I watched this and really enjoyed it. I fell in love with all of the characters, flaws and all. The dance was superb, sublime. I started to cry when I realized what was happening. It was lovely.
Highly recommend.
Another recommendation for Giri/Haji. I don’t usually like British cop shows or Japanese melodramas, but this one really, really worked for me. Such beautiful character work and visual ingenuity.
I understand the sentiment, but urge you to push through a bit more. The back half of season 5 is some of the best they’ve ever done. I won’t blame you if you bail after 5. Season 6 was a step down, though it did have 1 amazing episode at least. Jury’s out on Season 7, but it’s so far better than 6, IMHO. They thought they’d end at 5 before they got renewed, so you could just pretend it ends at 5, but don’t miss out on the last half of 5. It’s worth it.
Suggestions:
The Good Place - amazingly executed, and also hilarious.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel - If you liked the feel of AoS but haven’t yet seen these, you should love them.
Dollhouse - a quick watch with only 2 seasons. Push through the first few episodes. Don’t give up until at least after episode 6, you’ll be rewarded.
Community - this one took me at least half a season to warm up to, but then I got really hooked.
Orphan Black - I still haven’t seen the last season, so I don’t know if they stuck the landing, but everything was great that I did see.
iZombie - goofy premise, but lots of fun, and surprisingly good at the twists and turns.
A couple of the programs in the OP were basically about and aimed at teenagers, so I recommend the UK series Skins, which is available on Netflix. It aired from 2007-2013, so it’s a little older but not too dated. The first six series/seasons are in three sets, with each set about the students at a sixth-form college (the equivalent of eleventh and twelfth grade in an American school) in Bristol and then there was a seventh series/season set later and featuring a few characters from the earlier ones. I really liked the first two series/seasons, and the later ones are OK, but not as good in my mind.
And upthread someone mentioned Shameless, which has been on the Showtime premium channel. I also recommend the original UK series, although I don’t know where it is available for streaming.
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The Good Place. It’s funny, heartwarming, and inventive, with great dialogue and wordplay. The show has a die-hard fan base for a reason.
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Avenue 5. Sharply funny, creative, and very timely.
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Bojack Horseman. This one takes a little while to get good, but it gets very good, with compelling character development, social satire, dramatic irony, and lots of sight gags. If you don’t like BH by the time you get through the cancer subplot in Season 1, the show isn’t for you. But if the show is for you, your patience will more than pay off.
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Atlanta. Surrealist social satire. It requires some patience, but your patience is rewarded.
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Insecure. Funny, well-written, cringily empathetic to anyone who’s ever been socially awkward and painfully aware of it.
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Barry. Dark humor about a jaded hit man who discovers a love of the dramatic arts. The show takes no prisoners; it’s unkind to BS from all its characters, from Chechen mafia thugs to over-earnest, self-obsessed acting students.
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How to Sell Drugs Online Fast. Darkly funny at times, absorbing, fast-paced, and fresh, with both a great plot and character development. Season 1 is on Netflix now, and Season 2 is coming next month.
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The Righteous Gemstones. A family of rich televangelists gets tangled up in its own hypocrisy. It’s funny, with a mix of sharp irony and straight-up slapstick.
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Lodge 49. Not a great show, but a good one, and you’ll keep wanting to see what character-driven weirdness comes next.
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Better Call Saul. I can’t make up my mind whether Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul is the better show. BCS is the story of how mailroom clerk and small-time con man Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman, lawyer extraordinaire. (If you haven’t seen Breaking Bad, I highly recommend that, too. If you’ve tried BB but didn’t like it, BCS may or may not be for you.)
I highly recommend Billions. The writing is sharp and the acting outstanding. It’s extremely smart, but presented in such a way that if you’re not as smart as the characters (spoiler alert: you’re not), you’ll still be able to follow along. Mrs Wheelz and I absolutely love it.
FWIW, Westworld got better in season 3, IMO. Not as good as 1, but way better than 2. If you feel like giving it another chance.
Marcella: 3 seasons on Netflix. A woman cop with some serious issues. Lots of red herrings, and very tense plotting.
+1 on Man in the High Castle.
+1 on Sneaky Pete
What We Do in the Shadows
The German series Dark is dropping its third season tomorrow night. It’s a time travel show that has developed a small but intense fan following.
Carnival on HBO is pretty good.