents Jack and Rebecca in the late 70's.

It sounds simple, and indeed on some levels it is, however the way the stories weave around each other both past and present makes for elegant and addictive television. Be warned though, This Is Us may require a tissue or two for some, as every episode left me on the brink of an emotional breakdown due to a poignant or even happy moment.

It works so well due to some fabulous acting from the entire cast, especially from Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, who play the Pearson parents struggling after the birth of their triplets. The characters are all flawed and sometimes make stupid decisions, something that we can all relate to.

Randall is a perfectionist, for example, and constantly expects too much, Kevin is a famous TV star trying to be taken seriously but he can’t shake the fame from his start up on TV show ‘The Manny’. If you enjoy something a little different from all-out CGI or action fest based shows, This Is Us may be perfect for you. A family drama show with an added twist of timelines and extra schmaltz – it pulls it off and will leave you wanting to see more.

Game of Thrones (Series 7, Sky Atlantic)

How can I not mention this show? Surpassing all previous budgets and effects, GOT upped the ante once more in its penultimate series.

Westeros is getting colder and colder, with the threat of the dark night upon them, AKA an army of undead White Walkers. The main players are trying to join forces to save themselves, and the whole kingdom. After surpassing the book content, the show is on free reign now to do as it pleases. In the case of season seven this means some pretty escalated situations that we have not experienced in GOT before.

Queen Dany, Mother of Dragons, is trying to take over the land she feels is rightfully hers and when she meets Jon Snow she fears she has met her match. Jon is an honourable man however, who wants nothing more than to stop the White Walker army from destroying everything in sight.

This series for real fans and casual viewers alike was a white knuckle ride, bursting at the seams with dragons, zombies and the usual supply of nudity and gore that has made Game of Thrones so famous! The set design, acting and special effects are glorious, producing the expected edge of seat nail biting drama. Now we must patiently wait for what is sure to be an epic finale!

Please remember this is only a snapshot of the quality programming 2017 brought us. Honourable mentions include The Handmaid’s Tale (Series 1 – delicious dystopian thriller) Black Mirror (Series 4 – clever technological mind fuck), Stranger Things (Series 2 – 80's joyous alien hunting), American Gods (Series 1 – bonkers cinematic comi-drama), Broadchurch (Series 3 – British whodunit at it’s finest) and Orange is The New Black (Series 5 – all out female politically charged US commentary).