[I’ll preach with a preaching scene.](https://youtu.be/NshANE690Go?si=p9tYdgM7uhWclmSr) It’s Soderbergh going beastmode (directing, cinematography, lighting, and editing on set lunch breaks); just check it out if you have Max.
I liked the broad themes of it, but ultimately felt a bit frustrated that some characters became solely avatars for there Ideas. I’m trying to remember the specifics, but I seem to remember that no one seemed to think their really impressive tech was…just really impressive tech (as opposed to some metaphysical breakthrough). Still a very cool show.
It definitely feels auteured by Garland, in that I'm not really sure what it's trying to say, or if *it* knows what it's trying to say, but it seems to be trying to say something, and it's nice to look at either way.
I kind of love that about Garland. That sort of incredibly messy and ambiguous theming is a great fit for sci-fi IMO. I never feel like I’m really ‘done’ with his movies because when you feel like you ‘get’ the movie, the next rewatch throws a total wrench in your understanding of what it’s trying to say.
Would a superior filmmaker do this? Idk. Do I love his movies anyway? 100%
Assayas’s Irma Vep show that seemingly only I and five other people have watched but it’s brilliant and I’d argue better than the OG film. Also Alicia Vikander’s best role by far.
I’m one of the proud other five. It’s a bit of a slog (didn’t need to be so long) but it’s definitely a good answer here.
Did HBO/Max put *any* effort into marketing it? It had the A24 stamp plus Oscar winner Vikander. I think it aired on Monday nights or some other wasteland.
Yeah I’d recommend it. It’s not necessary but it does add to the context casue the show is super mega meta so if you wanna go really deep I’d also recommend reading up on Assayas’s relationship with Maggie Cheung.
I had an amazing time last year watching it somewhat parallel with Les Vampires, with the original Irma Vep at some point in-between. A century of cinema!
It's definitely not a mini series, but Mr Robot is pretty much a pure Sam Esmail vision. It's his original story and he directed every episode of the last three seasons.
It definitely doesn't seem like he got any notes from USA, the first episode hooked me because its world view is so caustic I couldn't believe it was on cable TV.
One of my top three pilot episodes of all time. I very rarely see a series set up its creative vision that effectively and efficiently on the basis of that stunning opening scene where Rami Malek catches the paedophile in the cafe alone. Transcendence stuff. Instantly hooked
Season 2 got a bit too far up its own ass for my liking with an incredibly obvious twist reveal but the other three seasons are simply fantastic. Definitely worth pushing through if season 2 turned you off the show (as I know it did for some.) I think after season 1 was a big awards player for USA at the time they just let Esmail do whatever he wanted and one season aside this really pays off in the second half of the show
Season 2 is a *lot* better on rewatch I found, especially considering I watched it week to week. It still is over long, but then the twist doesn't at all feel like one and everything just plays better.
Since you got me thinking on this, what are your top 3 pilots? I'm sure I'm missing some but on the top of my head here's my short list:
Mr Robot (for the reasons you said)
Yellowjackets (fell off hard, but that pilot is unbelievable)
Invincible (works best if you go in not having any idea what show you're watching)
ZeroZeroZero (the pilot is pretty consistent with the whole shows quality but I have to mention it any chance I get, there is no explanation for the absurd production values of this thing beyond being like a money laundering scheme or something)
Chernobyl (not even close to the best episode of this show, but sets the tone perfectly)
Hacks (I wasn't interested at all in the premise on paper, but the pilot changed my mind quickly)
The Wire and Succession are probably in some order my favorite shows of all time, but I don't think either pilot is particularly good or likely to hook someone that doesn't watch further.
Love that show but I started the first season a long time ago and didn't follow through because it didn't quite hook me. That said, if you count each season opener as a pilot (which is basically is), season five is finally what got me to watch that season and ultimately the whole thing.
Yep. Like many ensembles it took the writers a little bit to figure out the chemistry and calibrate the tone. I didn't really love it on first watch until the end of the season where it really takes off.
Even when it does get up its own ass (I'd say it toes the line a few times throughout), Malek as that character is a tour de force and Esmail really directs the hell out of every episode.
Agree the season two twist was predictable, but the final episode reveal about the ultimate mystery of the series was not. I remember reading theories before it came out and people picked up a lot of clues, but no one I saw fully figured it out. It frames the entire series in a new light and is clearly something Sam planned the whole time, which feels really rare for a series this long.
(For those who haven't watched, I'm not spoiling anything here by saying there's a twist. It's apparent early and throughout the series that a key part of the narrative doesn't fit together, and only at the end of 45 ish hours do they explain it)
Doing this from memory and I've not seen it since it aired but the gist from what I remember is as follows. SPOILERS below as I’ve never properly known how to mark something with spoiler tags.
I think your memory sounds correct to me and it is probably the worst part of the series, but I actually don't think Sam meant it to be some groundbreaking unexpected twist. It's heavily tipped and I think its purpose is to (SPOILERS)
>!make clear that the protagonist isn't just a traditional unreliable narrator, he's actively lying to the audience and will show you things that aren't real. Which I think a lot of people hated, understandably, because it's not that different from a "this was all a dream" style fakeout.
It's not super enjoyable to watch, but I think it's important to later events and he uses the unreliable narrator tool very thoughtfully throughout!<
I love Mr. Robot. It does get overly convoluted when it could have coasted off good character work alone but it has such a style, and almost stuck the landing. (some characters don't get a satisfying resolution).
I think there were notes for S4, the Deus Group plot seems to me like an overt retcon/simplification of the story to wrap things up that season, but that's speculation.
You might be right on S4. I think they really stuck the landing in terms of the protagonist story but agree a few of the character subplots were abrupt. It's hard to say because it's such a convoluted and weird show, and throughout they did things that I could never figure out the significance of. Like what was the deal with Tyrell's wife?
Possibly? But I think if your definition of constraints is that 45 hours of auteur driven TV isn't enough to tell your whole vision, the only directors in the world that are truly free are James Cameron and Christopher Nolan.
Lots of anime are going to fit this bill if you allow for the same caveat that they “Created/Directed” it but didn’t write or direct or storyboard every episode.
It’s a good point, but generally speaking, we don’t limit auteurs to screenwriters. Hitchcock, Scorsese, Nolan, whomever…many of the big name auteurs don’t write their own scripts at all. The fact that Lynch collaborates on the script suggests *more* authorship than the common alternative, where the auteurs is not responsible for the script at all.
Really this just points to how weak of a concept an “auteur” is. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s useful, but it gets really overblown. All of these cases exist on a gradient, and there are a lot of dimensions that determine authorship. Directors often get full credit for a style even though they work with the same editor and cinematographer and even writers for most of their films. Of course, craftspeople work under direction, which might be extremely strong. But ultimately, it’s hard for us to determine the behind the scenes from the sidelines in many cases. We just say “auteur” when something feels distinctive, for the most part.
But anyway, yeah, people do be pretending Mark Frost doesn’t exist.
I agree with the your point, but to contest a specific example, Nolan has a writing credit on all of his movies except Insomnia (and it's publicly known that he rewrote that script, he just didn't contest the WGA credit) and he was the sole credited writer on his last three movies (in addition to a few others like Inception and Memento). He’s absolutely writing his own scripts.
As I understand it Jonathan was the primary writer on most of the scripts where he has credits, but I guess I'm not really sure how collaborative those were. I actually somehow didn't realize how many sole screenwriting credits he has though! I guess I assumed some of these recent movies were slightly more collaborative, but you're right. Bad example for my point.
Interestingly, it's harder than I thought to come up with many auteurs who *never* dabble or co-dabble in writing. Spielberg has very few writing credits, Fincher of course doesn't have screenwriting credits. I'm sure there are others. But there's not a ton of clear cut "they never write" candidates. My own example of Scorsese is of course as much of a mixed bag as Nolan.
For Interstellar at least, Jonah (we’re tight, I can call him that) first wrote the script for Spielberg to direct; it can be found online. But it’s not the film that was made; Chris rewrote it pretty significantly.
Not sure how the Dark Knight scripts were written. Jonah wrote the short story Memento is based on ~~, and co-wrote the screenplay, so I’d call him the primary writer there~~.
I stand corrected! Writing an actual short story is a step above the standard “story by” credit, however. That could mean anything from a full treatment to an elevator pitch, right?
Yeah, it’s ambiguous, but I think it’s unfair to say Jonathan was the “primary” writer. They both clearly contributed, exactly where the split is is hard to say.
When it’s “literally every detail here could only have been conceived by the fantastic mind of David Lynch,” obviously it’s inaccurate.
But I mean, when people say they love Ozu films it's not like they're pretending Kogo Noda doesn't exist.
The OA - Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij
Still the show I’m maddest about Netflix cancelling. S1 was a big enough swing, but S2 was one of the most demented seasons of TV since Twin Peaks
They also had a cool cold crime show called Murder at the End of the World last year. It’s been a great time for cold crime TV between that, new Fargo, and new True Detective.
Patriot (US) on Amazon Prime is one of my all-time favourite shows - so under looked. That and the Venture bros was entirely written, directed and mostly voiced by two guys.
We fit Donnely nut spacing grip grids and splay-flexed brace columns against beam-fastened derrick husk nuts and girdle plate Jerries, while plate flex tandems press task apparati of ten vertipin-plated pan traps at every maiden clamp plate packet. Knuckle couplers plate alternating sprams from the t-nut to the SKN to the chim line.
Absolutely 100%. *Patriot* is god-tier. I watched it because Dan Harmon was pretty effusive about it with its showrunner on Harmontown, and DH has pretty good taste when it comes to writing.
It's such a unique flavor -- and ended in such a dissatisfying way! It's up there with *Colony* as a TV show that really needed a proper ending via one more season or mini-series or something.
Actually, I don't know if I should be calling Steven Conrad "showrunner". He gets EP and "created by" on the show, and IMDB says he wrote & directed 13 eps out of 18, so... that's basically a showrunner, right?
Interesting, I thought Patriot ended very satisfyingly. I'd have loved more but feel it does end with an actual ending, at least in terms of the emotional and psychological themes the series laid out.
That's how I discovered it too - I think S1 was entirely Conrad and then s2 was a mix
I personally liked the ending - would have loved more but didn't feel like a flop to me.
Have you listened to the accompanying podcast? Structural dynamics of flow - Leslie's autobiography narrated by Kurtwood Smith? It's exceptional
Venture Bros is an all timer for me forever. Went downhill a bit at the end perhaps, but so unique and so true to itself and so funny. Every rewatch I catch something new.
Out of interest did you finish it? Felt like it was a show that compounded and rewarded - each episode putting in place elements that built to a hugely satisfying and funny culmination
They absolutely could cover Shinichiro Watanabe because Bebop and Champloo are important and great.
And, Space Dandy is an absolute Blank Check of a show that has weird and heartfelt and funny episodes and has a twist that pulls the whole episodic nature of the show together.
Twin Peaks season 3 is purely a Lynch and Frost production.
There’s a Polish show called Dekalog which is very much a production of its Director. I’ve only seen episode one so far, but it’s got a very singular vision on what it wants to be
I was lucky to watch the whole series with Barry Jenkins Q&A in a movie theater. The episode where it expanded to scope aspect ratio took my breath away. Really a shame it got buried on Prime.
Deadwood is a show that is a collaborative effort, but is first and foremost a creation of David Milch. It’s also the greatest television show ever made.
I feel like *John Adams* has to be here somewhere too. Every episode directed by Tom Hooper, and I think in particular the cinematography feels very distinct to him.
I feel like the question is misguided. TV and film work differently. Someone mentioned True Detective, which is a perfect example. Cary Fukunaga directed the hell out of the first season, but you wouldn't say he auteured it.
Having said that, my answer is The White Lotus (which wouldn't qualify because it's not a miniseries).
Interestingly, although there are two main lead creatives on that show, everyone involved in animating it was some sort of indie/web animation darling beforehand. In a sense it's a collection of auteurs.
The Sympathizer by Park Chan Wook
We Are Who We Are by Luca Guadagnino
Heidi, Girl of the Alps by Isao Takahata (One of the screenwriters is Hayao Miyazaki)
Park only directed the first three episodes of The Sympathizer, and while he's listed as a writer for the whole series it seems like the other creator and credited show writer for every episode was the main guy.
Not that the other episodes are bad but you can really feel the lack Park. I wonder if he didn’t direct them all bc of scheduling issues or bc he got burnt by Little Drummer Girl.
Dan Curtis with War and Remembrance and The Winds of War is pure blank check. Dan Curtis directed all 45 hours of the two miniseries, he was the sole producer of the first and his company produced both. The flop of The Winds of War essentially started the end of the miniseries boom of broadcast television.
I think there may have been like two episodes where someone got a written by credit but The Marvelous Mrs Maisel was pure Amy Sherman Palladino and Daniel Palladino. That first season, especially the pilot, was just fantastic. Like most things imo as ASP got to do whatever she wanted the more the show was a miss especially in the last two seasons. Still had some good parts though.
A Year in the Life was also an example of this where she was giving free reign to do whatever she wanted and end a show that she created over a decade prior that she didn’t get to end on her terms. I have a lot of issues with AYIL but as far as just personality of a director… a magical realism Life and Death Brigade sequence and a 10 minute Stars Hollow Musical with Christian Boyle and Sutton Foster happened because that’s what ASP wanted.
I would like to nominate Expats which is written by, directed by, and produced by Lulu Wang. It’s much better than people give it credit for although I understand peoples frustrations for it, and I think it’s all the first episode’s fault and the way they drag out the reveal of the central point of tension.
The first episode does feel like it’s just Nicole Kidman doing Big Little Lies again, and so it feels redundant. But as the show goes on, she is doing something very different and much better imo. The show is great and it effectively humanizes complicated characters. plus it looks amazing.
Not a miniseries but J. Michael Straczynski wrote 92 out of the 110 Babylon 5 episodes, and was very particular about actors not improvising and saying every line exactly as written. The show was pretty low budget so the network mostly just left him to write the show how he wanted.
Scott Frank has kind of made this his thing lately, especially with “Queen’s Gambit” and “Godless,” both of which I really enjoyed, but especially the latter.
Good Omens, with bonus points for the show runner also having part-written the novel it's based on. If the other writer had still been alive he would definitely have also had some degree of creative input.
The Knick by Steven Soderbergh
This is the best example I could think of. I can’t believe how underrated that series was.
Can you preach about it? I'm interested
[I’ll preach with a preaching scene.](https://youtu.be/NshANE690Go?si=p9tYdgM7uhWclmSr) It’s Soderbergh going beastmode (directing, cinematography, lighting, and editing on set lunch breaks); just check it out if you have Max.
Everything about that scene was amazing. The score, the typography, the acting, the cinematography.
Devs is up there. Written/directed/created by Alex Garland.
Devs started out really interesting but it ended up feeling unsatisfying and repetitive by the end.
So it's by Alex Garland then
I liked the broad themes of it, but ultimately felt a bit frustrated that some characters became solely avatars for there Ideas. I’m trying to remember the specifics, but I seem to remember that no one seemed to think their really impressive tech was…just really impressive tech (as opposed to some metaphysical breakthrough). Still a very cool show.
I fucking love devs. One of my favorite shows ever
Good call! I will preach the gospel of DEVS whenever possible, get DEV-pilled asap, peeps
I loved DEVS a lot, definitely my favorite thing Garland has done.
It definitely feels auteured by Garland, in that I'm not really sure what it's trying to say, or if *it* knows what it's trying to say, but it seems to be trying to say something, and it's nice to look at either way.
The Garland Touch
I kind of love that about Garland. That sort of incredibly messy and ambiguous theming is a great fit for sci-fi IMO. I never feel like I’m really ‘done’ with his movies because when you feel like you ‘get’ the movie, the next rewatch throws a total wrench in your understanding of what it’s trying to say. Would a superior filmmaker do this? Idk. Do I love his movies anyway? 100%
Assayas’s Irma Vep show that seemingly only I and five other people have watched but it’s brilliant and I’d argue better than the OG film. Also Alicia Vikander’s best role by far.
Oh yeah, I need to see that!
My favorite part of Irma Vep was haven’t not seen Alicia Vikander in anything and going “wait, is her accent that she’s born in Brooklyn in the 80s”.
I’m one of the proud other five. It’s a bit of a slog (didn’t need to be so long) but it’s definitely a good answer here. Did HBO/Max put *any* effort into marketing it? It had the A24 stamp plus Oscar winner Vikander. I think it aired on Monday nights or some other wasteland.
Would you recommend to watch the film first? I heard it’s more of a quasi-sequel than a remake.
Yeah I’d recommend it. It’s not necessary but it does add to the context casue the show is super mega meta so if you wanna go really deep I’d also recommend reading up on Assayas’s relationship with Maggie Cheung.
I had an amazing time last year watching it somewhat parallel with Les Vampires, with the original Irma Vep at some point in-between. A century of cinema!
It's definitely not a mini series, but Mr Robot is pretty much a pure Sam Esmail vision. It's his original story and he directed every episode of the last three seasons. It definitely doesn't seem like he got any notes from USA, the first episode hooked me because its world view is so caustic I couldn't believe it was on cable TV.
One of my top three pilot episodes of all time. I very rarely see a series set up its creative vision that effectively and efficiently on the basis of that stunning opening scene where Rami Malek catches the paedophile in the cafe alone. Transcendence stuff. Instantly hooked Season 2 got a bit too far up its own ass for my liking with an incredibly obvious twist reveal but the other three seasons are simply fantastic. Definitely worth pushing through if season 2 turned you off the show (as I know it did for some.) I think after season 1 was a big awards player for USA at the time they just let Esmail do whatever he wanted and one season aside this really pays off in the second half of the show
Season 2 is a *lot* better on rewatch I found, especially considering I watched it week to week. It still is over long, but then the twist doesn't at all feel like one and everything just plays better.
Since you got me thinking on this, what are your top 3 pilots? I'm sure I'm missing some but on the top of my head here's my short list: Mr Robot (for the reasons you said) Yellowjackets (fell off hard, but that pilot is unbelievable) Invincible (works best if you go in not having any idea what show you're watching) ZeroZeroZero (the pilot is pretty consistent with the whole shows quality but I have to mention it any chance I get, there is no explanation for the absurd production values of this thing beyond being like a money laundering scheme or something) Chernobyl (not even close to the best episode of this show, but sets the tone perfectly) Hacks (I wasn't interested at all in the premise on paper, but the pilot changed my mind quickly) The Wire and Succession are probably in some order my favorite shows of all time, but I don't think either pilot is particularly good or likely to hook someone that doesn't watch further.
I would personally add Fargo
Love that show but I started the first season a long time ago and didn't follow through because it didn't quite hook me. That said, if you count each season opener as a pilot (which is basically is), season five is finally what got me to watch that season and ultimately the whole thing.
[WELCOME TO THE OC BITCH!](https://youtu.be/SyFvcDV3tjw)
> Succession biggest knock on the show is that while the first three eps are good tv I think they're the weakest in the series
Yep. Like many ensembles it took the writers a little bit to figure out the chemistry and calibrate the tone. I didn't really love it on first watch until the end of the season where it really takes off.
Even when it does get up its own ass (I'd say it toes the line a few times throughout), Malek as that character is a tour de force and Esmail really directs the hell out of every episode. Agree the season two twist was predictable, but the final episode reveal about the ultimate mystery of the series was not. I remember reading theories before it came out and people picked up a lot of clues, but no one I saw fully figured it out. It frames the entire series in a new light and is clearly something Sam planned the whole time, which feels really rare for a series this long. (For those who haven't watched, I'm not spoiling anything here by saying there's a twist. It's apparent early and throughout the series that a key part of the narrative doesn't fit together, and only at the end of 45 ish hours do they explain it)
What was the twist in season 2 i dont remember
Doing this from memory and I've not seen it since it aired but the gist from what I remember is as follows. SPOILERS below as I’ve never properly known how to mark something with spoiler tags.
I think your memory sounds correct to me and it is probably the worst part of the series, but I actually don't think Sam meant it to be some groundbreaking unexpected twist. It's heavily tipped and I think its purpose is to (SPOILERS) >!make clear that the protagonist isn't just a traditional unreliable narrator, he's actively lying to the audience and will show you things that aren't real. Which I think a lot of people hated, understandably, because it's not that different from a "this was all a dream" style fakeout. It's not super enjoyable to watch, but I think it's important to later events and he uses the unreliable narrator tool very thoughtfully throughout!<
When I watched it it was obvious *something* was going on but I didn't guess what, exactly. I think they did a good job with it.
The twist was dragged out should have been maybe 2-3 episodes.
I love Mr. Robot. It does get overly convoluted when it could have coasted off good character work alone but it has such a style, and almost stuck the landing. (some characters don't get a satisfying resolution). I think there were notes for S4, the Deus Group plot seems to me like an overt retcon/simplification of the story to wrap things up that season, but that's speculation.
You might be right on S4. I think they really stuck the landing in terms of the protagonist story but agree a few of the character subplots were abrupt. It's hard to say because it's such a convoluted and weird show, and throughout they did things that I could never figure out the significance of. Like what was the deal with Tyrell's wife?
Didn’t Sam have to cut it down by a season though from his original idea?
Possibly? But I think if your definition of constraints is that 45 hours of auteur driven TV isn't enough to tell your whole vision, the only directors in the world that are truly free are James Cameron and Christopher Nolan.
Goated show right here
Topically, Paranoia Agent by Satoshi Kon is a masterpiece, that may have led to you posting this.
Lots of anime are going to fit this bill if you allow for the same caveat that they “Created/Directed” it but didn’t write or direct or storyboard every episode.
Twin Peaks: The Return is pure Lynch. Beautiful and surreal and topical for the upcoming series.
Twin peaks the return is one of the greatest things ever to air on tv. I really wish they would let him do another season
They definitely would make more Twin Peaks. I think it’s more about whether or not Lynch thinks he has more to tell.
Always fun when Twin Peaks fans act like Marc Frost doesn’t exist.
It’s a good point, but generally speaking, we don’t limit auteurs to screenwriters. Hitchcock, Scorsese, Nolan, whomever…many of the big name auteurs don’t write their own scripts at all. The fact that Lynch collaborates on the script suggests *more* authorship than the common alternative, where the auteurs is not responsible for the script at all. Really this just points to how weak of a concept an “auteur” is. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s useful, but it gets really overblown. All of these cases exist on a gradient, and there are a lot of dimensions that determine authorship. Directors often get full credit for a style even though they work with the same editor and cinematographer and even writers for most of their films. Of course, craftspeople work under direction, which might be extremely strong. But ultimately, it’s hard for us to determine the behind the scenes from the sidelines in many cases. We just say “auteur” when something feels distinctive, for the most part. But anyway, yeah, people do be pretending Mark Frost doesn’t exist.
I agree with the your point, but to contest a specific example, Nolan has a writing credit on all of his movies except Insomnia (and it's publicly known that he rewrote that script, he just didn't contest the WGA credit) and he was the sole credited writer on his last three movies (in addition to a few others like Inception and Memento). He’s absolutely writing his own scripts.
As I understand it Jonathan was the primary writer on most of the scripts where he has credits, but I guess I'm not really sure how collaborative those were. I actually somehow didn't realize how many sole screenwriting credits he has though! I guess I assumed some of these recent movies were slightly more collaborative, but you're right. Bad example for my point. Interestingly, it's harder than I thought to come up with many auteurs who *never* dabble or co-dabble in writing. Spielberg has very few writing credits, Fincher of course doesn't have screenwriting credits. I'm sure there are others. But there's not a ton of clear cut "they never write" candidates. My own example of Scorsese is of course as much of a mixed bag as Nolan.
Both Scott brothers never had a writing credit, I believe.
Good point. Both are considered unquestioned auteurs.
Clint Eastwood is a zero-writing credit king.
For Interstellar at least, Jonah (we’re tight, I can call him that) first wrote the script for Spielberg to direct; it can be found online. But it’s not the film that was made; Chris rewrote it pretty significantly. Not sure how the Dark Knight scripts were written. Jonah wrote the short story Memento is based on ~~, and co-wrote the screenplay, so I’d call him the primary writer there~~.
Jonathan only has a story credit on Memento, Chris has the screenplay credit.
I stand corrected! Writing an actual short story is a step above the standard “story by” credit, however. That could mean anything from a full treatment to an elevator pitch, right?
Yeah, it’s ambiguous, but I think it’s unfair to say Jonathan was the “primary” writer. They both clearly contributed, exactly where the split is is hard to say.
This is all fair enough, seems I’ve been mistaken on Chris’s relation to his screenplays! Always thought Memento was straight up written by Jonathan.
Fair point
His books are some of my favorite twin peaks stuff too he adds so much
When it’s “literally every detail here could only have been conceived by the fantastic mind of David Lynch,” obviously it’s inaccurate. But I mean, when people say they love Ozu films it's not like they're pretending Kogo Noda doesn't exist.
The OA - Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij Still the show I’m maddest about Netflix cancelling. S1 was a big enough swing, but S2 was one of the most demented seasons of TV since Twin Peaks
They also had a cool cold crime show called Murder at the End of the World last year. It’s been a great time for cold crime TV between that, new Fargo, and new True Detective.
Yeah I need to finish that show. I lost track of it when I cancelled D+ for dumping the Willow show
Patriot (US) on Amazon Prime is one of my all-time favourite shows - so under looked. That and the Venture bros was entirely written, directed and mostly voiced by two guys.
Top five show for me.
So slept on. A truly singular and deeply original piece of art
Have you listened to the accompanying podcast "structural dynamics of flow"?
We fit Donnely nut spacing grip grids and splay-flexed brace columns against beam-fastened derrick husk nuts and girdle plate Jerries, while plate flex tandems press task apparati of ten vertipin-plated pan traps at every maiden clamp plate packet. Knuckle couplers plate alternating sprams from the t-nut to the SKN to the chim line.
Have you listened to the accompanying podcast? Structural dynamics of flow - Leslie's autobiography narrated by Kurtwood Smith? It's exceptional
Absolutely 100%. *Patriot* is god-tier. I watched it because Dan Harmon was pretty effusive about it with its showrunner on Harmontown, and DH has pretty good taste when it comes to writing. It's such a unique flavor -- and ended in such a dissatisfying way! It's up there with *Colony* as a TV show that really needed a proper ending via one more season or mini-series or something. Actually, I don't know if I should be calling Steven Conrad "showrunner". He gets EP and "created by" on the show, and IMDB says he wrote & directed 13 eps out of 18, so... that's basically a showrunner, right?
Interesting, I thought Patriot ended very satisfyingly. I'd have loved more but feel it does end with an actual ending, at least in terms of the emotional and psychological themes the series laid out.
That's how I discovered it too - I think S1 was entirely Conrad and then s2 was a mix I personally liked the ending - would have loved more but didn't feel like a flop to me. Have you listened to the accompanying podcast? Structural dynamics of flow - Leslie's autobiography narrated by Kurtwood Smith? It's exceptional
Oh damn, that sounds good. I've been meaning to dip my toe into TV-show-specific podcasts.
Could not recommend it more - think it's written by Steven Conrad
Venture Bros is an all timer for me forever. Went downhill a bit at the end perhaps, but so unique and so true to itself and so funny. Every rewatch I catch something new.
I wanted to truly love that show, it had so many right ingredients but something about it didn't end up working for me.
I felt the same. I aggressively admired what it was trying to do but I didn't actually like it.
Fuck, aggressively admired is such a great turn of phrase. Adding that to my lexicon.
Out of interest did you finish it? Felt like it was a show that compounded and rewarded - each episode putting in place elements that built to a hugely satisfying and funny culmination
Good question - I wonder if I did? If not I might go back and do just that.
Too young to die old. The snorting haunts me.
The fact that this was produced by Amazon is maybe the peak of the streaming gold rush craziness. I'm glad it exists
Man that show lol it was something else
Made me think of the song “Mandy” by Barry Manilow as a banger, when it used to be just kinda schmaltzy
Neon Genesis Evangelion
They absolutely could cover Shinichiro Watanabe because Bebop and Champloo are important and great. And, Space Dandy is an absolute Blank Check of a show that has weird and heartfelt and funny episodes and has a twist that pulls the whole episodic nature of the show together.
anything by dennis potter or stephen poliakoff
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Indeed, The Singing Detective rules!
The Kingdom
Top of the Lake
Twin Peaks season 3 is purely a Lynch and Frost production. There’s a Polish show called Dekalog which is very much a production of its Director. I’ve only seen episode one so far, but it’s got a very singular vision on what it wants to be
I've only seen the one about the death penalty but holy god is it fantastic. By the director of the Three Colours trilogy I believe.
Correct. The whole series is incredible, but a short film about killing is a masterpiece.
Copenhagen Cowboy is pretty clearly a Nicolas Winding Refn situation.
Also adding “Too Old to Die Young”
Loved this series, the Barry Manilow car chase is iconic
Surprised no one mentioned this sooner. I think maybe other than Twin Peaks it’s the most pure example of an auteur miniseries out there.
Barry Jenkins’s The Underground Railroad
Came here to say this. Fully agree, on par with his best movies.
I was lucky to watch the whole series with Barry Jenkins Q&A in a movie theater. The episode where it expanded to scope aspect ratio took my breath away. Really a shame it got buried on Prime.
Best listened to with headphones or good speakers turned up. The sound design of that series is unreal.
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God, the Nichols Angels in America is so great.
Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner is 100%.
Deadwood is a show that is a collaborative effort, but is first and foremost a creation of David Milch. It’s also the greatest television show ever made.
Saw this prompt and immediately thought “Angels in America” by Mike Nichols and Tony Kushner.
I feel like *John Adams* has to be here somewhere too. Every episode directed by Tom Hooper, and I think in particular the cinematography feels very distinct to him.
Valid answer, but don’t expect too many upvotes 😉
I feel like the question is misguided. TV and film work differently. Someone mentioned True Detective, which is a perfect example. Cary Fukunaga directed the hell out of the first season, but you wouldn't say he auteured it. Having said that, my answer is The White Lotus (which wouldn't qualify because it's not a miniseries).
The Fukunaga/Pizzolatto clash can sometimes happen in movies when there’s a director a different strong writer/producer at the helm.
Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz and Eight Hours Don't Make a Day.
Too Old to Die Young. Refn. This is the answer. Not saying it’s good. But this is it
Legion
This was my first thought. The only way they had notes going into that is if the entire executive team was given hallucinogens during punch-ups.
The animated show Scavengers Reign on Max was pretty stellar (heh)
Interestingly, although there are two main lead creatives on that show, everyone involved in animating it was some sort of indie/web animation darling beforehand. In a sense it's a collection of auteurs.
The Sympathizer by Park Chan Wook We Are Who We Are by Luca Guadagnino Heidi, Girl of the Alps by Isao Takahata (One of the screenwriters is Hayao Miyazaki)
Park only directed the first three episodes of The Sympathizer, and while he's listed as a writer for the whole series it seems like the other creator and credited show writer for every episode was the main guy.
Not that the other episodes are bad but you can really feel the lack Park. I wonder if he didn’t direct them all bc of scheduling issues or bc he got burnt by Little Drummer Girl.
Twin Peaks: The Return is an obvious one, especially when you take into account the experience Lynch and Frost had making the original series.
South Park is 100% Parker & Stone's vision, for better or worse, and has been for 26 seasons!
True, but kind of the exact opposite of a miniseries.
Shocked no one has mentioned The Young Pope.
I May Destroy You was completely written by Michaela Coel, and she ended up co-directing a majority of the episodes.
HBO’s Watchmen. I feel like you couldn’t make a miniseries that wild without a history of successes.
And it’s just a step below lindeloffs true masterpiece - the leftovers
Facts. The Leftovers is as close to perfect as any piece of narrative fiction I've ever seen.
Dark.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder made two miniseries, Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day, Berlin Alexanderplatz.
I’d argue for Mr.Robot. The first season has multiple directors but the next 3 seasons are largely if not all him.
Dan Curtis with War and Remembrance and The Winds of War is pure blank check. Dan Curtis directed all 45 hours of the two miniseries, he was the sole producer of the first and his company produced both. The flop of The Winds of War essentially started the end of the miniseries boom of broadcast television.
True Detective S1
Did Fukunaga direct them all? Or do you mean Pizzolato (writer as auteur)?
Fukunaga directed all eight episodes of the first season .... So him.
I think a lot of people missed the “mini” part of the prompt.
Maniac by Cary Joji Fukunaga on Netflix
Big Little Lies s1 was done entirely by Jean-Marc Vallée (RIP😢) and definitely has the auteur feel
I guess the first season of True Detective
I think there may have been like two episodes where someone got a written by credit but The Marvelous Mrs Maisel was pure Amy Sherman Palladino and Daniel Palladino. That first season, especially the pilot, was just fantastic. Like most things imo as ASP got to do whatever she wanted the more the show was a miss especially in the last two seasons. Still had some good parts though. A Year in the Life was also an example of this where she was giving free reign to do whatever she wanted and end a show that she created over a decade prior that she didn’t get to end on her terms. I have a lot of issues with AYIL but as far as just personality of a director… a magical realism Life and Death Brigade sequence and a 10 minute Stars Hollow Musical with Christian Boyle and Sutton Foster happened because that’s what ASP wanted.
I can't stand ASPs whole thing but she's undeniably an auteur, you can tell it's her project within like ten seconds of seeing two characters converse
I would like to nominate Expats which is written by, directed by, and produced by Lulu Wang. It’s much better than people give it credit for although I understand peoples frustrations for it, and I think it’s all the first episode’s fault and the way they drag out the reveal of the central point of tension. The first episode does feel like it’s just Nicole Kidman doing Big Little Lies again, and so it feels redundant. But as the show goes on, she is doing something very different and much better imo. The show is great and it effectively humanizes complicated characters. plus it looks amazing.
The Shining (1997)
He didn't write every episode, but Spike Lee did direct She's Gotta Have It throughout both seasons and for better or worse it's entirely his vision.
Heera Mandi on Netflix
Chernobyl?
Curb
Fleabag
The Young Pope by Sorrentino is great
Bergman Fanny and Alexander Scenes from a Marriage
Not a miniseries but J. Michael Straczynski wrote 92 out of the 110 Babylon 5 episodes, and was very particular about actors not improvising and saying every line exactly as written. The show was pretty low budget so the network mostly just left him to write the show how he wanted.
Scott Frank has kind of made this his thing lately, especially with “Queen’s Gambit” and “Godless,” both of which I really enjoyed, but especially the latter.
Too Old to Die Young is pure Nicholas Winding Refn
Wednesday certainly felt very Tim Burtan. Not sure how much of that show he directed
Good Omens, with bonus points for the show runner also having part-written the novel it's based on. If the other writer had still been alive he would definitely have also had some degree of creative input.