Top 10 Favorite NEW TV Dramas Of 2018… Part 1

This year was full of amazing new TV Programs for all of us to watch and enjoy.  When thinking about what my favorite new shows were that started in 2018 just so many great ones come to mind.  There were some that were “Comedies”.  There were some that were “Dramas”.  There were some that were “Mini- Series or Limited Series” events.  Many shows of every category were there to make 2018 a great year for Television.

When deciding on my top favorite shows of the year, I started my list of favorites and found myself with an overwhelming amount of that of “NEW TV Dramas”.  2018 was a great year for new shows for both comedy and drama.  It did seem like for every one new comedy there were about 10 new dramas.  With that being said, when making a list of new favorites I found myself with just so many new drama favorites alone.  All these new shows of both comedy and drama were so amazingly good and entertaining whether they made you laugh, cry, or go a crazy thrill of a ride.  Therefore, I decided on doing a series of articles for my top favorite new shows of 2018.  I’ll first be highlighting my “Top 10 Favorite New Drama Series of 2018” in a series of 2 articles.  I’ll than be following up those articles with an article of my “Top Favorite New Comedies Series of 2018”.

In this article here, I will be discussing my thoughts for what shows I decided were my go-to favorite “NEW TV Dramas of 2018” and showcasing my picks for #10 – #6.  For my next article I will go on to reveal and discuss my top picks of NEW TV Dramas with #5 – #1.

So with that being said, here is my list of Top 10 Favorite NEW TV Dramas Of 2018 Part 1….

And.

Here.

We.

Go!

10. God Friended Me on CBS.

Cast: Brandon Micheal Hall, Violett Beane, Suraj Sharma, Joe Morton

Overview & Thoughts:

Before the Fall TV Season of 2018 had begun, I had been hearing here and there about this new show that was going to be on CBS called “God Friended Me”. It sounded interesting with a kind of story that you don’t see every season on TV these days. There are a few dramas on CBS that I am a real fan of, such as the now over “The Good Wife” as well as the currently playing “Madam Secretary”. Although, CBS is a network that has never been one that I would say is a network that I go to for my favorite TV Dramas.  Comedies sure, but not for dramas. They are kind of all the same to me with all the NCIS and action reboots. They are good, but just don’t really standout for me as far as originality goes.

That is not the case with God Friended Me. It’s original, it’s good, it’s heartwarming, it’s lovely, and it’s simply such a delight to watch every week. In a day and age of TV where thrillers are a dime a dozen, it’s a nice surprise to see a show that warms your heart and mind. That’s why when I started to think of my “Top New TV Drama Favorites of the Year”, this delightful gem I knew I had to include.

God Friended Me is about Miles. Miles has a regular 9 to 5 job. His passion in life though is his podcast which he hopes to turn into a career for himself. His podcast is about life and religion. Coming from a family where his father is a priest, Miles strays from his father’s beliefs and is a self-proclaimed atheist.

One normal ordinary day Miles receives a friend request on Facebook from….GOD. Miles thinking this is a joke, a prank thinks nothing of it. Than strange things start to happen and everywhere he goes, everything he sees makes him come to the realization that whoever sent him this friend request will not be ignored. So he accepts it. Than slowly he starts to receive friend suggestions from God for random individuals throughout the city. He then looks up to see who these people are and he doesn’t know them. Not knowing why this is happening, Miles takes a chance and figures the only way for this to stop is to help these people that he is getting friend suggestions for. Miles thinks that there must be a reason for this, so with the help of his friends Miles accepts these friend suggestions and goes out to help these people in whatever ways he can. He still doesn’t know why this is happening, but after helping these random strangers with acts of kindness Miles finds himself feeling a sense of happiness. With what started out as a bizarre friend request on Facebook turned into something more, something meaningful. The question still remains of is God really behind this Facebook account sending Miles friend suggestions?  If not, than who and why?

I truly and absolutely adore this new gem on CBS. It’s just such a lovely show that warms your spirit with its message about being kind to one another and how sometimes helping others, even strangers as in the case with Miles, can help the mind and fulfill the soul.

On one of the last episodes before the mid-season finale Miles said something that really resonated with me. This show deals with a lot. Such as tragedy, feeling lost, feeling hopeless, and how the past is something that sometimes is hard to just let go of. It’s with the help of family, friends, and sometimes even strangers that can help those hard moments in life be just a little bit easier to get through with their kindness.

This is one of my favorite monologues that Miles has said on the show thus far about the past and lines like this is why this show is worthy of some recognition for its charm and heart:

“Most people say you can’t go back in time.

That there’s no way to correct the mistakes of our past.

The past is a funny thing.

The only power it has over us, is what we choose to give it.

When we let go of it, we let go of the expectations that come with it.

The need to correct it.

The past will always be a part of who we are.

It’s how we feel about it moving forward that matters.

Sometimes it’s as simple as replacing one memory with another.

Or finding some small way to carry it with us.

And while I know you can’t go back in time and correct the past.

Sometimes you can get pretty close.” – God Friended Me

9. Killing Eve on BBC.

Cast: Sandra Oh, Jodie Cromer, Fiona Shaw

Killing Eve is based on a series of books (and no I never made it around to reading the book series before watching the show). I had no idea what this series was about before watching it other than it was Sandra Oh’s return to television again in a lead role. So that was all I really needed to know and that I was definitely going to be watching this show.

Overview & Thoughts:

Most series after a few episodes keep the same ratings or go down. The case with Killing Eve was the opposite. Every episode more and more continued to tune in, the ratings just kept going up and up. Thanks to an intriguing story and stand out performances there was no question as to why the ratings continued to climb week after week. In a sum of 8 episodes that consisted of Season 1, Killing Eve was that show managed to do both intrigue you and shock you continuously from one moment to the next.

Killing Eve is about Eve who is a spy and isn’t extremely happy with her life. She likes it, she’s okay with it, but she’s not excited by it. That realization becomes more and more clear with her latest assignment. She and her team are assigned to find an assassin who goes by the name of Villanelle.  Villanelle has no remorse for her career path in life. She goes in, does her job, and leaves as though that’s a completely normal occupation for one. Villanelle is crazy, end of story.

The more Eve finds out about Villanelle the more she is terrified of her. She knows what Villanelle is capable of. At the same time, Eve is also drawn to her. Villanelle is the definition of crazy but Eve is somehow somewhat memorized by her at the sametime. The same goes for Villanelle with Eve. They are in a game of chasing each other constantly and by the time they find each other what follows is that of what I’ll call a “legendary cliffhanger”.

This series was that of a great one. The story was never dull or boring, constantly surprising you in every moment. The characters were new and original, along with performances that were memorable. Thrilling, exciting, crazy and surprising are just a few adjectives to use when describing this series.

Eve was an interesting character. To some, it may look like she had it all.  She has a job as a spy, friends, and a family who adored and loved her. She is happy, but not fulfilled.  When tracking down Villanelle something in Eve made it so she couldn’t help but want to know her. Villanelle is a killer and someone to be in fear of. Eve was, but she was also excited by her.  In this time of tracking down Villanelle, Eve felt excitement that she just didn’t feel in her everyday life. But at what cost is this excitement worth it?

8. Bodyguard on Netflix.

Cast: Richard Madden, Keeley Hawes

If you’re looking for a series that almost everyone was talking about in 2018, it was that of Bodyguard. And there’s no question as to why this was such a breakout hit. It was a series that was as action packed as they come. Bodyguard is a combination of 24 meets Homeland with not a dull moment ever in its sight.

Overview & Thoughts:

This was a series where you don’t exactly know what’s real or not, along with whose on what side of things until the very end of the season. Bodyguard is a story that follows a man named David Budd. He is an officer who latest task is to watch over Julia Montague, who is the Home Secretary of London. Prior to this assignment, Budd was a solider in the war. This time of his life greatly affected him and it’s something he’s never taken the time to properly seek treatment for. It’s affected his relationship with his family including his wife, whom he is separated from.

This new assignment of protecting the Home Secretary is a fresh start for David. It’s a lot of responsibility and one he doesn’t take lightly. At a certain point early in the series there’s a lot going on to make you question both David and Julia and if they have hidden motives behind their actions. It’s a series that you find yourself constantly questioning if these two individuals are good or are to be feared.

Bodyguard was that breakout hit of this Fall TV Season of 2018. A show like this is one that proves how you don’t need 20 or so episodes to make a hit TV Show. The series only consisted of 6 episodes with each episode serving a purpose. It wasn’t a series that dragged on and had pointless plot points. It was a series that with only 6 episodes had action, intrigue, mystery, scandal and thrill in every moment. Sometimes less is more and Bodyguard proved that with a short season that managed to surprise you from one episode to the next.

Richard Madden widely known as Rob Stark prior in Game of Thrones, was remarkable here as David. Sure there were times at the start of the series where I couldn’t help but think, “It’s Rob Stark!”, but a few episodes in and that quickly went away. He was a real standout in the series.  His acting throughout the season along with the season finale was just above and beyond. After watching that finale I immediately thought, “He just got his Golden Globe nomination right there!”. Sure enough he did and it’s mighty well deserved, indeed!

7. Succession on HBO.

Cast: Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook

This was a series that premiered over this past summer on HBO. I missed watching it at that time because of that thing of “so many shows…..so little time” kind of thing. Although, thanks to that lovely thing of HBO On-Demand, I watched it a mere few months later. This was a show I knew I’d probably end up liking and by the time I finished the 1st Season it was a show I knew I had to include on my list of top new dramas of the year, like for sure!

Overview & Thoughts:

This show simply put is as solid and good as they come.  It’s a family drama that involves sharp wit humor at times as well as a heaviness. On a side note: one thing I didn’t realize before tuning into this show was that Will Ferrell and Adam McKay were involved as executive producers with McKay directing the pilot episode.  Ummm…..AMAZING!!!! Little thing about me is that I’m like a mega-fan of the film Stepbrothers, literally my fave film of all of time always and forever! I literally had no idea of their involvement in this show, but it was awesome to find out.

The show starts off with Kendall Roy set to take over his father’s (Logan) company. This has been a plan that had been set in motion for awhile. Many steps and protocols were taken for this to happen. Than not wanting to step down from the company he built, Logan changes his mind. He wants to stay, he’s made his decision and that’s final.

What takes place next through the course of the season is a power struggle between Kendall wanting to regain back the company position that he was promised to by his father Logan.  Succession is one of those series that you can’t wait to recommend for people to watch. It’s filled with a story into a world that only a few ever get to see up close. And how sometimes decisions are made more on politics and nepotism than common sense. It’s a solid show with a solid story filled with elements of how too much power can destroy people and can ultimately hurt the dynamic of relationships. It was a series that once it started did not stop for one moment. It was a family drama in every way, but also had a bit of a thriller like element at times, simply because you couldn’t tell exactly what would happen from one episode to the next one. It was a series that continued to follow its own rules and surprise you until that very last episode in the finale. And those final moments in the finale, let’s just say it was …. A LOT!

This was a fantastic 1st Season to kick off this series. One of the best elements of this series was its musical score. Every show has music in it, that’s not an uncommon part to a series. It’s very rare where a series has a score that just completely and utterly has the exact tone of the series fully. It was almost like another character in the series in that it just fit in so well with the dynamic of the show every moment it played.

This series was one filled with memorable performances of how power once obtained is something hard to let go of. There’s a lot to this 1st Season. It was a show that was ridiculous at times and than could break your heart at times. The majority of Season 1 is that of the relationship between Kendall and his father, Logan. That story of letting the young replace the old. The story of how at some point we will all get to that age of having to let those that are younger step in and take over. That’s how the story usually goes. Here in the case with Succession, that’s how story starts off. That course of the new stepping in and replacing the older. But than that cycle is halted and stopped in its tracks before that usual course of things starts to take flight.

6. Maniac on Netflix.

Cast: Jonah Hill, Emma Stone, Justin Theoreux, Sally Fields, Julia Garner

Netflix is constantly adding new content to its service in what seems like every day now. I saw the trailer for this new limited series and thought, “Yup! Looks real good! Going to watch this!”. The trailer while intriguing, doesn’t provide a whole lot as to what this show is actually all about. There might have been a reason for that….there’s a lot to this story and more than meets the eye at a first glance.

Overview & Thoughts:

I wrote about this show previously on my Blog if you’re looking for a more in-depth review.

Maniac is about a lot of things.  When thinking about a description of Maniac on Netflix, I would say it’s at its core an existential drama with glimmers of hope.  It’s about not living in the past and trying your best to move forward still by taking unexpected risks and chances for that brighter tomorrow just beyond the horizon. The story of Maniac follows two people in their late 20s. They are Annie and Owen. Both sign up for a drug trial at this facility.  Both sign up for different reasons. By the end of this trial, these two souls who feel so lost in the world find hope for the first time in a long time thanks with the help of each other.

Maniac is a series that starts off slow. In all honesty, after watching the first episode I kind of didn’t yet care for this series. It’s a series that you need to digest and go back to and with that 2nd episode things start to come together and make sense in the world of this series.  This show probably isn’t one for everyone. At times of watching the show it may seem like, “What the heck am I watching?!”, but with some patience and time to think its messages in every episode starts to become clear and make sense and have a purpose. It’s a show that packs a lot into every episode and one that you really need to watch carefully to understand what it’s trying to say.

The show deals with how loss and tragedy can affect someone. The show deals with sadness and loneliness in a world where we are constantly surrounded by pictures of people having a good time everywhere. And how we feel as though we are the only ones sad. Maniac, may come across as a show that is just too out there for some after watching. At the end though, it’s a show that shows how if you can find at least one person, one who you can call a true friend who just gets you and can accept you completely for who you are that that is more than any of us can hope for on this crazy journey called life.

There it is.  The first half of my “Top 10 NEW TV Dramas of 2018” with #10 – #6.  As with most episodes on TV that involve a cliffhanger at the end of its episode what usually follows next is…. Too Be Continued…..

So be sure to tune into my  next article where I will be revealing my next top picks for New Favorite TV Dramas of 2018 with #5 – #1!

 

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