The Good Place This is a terrific metaphysical show about a woman named Eleanor (Kristen Bell) who dies and finds herself in the Good Place, a rather crummy version of heaven. She knows she does not belong in the Good Place. Not wanting to be parceled off to the Bad Place, she decides to turn good, taking lessons from ethics professor Chidi (William Jackson Harper). The classroom scenes are peppered with jokes. In season one, for example, Eleanor, frustrated with a lesson on Aristotle, shoots at Chidi: “Who died and left Aristotle in charge of ethics?” An angry Chidi screams: “Plato”, referring to Aristotle’s predecessor in Greek philosophy. The show’s fourth season, which will premiere in September, will be its last.
Homeland The show, which premiered in 2012, stars Claire Danes as the CIA officer Carrie Mathison and Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a former Marine who is rescued from Afghanistan after eight years in captivity. Mathison suspects that Brody is not the hero that he is believed to be, but might have turned an Al Qaeda agent. Although Homeland occasionally resorts to clichéd, black-and-white portrayals of Americans victimised by fierce jihadis, for the most part, it stays on course. Towards the end, though, it starts meandering. Terrorists become a dime a dozen and the incessant hail of bullets has you rubbing your eyes in frustration. The eighth and final season of the show is scheduled to premiere early next year.
Modern Family The Emmy-winning show is about three dysfunctional American families, each with their own endearing quirks. There is Phil and Claire with their three teenage kids, who are trying to play catch-up with their kids’ pop culture references and biker boyfriends. Then there is Claire’s father Jay, stepmother Gloria and their son. Jay is sarcastic and sour and Gloria is Hispanic and hot; her cleavage plays a titular role in the show. Finally, there is Claire’s homosexual brother Michael and his partner Cameron Though they seem to be opposites, Michael’s graveness is perfectly complemented by Cameron’s melodrama. Sadly, the eleventh and final season of the show will premiere in September.
Vikings The historical epic tells the story of the Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), a Norse hero who became famous after raiding England. The series begins at the dawn of the age of Vikings in AD 793. It gives you a fair idea of Vikings politics, culture and religion, although it makes no claims to be historically accurate. It has often been compared with Game of Thrones, but the plot is tighter. Fimmel is every bit your knight in shining armour. Ragnar is a definite improvement on Tarzan, whom Fimmel once portrayed on television. The official release date of the sixth and final season has not been announced yet, but it is likely to be later this year.