The definitive list of television knowledge about this year’s necessary viewing [note: we’ll update this list as we go along]
The Looming Tower
More than a decade and a half has passed since 9/11, but this remains one of the fundamental questions of our time. The Looming Tower, a 10-part Hulu series premiering 28 February, attempts to truly grapple with the event that gave the lie to the End of History and ushered in our age of fear and endless war.
Adapted from the Pulitzer-prize-winning book of the same name, Tower brings to life Lawrence Wright’s deeply reported, definitive account of how a small group of fanatics, operating out of camps and caves half a world away, succeeded in striking a devastating blow at
the heart of the world’s only superpower.
The Looming Tower’s true promise lies in its capacity both to answer the big question and to compel our attention. If it succeeds, maybe we can begin to reckon with our difficult past, our troubled present, and even our uncertain future.
Electric Dreams
We’re in a golden age of sci-fi (see: Denis Villeneuve’s emergence; audiences finally weaning off their biennial Transformers fix), so it’s about time for a thorough sweep of Philip K. Dick’s bibliography, beyond the stories that became Blade Runner and Minority Report. Amazon’s take is like a star-studded Black Mirror — Bryan Cranston, Janelle Monáe, and Steve Buscemi each lead their own standalone episodes based on Dick’s short stories.
Waco
Forgive Spike for the endless Cops and Friends reruns —starting in January it’ll be the Paramount Network, Viacom’s revamp of the channel for the prestige-TV era. Don’t miss Waco, a miniseries recounting the disastrous 1993 siege that has Taylor Kitsch swapping Friday Night Lights’ shoulder pads for cult leader David Koresh’s mullet.
The Alienist
Dug Mindhunter but felt like it needed more criminal-psychsplaining and should have starred Luke Evans dressed as a Gaston–Dracula composite? Then The Alienist is for you. Evans, Daniel Brühl, and Dakota Fanning anchor the drama, which trails a criminal psychologist who investigates the serial killings of boy prostitutes in 1890s-era New York City.
Mosaic
Imagine watching Entourage from the perspective of a frustrated intern or Breaking Bad through the eyes of a student who discovers her chemistry teacher is a drug lord. Steven Soderbergh’s app lets you do just that — with Mosaic, you pick which characters and paths you want to follow during a six-hour interactive murder mystery starring Sharon Stone and Garrett Hedlund. Or watch it the old-fashioned linear way on HBO.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace
If you loved The People v. O. J. Simpson for John Travolta’s twitchy Robert Shapiro and O. J.’s trophy-laden palace, then be prepared to bathe in more ’90s grandeur with the second American Crime Story. The ensemble drama is led by Edgar Ramírez as Gianni, Penélope Cruz as Donatella, and Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan.
