Streamline recommends “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” as the new show you should watch this week.
The new episodes of this Netflix show premiered on May 30.
I think the new season (or rather the half-season that just debuted) is the show’s best yet.
Watching it in contrast with “Arrested Development,” the other Netflix comedy that just debuted new episodes, makes it very clear that “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” is leagues ahead of other comedies right now.
While “Arrested Development” is now an underwhelming imitation of the show it once was, “Unbreakable” feels like “AD” in its prime. Although it doesn’t have a super large audience right now, this series will undoubtedly become a cult classic down the line. It’s so clever and funny and brilliantly written and I’m just really excited these episodes now exist in the world.
Other Notable New Shows This Week
“Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger” on Freeform. Season 1. Debuted June 7.
“Condor” on Audience Network. Season 1. Debuted June 6.
“Dietland” on AMC. Season 1. Debuted June 4.
“Queen Sugar” on OWN. Season 3. Debuted May 29.
“Sense8” on Netflix. Series finale. Debuted June 8. Read more at the Netflix Streamline.
“Younger” on TV Land. Season 5. Debuted June 5.
Recent Shows That Also Are Decent
“The Americans” on FX. Season 6.
“Cobra Kai” on YouTube Red. Season 1.
“Howards End” on Starz. Mini-series.
“The Last O.G.” on TBS. Season 1.
“Legion” on FX. Season 2.
“The Looming Tower” on Hulu.
“Lost in Space” on Netflix. Season 1. Read more at the Netflix Streamline.
“National Treasure: Kiri” on Hulu.
“Picnic at Hanging Rock” on Amazon Prime. Mini-series.
“The Rain” on Netflix. Season 1. Read more at the Netflix Streamline.
“Silicon Valley” on HBO. Season 5.
“The Terror” on AMC. Season 1.
“Vida” on Starz. Season 1.
“3%” on Netflix. Season 2.
Assorted Streaming News
FX renewed “Atlanta” ― the best show on television right now ― for a third season. This is not at all unexpected.
Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”) will direct every episode of the forthcoming Amazon Prime series “The Underground Railroad,” based off Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book with the same name.
Jordan Peele signed a first-look deal with Amazon Prime. The company will help him create more projects.
Average television watching in America peaked in 2010 at approximately 9 hours a day. Now it’s about 8 hours. That’s still a lot of television. Only watch the great stuff / avoid the mediocre shows or you’ll stream your life away.
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The Weekly Streamline Ranking Of All TV
Every week, Streamline ranks the best shows to watch right now. Besides the overall ranking here, Streamline has a ranking specifically for Netflix.
The ranking prioritizes newness, quality and potential mass appeal. Read below the list for a more elaborate explanation of the methodology.
For the weekend of June 9, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” tops the list for the first time.
Other changes in the rankings are just that “Killing Eve,” “Barry” and “Atlanta” moved down a few spots since their last episodes aired weeks ago now. Those three shows will almost definitely make the top 5 for best shows of the year at the end of 2018. But they move down the rankings, since you’ve already had plenty of time to check them out.
That said, I finally watched “Crashing,” the 2016 show from “Killing Eve” creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge. It’s so good! And it’s on Netflix. Consider checking that out if you haven’t already.
Hope this helps.
The 5-word plot: Woman slowly finds her way.
Pro: This might have the most solid jokes per minute of any show out there right now. As this show comes to a close, it's still as strong as ever.
Con: Episodes are probably slightly too long and often could use some tightening. The humor can be overly zany for long stretches in which it fails to ground itself to make the jokes work.
The 5-word plot: New York life in '80s.
Pro: This show balances displays of lavish decadence and thrilling performances with nuanced portrayals of finding the importance of friends and family. It's fun and heart-wrenching.
Con: The strongest moments are the high-energy ball sequences. It's still unclear whether the show will be able to sustain that energy for many episodes through the same setting.
The 5-word plot: Officers' and assassins' lives intertwine.
Pro: Very strong balance between whimsical humor and violent action. Strong, relatable character dialogue within the quick-moving storylines.
Con: The premise becomes a bit too unbelievable with almost comic book-like characters.
The 5-word plot: Hitman wants to become actor.
Pro: Bill Hader just may be the country's funniest actor right now. This show has a creative premise and actually pulls it off.
Con: The humor might be too niche to be broadly successful.
The 5-word plot: Struggling to succeed in Atlanta.
Pro: This show is easily one of the most creative and straightforwardly funny projects of the last few years. Multiple actors are stars on the rise.
Con: Very occasionally, it will rely on weirdness instead of being truly clever.
The 5-word plot: Family members fight over business.
Pro: It's rare to have an exciting show these days that's mostly centered around adults just talking. The writing is strong enough here, though, making this thrilling to watch.
Con: Given the current political climate, you might be out on watching rich people do very rich people things or find it difficult to have empathy for the characters.
The 5-word plot: College students struggle with racism.
Pro: One of the most accurate portrayals of contemporary young adult life. Also has a lot to say about the resurgence of vocalized racism in America, and does so with nuance.
Con: Directing choices don't always allow the characters to be believable, but this heavy-handedness still kind of helps emphasize important points.
The 5-word plot: Surviving an oppressive government's takeover.
Pro: The rare popular show that's also very critically acclaimed. The quality is high in all standard categories such as writing, acting, directing, etc., while also being inventive.
Con: This can be hard to watch given the intensely grim subject matter.
The 5-word plot: Rich addict tries to recover.
Pro: A solid mix of comedy with anguish and depressing lows, dressed up in expensive settings, gives this a complex appeal. Critics are also saying this is one of Benedict Cumberbatch's finest performances.
Con: It's yet another complicated-man story in which the protagonist tries to find happiness with heavy drinking. You might already be done with that trope.
The 5-word plot: Family struggles to stick together.
Pro: The original iteration of "Arrested Development" is one of the best shows of all time. The new jokes are still strange and unique after all these years.
Con: This is probably the worst season. Characters used to make some sense, but now everyone is a cartoon character. Plus, the whole Jeffrey Tambor controversy hangs over this.
A note on ranking methodology:
Streamline recommendations do not include reality shows, game shows, awards shows, news shows and other programs that aren’t streaming online.
Along with HuffPost’s own “research” (watching countless hours of TV), Streamline opinions are informed by critical reviews from publications like The New York Times, Vulture, The A.V. Club, The Ringer and Collider, and aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
Shows can appear on the main list for two months after their most recent season’s final episode. Shows that debut all episodes at once will also be eligible for only two months.
If broadcast shows want a chance at showing up on the main list, they should make their episodes easily available to stream.