My 5 Favorite Shows Right Now

Periodically I'm going to update you on my 5 favorite shows of the moment.  By right now, I mean shows that are currently airing seasons or that I'm currently in the middle of watching.  So as much as I love a certain drama with dragons and White Walkers, and a reality show hosted by Jeff Probst, they won't be included in today's list. 

So in no particular order, my 5 favorite shows right now are...

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

I wrote an earlier post about this show, but all I can say is wow!  It's dark and depraved, and all of the actors are having a ball.  The show follows the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace by crazed stalker Andrew Cunanan.  Darren Criss as Cunanan is mesmerizing.  The show has smartly focused mostly on Cunanan, his backstory, and the other murders that he committed before Versace.  Versace himself is not as interesting as the events that led to his murder, and none of the other actors are a match for Criss.  The show is disturbing and features some pretty gruesome murder scenes, but it's beautifully crafted and acted.  A must-watch.

Top Chef

Cooking reality shows can be hard for viewers to connect with, because we can't smell or taste the food (obviously).  But this show, now in its 15th season, manages to overcome these obstacles with compelling contestants, fast paced nail-biting challenges, and amazing judges.  It doesn't hurt that host Padma Lakhsmi is the most beautiful woman on television (I'm biased).  This season's crop of contestants is particularly fun to watch, even though one of my favorites Fatima has already been eliminated (sad face).  Still, the show (now at the top 5) is heading towards what's sure to be an interesting finale.

911

This show is simply high octane fun.  Reminiscent of the early days of ER, it follows emergency situations from the perspective of first responders.  The show is just starting to dig into the personal lives and backstories of the cast members, and 911 operator Abby (Connie Britton) is the standout.  She loves the thrill of being able to help callers in their time of need, but she lives a lonely life taking care of her Alzheimer's-stricken mother.  The biggest strength of the show lies in the insane, often ludicrous emergencies that take place on screen: a newborn baby flushed down a toilet, a downed powerline in a pool, a rollercoaster accident, and a snake attacking its owner, to name a few.  As long as the show continues to deliver these edge-of-your seat thrills, then I'll be watching.

RuPaul's Drag Race

Currently airing its 3rd All-Stars season, this is the most fun reality show on tv, hands down.  The drag queens competing have built their careers from the ground up by entertaining, so it's not hard for them to amuse viewers at home with their larger-than-life personalities and crazy outfits.  The show features a perfect mix of feel-good acceptance (the queens sharing stories of their difficult backgrounds in the workroom) and silly fun.  The lipsync battles at the end of each episode, which determine the winner (who then has the power to send someone home), add extra drama between the contestants and are always fun to watch.  Host RuPaul and judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, and Ross Matthews have a great rapport with each other and truly care about the queens (despite some snarky comments here and there).  You don't have to be a member of the LGBTQ community to enjoy this insanely entertaining show.

This is Us

The best drama currently on tv, the show uses its unique flashback structure to tell the story of the Pearson family in the past, present, and future.  Lately focusing on the sudden death of patriarch Jack 20 years ago, the show has delivered a string a solid episodes featuring Emmy-worthy performances by its main cast.  Each episode develops the characters more and more by connecting past events with their present (and sometimes future) lives, proving the biggest advantage of tv over movies (time).  Actors Mandy Moore (as matriarch Rebecca) and Sterling K. Brown (as adopted son Randall) are standouts, but most of the cast is strong, even the child actors portraying the past, younger versions of the kids.  The show is a worthy successor to great family dramas like Parenthood and Friday Night Lights, and it has the potential to continue telling this family's story for many seasons to come.