The end of the year is the realm of fan lists: the best films, the 50 books of 2023, the best restaurants, the songs of the year and of course the most notable series. 2023 was an excellent harvest, as shown by Babelia's 10 Best list, which left out many notable productions. We're now bringing back six of them to give quality series a second chance and make the case for watching them again or trying them out for the first time. Among the chosen ones are a curious documentary, a Spanish production and a few very different police officers.
Welcome to Wrexham Football Club
Ollie Palmer, Reece Hall-Johnson and Paul Mullin, Wrexham players.
It's difficult for this series to go unnoticed by those who discover it (it's on Disney+), but it hasn't received the attention it deserves due to its quality. The story of this documentary series begins when two Hollywood actors, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, buy one of the oldest professional football clubs in the world. Wrexham, the team from a Welsh town with a population of less than 100,000, plays in the Spanish fifth division. But the love his fans have for him is top notch. The aim of the actors is to revive the club with major investments and to promote the economy and the local spirit. The story of these perennial losers whose luck begins to change is one of the most exciting and entertaining stories about the emotional side of football, that of connections and feelings. The monitoring of football competitions (be careful not to search the internet to see how things are going, there are spoilers) is interspersed with the personal stories of players and fans. Brilliant second season episode about two people with autism, a fan of the team and the son of one of its star players.
Better days
Blanca Portillo, Erick Elias, Alba Planas, Marta Hazas and Francesc Orella in the second season of “Better Days”.
It was hard to imagine that a series about a grief therapy group for people who have lost a partner would be one of the most upbeat series of the year. Blanca Portillo plays a therapist with unorthodox methods who welcomes four strangers into her home every week, of different ages, different personalities and with different personal situations, all of whom have in common that they have difficulty dealing with grief and, in the end, each other support. and connect with each other much more than they first thought. The second season (this year Telecinco aired the first and Prime Video released the second) has not deviated from its plan and commitment not to rejoice in pain and suffering, but to look forward to the future and the past with joy and joy look small irony. Pay attention to Francesc Orella's interpretation.
Make an effort
Shaun Evans (right) as Inspector Morse and Roger Allam as Fred Thursday in season 8 of Endeavor.
The best classic cop of recent times said goodbye in an elegant way and with an emotional ending that broke the heart of more than one fan. There were nine seasons (available on Filmin) and more than 30 chapters full of classic self-contained crime stories, complex and literary characters in the best sense of the word and impeccable scripts. It is surprising that this series does not appear on any list of the best of the year, despite the solidity of Shaun Evans, the now eternal Inspector Morse, and luxurious supporting characters such as Roger Allam in the role of Fred Thursday (the series' boss and leading protagonist). . The series works like a prequel to Inspector Morse (1987-2000), but it is much more and is on a par with the excellent books by Colin Baxter, the creator of this Oxonian universe, classic and on a par with the best crime novels. any times.
Somewhere, boy
Lewis Gribben, star of “Somewhere Boy.”
Danny doesn't know what the world outside is like. His father has told him his whole life that he is full of monsters and that one of them killed his mother when he was little. He has lived isolated in the middle of the forest with his father for 18 years. When the man commits suicide, the teenager Danny has to live with his aunt and a cousin the same age, who introduce him to the real world. The series (available on Filmin) shows Danny's steps of discovery and sprinkles in fragments of his life in the cabin with his father, growing up with black and white films as reference and many fears in his head. This fable is a harsh story but is told in a light and hopeful tone. Worth highlighting is the performance of Lewis Gribben, the actor who brings the protagonist to life and gives him a unique fragility with his gaze and gestures.
invasion
Shamier Anderson as Trevante, Billy Barratt as Casper and India Brown in the role of Jamila Huston play the main roles in one of the central axes of the plot of “Invasion”.
The Apple TV+ series joins the quality productions on this platform with a risky bet: imagine a humanity threatened by powerful aliens and place salvation in the hands of a group of children. Over the two seasons, the series grows and goes much further, especially with the story of Mitsuki Yamato (a worried Shioli Kutsuna) and her attempt to understand and deceive the beast. Like any good science fiction story, this one is a search for the ultimate meaning of life and combines brilliantly and subtly with myths and traditional stories. The narrative hides nothing: it introduces you to the group of chosen ones and makes you feel connected to them. Then they cross stories and maintain verisimilitude in an almost impossible leap. But it works. There's also measured and well-shot action. Much more than a futuristic entertainment that was among the most viewed on the platform for weeks without us really being able to know if that was a lot or a little.
Bosch: Legacy
An image from “Bosch: Legacy.”
The second season of the Bosch spin-off (although it always works as a sequel to the original) deserved better luck. Prime Video has chosen continuity and so the universe created by Michael Connelly (producer and co-responsible for the adaptations) can expand beyond his novels. Titus Welliver is already in the imagination of all novel fans like Bosch: once as a mythical, rebellious and stubborn Los Angeles police officer and now as a private detective. There are pleasant surprises, such as the survival of lawyer Money Chandler (Mimi Rogers), which go far beyond the books, and other interesting aspects, such as the life of Maddie, who has become an experienced agent following in her father's footsteps . There is more action than at Bosch, more spectacle, but the essence remains and that is a lot. Connelly's is a portrait of 21st century Angeleno society, and more broadly the entire country, through crime. A major work that has its natural extension area in the series.
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