Whether it’s streaming, binging, or whatever, television shows are the best form of art right now. While everything at the megaplex is basically a superhero story, a young adult book adaption, or a remake, things on television are completely fresh. Here are 25 shows from this year you need to catch up on now. Spoiler alert: no Game of Thrones because I’m the only person in the world who hasn’t seen it. I do it to just infuriate my friends.
Donald Glover’s artistry blossomed in recent years. It might have been an existential crisis in a hotel around the release of Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet in 2013. It might have been that he was finally allowed to write and act his own thoughts instead of helping Tina Fey on 30 Rock or playing Dan Harmon’s affable jock Troy Barnes on Community. Whatever it is: Glover is one of the most important artists right now, and his Childish Gambino alter ego is finally ready to step up to that level.
Two of the best new shows on television debuted on the same network in the first week of September 2016. One was created and stars a black man. The other was created and stars a woman. The white man hierarchy of Hollywood must be wetting their beds. And they should be. FX’s Atlanta and Better Things aren’t perfect, yet. But they can be. And that’s a good thing.
Ahhh. While you’re getting exciting over crappy Pumpkin Spice Lattes and the one good Pumpkin beer coming out way too early, I’m getting excited over new television. Of course, there are some heavy hitters returning, but I came up with too many new shows to check out. I tried to get a variety of shows so that everyone can find something they like.
Below you will find shows that critics are already falling in love with, offbeat shows that might not make it (but hopefully do), as well as shows that can be called “cozy,” “fun,” or “cute.” These are the shows critics might not love, but the general public will enjoy.
Update: Childish Gambino has since released a full version of “yaphet kotto (freestyle)” via SoundCloud.
Community for a handful of episodes in the upcoming fifth season to focus on his rap career, Gambino has been relatively quiet.
He released “Centipede” in July and started tweeting and retweeting a lot about something called Roscoe’s Wetsuit. He even launched a website with nothing on it but the name of the site. This was followed by a tweet on October 4 that “the album is done.”
I’ve heard so many opinions about Donald Glover over the years that I’ve listened to him rap under his Childish Gambino moniker. Maybe it was because I was hanging out with a lot of pretentious hipsters (myself included) at the time when I first heard him, but I didn’t know a lot of black people listening to Culdesac, the I Am Just a Rapper mixtapes or even his break out, untitled EP.
In fact, I didn’t know a lot of anyone listening to his rap. I saw Gambino perform twice, in two very different settings. The first was on the Las Vegas strip during his I AM DONALD tour. It was filled with hot Asians who he raps about so much, your typical rap fans and mostly pale white kids with thick rimmed glasses and skinny jeans. The second time, on his Sign Up tour, was in Athens, Ga. – home of University of Georgia. Less than two hours from his hometown of Stone Mountain. Maybe it was because it was a douchey bro heavy location, but it was filled with basically the same crowd; instead of hipsters it was mostly frat boys.
Still, a lot of white people love Childish Gambino. So many times I’ve heard someone say, “I don’t normally listen to rap, but Childish is different.”
Which he is.
One of the most common complaints I hear regarding Donald Glover’s rap under Childish Gambino is that it’s repetitive. That he discusses growing up “white” in a black community, references Asians he thinks are sexy and throws out nerdy pop culture references too much.
He’s recently hinted that his newer stuff is going to be more mainstream rap. Not Jay-Z or Kanye or anything like that. But more mainstream alternative…if there is even such a thing. Now that he sent In Flex We Trust a radio-friendly cut of “Unnecessary” featuring ScHoolboy Q the internet is buzzing that they want the indie-hipster who signed to a label with Mumford and Sons and Phoenix on the roster.
My personal thoughts are that it’s definitely different, but it’s no less catchy and entertaining as his previous releases. It looks like the mixtape, which he has insisted is his way to try out new things and it doesn’t have a consistent theme like Camp.
Listen to the new track here.
ADAM VITCAVAGE 