Box Set Binge – a smorgasbord of binge-worthy TV and streaming treats

AMERICAN HORROR STORY

Long before the MCU claimed to have invented the cinematic universe, Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story was building a bloody universe all of its own.

American Horror Story would transform horror on TV in the same way Game of Thrones transformed medieval fantasy. Unlike its brutal fantasy counterpart on HBO, every season of American Horror Story was a standalone story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, wrapped in a genre-defining theme from horror history.

Each perfectly formed season was interlinked, not just through a fantastic ensemble of returning actors, including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates, but through timelines, places and people. Murphy’s horror universe was big, bold and otherworldly. While embracing the history of horror, Murphy also rejected and reworked the horror template of the monster, the serial killer, the witch, the alien and the vampire. He asked us to empathise with the exact figures we had been taught to fear and fear.

Murphy’s horror world was unlike anything we had seen in its beauty, complexity, humour and scale, and it remains a tapestry of bloody, brilliant terror. 

STRANGER THINGS

Stranger Things is undoubtedly one of the most beloved and successful Netflix shows, and it could be argued that it helped create the streaming giant.

The Duffer Brothers’ sci-fi gem is, in essence, a Stephen King-inspired story of a small American town plunged into darkness, with the local kids placed in peril, coupled with classic Dante monster-horror and Spielberg-esque cinematography.

As we watch Millie Bobbie Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and Noah Schnapp mature from teens to young adults, Stranger Things shifts from coming-of-age fantasy to pure horror.

The Duffer brothers looked back on their childhood and teenage years, drawing on elements that inspired them as kids and weaving them into a tapestry of science fiction, nostalgia, and pop culture.

The result was the resurrection of a TV format that had failed to ignite in Eerie Indiana decades earlier, a science fiction horror built on nostalgia. Unlike the 50s nostalgia present in Eerie, Stranger Things was firmly rooted in the 80s, encouraging new generations to bathe in a neon glow of Walkmans, synth-pop, and imagination.

In the Duffer brothers’ world, the kids’ only weapons were their bikes, and their only means of communication were a landline and a walkie-talkie. It appears that this was also comforting for Generation Z, who eagerly lapped up the Duffer brothers’ 80s-inspired dream.

POSE

Pose isn’t just a groundbreaking exploration of 1980s New York ball culture; it’s the TV show that finally places gay, queer, and trans people of colour centre stage.

Created by the TV legends Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Steven Canals, Pose isn’t afraid to reflect, dissect, and explore the diverse experiences of New York’s marginalised communities, from the arrival of AIDS to the trans fight for representation, youth homelessness, and sex work.

In many ways, Murphy, Falchuk, and Canals’ show is a dramatic reinterpretation and exploration of the 1990 documentary “Paris Is Burning.” But it’s also a stunning love letter to the power of art and activism.    

FOUR LIVES

Over sixteen months during 2014 and 2015, Stephen Port murdered four gay/bi young men, Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor. These vibrant, energetic and loving young men were connected by their use of gay dating apps and by the nature of their death and discovery. However, despite the clear links between each murder and ongoing interest in Port, justice and safety were denied by an incompetent, lacklustre and institutionally homophobic investigation by Barking and Dagenham Police.

Police failures almost certainly led to the deaths of three of the young men following the discovery of Port’s first victim, Anthony. Four Lives fearlessly and methodically unpicks the countless police failures and the pain family and friends were put through as they were forced to become investigators. But even more importantly, Four Lives focuses on the lives of Port’s young victims and the fight of their family and friends to uncover the truth about their murders. The result is an emotional, heart-wrenching and urgent drama that placed the horrors of institutional homophobia under the spotlight for all to see.

I, for one, would love to say things have changed since the Port investigation, and in some ways, they have; the majority of our Police are decent, hard-working and community-minded, placing themselves in harm’s way daily to protect us. But recent scandals involving the Metropolitan Police and the behaviour and actions of some of its officers indicate there is still a journey to be taken in breaking down cultures built on silence, hyper-masculinity and accepted discriminatory banter.

BREAKING BAD

If Oz gave birth to a new, challenging, gritty drama on HBO, Breaking Bad changed how we viewed TV forever. Launched on cable TV in the USA in 2008 to rave reviews, Breaking Bad struggled to find an audience. But with the arrival of Netflix, Breaking Bad was about to take off stratospherically and usher in a new era of TV: the binge-watch.

From a mere million viewers on its premiere to over ten million on its finale, Breaking Bad embraced the classic cliffhanger while Netflix allowed you to watch it all day. It was a marriage made in heaven and one that changed TV forever.

But make no mistake, this is a show built on the back of its fantastic cast. Watching Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Anna Gunn, and Co. weave their magic is nothing short of TV heaven.

KILLING EVE

Killing Eve is a masterclass in storytelling, beautifully building suspense through a blend of dark comedy and violence. The cat-and-mouse relationship between Eve and Villanelle is a dance of manipulation, with each character constantly testing the other’s limits as the show skillfully balances intrigue with the darkest humour.

Premiering in 2018 and created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Killing Eve is a truly groundbreaking exploration of obsession, identity, and the blurred lines between good and evil. With exquisite performances from Sandra Oh and Jody Comer, Killing Eve boldly challenges gender roles and stereotypes, presenting us with complex, empowered female characters who shine from the opening scene to the end.

US AND THE HOLOCAUST

Epic documentaries are rare nowadays, especially those that run for three two-hour episodes. But anyone familiar with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and his longtime collaborators, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, will know that “epic” and “detailed” are bywords for Burns’ work. Here, Burns unpicks and then stitches together a complex tapestry of US history relating to immigration, the War in Europe, antisemitism, and race from the early 1930s to the post-war period.

No stone is left unturned as Burns explores two sides of the same coin: one rooted in segregation and a belief in America first, and the other in compassion, bravery, and a need to protect. Meanwhile, the dark history of Eugenics and psychological discrimination and oppression sees the UK and the US shoulder at least some of the responsibility for the horrors of Nazism. The US and the Holocaust is documentary filmmaking at its most powerful and urgent.

VISIBLE: OUT ON TELEVISION

While this Apple TV+ documentary is firmly rooted in US TV history, there are links to the British experience as we are taken from the days when homosexuality was viewed with disdain to the first flawed steps in representation.

The journey starts in the 1960s with the Army–McCarthy hearings, where state obsession with communism and the enemy within encouraged institutionalised oppression throughout American society. Here, we explore the hidden LGBTQ+ figures in television who gently pushed boundaries and challenged public perception. However, it was not until the 1970s, with shows like All in the Family and the groundbreaking An American Family, that LGBTQ+ lives began to appear on mainstream TV.

As we enter the 80s and 90s with One Life to Live, The Golden Girls, and Will & Grace, Visible offers a nuanced exploration of their impact in paving the way for modern dramas such as Ryan Murphy’s Pose.

Featuring a wealth of conversations with LGBTQ+ celebrities and straight allies, including Armistead Maupin, Ryan Phillippe, and Oprah Winfrey, the interviews and stories resonate deeply. From the bravery of actor Wilson Cruz, who came out before his role in the groundbreaking My So-Called Life, to the discussions on gender identity and the 50s story of Christine Jorgensen, these are the foundation stones of LGBTQ+ equality on screen in the US. 

Visible is a documentary made with the utmost love and respect for all who have fought to ensure representation, never dismissing the hard-fought battles or the challenges that remain.