All Curated Good Shows: By Score

A Netflix documentary mini-series that follows the relocation of a cult from India to a small town in Oregon and the ensuing events. It's a completely true story, but the events it portrays are so bizarre and unexpected that they have to be seen to be believed. The cult, led by a controversial Indian guru, drew worldwide attention to its beginnings in India and then to its conflict with the locals once it relocated to the United States. If you were a contemporary, you must know that the town is Antelope and the guru is Bhagwan or Osho, but if you were not, it is very unlikely you've even heard of it. What was a very significant moment in American media and history has been long forgotten, and is retold here in a captivating way. An extremely well-executed and a powerful account of a very unlikely story.

Rob, a New York executive, has a brief affair with Sharon, a teacher, while he’s on a business trip to London. The resulting pregnancy upends their lives.Sharon struggles to adapt to living with this unwanted, and mostly useless American, who suddenly moves in with her. Hilarity ensues as Rob tries to navigate the unintended relationship and his new life in Britain.The thing about Catastrophe is that you’re getting the full, unfiltered and untouched package of creative expression by two very creative people: It’s a show created by Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, written by Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, and starring Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney (as, you guessed it, Sharon and Rob).The show is Sharon and Rob’s product of love, and it’s just great.

Atlanta is the work of mastermind Donald Glover, who you may know as Troy from Community, two-time Grammy Nominated rapper Childish Gambino, or again from his successful stand-up career. He goes all out here, in what feels like a complete use of his entire multi-talent arsenal (he directs, writes and stars as the lead), as well as a vehicle for what he has to say about the city where he grew up. Earn (Glover) is a Princeton University dropout who has a baby with his ex-girlfriend and who is so broke he is de-facto homeless. When he learns that his cousin has been somewhat successful as a rapper called Paper Boi, he tries to reconnect with him to become his manager. The story of the smart but failed college dropout intertwines with the musician hustle, to give many hilarious moments and characters (look out for Darius, played by LaKeith Stanfield), but mostly a very genuine and relevant work. A fun, sharp and unique show.

Yes, it is adapted from the book. Now let’s get on to more critical information I can give you as someone who has already watched it: clear up the next 7 hours. I started it at midnight, finished it at 7am. This binge-worthy historical drama tells the story of how the illegitimate son of the richest man in Russia (played by Paul Dano) finds himself in the center of his country’s downfall as it faces another Napoleon invasion. Romance intertwines with war, tragedy and greed. Tolstoy himself (author of the book this series is based on) recognized that the tangled story is not novel-like, “even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle". Directed by Tom Harper (Peaky Blinders), it has an almost obsessive attention to detail that captures the glamor, deceit, and insanity of its time. More importantly, it stays true to the philosophical nature of the written material, and by extension becomes an illustrative work on the human condition in general.

A dramatic take on the life and capture of Ted Kaczynski, popularly known as UNABOMBER(UNiversity and Airline BOMber) from the eyes of an FBI profiler. Kaczynski was responsible for 16 bombings, and it took 17 years for the FBI to catch him. To date, he's the target of the most expensive chase the FBI has ever launched. The show is not a mystery (facts are the matter of public domain) and doesn't even pretend to be one. Instead, it focuses on the complex motives of the UNABOMBER, as well as the bureaucracy that the FBI ran through trying to catch him. It's a really well-made, engrossing show that's hard not to watch in one take. It's 8 episodes of 40 minutes, so pick the time you start it wisely.

Two seasons are available now of this exquisite crime show made under the supervision of David Fincher. Mindhunter's pacing, incredible stories, and great acting make it so easy yet so enjoyable to consume. The show is about FBI agent Holden Ford, who becomes involved with the freshly founded Behavioral Science Unit headed by agent Bill Tench (marvelously played by Holt McCallany). Together they go around the country interviewing serial killers and trying to solve open murder cases. It's a retro account of the start of serial murders and law enforcement’s early attempts to understand them. Netflix’s most binge-worthy show so far, Mindhunter is a very interesting, almost scientific thriller.

A British comedy series that was originally called Scrotal Recall before it was bought by Netflix and rebranded. It’s about Dylan and his friends, he is a desperate romantic in his 20s who suddenly discovers he has chlamydia, and therefore must contact all his (numerous) past sexual adventures and relationships. Every episode has the name of one of the girls he has to contact, and the story that goes with it. Dylan’s best friends are Luke, a hilarious seemingly confident but actually insecure, shallow business-school-type; and Eve, Dylan’s best friend who may have undisclosed feelings for him, she is a sarcastic, smart girl who is very well portrayed by Misfits star Antonia Thomas. Lovesick is a charming little series, that portrays failed relationships but ends up being beautifully romantic. Something you can easily find yourself watching many episodes in one take.

Here is a TV show where the performances are so good that it's hard to give any credit to the story. Patricia Arquette as a prison employee, and Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano as inmates are an unbelievable trio. They all shine in their own right in this true story of escape from a prison in Upstate New York. Arquette is almost unrecognizable in the role of a frustrated middle-aged woman who gets romantically involved with the inmates. Dano plays the young one, a smart but easily excited guy. Del Toro plays an experienced, shrewd, and boss-type prisoner. Together they take an already exceptional story and create one of the most realistic mysteries in recent memory. Because of this, the pacing might be slow for some - but remember, it's not like the cast is difficult to follow.

The prequel to American Gangster with Forest Whitaker.

A guilty pleasure of the highest quality.

A drop-dead gorgeous romance that can't be reduced to a plot description.