TRUE-CRIME RELITIGATION: WHEN THEY SEE US, NETFLIX
Most true-crime series based on infamous cases focus on unpacking the details and the context behind them. Ava DuVernay’s four-part dramatization of the arrest and wrongful conviction of five teenagers for the 1989 assault of a jogger in Central Park is different. Its focus is wholeheartedly on restoring humanity to the men who were failed by the American justice system and demonized in the media for the majority of their adult life. As a filmmaker, DuVernay brings texture and style to the world she renders, but the most vital aspect of When They See Us is how it delineates the personalities of the five men it examines, transforming them from tabloid fodder into complex individuals in front of our eyes.
Also noteworthy: The Preppy Murder (SundanceTV)
NEW VOICE: THIS WAY UP, HULU
Aisling Bea’s six-part Britcom is the kind of show that restores faith in small-scale storytelling and the ability to do an enormous amount without a huge budget. The more bloated and unwieldy streaming television gets, the more series like this one stand out for their scrappiness, their imagination, and their heart. Bea plays Aine, a teacher living in London who’s recovering from what she describes as a “teeny little nervous breakdown.” Like the best imported British series, This Way Up contains binge drinking, spontaneous singing, and Tobias Menzies. And Bea is gorgeously watchable as Aine, a woman whose vulnerability comes to seem like an asset instead of a weakness.
Also noteworthy: Tuca & Bertie (Netflix)
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