The Best Television of 2017

On to day 3 of my best of 2017 lists. Today we will look into TV. TV has been pretty good this year. For example, some shows that didn’t make my list include “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Master Of None”, “The Simpson’s”, “Love”, “Ghosted” and “The Punisher”, all of which I really enjoy. I also haven’t seen “The Young Pope”, “Rick and Morty” and countless other shows that have been recommended to me. At least not yet. When I made this list, I have to say, it was the easiest of all 5 that I will, or already have, done. I knew the 5 shows I wanted pretty quickly. Enough preamble, let’s get to it.

At number 5 I have “Search Party”. It is not secret how much I love this show. It is such a great concept. Millennials that have never had a tough time are put into a crazy situation that they created. Season 2 took the ending of season one and went in a crazy dark, yet often hilarious, place. We see these 4 entitled people having to deal with a real life messed up situation. The acting was tremendous this year, especially John Early. His turn this season was so great. He better damn well get Emmy consideration. While Early was the star, Alia Shawkat did a great job as Dory trying to cope with what she had done. And, she had to also deal with the fact that she dragged all her friends into this quagmire. I loved how dark this season turned and watching all the characters reactions. “Search Party” is well worth your time, and here’s to hoping it comes back for a third season.

At number 4 I have “ The Good Place”. The way the writers dealt with the results of the season one finale was perfect. It could have been a disaster, but they nailed it. The show was just as funny, but also poignant as season one. Ted Danson is a national treasure. He’s so good on this show. Kristen Bell seems to have found a perfect role for her as well. Everyone else, from Chidi to Jason, just wonderful. The true standout though is D’arcy Carden as Janet. She is awesome. She is funny. She plays a very crucial role. She is the best. I’m very excited for the show to come back in January, but this first half of season 2 has been wonderful. If you watch one episode from this season, watch the one where Chidi has to make split second decisions on a train. It’s a comedic piece of gold.

My number 3 show of the year is “Review”. Yes, there were only 3 episodes, but those 3 episodes wrapped this show up perfectly. We saw the full destruction of a human being by the end of the final episode. Forrest McNeil, expertly played by Andy Daly, let his job reviewing everyday tasks completely take over his life. He wasn’t a man anymore, he was a puppet. He did whatever people told him to do because he felt it was his job. It wasn’t. He crumbled so much so that his co host took over his job and excelled better then he ever could. I wish we had more “Review”, but the way they wrapped it up was so perfect for a show like this. It was gloriously bizarre from its season premiere all the way to its finale. “Review” is the perfect absurdist comedy show.

At number 2 I have “Legion”. “Legion” is the most unique show I have ever watched. I’ve never seen anything so trippy and visually stunning and attention getting in my life. Once an episode starts you cannot look away. It was quite an achievement to take a property like X-Men and do what Noah Hawley did. To set it in a mental institution was genius. What truly sets this show apart was Aubrey Plaza. She was incredible. The fact that she isn’t getting more award consideration is absurd. She was so great as Lenny, the crazy demon that lives in the main characters head. I used to only look at her as April Ludgate, but “Legion” changed that. She can do it all. I’m so excited for season 2, especially after how they ended season one. I need “Legion” back on the air ASAP.

And number one, “Nathan For You”. Nathan Fielder was back with his outrageous plans to help failing businesses again. He did a whole bunch of crazy stuff this season. He sold chili in a fat suit at a minor league hockey game, he helped people with warts get jobs as massage therapists, he started an asexual computer repair business and he made a smoke detector a musical instrument. All of this was perfect TV, and only something Nathan Fielder could do. What set this show apart from the rest of my list was one single episode, “Finding Frances”. I legit considered putting “Finding Frances” on my best movies if 2017 list. This was the best 2 hours of TV I think I have ever watched. It ranged from funny to sad to scary to depressing all in the course of 2 hours. It was a special achievement. Fielder could walk away from his show right now and it would go down as one of the best ever because of “Finding Frances”. The whole season was great, but “Finding Frances” was Fielder’s masterpiece. It’s truly stunning.

There you have it, my top 5 shows of the year. Come back tomorrow for my top 5 sports moments of the year.

Ty

Ty Watches "Search Party" Season 2

Last year around this time I wrote about a show I really liked called "Search Party". Well, "Search Party" is currently in its second season, and I have got to say, this season has been great so far. I'm so fully on board with the direction that they have taken this show in.

The first season centered around a group of stuck up, snobby, shitty and self righteous millennials. Alia Shawkat plays Dory, the main character, John Reynolds plays Drew, Dory's ex boyfriend, John Early plays Elliott and Meredith Hagner plays Portia. These are the stuck up trust fund babies. In season one Dory sees a missing person sign up in New York for a girl named Chantal(Clare McNulty) that they all went to college with. Since Dory doesn't have too much going on in her life, she doesn't really like Drew, she is basically a nanny for an over medicated adult and just seems bored, decides she is going to find Chantal. The first season takes you on twists and turns and is funny and kind of crazy. I really enjoyed everything that happened.

Now, and this is a big time spoiler alert for those that haven't watched any of the show yet, the finale of season one leaves us with Dory and her friends finding Chantal, but Dory and Drew have also killed someone. That someone is a private investigator that Dory gets involved with named Keith(Ron Livingston). Keith and Dory go on missions looking for Chantal, and they start to forge a bit of a romance. Drew finds out about this, and he, along with Portia and Elliott travel up to Canada to find Dory. When they get to where Dory is, Drew sees Dory fighting with someone, he goes to help her and he bludgeons Keith with an award nearby. Keith immediately falls to the ground. Drew and Dory put him in a closet and tell Elliott what happened, and the first season ends on a close up of Dory's face, with blood spattered on it, and she is crying.

That is how season 2 opens. We have a close shot of Dory's face, and we see a flash back to the incident and then Dory throws up in the bathroom sink. From then on it in the season 2 premiere, we see Drew, Dory and Elliott trying to figure out what to do with the body. I have to say, and this is going to sound very dark, but the way they handle the situation at first is kind of comical. They are in over their heads. They clearly have no idea what they are doing. Dory cannot seem to wrap her head around what just happened. Elliott trying to be the voice of reason is great. Drew is so far gone, he just wants to move on and move out of the country. Meanwhile, Portia has no idea what is going on because she is trying to hook up with some guy she met in Montreal. She does see the body when she forces her way into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She doesn't like what she sees, obviously, but she decides to help because these people are her friends. They go to bury the body in a shallow grave, and then they take Chantal home.

From there on out this second season has been nuts, but also spectacular. You get to see the toll that this awful event has taken on these kids that have never really had to worry about anything before in their lives, or really work for anything in their lives. Dory is a mess, but she keeps trying to cover her tracks. She runs into Keith's ex wife at one point, and decides to write her an email from Keith's computer. Bad idea. She cannot sit in a room by herself without having a panic attack. She sees Keith everywhere she goes. Her friends are starting to shun her. Portia is sad and lonely and trying to work on this play with a director that is clearly into her. She wants the attention and love, but she cannot shake the image of what she saw in that kitchen. She is very much out of her element, and that is causing her to not really trust anyone, especially Dory anymore. Drew shacks up with Chantal to get back at Dory, he buries the murder weapon after Chantal sees it at his place and he is trying to get a promotion that would send him to China. And he refuses to speak with Dory at all. And poor Elliott, side note, if John Early doesn't at the very least get some Emmy consideration for his role this season it would be a god damn shame, is unraveling at the seams. On the surface he seems fine, but inside he is losing it. His hair is falling out, he can't control his bowels in public, he is screaming the name Keith in his sleep and he is covered in a horrible rash. He is also writing a book, but he is writing it on paper towels and it is all nonsense. Where we just left off with him is in rehab. He is a mess.

This second season of "Search Party" has been everything I wanted it to be, but so much more. It is very, very dark at times. The humor is still there, which I love. You see the breaking apart of these friends that are all pretty bad people. These pretty bad people now have some really heavy stuff, that they caused, that they have to deal with, and watching all four of them separately deal with it has been wonderful. 

"Search Party" has upped its game in season two and I am so excited to see where they go with the last 4 episodes. I hope they make more, but I wouldn't be surprised if they ended it after this season. I highly recommend people seek this show out and watch it. It is so good. It is so well written and acted and the four main actors are doing something very special right now. Go watch "Search Party".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has never been Canada, and he has never accidentally killed someone. He plans on doing the first part and not the second.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty Watches "Search Party"

Today I want to write about a new show that I am really enjoying right now. That show is "Search Party" on TBS.

I had heard a lot of things about this show because I am a Michael Showalter fan. He created one of my all-time favorite movies, "Wet Hot American Summer", he put out the "prequel" to that great movie on Netflix a few years ago, "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp", he directed the wonderful "Hello My Name is Doris", and now he has "Search Party". He is clicking on all levels as a creative artist right now. He had one of the best binge-worthy shows that has even been put on Netflix. "Hello My Name is Doris" is not only an indie darling, but is even getting some early Oscar buzz, mainly Sally Field. And now, he has a great episodic show on national TV. He can do no wrong right now.

As I said, I heard a lot about this show before it came out, and everything I heard about it, it made me want to watch it that much more. I was excited to hear that it wasn't going to be a straight forward, goofy comedy like much of Showalter's stuff. He proved that he could do some different things with "Doris", and he is putting that to use on "Search Party". Now, that is not to say that this show does not have comedic moments, because it has a lot of them. There are times that I have laughed out loud while watching. But, each comedic moment is met with moments of clarity, sadness, self reliance, drama and intrigue.

"Search Party" is about a group of over privileged, hipster kids that live in New York. They have little to nothing going on in their lives, although they act much more important than they really are. They are kids born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and it shows. But, the main character Dory(Alia Shawkat), sees a missing person photo on the street in the pilot episode, and we come to realize she recognizes the girl from college. They weren't necessarily friends, but Dory has memories of her. She meets up with her core group of friends, her boyfriend Drew(John Reynolds), Portia(Meredith Hanger) and Elliot(John Early) to tell them the news, but it is met with deaf ears. Dory's friends either don't care, or are way too interested in their own stuff to feign interest in their missing college "friend". But, Dory cannot shake it. She now feels like she needs to find her old college acquaintance. There are a lot of reasons she makes for wanting to find their friend, but it mainly seems like she doesn't have a lot going on in her life. She is bored and tired of the hipster scene and she wants something that will make her feel important. She actually acts kind of selfish in her quest to find Chantal(Clare McNulty). She becomes singularly focused on this search, putting everything else on hold.

Alia Shawkat is tremendous in this show. I know it may sound like I think she is kind of selfish, but that is just her character. Shawkat has been in a lot of stuff, and has been pretty good in her minor rolls, but this is a great vehicle for her as far as starring roles go. She shines as Dory. She is so, so good on this show. I have become a big Alia Shawkat fan during the run of this show. But, the three other friends are great as well. John Reynolds as Drew, Dory's woebegone boyfriend, is excellent. He plays a total pushover with no backbone really well. He is at Dory's beck and call and does anything she asks him. But, he also has heart and soul, and you begin to feel for him when Dory, or anyone else for that matter, starts to go off on him. Meredith Hanger as Portia is perfect as the pretty blonde actress that wants so badly for everyone to like her, but also be proud of her and her career choice. She is an actress, but she is a very mediocre actress that plays small roles on corny crime procedurals. She works hard on her show, but outside of that, she is self-involved and careless. But, she does have moments when she seems to be a caring, loyal friend. She wants to believe that Dory has seen Chantal, she goes to weird parties with her and she genuinely cares for Dory's safety when Dory goes out to do PI work.

Then there is John Early as Elliot. He is so god damn good on this show. Early was excellent on "Wet Hot: First Day of Camp", but man oh man, is he awesome on "Search Party". He is so funny, he has so many skeletons in his closet, he is constantly making up and breaking up with his boyfriend, in very comedic ways and he has a terrible secret that he has kept since he was a teenager. Early has taken the direction to be a New York hipster to the absolute perfect point. He is so douchey and self-involved, and I couldn't love his character more. He is the second best person on this show, next to Shawkat.

There have been some great recurring characters played by some big name people as well. Christine Ebersol is great as Portia's mom that doesn't give her enough attention. Rosie Perez is really good as a crazy lady that claims she has seen Chantal as well, when her and Dory meet for the first time. Christine Taylor is so awesome as Dory's boss, who lives in a whole different world than everyone else on this show. Tunde Adebimpe, as the leader of some weird cult that may or may have some kind of involvement in Chantal going missing, is both mean, but also very funny. Then there is Ron Livingston as the PI that follows, then eventually hires Dory to work with him to find her friend.

"Search Party" is a really good show. All ten episodes were shown in 5 days, 2 episodes a day, and they are all on TV for your viewing pleasure right now. I have watched 7 episodes so far, I will be finishing it this afternoon, and I cannot wait to see how it all ends. Obviously I recommend this show. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He loves new and interesting television, tell him about a show you like. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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