FARGO (2014)
Created by: Noah Hawley.
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Allison Tolman.
It might seem a little strange to be recommending a television series loosely based around a Coen brothers film of the same name after complaining about the number of Hollywood remakes, but Fargo is not really a remake, at least not a typical one.
Rather than following the film's story, the series replicates the setting and the style. Like the film it is full of down-to-earth, almost mundane, characters - all with that distinctive Minnesota accent - who find themselves in very difficult situations.
The chain of unfortunate events is set off after the deliciously malevolent drifter/hit man Lorne Malvo (played to perfection by Thornton) has a chance meeting with the down-on-his-luck insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Freeman).
The acting, plot and comedy do the Coen brothers (who had no involvement in the series) proud.
TOP OF THE LAKE (2013)
Co-created by: New Zealand film-maker Jane Campion and Gerard Lee.
Starring: Elisabeth Moss, David Wenham and Peter Mullan.
Possibly the pinnacle of New Zealand television drama, Top of the Lake is the sole example of a New Zealand story being given the cable television treatment, and the results are exceptional.
Set in a town on the edge of Lake Wakatipu, this brooding miniseries follows Detective Robin Griffin (played by Moss of Mad Men fame) as she investigates the circumstances that led to the pregnant 12-year-old Tui Mitcham first trying to kill herself in the lake and then suddenly disappearing.
Like Campion's other work the issue of gender plays an important role.
Watch it now, so you are ready when the just-announced second season comes out and look out for the excellent cinematography by Adam Arkapaw (who also worked on True Detective and The Light Between Oceans, recently filmed in Dunedin).
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (2003 onwards)
Created by: Mitchell Hurwitz.
Starring: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera.
There is so much good television out there to recommend (Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Walking Dead, True Detective and The Affair spring to mind as recent examples) but rather than going with another drama my final recommendation is the lighthearted Arrested Development .
The ensemble comedy focuses on the fictitious and formerly wealthy Bluth family after they have fallen from grace after years of corruption. Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the show's straight man, is continually thwarted in his attempts to do the right thing by his out-of-touch family members, who are intent on living luxurious lifestyles without doing any real work.
Unusually for a comedy, the series is one continuous story, which makes it perfect for binge watching. All the characters have something to offer and the complexity and quality of the jokes means this series comes closest to matching the best American sitcom of all time, Seinfeld.
