As 2017 continues to be a waking nightmare, the Hypable staff takes a moment to thank the shows that helped get us through this tough year.
Happy Thanksgiving from Hypable! It’s been quite the year and escaping the constant drum of the news cycle is next to impossible. Which is why we are taking a moment to recognize the television shows that gave our writers a few moments of reprise.
From the DC Universe to a tent in the countryside of England, these shows were there for us when Twitter was too much, when we needed to challenge ourselves, or when we needed a reminder that some things in this world can be beautiful.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ — Michal Schick
To say that I’m grateful for Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale requires a bit of personal redefinition of the word. Gratitude is a state I usually reserve for things that make me feel good, or at the least something that I was aware of needing. Help from a friend, Hermione Granger, chocolate — that kind of thing.
The Handmaid’s Tale is not that. Like Margaret Atwood’s novel, the TV adaptation is quiet, claustrophobic, and bitter. It is painful to experience, and haunting to contemplate. Nothing about the show is fun, or nice; once or twice, it might qualify as vaguely not-unpleasant.
Once or twice.
Nevertheless, I am grateful for the experience in the way that one might feel gratitude for a vaccine or a surgeon. The Handmaid’s Tale is vital, prescient, and necessary storytelling. It is emphatically feminine, told as much through shivers and mute expression as it is through dialogue and action. It offers an unyielding vision of a dystopia that feels dangerously close to the skin of our modern world, but one that also reveals a ferocious female strength that I cannot help but be compelled to emulate.
In times that seem as ludicrous as the wildest fiction, I often find myself burrowing ever deeper into the bright colors of Marvel or the intricacies of Game of Thrones. And that’s all well and good. But The Handmaid’s Tale pulled me out of that cycle, and into a fiction that hurt on purpose; it meant to change me, and it did.
And for that, I am definitely grateful.
‘The Vampire Diaries’ — Kendra Cleary
I’m thankful for so much about The Vampire Diaries. Watching the show helped me to get through some of the more difficult times in my life, and it’s given me some of my favorite characters in all of fiction. I mean, if you don’t have some level of crush on Caroline Forbes, I seriously question your judgement.
In 2017, what I’m most thankful for is the series finale of The Vampire Diaries. It wasn’t perfect, but it delivered every ounce of the emotion that I needed to send off the characters of Mystic Falls.
I’m exceedingly thankful that Nina Dobrev reprised her roles of Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in the finale. Elena has always been the backbone of The Vampire Diaries and Katherine is just a “hell” of a lot of fun. The show’s finale just wouldn’t have been the same without her.
Finally, I’m thankful that the show ended in a way that still left me with excitement for what’s to come in the future. Particularly with Caroline and her potential on The Originals! When a show ends and you’re still excited about the possibilities of the world, there’s really nothing better.
‘Wynonna Earp’ — Selina Wilken
Wynonna Earp season 2 proved that even gritty, bloody supernatural dramas can offer messages of hope: The WayHaught relationship (fraught as it was with possession drama) continued to flourish, and Wynonna, finding herself unexpectedly pregnant (with showrunner Emily Andras doing some amazing last-minute plot shuffling to incorporate Melanie Scrofano’s real-life pregnancy), came to provide a kind of female representation on TV that we hardly ever get to see.
Through Wynonna Earp we are reminded that not only do women kick ass, but they can continue to kick ass regardless of whether or not they get pregnant and have babies. (Of course they can! We know they can. But it’s nice to see that reflected in our media, too.)
Wynonna Earp season 2 was not just an ode to women, sisterhood, and the LGBTQ+ community, but an ode to mothers and motherhood as well. This series continues to be a bright light in mine and many other people’s lives, and provides a much-needed dose of ‘girl power’ (in the most unironic sense) at a time when it feels like the entertainment industry is still mostly sliding by on ‘strong’ female characters as opposed to real female characters. Wynonna provides real women in spades, allowing them to be strong, scared, good, evil, powerful, helpless, petty, overwhelmed, tenacious, unstoppable and, most importantly, human.
For its sophomore season, Wynonna Earp truly cemented its status as Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s rightful heir, and I hope it will eventually get the mainstream recognition it deserves.
‘Legends of Tomorrow’ — Caitlin Kelly
Who would have thought that the show that I’m most thankful for this year would be the red-headed stepchild of the Arrowverse? Featuring fan-favorite characters from across the Arrowverse, Legends of Tomorrow justified the resurrection of my favorite character, Sara Lance, so for that I will always be grateful. However, the show’s first season was rough with a team dynamic that never quite clicked and a villain who never felt like a true danger.
But in its second season, Legends of Tomorrow dropped its weak points and doubled down on the quirkiness that did work in season 1. By shifting the team dynamics and introducing the Legion of Doom — former Big Bads from across the Arrowverse — Legends truly found itself. It embraced its comic bookyness and stopped trying to be serious.
In season 2, Legends of Tomorrow became my favorite show on television; I stopped caring if a plot didn’t make sense because the show was just so damn fun. Whether it was fighting zombies during the Civil War or inspiring George Lucas to create Star Wars, Legends leaned into the ridiculous. It also improved its character dynamics among the team and added surprising depth to characters like Mick, who started out as a caricature.
I worried that Legends might regress from its high-quality second season in season 3, but so far that has not happened. The writers, it seems, have figured out exactly what makes this show work — following the adventures of a ragtag team of misfits whose motto is “Sometimes we screw things up for the better” — and I couldn’t be more thankful each week when Legends of Tomorrow comes on my screen.
‘The Magicians’ — Tariq Kyle
There’s shows about magic, and then there’s The Magicians. There’s absolutely no other show on TV like this right now, and the way that it is able to fall into so many categories and connect with me on so many levels is why I’m so, so thankful for it.
The Magicians addresses issues like depression and PTSD like no other show I’ve seen before. It brings light onto the darkest issues that we face, and it brings magic and whismy into a world that I wish, so ,so much actually had magic in it. I feel like if magic did exist, The Magicians is the perfect example of how real the world would still be with it.
Magic doesn’t fix all of your problems, and sometimes our problems and our darkest fears can power us through the darkest times in our lives, and that’s what I see in this show. These characters are plagued with the very same issues that its viewers deal with every day, they are lonely and they are depressed and they are able to take that darkness and use it to help power them through the hardest obstacles they have had to face.
Bringing the magic, the whimsy and the comedy all together to fight the darkness is really what makes this show special and I cannot wait to see how it continues when it comes back on January 10.
‘Black Sails’ — Brook Wentz
You know those shows that come blazing into your life and you just immediately register that they’re going to have a powerful effect on you forever? That’s what I found in Black Sails this year. It’s well documented how much I love the show and that I think it’s some of the best television ever made, but more than that it’s caused a fundamental change in the way I relate to the world.
We’re living through a radicalized time in history, and somehow a subversive little show about pirates, has given me tools I never knew I needed to navigate that world. I carry these bastions of fiction with me wherever I go, and they remind me what I should be fighting for as much as any political hero on Capitol Hill.
In a strange way, Black Sails has also infused me with a new sense of self-confidence and conviction that I’ve never quite grasped before. Seeing something so well crafted go without its proper admiration reminds me that I have to trust my judgement in all things. At times I might feel like I’m shouting into the void, but I shouldn’t rely on the confirmation of others to solidify my opinions.
I can be right without a legion of voices to back me up. That’s a powerful truth to have wash over you. One that is bound to reach much further than within the confines of pop culture or entertainment. So I’m thankful for Black Sails for many things. Ones I’m probably not even aware of yet…
‘American Gods’ — Brittany Lovely
Television is exhausting and lately it feels more like a chore than something meant to entertain. Shows I’ve been watching for years are either ending or continuing in weird directions. And with the onslaught of new shows, it seems impossible to make time to try something that may end up disappointing after five episodes.
And then there is American Gods. Everything about this show — every frame, every music choice, every casting choice– is perfect. I’ve never sat down to watch an adaptation and felt such a connection to the original work (save Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone).
I felt the need to watch every episode twice, even three times. It helps that this show also afforded me the opportunity to connect with a dear friend, and incredible writing partner, for many, many hours after each episode. They lift dialogue from Neil Gaiman’s pages and carries them into an entirely Bryan Fuller and Michael Green world.
The show exists in an hour bubble on Starz, but it extends far beyond that in my own life. And I have not had a new show do that in quite some time.
‘The Bold Type’ — Danielle Zimmerman
The best shows are ones that resonate with you deeply. That change — or validate — how you see the world in a really moving and powerful way. In the past, only one show, Agent Carter, has really ever done that for me. But that all changed for me this year.
This year, The Bold Type came into my life and my life hasn’t been the same since. I’m so incredibly thankful that this show doesn’t shy away from real issues and predicaments that face women today — personal, professional, and intimate — and instead leans into these things exposes a gold mine of truth.
The women in this show each have aspects that a single person can relate to. They’re not just “strong” women. They’re real women who push me to be more bold and I’m so incredibly thankful that they exist (and The Bold Type has been renewed).
‘Into the Badlands’ — Karen Rought
It’s difficult to choose just one show to be thankful for in 2017. I’ve been on a journey with Teen Wolf since its inception, and its departure from my screen certainly left a hole in my heart. Sweet/Vicious was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in time, but it resonated with me so deeply, especially given recent headlines. Shows like Scream helped me fall in love with horror and series like The Magicians made me realize I like my television just a little bit weird.
But this year, I’m choosing to champion Into the Badlands. I’ve spoken about this show at length over the last couple years, and I’m not quite ready to hang up my hat. Into the Badlands is a proponent of diversity in both its major and minor characters without making it a big deal.
This world has much bigger problems than race. Its female characters are stunningly beautiful and dangerously powerful in the same breath. There might be plenty of misogyny floating around still, but the female leads always find a way to survive, whether from the strength of their fists or the power of their constitution.
At the end of the day, Into the Badlands is just different — which is something I can appreciate amid so many fantastic television shows. It’s a wonderful mashup of the old and new, of East and West. It finds a way to pay homage to what came before while also leaving its own unique footprint on the world.
‘The Great British Baking Show’ — Rebecca Dzida
Over the past year I’ve needed a show to remind me that even when things get really bad, you can always pick yourself up again. For me, that was The Great British Baking Show. I discovered it at just the right time, and I am so happy that Netflix has added another season! No joke. It got me through a really rough patch.
I love it for its sheer Britishness (so many delightful accents), but I also love it because even though it’s a competition, the contestants will go out of their way to help each other out. When tension is at it’s highest, when that beautiful, four-tiered decorative cake needs to be transferred to the judging table without toppling over, everyone involved pulls together to ensure they do each other’s best. Who knew a baking show could be so intense yet so endearing?
‘The Good Place’ — Donya Abramo
Over the last few months – or, if I’m being entirely honest, since the beginning of the year – I’ve found it very difficult to muster up the motivation to watch any new shows. I found myself going back to familiar favorites, ones that weren’t going to crop up with any unexpected and unwanted surprises. It was, in its own way, something I was doing to protect myself, even if it meant missing out on a handful of series that have firmly solidified their place in the pop culture zeitgeist.
Which is why, when my anxiety took a substantial and significant step back around September time, and I’d run through all my usual suspects more than once, I surprisingly found myself gravitating to The Good Place on Netflix. I’d heard great things about the show – and I am, of course, a fan of Kristen Bell thanks to Veronica Mars – but it was still a largely unknown quantity.
I took the chance anyway, and burned through the entirety of the first season in a day. It turned out to be a little bit of something that I really needed. I fell for the deeply flawed, yet endearing, characters, their warring ethics and morals, and the twist at the close of the first season was a delightful surprise – one that kept the show interesting and the direction unexpected heading into its sophomore outing.
The Good Place, in its own way, set me back on a path to feeling a little more like myself. And for that I will always be thankful for it. (Though not so much for the NFL, as it’ll be months before we get another episode.)
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