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The most memorable TV shows are the ones that hit the viewer right in the feels. Whether they are sad, dark, or simply connect on a deeper emotional level, these programs offer something that touches the human soul. However, that doesn't exactly make them the easiest to sit down and view.
After all, when someone wants to binge-watch a series, they tend to gravitate toward escapism or lighthearted entertainment to pass the time. It's unlikely a viewer will want to bawl their eyes out or feel an existential crisis after every single episode for a few hours straight. Nonetheless, this doesn't take away from the overall quality - merely that these TV shows are best enjoyed in smaller doses over a longer period of time.
Check out these shows that are incredibly worth a watch - a few episodes at a time.
Adapted from the acclaimed video game, the post-apocalyptic HBO drama The Last of Us largely centers on the story of Joel (Pedro Pascal) escorting Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the dangerous and infested United States of America as she remains humanity's hope due to her immunity to the virus that has ravaged the country. Both are victims of trauma, having lost family and friends along the way. However, they form a close bond on their travels, proving there is hope and an opportunity for second chances in this darkened world.
The Last of Us showcases an unkind and ruthless world at the best of times, contrasted with a heartwarming stand-in father/daughter bond between Joel and Ellie. However, the moment the characters experience a glimmer of happiness, it gets yanked out from under them. Episodes can take a viewer on the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, turning into an emotional rollercoaster that the audience struggles to recover from.
The 2021 drama miniseries Dopesick shines a light on the opioid crisis that exists in America, and how it doesn't discriminate on who is affected by it. At the same time, the show also demonstrates the part that pharmaceutical companies, the government, and other civil societies play in it, as they all have conflicting interests in the situation. The series also features several highly acclaimed performances, including Michael Keaton as Dr. Samuel Finnix, Kaitlyn Dever as Betsy Mallum, and Michael Stuhlbarg as Purdue Pharma president Richard Sackler.
Dopesick makes for riveting viewing since it doesn't pull any punches, exposing the many people and corporations who hold responsibility for the opioid critis, particularly surrounding the marketing of OxyContin. That doesn't mean it's easy to process. As a human being, it's a bitter pill to swallow knowing many people are suffering because of greed and corruption, which could be prevented easily if there was a genuine desire to do so by the people in power.
The 2019 Chernobyl miniseries dramatizes the real-life Chernobyl disaster from 1986, which resulted in one of the worst nuclear disasters in human history. The show dramatizes the sequence of events and the clean-up efforts from the heroic individuals who work against the clock to prevent the catastrophe from spreading to other European countries.
While Chernobyl covers a serious historical event, it also plays out like a horror. Knowing that this unfathomable disaster really occurred makes it even scarier and more intense to stomach. It's nothing short of frightening to understand the long-lasting effects this meltdown had on humanity, but also very poignant and worth the difficult emotions.
The Pacific takes its cue from Band of Brothers to create a poignant war drama that becomes a character study of what these tense situations do to soldiers. Set during World War II, this miniseries sees three marines from different regiments thrown into peril as they need to survive America's brutal fight against Japan in the Pacific.
As with any war drama, the visuals paint an ugly picture of humanity. While the story is certainly compelling and features high stakes, the bloodshed and horrors don't exactly inspire someone to watch all of this in a single sitting.
The story of the Central Park Five is notorious, involving five young boys of color who were falsely accused and convicted for the sexual assault of a white jogger in Central Park in 1989. The miniseries When They See Us dramatizes their journey as they plead innocence - all the way from their sentencing to when they are finally acquitted decades later and receive their settlement from New York City.
Watching five young people's lives be destroyed because of racial prejudice takes its toll on any compassionate human being. While they prove their innocence and receive an iota of justice in the end, one can only think they didn't deserve any of this to begin with. Ava DuVernay's direction makes the series passionate, emotional, and illuminating of some of the harshest aspects of the US criminal justice system.
Based on the 1977 miniseries of the same name, Roots follows the journey of an African man Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby) who is sold to America as a slave and the impact this has on his descendants. It's an emotionally moving and gripping narrative set from 1767 to 1861, but it's also a horrifying glimpse into the most shameful aspects of US history.
Considering the subject matter that features abuse, violence, and racism on display, this historical drama series angers and saddens in equal measure. While the story deserves and needs to be told, it might prove challenging to experience it all inone go.
