9 TV Show You Should Be Watching

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• December 5, 2015

Because I’m a screenwriter, and a comic, people ask me all the time, “what TV shows should I watch?”  Okay… that doesn’t happen that often… usually I just give people my unsolicited opinions.  So here’s a list of some shows you probably aren’t watching, but should be…

9. You’re the Worst

“As my grandma used to say, it’s only a walk of shame if you’re capable of feeling shame.”

I touched upon this show a little in my last blog.  I strongly recommend this show for millennials, and anyone who especially opposed to settling down, and thinks marriage is boring.  It’s a dark comedy for sure, and FXX is absolutely killing it with bold new shows.  I’m glad to be alive in a time where shows like “You’re the Worst” exists on TV.  I think it’s a really groundbreaking comedy which is going to open doors for more unconventional, gloomy comedies.

8.Cosmos

“Stars die and reborn […] They get so hot that the nuclei of the atoms fuse together deep within them to make the oxygen we breathe, the carbon in our muscles, the calcium in our bones, the iron in our blood. All was cooked in the fiery hearts of long vanished stars. … The cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”

Available on Netflix, “Cosmos” with Neil DeGrasse Tyson is one of the most mind blowing shows out there.  Granted, you have to have a thirst for learning and space, but this show is exceptionally well done.  It breaks down things you shouldn’t understand, and Neil helps you understand them.  I’ve watched almost every episode twice.  It’s beautiful.  It’s amazing.  It’s everything I wished my astrology classes were in school. Love me some Cosmos.

7. Episodes

“This is your moment of truth. Are YOU my friend or are you some blood-sucking network vampire?”

Anyone in show business should be watching Showtime’s hilarious, and often times, all too true, show “Episodes.”  The show is about Beverly and Sean, a British married writing team with a hit sitcom in the U.K.  Naturally, a network in LA decides to adapt their show for American Television.  The problem?  The exec’s won’t stop fucking up the show, changing so many things about it, it becomes unrecognizable, and casting Matt LeBlanc, who brilliantly portrays an exaggerated version of himself.  This show is so smart and laugh out loud funny.  Yes, it’s for a bit of a niche audience, but I promise it won’t disappoint.

6. Portlandia

“Put. A. Bird. On. It.”

IFC’s “Portlandia” (also available on Netflix), is a show which perfectly balances smart and silly.  I binged watched this show.  Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen are so talented it annoys me.  They both play numerous reoccurring characters, creating this fairy tale like version of Portland.  The pilot is great, and it just gets better from there.  It’s unique.  It’s hilarious.  Once you start it, you won’t be able to stop.  Might need someone to tell you “cocoa.”

5. The Fall

“Man fucks woman. Subject: man; verb: fucks; object: woman. That’s OK. Woman fucks man. Woman: subject; man: object. That’s not so comfortable for you, is it?”

There are two seasons, but only 11 episodes total, so you can catch up before season three.  “The Fall,” on Netflix, stars one of my heroes Gillian Anderson (X-Files, “Scully”).  While Anderson’s British accent isn’t always spot on, the show is.  Anderson is a kick ass detective, hunting a charismatic serial killer.  I always thought I wanted to be Dana Scully, but now I realize, I want to be Gillian Anderson.  She’s not in a lot of show or movies, but when she is, she plays these badass, strong female roles.  If you like serial killer stuff, you will love this show.

4. Getting On

“I am not Doctor Death!”

As a former nursing home worker for four years, I can honestly say, HBO’s “Getting On,” sometimes hits a little too close to home for me.  It’s a very dark comedy about a doctor and two nurses in a geriatric ward in a hospital.  This show can be uncomfortable, funny, and pull your heart strings.  Niecy Nash, Alex Borstein, and Laurie Metcalf all kill it.  They are on their third and last season right now.  I wish more people watched it so it can keep going.  This one is not for every one.  It’s really dark, dealing with aging, dying, loneliness, and realizing your life is not what you thought it would have been, and it’s pretty much too late to change it.  Despite these overtones, it is sweet and comical, reminding us, life and death shouldn’t be taken so seriously.  I love this show so much.  How the writers and actors haven’t gotten Emmy nods for “Getting On” is a sin.

3. Rick and Morty

Butter Robot: What is my purpose?
Rick: Pass the butter. [The robot does] Thank you.
[…]
Butter Robot: What is my purpose?
Rick: You pass butter.
Butter Robot: [looks at his hands; his shoulders sag] But why, God?
Rick: Yeah, welcome to the club, pal.

My brother seldom recommends shows or movies for me to watch.  But when he does, I listen.  Earlier this year, he told me to watch this show several times, which is out of character for him to continuously pitch TV shows to me.  Now, ever since I started watching “Rick and Morty,”, I’ve been relentlessly pitching it to every one.  “Rick and Morty” is easily one my of favorite TV shows ever.  Yes, it’s a cartoon.  Which is why they’re able to get away with so much brilliantly dark and comedic content.  I’ve watched many episodes twice.  If you have a twisted sense of humor and a thirst for the existential, you will love this show as much as I do.

2. Veep

“Why don’t you put on your running shoes and get to the fucking point.”

Why is every one not watching “Veep?”  This is one of my all time favorite sitcoms.  Usually, when I watch a sitcom I love, I write a spec script (an original episode of an existing show), because I’m narcissistic and think I am capable of writing for these shows.  “Veep” is the exception… “Veep” is so smart, so funny, so quick, even I don’t think I’m good enough to write that show.  It’s fucking brilliant.  Brilliant. I sit in my apartment, alone, laughing hysterically at this show.  I kid you not, I’ve paused it, because I was laughing so hard, and it’s so quick, I didn’t want to miss the next joke.  Julia Louis Dreyfus is amazing, but so is the whole cast.  Not a weak person on that show.  Hands down, the funniest show on television.

1. Fargo

“Your problem is you spent your whole life thinking there are rules.  There aren’t.”

FX’s “Fargo” is the best show since “Breaking Bad.”  Period.  No argument.  I was worried when it first came out.  I LOVE the Coen brother’s films, especially “Fargo,” but the show does not disappoint.  It’s cinematically stunning, the dialogue is witty and concise yet layered, and the violent scenes are really fucking violent.  Billy Bob Thorton is fucking amazing in season one (as is the rest of the cast too).  The first season was so good, I was worried about season two.  Season two is amazing right now also.  “Fargo ” is must watch TV.