3 new television shows to watch to make service time pass faster

At its best, Hollywood provides us with entertainment that reflects ourselves and the times in which we live. At its less-than-best, these attempts at self-reflection can be clumsy and weighed-down by moralizing and a myopic view of current events.

Three new television series fall mostly into the former category of entertainment-as-effective social commentary. And they inspire self-reflection on the part of the viewer, rather than trying to force a moral lesson. 

Zero Day

Zero Day is a limited series streaming on Netflix and is loaded with acting talent. Robert De Niro and Lizzy Kaplan star as a father and daughter who also happen to be a former president of the United States (De Niro) and a current congresswoman (Kaplan). De Niro is tapped to come out of retirement to investigate a massive cyberattack on the U.S. that cripples all kinds of critical computer systems and results in general destruction and fatalities.

Without giving too much away, suffice it to say that the leading contenders for potential antagonists include Russia, tech billionaires, the CIA, far right groups (and their TV talking-head sympathizers), and overzealous centrist politicians determined to have the political center hold power. There is enough suspense to keep the show moving along at a brisk pace, and in certain moments throughout, you’ll find yourself torn over who you want to be the bad guy. That ambiguity makes for a gripping plot and the show is a tight, taut, and satisfying thriller.

Paradise

While Zero Day could have been pulled directly from today’s headlines, Paradise (season one is now available on Hulu) is a near-future political thriller-slash-whodunnit in which a cataclysm threatens all of humanity. The response to that event serves as the backdrop against which the mystery unfolds. An excellent Sterling K. Brown plays a Secret Service agent who protects the president, played effectively by James Marsden as an amiable but charming “slacker” POTUS.  

A murder occurs early on and the rest of the season is spent slowly doling out the backstories of the cataclysm itself, the planned response, and the main characters, as well as the events leading up to the murder. The show runners do an exemplary job of laying out the story so that it continually builds tension, showing how we got to where. All of it culminates in an absolutely gripping episode 7, in which the cataclysm in question actually unfolds.

The show shines by leading us to see a little bit of ourselves in almost all of the protagonists and antagonists. These well-developed characters include among others a wealthy oligarch, a president with daddy issues, a former mercenary-turned-government agent, and a disgruntled construction foreman. Paradise is superb and well worth a viewing.

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Daredevil: Born Again

Finally, Daredevil: Born Again just started streaming on Disney+ as of the time of this writing, but the first two episodes are excellent. The show picks right up with the action, pathos, and stellar acting that made the first 2015-18 run of this iteration of Daredevil (on Netflix) such a hit. Charlie Cox returns in the title role of Matt Murdoch/Daredevil, as does Vincent D’Onofrio in his best role since Full Metal Jacket, as Daredevil’s nemesis, Wilson Fisk/Kingpin.   

Daredevil is faced with a moral crisis in the first episode and has all-but-hung-up his red costume, devil-horned mask, and fighting stick as the plot begins to unfold. Fisk, meanwhile, decides he is going to dominate New York City legally and legitimately this time, and runs for mayor. Questions of law and order, the legitimacy of vigilantism in the face of relentless crime, and the moral justification underpinning politics and crime-fighting appear to remain front and center.

The show has also stayed rooted in a Catholicism-inspired (given Murdoch’s upbringing) focus on sin and redemption. Thrown into the mix this time is also a public hungry for the “strong leadership” promised by Fisk in the absence of a Daredevil to keep crime under control.

Like Zero Day and Paradise, Daredevil: Born Again (so far) offers gripping TV rooted in solid acting, sophisticated writing, and a plot that not only entertains, but also shines a light on our times.

All three shows are worth a viewing.

Feature Image: Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, cheer while watching the Super Bowl in one of the ship’s gyms, Feb. 5. Marines and sailors aboard the USS Gunston Hall crammed into office spaces, lounge areas, gyms, the chow hall and anywhere else with a television to watch the Super Bowl while at sea. (Photo by Sgt. Richard Blumenstein/24th Marine Expeditionary Unit)

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