Shownotes

Media Diet is off next week for personal maintenance and back on the 13th of January.

Best Of TV 2021

#3 Ted Lasso (Season 2, AppleTV+)

Ted Lasso is a triumph among feel-good comedies. The unassuming story of an American football coach who moves to England to coach soccer is artfully constructed and written, with plenty of LOL material. There is so much heart in this series that I can’t think of any person who wouldn’t like it.

In Season 2, the story’s core is expanded from Rebecca’s and Ted’s relationship to include other characters and giving them more on-screen time, depth and detail. The script is bolder and riskier now, introducing complicated subjects that may not always click into place but provide progress and purpose. Ted Lasso is possibly the only ongoing TV series based on empathy and kindness as opposed to jarring irony.

#2 Mare of Easttown (Miniseries, HBO)

Mare is an intricate, thrilling detective story with Kate Winslet (and Jean Smart!) in a starring role that kept me on the edge of my seat, but I admit that this was ultimately a genre pick - I will always choose the exalted “detective whose personal life is falling apart” format over the perhaps more facetious whodunnits such as White Lotus.

And while Mare doesn’t overhaul the genre, it tells its story with nuance and compassion without compromising on twists, thrill or grit. A highly satisfying finale rounds out seven episodes of the mini-series.