Some TV shows are so complex that you have to be a genius or have a PhD in television to appreciate fully. SomeTV shows make great background noise, some shows require your full attention, and some shows are so complex, a Master’s degree feels required to enjoy them.
Plenty of excellent TV showsthat take a genius to fully understand can still be enjoyed properly even if you don’t totally get the breadth of the story. Many TV shows can be understood at a fundamental level by anyone, but have layers only available to those willing to take the time to dig further.
You don’t have to be a philosophical genius to understand HBO’sJohn Adams, buta degree in history is certainly going to make the historically accurate and specific miniseries an even richer watch than it already is. The seven-episode miniseries depicts what could be seen as a “boring” side of American history.
There are no wars inJohn Adams. Don’t walk into the show expecting to see the Continental Army fighting the British at Bunker Hill. Instead,John Adamsis concerned with the diplomacy and politics that helped turn the 13 colonies into the United States of America. There are names and places that only those familiar with the era may recognize.
Russian Dollis a head-spinning comedy-drama from Netflix starring Natasha Lyonne as Nadia Vulvokov. Nadia is a software engineer who one day finds herself reliving her 36th birthday over and over again. Like anytime-travel TV show,Russian Dollruns into philosophical and physical problems that come with reliving time.
However, the comedy and intriguing story on top of these conceits make it all worthwhile. Nadia has a lot of mysteries to unfurl, and in season 2,when she’s sent back to her mother’s body in 1982, the plot grows even more complexand will have you searching online blogs for answers.
LikeTwin Peaks, Lars von Trier’s television series,The Kingdom, aired two seasons in the 1990s, and then aired its third season decades later in 2022. The Danish series is a supernatural, absurdist, and dark show, which should not surprise any fans of von Trier’s work. Called “Riget” in Danish, the series is an unnerving, mind-bending show.
There is an American remake of the series titledKingdom Hospitalthat aired in 2004 and was canceled after one season. It was developed by Stephen King.
Set in the neurological ward of Copenhagen’s national hospital, each episode ofThe Kingdomfollows the hospital’s eccentric staff and patients as they encounter any number of phenomena, often bizarre or supernatural in nature.It’s a series that refuses to explain itself, and it takes someone particularly keyed in to truly get it.
The Canadian science fiction seriesOrphan Blackfocuses on Sarah Manning, played by Tatiana Maslany. Sarah is one of several genetically identical human clones who were illegally created in a mysterious experiment. After discovering her true nature, Sarah goes off to search for the other clones and figure out the mystery behind her creation.
As each season ofOrphan Blackprogresses, more questions and mysteries about Sarah’s creation are raised, and it takes someone with a lot of science fiction understanding to keep juggling all the balls that get thrown into the show. There’s even a list of known clones onWikipedia. Even with the guides, the series can get confusing.
The OAis a mystery drama that premiered in 2016 and stars Brit Marling as a young woman previously known as Prairie Johnson. After disappearing seven years ago, Prairie resurfaces, now calling herself “the OA” and with the ability to see despite being blind before her original disappearance.
DespiteThe OAbeing canceled prematurely, the Netflix series is a rewarding and exciting 16 episodes with a cliffhanger ending that, while frustrating, doesn’t make the show that came before it not worth your time. Filled with mysteries and secrets,The OAnecessitates some careful watch-alongsand doesn’t just hand out its answers without some effort by the viewer.
Lostrequires a genius to fully understand because it sometimes feels like even the creators were unsure of where they wanted their story to go. 15 years afterthe final episode ofLost, I’m still not completely sure what the landmark series was about. Both narratively and thematically, there is a lot to unpack.
A series about a group of strangers who crashland on an island seems simple enough, but every episode reveals another surprise that may or may not be revisited. It’s almost worth having a notebook on hand when watching the series, considering everything that needs to be remembered, not just episode to episode but season to season.
Damon Lindelof’s television masterpiece,The Leftovers, considers what happens when 2% of Earth’s population suddenly vanishes. It’s an important point of the series that Lindelof wants to know “what” happens, not why the departure happened in the first place.
The rules of the universe are vague, the literary references are heady, and the flashbacks and flashforwards require careful attention.
This show combines religion, philosophy, and science in a way that few other TV shows have ever accomplished, and it sticks the landing as well. The rules of the universe are vague, the literary references are heady, and the flashbacks and flashforwards require careful attention.
The British spy thriller,The Honourable Woman, is an eight-episode miniseries starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Andrew Buchan. The series follows Nessa Stein (Gyllenhaal), an Anglo-Jewish businesswoman who has been appointed a life peer because of her company’s philanthropic work in the Middle East peace process. A peace process that has also been a financial boon for her.
It’s a wickedly intelligent series that is as relevant now as it was in 2014.
When Nessa’s business partner dies in a mysterious suicide, the next steps of her plans in the West Bank are imperiled. It’s a wickedly intelligent series that is as relevant now as it was in 2014. It’s a show that gives a thoughtful and honest look at the way business, philanthropy, and politics intermingle.
The German-language Netflix seriesDarkis a mind-bending, time-traveling series that requires you to learn three different actors for each character, andthe series is rarely willing to hold your handwhen it comes to telling youwho each actor is playing.
This acclaimed science fiction series is set in the fictional town of Winden, Germany, and depicts what happens after a spate of mysterious disappearances regarding a nearby cave. It’s a show that you’ll want to have the wiki, character guide, and Reddit explainer pages open for.
You would have to be a genius to keep up with all the intricacies of a show likeTwin Peaksin 1990 and 1991, then remember everything for the third season of the show, which arrived 16 years later. That’s not even to mention the feature filmTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, or the tie-in books that followed the show.
The series is set in the fictional Pacific Northwest town of Twin Peaks, and follows an investigation by special agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), who is looking into the murder of a local teenager. With an otherworldly tone and surreal elements,David Lynch’sTwin Peaksis still a difficult TV show to understand even all these decades later.
