In advance of my 2023-2024 television top ten list (I use the Emmy eligibility calendar), I want to talk about some of the shows I didn't watch this year, for various reasons. There are far, far more shows being produced there than anyone can possibly keep up with, so this is not an exhaustive list. The titles discussed below are only the most high profile ones that I want to talk about why I skipped.
I reserve the right to revisit these choices in the future, because I did eventually cave and watch a few episodes of "Succession."
A Small Light - A holocaust drama starring Bel Powley as Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide Anne Frank's family during WWII. This is the series I feel the worst about skipping, but it came out back in May of 2023, when I was completely overwhelmed trying to keep up with other prestige titles, and I never got back to it. I've also been pretty burned out on WWII media lately, and have skipped anything that looked like an obvious WWII tearjerker, including "All the Light We Cannot See." Maybe one day.
The Traitors - "The Traitors" didn't make much of a splash when it started in 2022, but this year, the second season of the UK version blew up in the US, and even I heard about it. I'm not in the habit of watching reality shows, and Peacock hasn't been in my streaming service rotation in a while. However, I want to acknowledge that "The Traitors" has definitely been having a pop culture moment, and I'm aware of it. This just won't ever be something that I'm interested in watching.
The Curse - To date, I haven't watched any of Nathan Fielder's shows, and I don't think I ever will. Even the participation of Emma Stone and a Safdie brother wasn't enough to grab my interest. While I like the idea of Fielder's work in theory, after reading a couple of breakdowns of what he's actually doing in his shows, none of this actually sounds entertaining to watch. I like to think that I'm pretty aware of how media works already, and don't need to see it deconstructed in the way that he's doing it.
Gen V - I'm glad the show is getting good notices, and the truly tragic death of one of the lead actors is terrible, but I made the decision pretty early not to watch "Gen V." Frankly, the blame goes to "The Boys," which I've now watched through three seasons, and have completely lost interest in. I've seen enough of this dystopian superhero world, thank you, and it's not interesting enough for me to want to try out a spinoff with different characters. Best of luck, but no thanks.
Shrinking - Harrison Ford playing a therapist in an Apple TV+ dramedy? Okay, that sounds fun. Jessica Williams is in this too? Great. Oh, but the actual main character is played by Jason Segel, who is grief stricken over the loss of his wife? That's a lot less appealing. And the whole thing hinges on Segel's therapist character losing his cool and telling his patients what he really thinks of them? Uh, this is starting to sound cringy. Maybe I'll wait a few seasons and check back in with you guys.
Expats - Nicole Kidman stars in Lulu Wang's miniseries about an American expat community in Hong Kong during the recent social upheaval. I've been waiting for more from Lulu Wang, but Kidman being the lead here gives me pause. Frankly, I haven't seen her in anything I've really liked in a few years, and her work in "Expats" has gotten a very mixed response from critics. Maybe I'll circle back around at some point, but I probably won't.
Star Wars: Ahsoka - I made a point of skipping several of the recent MCU and "Star Wars" series on Disney+ after "Loki" ended. "Ahsoka" holds almost no appeal for me, because it follows characters from the "Star Wars" animated series that I never watched. Several actors I like, including Rosario Dawson and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, are in the cast, but "Star Wars" has wasted too many other good actors on bad material.
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