The Best Television of 2018

Happy New Year everyone. And I cannot think of a better way to ring in 209 than by continuing my best of 2018 lists. Today we are going to do TV. I know last week I was very hard on "Westworld" and "Legion", but today it is all love. The only problem, this was the hardest list for me to pair down. There is so much TV to watch now. Be it national shows, premium cable or streaming, we have more options than ever to watch millions of shows. Also, I still haven't seen a lot of what major critics have on their list, but I will probably never see "Marvelous Ms. Maisel" or "Succession" or "Counterpart". Those shows aren't for me. I'm more of a goofy comedy guy, or serious drama type stuff. That fills my best of 2018 TV list today. Now lets get started.

At number 5 I have season 3 of "Better Call Saul". This show has only gotten stronger since it started airing. Bob Oedenkirk is making me feel for Jimmy McGill, but this season you can really see him turning into Saul Goodman. He even goes by the name a few times this season. But what made season three so great, aside from everything thing that went on with Johnathan Banks and Giancarlo Epsosito, was Rhea Seahorn's portrayal of her character, Kim Wexler. She is the only person who still believes in Jimmy, but by the end, we all see that she is even duped and ready to give up on him. Seahorn was amazing this season. In a show filled with standouts, she stood out by a wide margin. I'm curious to see where they go with season 4 because of how season 3 ended. Season 4 may be the last, which is a minor spoiler alert. For the time being though, "Better Call Saul" is proving to be another great show from Vince Gilligan and company. I'm excited to see how they wrap it all up.

At number 4 I have what I consider to be the most accurate, and best representation of puberty, season 2 of "Big Mouth". Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg have done with this show is nothing short of amazing, and gross. Don't get it twisted, this show is gross and touches on the horribleness that is puberty in no way like I have ever seen before. There was a whole section this year where one of the young teens goes to a spa with her mom and her mom's new girlfriend, and the song is amazing, but there is so much nudity. There is a great scene about losing a pubic hair. I loved when Coach Jeff hooked up with Jay's mom. That was also super gross. But the best thing all season was when the kids took over for Coach Jeff in health class and told horror stories about what they assumed having a STD would be like. It was a great way to talk about how awesome Planned Parenthood is, and the writers totally nailed that. Also, the episode where Nick and Jess eat some of Jess's dad's edibles was really good too. This show nails puberty to perfection. I love it, and when my kids are going through that time, you better believe "Big Mouth" will be on my TV.

At number 3 I have season 3 of "The Good Place". "The Good Place" is the best network sitcom on TV right now. It is just an absolutely wonderful show that somehow finds a way to surprise me every season. Their season one finale was the best finale of a show I have ever seen. They followed it up excellently in season 2, and the way they just closed out this season was amazing. Everyone on this show is amazing too. I'm not a big Kristin Bell fan, but she is awesome. Jameela Jamil is so good as the silver spoon name dropper. William Jackson Harper is terrific as the anxiety riddled Chidi, The episode where he realizes what is going on, and makes chili in his classroom with Peeps was one of the best things I saw on TV this year. Ted Danson is a total delight. But the 2 standouts are Manny Jacinto as Jason, and more importantly, D'Arcy Carden as Janet. Jason is the idiot dirt bag in all of us but he has a heart of gold. He is also hilarious. But Carden as Janet, the all knowing being, kind of like a real life Alexa, she is  just phenomenal. She is the standout of the show. She is the best part of season 3, and she ran with her chance to shine this season. You need to look no further than the season 3 finale where she gets to play every main character on the show. She absolutely nailed every single person's ticks, voices and how they dress and carry themselves. It is a true masterpiece of an actor going for it, and nailing it. It was truly amazing, much like everything else that is on "The Good Place".

At number 2 I have season 2 of "American Vandal". I adore this show. I think it is a perfect sendup of all the true crime stuff we are all enamored with now. It is so funny, but also totally believable. They take something so ridiculous and childish and I am hanging on every word trying to find out who did the crime the 2 kids are investigating. Season one, I needed to know who "drew the dicks". This second season, I had to know who the "turd burglar" was. This is such a well made show using what many would describe as "potty humor". This show has also won a Peabody Award. That is simply amazing for what this show is about. I didn't know how well they would be able to follow up the first season, which seemed like lightening in a bottle. But, they did it, and they nailed it. Going to a new city to solve a similarly childish crime was the correct way to go about it. Besides the 2 filmmakers, all the characters were new, and they all had great stories. From the basketball star to the weird fruit ninja to the many other suspects, they nailed it again. I am so bummed that the show got cancelled. I'm still holding out hope that some other network or streaming device will pick it up because I feel like this show could go on for another couple seasons. "American Vandal" is the best show I have seen that makes me truly care about fake crimes that dumbass teenagers commit. It is a work of art. 

There is one show that is better than "American Vandal", and that is "Atlanta". Did you all think I would have something else here? Donald Glover is a genius, and "Atlanta" is his best way of putting it out there. This season was filled with amazing episodes. The premiere, with Katt Williams and the gator, was tremendous. When Earn and his baby's mother go to her hometown for a weird party, that was odd but effective. And the episode had big time ramifications for the rest of the season. When Earn is trying to spend a 100 dollar bill but no one will take it from him because they believe it is fake, that was a great take on how people look at other races and cultures. When Paper Boi gets lost in the woods and gets jumped and chased by a crazy forest guy, that was incredible. When Paper Boi just wants a haircut, we have all been in a wild situation like that. But the best thing about this season, and definitely one of the best things I have ever seen on TV in my life, was the episode "Teddy Perkins". This one 45 minute block would have gotten the show on the list if it was the only episode they released all season. It was horrifying, funny, a tale of a horrific childhood, possibly a fever dream, I don't know. What I do know though, it was the most original piece of TV I have seen in quite some time. It is so perfect. I watched it multiple times since trying to find things I may have missed, or to see if Teddy Perkins was real, or a figment of Stanfield's imagination. It is a masterpiece, as is "Atlanta". As long as Glover keeps making this show, I'm pretty sure it will always be on my best of lists, and it will most likely be number one. "Atlanta" is a truly remarkable show. It will go down as one of the greatest shows ever. It is definitely the best show of 2018.

Come back tomorrow for my best movies of 2018.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was going to put “Black Miirror: Bandersnatch” on his list, but he is still lost in an endless loop because of the interactive nature of the show. Or maybe he needs to upgrade his WiFi because what he is really caught in us a buffering loop.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Netflix is Cancelling All of Our Favorite Shows

I don't know what it going on at Netflix right now, in so many different ways. They have some crazy, inexplicable things going on right now. Some are good, but most are bad.

The thing that confuses me most is the massive cancellation of shows. I know that most of these shows have been cancelled due to bad reviews, low viewership and who actually owns the rights. For example, "Iron Fist" is a Marvel/Disney owned show, so I get it. It was also supposedly not very good. I didn't watch, but I saw some of the bad reviews. Same goes for "Luke Cage", except it got good reviews. It got cancelled because it is a Marvel/Disney owned show. I loved the first season of the show, and I started the second season, but didn't finish it. I feel like we are over saturated with super hero stuff right now, be it movies, comic books or TV shows. I did like "Luke Cage" though, and so did the critics. But, like I said, I get why they cancelled those.

I'm not so sure why they cancelled a show like "Sense 8", or "The Get Down". Both of those shows scored high with fans and critics. Both shows had massive amounts of fans that showed their displeasure at the cancellation with petitions and letters sent to Netflix. I even believe that "Sense 8" got a final season after cancellation.

The news that they cancelled "American Vandal" was the only one that made me have a visceral response. I was upset. I yelled into my phone screen when I saw the news. I was complaining to my wife about it the night it was announced. I have complained to friends who haven't even watched it yet. I am upset at this news. I'm hopeful that some other network will pick it up, but Netflix had a gold mine in this show. I mean, it won a god damn Peabody award. It was, and I am not just saying this because I love it so much, the best show they had on their service. Nothing has held my attention as much as "American Vandal". I have not clamored for a new season more since I first started watching "The Simpsons". "American Vandal" perfectly skewered our new fascination with these true crime stories. I watch "Making A Murderer", I know people who have watched "The Jinx", my dad watches, and I have watched with him, other true crime shows on cable and none of them compare to the greatness that is "American Vandal". I mean, after the first episode of season one, I ran through the rest because I needed to know "who drew the dicks". Then, in season 2, I had to know who the "turd burglar" was. And the way they slowly, and perfectly, revealed the culprits was exquisite. The writing on this show was top notch. The actors were tremendous. Even though the crimes were fake, they felt real because of the way the show was shot and released. The way each episode unfolded just made me crave more and more.

"American Vandal" was the perfect show in my opinion. It deserved so much more than a Peabody Award, but dammit, a Peabody is prestigious. I don't think Netflix has another original show that will reach that status. Shows like "Orange is the New Black" or "The Ranch" or, even other stuff I watch and like, like "Big Mouth", will achieve that level of status. I will greatly miss this show.

Netflix is making a big time mistake. I don't know the full details, as to why they cancelled it, or if they were forced to cancel it, or if they couldn't afford to keep it. But, they should have done all they could to keep it. This is a real bummer as far a TV shows go. "American Vandal" was unique, funny, smart and just overall brilliant. This bums me out. This makes me upset with Netflix. Everything that is going on over there right now seems really messed up. As I stated earlier, I hope a network like Hulu or Funny or Die or some premium cable channel, be it HBO or Showtime or Cinemax, or whatever, picks it up. That would be nice. But, for the time being, this stinks and makes me mad at Netflix.

Hey Netflix, you guys just cancelled your best, most unique and funniest show since your inception. That should bum you out too.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is willing to let season three of “American Vandal” find a new home at SeedSing. They will have to bring the cameras, actors, writers, editing equipment, and give us the power to stream out episodes. Bring all that and SeedSing will be happy to have you.

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Ty Watches "American Vandal" Season 2

Last night I finished season 2 of "American Vandal". It totally blew me away. I was late to season one of the show. A friend of mine suggested it, told me what it was like and about, and I decided to watch it. I raved about the first season. It was one of the most inventive, and funniest things, I have ever seen on TV. I was so invested in that first season, I had to know, "who drew the dicks". I was just as invested, if not more so, in finding out, "who is the turd burglar".

That was the whole premise of season 2. For those of you that may not know, and I am going to do this review 100 percent spoiler free, the first season of the show was shot like a true crime show. Think, "Making a Murderer", also from Netflix. But, the whole thing in the first season was, someone spray painted penises on teachers cars at a high school in California on an off day. The 2 kids that decided to do this documentary, treated the spray painted penises as a real crime. Peter(Tyler Alvarez) and Sam(Griffin Gluck) are students at the school, and they just want to know, "who drew the dicks". The first season was so great, and felt so real, that it was nominated for a ton of awards. And, it won a Peabody. That is a real, big time award, and show about penises spray painted on a car, won it. If that isn't enough for you to watch, I don't know what else will convince you. The show became such a big hit, Netflix decided to do a second season. I didn't know how they could follow up something so well done as the first season, but Tony Yacenda and Sam Perrault did it. They achieved something great. They struck lightening in a bottle twice.

The premise for season 2 is similar to the first. There is a series of pranks at a different high school, this time in Washington state. The crimes are committed by someone that goes by the handle of "turd burglar". And yet again I was fully invested on finding out who the turd burglar was, and why they did what they did. The second season is definitely grosser, due to the crime, but that doesn't take away from how well the show is acted and written and directed. It is just as intense and involved and funny and ridiculous, in all the right ways. And the way they went about showing how modern technology can be bad, it was as well put across as any episode of "Black Mirror" that I have watched, and I adore that show too. Social media can be evil, and to portray that with high school kids, and the cyber bullying and getting likes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, season 2 of "American Vandal" handled it absolutely perfectly.

I cannot recommend this show enough. It is one of the best things on TV right now. You can also fly through the 2 seasons. Each has 8 episodes, and none of them exceed 45 minutes. I love this show, and I hope they continue to make more. Yacenda, Perrault and Funny or Die have something special going with "American Vandal", and I do not want it to end any time soon. What an exceptional TV show.

Seriously, go watch all of it right now, you will not be disappointed, and you will get invested heavily.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is known around the SeedSing virtual cubicle farm as the “Hot Blogger”. Want to know more? Go watch '“American Vandal”.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "American Vandal"

I was going to write about the NBA trade deadline today, but there is still about 20 minutes left to go, and I will give everyone my take on all the moves that happened tomorrow. Today I'm going to write about one of my new favorite TV shows.

Just last week I started to watch the show "American Vandal" on Netflix. I put this show on my instant queue right away, by shied away from it for awhile. I didn't quite know what to make of it. I thought that it was a serious crime story, a la the excellent "Making A Murderer", and I just couldn't handle another show like that at the time. I needed to find something that was more light hearted and not so serious. Sometimes I watch very serious shows and they just take it out of me. I feel almost exhausted after watching great shows like "The Wire", "Breaking Bad", "Legion" and sometimes even "Atlanta" can be super heavy. So, as I said, I needed a break. I kept putting "American Vandal" off.

As I was scrolling through Twitter one night, I saw a bunch of comedians tweeting that everyone should watch "American Vandal". This piqued my interest. The one person who pretty much convinced me to watch was Rainn Wilson. Many of you may know him as Dwight Schrute from "The Office". His tweet was very simple, but it just pushed me over the edge to finally watch the show. He simply said, "everyone needs to watch "American Vandal", that is all". See, very simple, but it worked.

That night I watched the first episode of this show, fully expecting it to be a hard crime drama, and it was not. It is one of the funniest shows that I have seen in a long, long time. The show does follow that "Making A Murderer" or "Law and Order" vibe, but it is so god damn funny. Now, full disclosure, I have only seen the first 2 episodes, but it works.

The story of this first season has to do with a senior at a high school in California who gets expelled for spray painting 27 penises on teachers cars during an administrative day. An administrative day means that the students get the day off, but the teachers have to be at the school. The premiere finds a random student deciding that he wants to get down to the nitty gritty and see if the accused actually did the crime. The student has a background in film making, and he just so happens to have a friend that wants to be a director, so, they reopen up the case and film it all. Everything that happens in that first episode is tremendous and hilarious. The way they shot the footage and how they put it on Netflix, it is magical. It is shot like a true crime story, and that is part of why I enjoy this show so much. They make such a childish act, spray painting penises on cars, and turn it into something that seems like a very serious crime. And as they continue to go on, everything just works. The 2 filmmaker students tell all sides of the story. They get the accused's side of the story. He vehemently denies doing the prank, even though he is the school's best prankster, and pretty much every other student is pretty certain he did it. We get the school board's side of the story. They basically just want this student, who they look at as a nuisance, out of their hair. We have new students involved. We have the class president, who claims he saw the other kid commit the crime, who may or may not be a total bull shitter. We get to meet the accused students buddies, they call themselves the Way Back Boys, which is so god damn funny to me for some reason, side of the story. These kids like to get high and pull pranks, but they staunchly deny that their buddy would do this particular crime. We get the kid's Spanish teacher, who has been a victim of the expelled kid's pranks before, mainly penises being drawn on her classroom board, side of the story. She is certain he did it.

"American Vandal" is a perfect spoof of true crime stories. I am on pins and needles and I cannot wait it see where they take it from here. The second episode ended on a major cliff hanger, and I will be very curious to see how they tackle that problem. If you enjoy spoof type TV shows, but also like crime dramas, I think you should check out "American Vandal". Yes, it is a very childish topic that they are tackling, but the way they do it is so phenomenal, that I don't even care how sophomoric the humor is. This show is awesome and I hope they do more seasons. I will most likely finish the first season by the end of the weekend, and I know that when I'm done I will want to watch more. "American Vandal" is awesome.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He would never spray paint a penis on anyone's car. Now if the car was really dirty, he may draw a penis with his finger in the muck covering the automobile.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.