There are someTV showsthat you’re able to watch over and over, but then there are others that, no matter how much you love them, you can’t bring yourself to start them over. Notevery TV series is meant to be rewatchable, but being rewatchable does not automatically discount a show from being great. Series likeThe Sopranos,Breaking Bad, andSuccessionare endlessly rewatchable, with so much packed into each episode that, even if you’re only interested in revisiting one aspect of the series, everything else surrounding it makes starting up the show again worthwhile.
Then there arethose comfort TV serieslikeThe Office,Gilmore Girls, andSex in the Citythat never seem to get old. The shows on this list are a little different.While they’re each great, if you’re anything like me, you’re probably only going to watch them once. These series are pretty heavy; they often have twists that make rewatching the show less exciting, they end with a fizzle that makes them less rewarding, or maybe they’re too long. These are shows I really like, but have never felt the urge to return to.
The first twoHouse of Cardsseasons were Netflix’s way of showing they were serious about producing prestige television of the same quality as people were getting on HBO or Showtime. Starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, the series tracks Frank Underwood’s (Spacey) journey from Congress to the White House, and the corrupt, illegal, and often violent methods he uses to get there. There weren’t many shows like it when it came out, and I assumed it would become a staple of my rewatch carousel.
Then, in 2017, allegations began to come out aboutKevin Spacey’s history of sexual misconduct. Suddenly, Netflix’s golden child was a toxic asset, andthe series had to write its admittedly incredibly compelling main character out of the show. Not only does the series change to an odd degree, but going back and watching Spacey act, knowing what he’s been accused of, is not exactly an enjoyable experience.
The Last Kingdom, based on Bernard Cornwell’s series of novels,The Saxon Stories, covers nearly 40 years of English history, beginning with the arrival of the Great Heathen Army and ending with King Edward (Timothy Innes) on the throne. That’s not even including the movie, which expands even further. It’s an exciting and well-made series starring Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a Saxon warrior raised by Danes.
The series is filled with historical characters, moments, and events, with moments of fiction interspersed throughout. All that information and exposition, however, can be a lot to remember. At times,watchingThe Last Kingdomis like reading a long history tome, and there are parts that can be a slog to get through. It’s a show I enjoyed immensely, but not a subject I expect to dive back into anytime soon.
One of the more underseen, but possiblybest TV shows in the Mike Flanagan project,Midnight Mass, is a Netflix miniseries that premiered in 2021. The series follows Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), a venture capitalist recently released from prison after killing a young girl while driving under the influence. He returns to his isolated hometown on the remote Crockett Island at the same time as the local Catholic Church gets a new priest, Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater).
Father Hill brings something else to the island with him, something that promises salvation at a horrific price.Midnight Massis a moving and frightening tale about religion, xenophobia, and forgiveness, and it will make you jump in fear as much as it will make you well up in sadness. That heaviness can affect rewatches, though, and Flanagan’s penchant for long monologues is out in full force inMidnight Mass. There’s a deep well of information to parse through inMidnight Mass, which is good on first watch but weighty the second time.
By my estimation, the only down season for HBO’sWestworldcame in season 2, and even then, there were still enough great episodes to keep it watchable. Based on Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name,Westworldcenters on the Westworld theme park, a futuristic park where androids called “hosts” allow visitors to live out their most violent and decadent fantasies. These hosts are nearly indistinguishable from humans, so indistinguishable that they begin to develop sentience all on their own.
Michael Crichton’s novel was also adapted into a 1973 film directed by the author himself.
Westworldcan feel like a lot to take on with its heavy psychological themes and complex mysteries.The brutality that the visitors show to the hosts can also be hard to watch multiple times, but the real reason I won’t watchWestworldagain is that the fifth and final season was canceled by HBO. The series was gunning for an interesting climax, and the network shattered those hopes. Going back to watch would just feel like a waste of time now that I know many of the answers, and the ones I don’t will never be revealed.
Scavengers Reignis one of the most unusualadult animated TV showsto come out in recent years. The science fiction series is set far in the future and follows the crew of an interstellar cargo ship who crash-land on an alien planet filled with wonders and dangers. The flora and fauna have all developed without the presence of humans and are, at times, impossible to comprehend. The designs are gorgeous and actually feel alien. They aren’t simply weird versions of things we have on Earth.
Scavengers Reignholds a 100% rating onRotten Tomatoes.
The series is part nature documentary, part survival story, and part philosophy tale. Very few things about the planet are actually ever explained, and with no second season in the works,it’s one of the deepest science fiction stories you can findthat does not have a hint of lore surrounding it. The only things to know aboutScavengers Reigncan be found in its 12 episodes. I don’t feel any urge to learn more about the show. One watch told me everything I needed.
Mare of Easttownearned seven well-deserved Emmy nominations after it premiered in 2021, winning three of those. Kate Winslet stars in the miniseries as Marianne “Mare” Sheehan,a detective in the small Pennsylvania town investigating the murder of a young girland the disappearance of another. Jean Smart, Julianne Nicholson, Guy Pearce, and David Denham also star in this slow-burning, often funny, often depressing mystery.
It is hard to watch on the first playthrough; the second, without the added benefit of the mystery twist, is probably too painful for most people.
Probably one of the bestTV showsto air on HBO in recent years and one of the few worthy successor detective series toTrueDetectiveseason 1,Mare of Easttownis a finely tuned, brilliantly acted piece of television with an incredibly raw and powerful way of storytelling. It is hard to watch on the first playthrough; the second, without the added benefit of the mystery twist, is probably too painful for most people.
