The 9 Best Miniseries That Are Basically Movies
#127: Oscars recap, "Mare of Easttown," "Two Distant Strangers," "Bottle Rocket," "Collective"
Edition 127:
Hey movie lovers!
As always, you can find a podcast version of this newsletter on Apple or Spotify. Thank you so much for listening and spreading the word!
In this week’s newsletter: Oh baby, it’s Oscars week! Let’s talk big picture, picks, and your last chance to join my winner-take-all pool. Then we throw in a new round of recommendations for a hidden gem movie, a new HBO drama, Quentin Tarintino’s one shining moment as an actor, and a new take on a New York City love story.
A Few Thoughts on the Controversial Oscars Telecast
Well, I did everything but tell you all exactly what the reaction to Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast was going to be. The ratings came in at 9.8 million viewers, a precipitous drop from even last year’s lowest-rated-in-history 23.6 million. And so heads were bound to roll, for whichever accusation could most easily be retrofit. Steven Soderbergh joined the show’s producers and made good on his promise to create an entirely new type of show, then got slammed by mainstream media pundits for alienating the average viewer…nevermind the fact that a totally traditional show would’ve drawn the same ratings and gotten equally savaged for being stale and tired.
What this show did, unabashedly, is cater its delivery to those who were more hardcore and dedicated fans. Which, in a year where the nominees were not widely seen (again, because of the pandemic), did not make for a widely accessible show. And while some of the complaints were legitimate — show clips of the performances, duh — it’s hilarious to me that people tune in having not seen a single movie nominated and then feel entitled enough to blame the show for not catering to their ignorance.
The show was always going to be disappointing, because the year was disappointing. I found Soderbergh’s flourishes to be exciting because I, and people like me, were clearly the only ones watching (other than media types obligated to do so, then complain). Ok, stepping down off my soap box now. Can’t wait to argue about this more next winter.
The Best TV Miniseries That Are Basically Movies
Listen, I’ll man the barricades to defend movies until my dying day (or their dying day, whichever comes first). I believe in the *adjusts neck tie* cinematic art form, and truly believe that scarcity brings out the best in storytelling.
But I’d have to be downright blind to ignore the economics of the modern landscape. Complex, engaging or emotional dramas for adults, the stuff that makes the movies I love to talk about here every Friday, is more likely to be found now on the small screen.
The quality of television shows has improved exponentially over the past 10 years, but the most fundamental shift in my eyes came with the rise of mini-series. The finite commitments opened the floodgates of movie stars and top tier talent that didn’t want to be tied down, and also allowed an auteur vision across one contained story to be realistic. You’ll often hear the shorthand “it’s just a six-hour movie” to describe them, because they are in all but financial models.
The most recent example, now streaming on HBO Max, is “Mare of Easttown.” The show stars Kate Winslet, a talent who wouldn’t have dreamed of “doing TV” in the recent past but now co-produced this show into existence with a talented showrunner like Brad Ingelsby. Through two episodes, it’s a fascinating and expertly crafted mystery, and captures the kind of cinematic energy that used to only be found at the multiplex.
In that vein, I picked out a handful of mini-series from recent years which, in my mind, would’ve just been awesome movies had they been made 20 years ago. For that reason I excluded classic series like “Lonesome Dove” or “Band of Brothers,” which come from an era where the choice to do it as a show was more intentional. I’ve also excluded documentaries, which now come in series format almost as a rule — though entries like “Wild, Wild Country” are as good as anything you’ll find below. And one more caveat: there are tons of series I haven’t seen yet which I hear are awesome. I’m primarily a movies guy so I know I missed out on series like “I May Destroy You,” “Unbelievable,” “The Haunting of Hill House,” or “Devs,” to name a few.
The Night Of (HBO Max): This show symbolizes everything I’m talking about above. Had it been released in the late 90s, for instance, this crime drama would’ve competed for every Academy Award in the book. Riz Ahmed announced his movie star status leading the show as a falsely accused (or is he?) murderer, radicalized in Rikers Island by the likes of Michael K. Williams and being public-defended by John Turturro, with a note perfect Bill Camp investigating. It engages you on a empathetic and emotional level, an intellectual mystery level, and a pure entertainment level with equal satisfaction, as one might expect from the writing dream team of Richard Price (“The Wire”) and Steve Zallian (Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).
True Detective Season 1 (HBO Max): This may not have been the first mini-series, but the sensation it created in 2014 certainly launched the chain of events which got us to this moment. Back then, teaming Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in a show was huge news. And the twisted investigation they untangle as detectives in the modern day deep south captured all of pop culture’s attention. McConaughey’s character has become one of the most iconic in TV history, and I’m not sure this level of narrative complexity has ever been executed on this level again. Cinematically, the comparisons to David Fincher’s Se7en are pretty spot on.
Chernobyl (HBO Max): It’s a wonder we’ve never gotten a definitive movie about the Chernobyl nuclear crisis in the last 30 years, and I don’t think anyone thought a show starring a bunch of English actors (with their English accents!) would be the ones to so thoroughly and thrillingly detail the events of and fallout from the disaster. But this show balances its spoonful of educational medicine with gallons of entertainment sugar, at points literally overwhelming my senses with the other-worldy horrors of nuclear radiation then in the next scene blowing my mind with chemistry calculations. The show was so good that I got the non-fiction book it was based on, then couldn’t even read it because the show had so completely told the story that I had no need for more detail.
Watchmen (HBO Max): It’s telling that HBO owns the top four spots on this list. They are the clear kings of the space. And this time, showrunner Damon Lindelof (“Lost,” “The Leftovers”) used the format to vastly improve on the 2009 feature version of this story directed by Zack Snyder (whose…umm…talents I have detailed in previous newsletters). Lindelof takes a galactic superhero story and grounds it in modern and human political strife, opening the show by drawing connections from the very real 1921 Tulsa race riot. Regina King leads an all-star cast in a show that proves to me that superhero stories CAN be awesome. This is the best superhero story I’ve ever been exposed to.
Godless (Netflix): Everyone lost their minds this year over Scott Frank’s other Netflix mini-series, “The Queen’s Gambit.” That show was good, but it’s got nothing on this traditional western story starring Jeff Daniels, Scoot McNairy, Michelle Dockery, Merritt Weaver and Jack O’Connell. Had it been a movie, it likely would have been the best western of the 2010s. It has everything you might expect — murderous outlaws, noble sheriffs, quick-draw shooters, saloons and horses — but manages to present them all in new and surprising ways, starting with the premise. A town in New Mexico lost all of its men in a mining accident, and now the town full of women are trying to survive the ire of the evil posse after taking in their traitor. Man, as far as westerns go, this is as good as it gets.
Fargo Season 1 (Hulu): Well, this selection is a little awkward, since we know exactly how successful the mini series would be as a movie. The show is adapted from the Coen Brothers’ 1996 masterpiece, which netted them Oscars for writing and gave Frances McDormand the first of her now THREE Best Actress wins. Anyway, most tv critics applaud the show’s second series, since it creates an entirely new story, but I think showrunner Noah Hawley did an incredible job expanding and altering the plot of the movie into the show’s first series, anchored by incredible performances from Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman.
The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (Netflix): Supercreator Ryan Murphy’s ultra-glitzy style meshed perfectly with the larger-than-life events of the O.J. Simpson trial, giving it the full star-studded docudrama treatment. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays O.J., John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark? I mean come on! The show manages to capture all of the energy of the real events and provide all of those behind-closed-doors moments that all the books and even the unbelievable documentary O.J.: Made in America could never get.
11.22.63 (Hulu): This Steven King adaptation I think would’ve been better served as a two-hour movie, as its absolutely electric opening episodes start to sputter out toward the end. James Franco stars as a time-traveler setting out to prevent the assassination of JFK, though as you’d expect it’s not quite so straightforward. He first has to figure out who he has to stop, leading him down the rabbit hole of possible suspects. The show, much like the JFK conspiracy theories, has an incredibly addicting hook and then doesn’t quite pay off its promise. Still, a worthy watch.
Zerozerozero (Amazon Prime): I had high hopes that this show might stretch out into a multi-season epic, because its multi-faction character base gave off big time “Game of Thrones” vibes. But the show’s creator confirmed it’s a miniseries, interweaving the various stakeholders in the international drug trade — American businessmen, Mexican cartels and the Italian mafia. The sheer scope of the story is insane, but the story manages to zoom in on little character moments well, and it is able to balance blockbuster-level action set pieces with plenty of back room political intrigue. One thing that’s not lost in the TV format is cinematic quality. It’s obvious the budget here was big enough to pull off everything you’d expect in a blockbuster movie.
Something New
Two Distant Strangers (Netflix): Travon Free used to be a writer for The Daily Show and Samantha Bee, then came on my radar as a writer for the brief and doomed Bill Simmons talk show on HBO and the host of a podcast about “Hamilton” right as the phenomenon was breaking in 2015. I had no idea he was trying to get into the directorial game until a few months ago when I found out the short film he directed was on the short list for nomination at the Academy Awards. Then on Sunday night, he brought home the trophy for Best Live Action Short. This 30-minute piece is currently streaming on Netflix, taking a somewhat impressionistic approach to police violence by placing its main character (played by Joey Bada$$) in an infinite time loop confrontation with a police officer. The familiarity of the conceit doesn’t make the story less powerful, and little detail flourishes reveal a pretty sophisticated filmmaking skillset.
Something Old
Bottle Rocket (1996, Amazon Prime): Wes Anderson is one of my “season ticket” directors, where I’ve seen their entire catalogue and will go see any movie they put out opening weekend no questions asked. As I wait eagerly for his forthcoming The French Dispatch, delayed multiple times by the pandemic, I finally knocked off his debut feature, which secured financing after a 13-minute short film version of the same story was a buzzy breakout at Sundance. It’s sort of a bizarre movie to try to summarize, but basically two quirky deadbeat friends try to become criminals, but have no idea how to actually do it.
There are traces of Anderson’s now-iconic signatures to be found everywhere—symmetrical framing, off-beat characters, handwriting, and childlike adventures—though it’s clear he’s still trying to find what would be his exact style. The movie launched Anderson’s career and the career of his college roommate, who co-wrote and starred in it. His name is…Owen Wilson. Wow. He stars alongside his brother Luke Wilson, with a bit part coming from James Caan. Critics of Anderson might call this and all his films trite or inconsequential, but he always overcomes that by being abundantly delightful. Enjoy.
Something to Stream
Collective (Hulu): With respect to Time, which I haven’t seen but is also streaming on Hulu and receiving glowing reviews, I find it almost impossible to believe that Academy voters could’ve watched this movie and still voted My Octopus Teacher for Best Documentary. If I had to guess, it’s because there’s very little “filmmaking” visible within this narrative, which follows a group of journalists and lawmakers in Romania grappling with a massive scandal in its healthcare system. I realize that’s not the sexiest premise, but believe me when I tell you that I’ve never seen a documentary with more “I can’t believe they’re capturing video of this” footage in my life. The movie is basically like a real life version of The Newsroom meets The West Wing with a Eastern Bloc twist, and it’s put together in pure vérité, making you a fly on the wall for no less than 10 moments where you cannot believe what you’re witnessing.
Trailer Watch: West Side Story
Another oddity of the Oscars telecast was the presentation of trailers for movies that had been delayed by the pandemic, which gave us our first look at Steven Spielberg’s remake of the classic 1961 musical that brought home 10 Oscars. I have no idea why we needed a remake of this movie (we don’t), but this short teaser is a reminder that few people in the history of cinema can direct as well as Spielberg. In many ways, this particular title feels like the ultimate, “movies are back!” release of the year. Until then, you can stream the original on Amazon Prime (and you should!).