The 21st Century’s Best TV, Nos. 21-40
Dear Watchers,As we approach No. 1 in our 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century list, here’s a fun fact (and maybe a clue): Adam Scott is on more shows in our list than any other actor who voted in our poll. With the arrival of “Severance” and “The Comeback” in today’s batch, Nos. 21-40, he is up to four appearances now. (The others so far: “Eastbound and Down” and “Parks and Recreation.”) Will his total climb higher? Check back tomorrow when we reveal the Top 20, as voted on by more than 500 actors, writers and other TV professionals. (Click here to see over 90 of their ballots.) Like the other actors we interviewed, Adam Scott isn’t just a guy on TV; he is also a guy who likes TV. Here he is talking about one of his favorite shows, the 2005-9 reboot of “Battlestar Galactica,” No. 37 on our list: This is science fiction at its best. My argument has always been like, “Star Wars” is not science fiction. “Star Wars” is — I don’t know, it’s space opera; it’s action-adventure. And science fiction is “Battlestar Galactica,” “The Twilight Zone.” […] There’s just something about “Battlestar Galactica” and the world they are able to create through the sheer power of writing and acting. Earthly, even when it’s sci-fi
Today’s batch is a reminder that TV doesn’t happen in a vacuum. However abstract or entertaining, TV is a thing of the world, with worldly concerns and influence. Most of the shows in this grouping make no pretense otherwise. “Adolescence,” “Homeland” and “Black Mirror” address thorny real-world issues head-on, with points-of-view but little pedantry. In their own ways, “Severance” and “Battlestar Galactica” do, too. (This batch does include comedy, for the record, even though satires like “The Comeback” and “Enlightened” feel as uncomfortable sometimes as any hard-edge drama.) In an interview, the actor Joel Kim Booster (“Loot,” “Scrubs”) told us why he found “Watchmen,” a DC Comics adaptation, to be so potent: I think it’s a “slip the medicine in a little bit of cheese for the dog” thing because it took this really incredibly powerful and poignant story about race and racial justice in our country and the things that we try to forget and wrapped it in this shiny sort of nerdy comic book superhero bow. And that’s a difficult thing to pull off. Speaking about his own show, “The Pitt,” R. Scott Gemmill, said: Even though our show is about medicine and doctors, it’s really about the human condition and what’s going on in the world. […] People do come and ask, you know, “What happens to Baby Jane Doe?” or “We want Whitaker and Robby to be friends.” But we also have a lot of medical professionals coming up and saying they feel seen, they feel heard and really appreciative of what we’ve been doing. “Andor,” an entry in the “Star Wars” universe, arguably transcended its caste (and won 18 Emmys over two seasons) by being fundamentally an allegory about human systems and individuals, about the politics of empire and resistance. Of “Andor,” the actor Devery Jacobs (“Reservation Dogs”) said: I thought it was so cutting and visceral and really indicative of the times that we’re in now. And as an Indigenous person, I think a lot of us see ourselves in “Star Wars,” with the Empire and with the Rebellion. I think those conversations of colonialism, of colonization, of power, of greed, of money, oppression — all of those are so human. Still haven’t seen your favorite shows on the list? Check back tomorrow for our final batch, Nos. 1-20, to find out how ultimately beloved or snubbed they were by our voters. And click here to vote for your own Top 10. We’ll publish the results of our reader poll next week. Tell us what you thinkWhat has surprised you so far? What hasn’t? We want to hear from you as our 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century list rolls out this week. Click here to leave a comment. Each day, Times editors, critics and reporters will be joining in the conversation.
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