The television landscape has changed a lot over the past decade. The rise of streaming has meant traditional cable seasons have shrunk (remember the sweeps?) TV shows don’t just kick off in the fall and spring, with summers full of reruns and a holiday season packed of specials. Instead, there’s just… kinda no end to the premiere timeline. As a rule, you think big movies arriving between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But in recent years, we’ve seen some highly anticipated TV premieres like the witcher and The Mandalorian that happens during the holidays. There is simply no rest!
This can be great for consumers, and less so for TV editors. Compiling, trimming and formatting our best articles of the year takes time, and it also requires tight deadlines (like late November). So what happens in December? Is it carried over to the following year? That doesn’t quite seem fair. Instead, we’re just honoring this best of the month with its own list, one that comes after all the rest, and recognizing that television doesn’t stop for anyone.
Below are a few of our favorites that missed out on best of the year, but you can check out all of those lists and more. here. Happy scrolling and streaming!
The stellar second season of Apple TV+ slow horses
Apple TV+ has slowly but surely become a strong contender in the streaming game. The second season of his stellar spy saga slow horsesaccording to Mick Herron swamp house series of novels, sees the show settle into a welcome and familiar rhythm as MI5’s lovable Slough House misfits engage in a game of cat and mouse when the long-buried secrets of the Cold War come to light. Led by an outstanding Gary Oldman as the frustratingly irascible Jackson Lamb and Jack Lowden as River Cartwright, the series deftly balances spy excitement with a dark sense of humor that makes every episode an absolute pleasure. to watch. —Kaitlin Thomas [Full Review]
Meghann Fahy in The White Lotus Final
Magnificent sets, glamorous castings, murder, chaos… The White Lotus always goes big. But in its Season 2 finale, the best moment was the quiet one. Throughout the season, we’ve seen Meghann Fahy’s Daphne justify her thuggish husband’s behavior in order to protect his own happiness and justify his own vengeful machinations in response. Many of those revelations were quite subtle, like mentioning her personal trainer’s hair and eye color before “accidentally” showing Harper a picture of her kids, which matched that description exactly.
Fahy kept Daphne upbeat and positive throughout, but she wasn’t dumb. And sometimes, it seemed, she allowed herself to hope for something better. When Ethan reveals suspicions that their spouses are cheating together, the camera lingers close to Fahy’s handsome freckled face. The hundred emotions that run through it are haunting; she’s probably not surprised at her husband’s behavior (“I don’t have many friends,” she once told Harper, probably because of it), but seems genuinely hurt. harpist would betray her and fall for her seduction after seeming to see through him. From there, Daphne silently reckons with it, pulls herself together, and tells Ethan he shouldn’t care. She gives real advice on the benefits of the mystery. Then she asks him out for a walk and they almost definitely have sex.
This is Daphne’s formula: Acceptance, vindication, revenge. And Fahy played it so amazing that it was all anyone could talk about in an episode that also included the murder of four people! A real star. —Allison Keen
The Merry Violent Adult Swimming Log
Never before in television history has a yule log been rated TV-MA for “violence, adult language and brief nudity”. Adult Swim’s latest prank comes from Casper Kelly, the mad genius behind it too many cooksand would feel right at home amid Adult Swim’s surreal 4am shorts – except this is a full-fledged 90-minute horror movie that shockingly plays things up more directly than you think.
Adult Swimming Logalternatively titled The fireplace, actually starts with footage of a fireplace… then a gruesome murder happens in front of that fireplace. The camera then zooms out to reveal a young couple staying in this dual-booked, haunted AirBnB cabin (shades of Barbaric in the assembly). From there, it all escalates into multiple layers of horror: slasher violence, the weirdness of time travel, alien invasions, and America’s history of racism and bigotry. I can’t say it’s totally consistent, but I was never bored with Kelly’s feature debut. —Ruben Baron
willowLovely first season
Disney+ willow, a sequel to the 1988 film of the same name directed by Ron Howard, is a delightful fantasy sequel to a beloved Lucasfilm classic and an ever-entertaining weekly December watch. swing in the opposite direction of his peers rings of power and Dragon House, willow picks up years after the events of the film, with Willow (Warwick Davis) and Queen Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) once again teaming up to defeat a force of evil, but with an adult Elora Danon at their side this time around. Offering the perfect balance between silliness and teenage angst, willowconsisting of wizard Willow himself, outlaw Boorman (Amar Chadha-Patel), Princess Kit (Ruby Cruz), knight Jade (Erin Kellyman), chosen one Elora (Ellie Bamber) and the Prince Graydon (Tony Revolori), is a group of adventurers who deserve encouragement on their perilous quest to save one of their own.
Channeling the light BBC charm Merlin and the sprawling, global stakes of MTV The Shannara Chronicles, willow embraces its campy roots while taking its cookie-cutter history to new heights. While the show’s stunning combat sequences and scenery command attention, willowThe real heart of lies in the relationships between its central characters, creating beautiful rediscovered family bonds over its first six episodes. Whether you’re swooning over the heartfelt scenes between Kit and Jade (and celebrating Kit’s status as Disney’s first openly queer Disney princess), gasping at the (sometimes predictable) twists, or smiling at the unique brand of charming humor series, willow is a must watch for a cold winter day. —Anna Govert
The hilarious of Kenice Mobley Additional question
It’s high time you knew Kenice Mobley’s name – and not just because she was included in Vulture’s 2021 list from “Comedians You Should and Will Know”. In 2021, she performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and this year it was featured in the Netflix is A Joke Festival’s “Introducing…” showcase. Most notably, however, Mobley posted a hilarious and confident first album, Additional questionreleased on December 9 via Blonde Medicine.
The Brooklyn-based comedian quickly established herself as both a dork (she kind of did her homework) and a shameless filth. Mobley succinctly captures the dilemma of the millennial woman who wants to be smart and fulfilled…and also get laid (even if that means craving your therapist, which, in her case, does). Mobley’s unconventional and creative word choice accentuates his cruder jokes, culminating in a metaphor at the end of the album about genitals and cheese. Some of her best stories involve her mother, with whom she is extremely close. These anecdotes aren’t just fun, they also help us get to know Mobley better as a person. Whether she’s talking about how her mom’s figure has “changed the porn I can watch” or quizzing audiences about cum in jars, Mobley taps into second-grade comic veins in hilariously and surprisingly incisor. —Claire Martin
Ambitious and fun from Netflix Dragon Age: Absolution
In this six-part animated series based on the BioWare series dragon age video game franchise, a group of six thieves – fighters and mages among them – plot to take an artifact of blood magic from a stronghold in an enemy nation. But when one of the group betrays the others, things gradually get complicated, especially as the past of one of the heroes reveals his own ties to the villain. With vibrations that mix The Legend of Vox Machina, Carmen Sandiego, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, Absolution uses the best in fantasy and heist stories to create an engaging, character-driven narrative that will delight fans of the game and newcomers. —Alana Joli Abbott [Full Review]
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