5 breakout TV shows in 2016
The Golden Age of TV is still here, and it doesn’t look like it’s coming to an end anytime soon. With television becoming more diverse with shows like “black-ish,” “Orange is the New Black” and “Fresh off the Boat,” and more and more streaming services creating original series, the competition is stiffer than ever. Here are five breakout shows in 2016 that caught our attention.
“Atlanta”: FX’s “Atlanta” might epitomize the recent “sadcom” trend on TV. Earnest, also known as Earn, is a dark turn for Donald Glover of “Community” fame. Glover plays a Princeton dropout who’s so broke he has to live with his ex-girlfriend -- he can’t even afford an adult-sized value meal at a local fast food restaurant. But things seem to take a turn when Earn teams up with his cousin, whose rap career is taking off.
“Westworld”: Twists abound in this futuristic HBO sci-fi thriller about a western theme park and its visitors and android inhabitants. Viewers couldn’t get enough of Westworld’s full-time residents, like homesteader Dolores, played by Evan Rachel Wood, and brothel madam Maeve, played by Thandie Newton, who are perhaps getting too smart for their own good. The HBO show did so well that its first season even beat out “Game of Thrones” season 1 in viewership.
“This is Us”: This NBC drama takes viewers back and forth between different times and generations as it examines the Pearson family, which includes twins Kevin and Kate and their adopted brother Randall. The show follows the Pearsons as they struggle through love, body issues, addiction problems and naturally, family matters.
“People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”: The O.J. Simpson trial captivated America in the 1990s, and so did this 2016 FX drama about the trial. Sarah Paulson won an Emmy for playing iconic prosecutor Marcia Clark, as did Courtney B. Vance for playing the perhaps even more iconic Johnny Cochran and Sterling K. Brown for playing Clark’s colleague, Christopher Darden. The star-studded cast also included Cuba Gooding Jr., John Travolta, David Schwimmer, Jordana Brewster, Selma Blair and Connie Britton.
“Stranger Things”: This hit Netflix show was a throwback in so many way: It paid homage to ’80s movies like “E.T.” and “The Goonies,” down to the dirt bikes and bullies and it was also a huge comeback for ’80s and ’90s star Winona Ryder, who played Joyce Bayers, the mother of missing boy, Will. In the midst of the search for Will, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, his friends meet Eleven, a strange young girl with supernatural abilities.
