Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh in a scene from Killing Eve.
Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh in a scene from Killing Eve.
The summer music festival season is over, the evening BBQs are being packed away and winter is kicking in - so there's never been a better time for a TV binge.
Call it luck, or smart TV scheduling, but either way, the five best TV shows of the year, the ones that will end up on everyone's best-of lists come December, appear to be screening right now.
There's one catch: many of them are screening in weekly instalments, which means there's no bingeing allowed - unless you can wait until they're all available.
Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh in a scene from Killing Eve.
Why should you watch this? Because Sandra Oh is amazing. The Grey's Anatomy star has been away from the small screen for far too long but she's back in a big way in this cat-and-mouse serial killer drama that contains all the comical quirk you'd expect from Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Where you can watch it: The first three episodes are available via TVNZ OnDemand.
Atlanta
Why should you watch this? Because Donald Glover's hazy gaze at life in his hometown has taken a very dark twist in season two. There have been muggings, murders, masks and in one crazy extended episode, a Michael Jackson homage. Add in Lakeith Stanfield and the best soundtrack since Silicon Valley, there's nothing else like it on TV.
Why should you watch this? With all the fuss surrounding other shows on this list, Ridley Scott's ice-capade The Terror slipped away from us. Grab it back with both hands, because this stunner - from AMC, the network that delivered Breaking Bad - is a horror show that plays out on ice. It follows two ships charting their way through the Northern Passage in the 1840s. The crew gets trapped, then they get hunted. It's like Aliens in the Arctic, and it's incredible.
Where you can watch it: Streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
The Handmaid's Tale
Why should you watch this? Elisabeth Moss, obviously. Right now, on TV, who's better than her? But also because after the brutal opening episode of season two, which crams in an entire season's worth of tension into one harrowing hour, it's all anyone's going to be talking about. We've seen it, we had to watch it through our fingertips, and we're still recovering. Buckle in: we're told it only gets bleaker from there.
Where you can watch it: The first two episodes screen this Thursday on Lightbox from 7pm; weekly episodes land after that.
First Dates NZ
Why should you watch this? Because everyone needs a few lazy laughs between their high-concept dramas, that's why. If you've made it through an episode of The Handmaid's Tale or The Terror, you're going to need some light relief. First Dates NZ delivers plenty of that. Be warned: there's a cringe factor at play. You'll either end each episode cooing about a couple's loved-up first moments together, or you'll be pacing the room out of sheer awkwardness. What other show can have that dual affect on you?
Where you can watch it: It screens on TVNZ 2 on Thursday nights, but episodes are also available via TVNZ on Demand.
