Some anthology TV shows are made better than others, and these three in particular are excellent from start to finish. Anthology TV shows are a little like short stories in that some people can’t get enough of them, and others simply can’t get themselves into a TV show that doesn’t have a longer arc.
Anthology TV shows can be a bit of a tall order. They generally don’t have the same characters from episode to episode or season to season, and many even have different creative teams behind each episode, so you can enjoy one and then not connect at all with the next.
It also makes reviewing an anthology series difficult. Something like The Twilight Zone has some of the greatest episodes of TV ever, but then it also has some real stinkers like “Mr. Dingle, the Strong”. If you want to watch an anthology show where every episode is great, these three have you covered.
Tales From The Darkside (1983-1988)
Horror anthologies can be just as hit or miss as horror movies in general, but the surprise and freewheeling nature of the genre is what we love about it in the first place. If you want a horror anthology series where each episode is as engrossing as the next, check out George Romero’s Tales from the Darkside.
Like The Twilight Zone before it, Tales from the Darkside dabbles in speculative fiction, science fiction, and fantasy almost as much as it does with horror. There are plenty of original stories in the anthology, as well as adaptations of notable stories from the likes of Stephen King and Robert Bloch.
You’ll also recognize some faces of people who were on their way to stardom, such as a young Seth Green, Christian Slater, and Allison Sweeney. Every episode has a different feel, but it’s never a jarring transition from one to the next and all 90 episodes of the show are worth your time.
Documentary Now! (2015-2022)
An assemblage of mini-mockumentaries satarizing incredibly niche topics and real-life documentaries may seem too arch to be successful, but put Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, Bill Hader, and Rhys Thomas at the helm, and you have one of the most consistently funny TV shows ever.
Documentary Now! parodies such real-life documentaries as Grey Gardens, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and Grizzly Man, paying them love and homage, and also having a lot of fun with the conceits, using them to document absurd, weird, and mundane topics, such as a small Icelandic town’s annual Al Capone festival.
Every episode of the anthology is hilarious, sharply written, and often more probing than it lets on. It features dozens of fantastic guest performances as well, including John Mulaney, Tim Robinson, Maya Rudolph, and Cate Blanchett, and you can’t beat Helen Mirren introducing each “documentary” with all the gravitas of a Dame of Britain.
Fargo (2016-2024)
Fargo
10/10
- Release Date
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2014 – 2024-00-00
Based on the Coen brothers’ film from 1996 and yet having almost nothing to do with that story save for a nod or a wink here and there, Fargo is a black comedy crime drama anthology that premiered on FX in 2015. While all five seasons of Fargo have the same continuity, they are almost entirely unrelated.
The only thing linking each season is the setting: somewhere in the Midwest, often during the colder months, and its tonality, which is grimly funny, and shows how even the best laid plans are rarely as effective, or perilous, as the whims of fate. The series captures the movie’s essence and builds upon it.
Billy Bob Thornton, Kirsten Dunst, Ewan McGregor, Chris Rock, and Jon Hamm are just a few of the incredible actors who’ve appeared at different times in the anthology series and each season feels like a mystery box as you wait to see what kind of character each actor will be playing.
