540 Best TV-MA Movies to Watch (Page 7)

The simple premise of this series, about real couples going to therapy, shouldn’t feel as revolutionary as it does. And yet, Couples Therapy feels like radical reality-TV, a focused and coherent undertaking.

Couples of different histories, ages, races, and sexual orientations walk into Dr. Orna Guralnik’s New York office. Their problems are as diverse and unique as they are, but there is also a painful universality to them. Couples Therapy becomes a portrayal of human partnership period, a TV show in which to see oneself at times and to learn from the different webs couples get tangled in over time.

Never before has reality TV been the best vehicle to portray something so serious.

Genre: Documentary

Rating: TV-MA

This underrated, semi-autobiographical series follows Abby (Abby McEnany), a queer person struggling with OCD and depression. She navigates life's ups and downs with humor that is both offbeat and sympathetic, but things quickly take a turn for the romantic when Abby's sister sets her up with Chris, a trans man 20 years her junior. 

Relatable, hilarious, and frank, the miniseries is a tender gem of a show. It's also effortlessly relevant, which checks out: creator and star Abby McEnany mines inspiration from her own experience as a queer artist, while executive producer Lilly Wachowski (The Matrix) reportedly made a big push for authentic trans representation.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Abby McEnany, Celeste Pechous, Julia Sweeney, Karin Anglin, Theo Germaine

Rating: TV-MA

The incredible script for this Hulu-produced series comes courtesy of Lawrence Wright, who wrote the Pulitzer-winning book the series is based on, and Dan Futterman, the Oscar-nominated writer who gave us Capote. It is an eye-opening, semi-fictional account of how the CIA and the FBI took conflicting approaches to counteract Al-Qaeda in the lead-up to 9/11, withholding information from each other, and obstructing a unified strategy to combat terror. The disagreements between the two security services are numerous and the relationship between their staff is hostile. At the top, Jeff Daniels plays John O'Neill, the seasoned head of the FBI's Counterterrorism Center, while Peter Sarsgaard stars as Martin Schmidt, the chief of the CIA's respective facility, who are both amazing. Then there's Ali Soufan, played by Tahar Rahim, who is one of only handful FBI agents who speak Arabic back in 1998, just three years before the Towers fell. With all this testosterone flying about, the women in this show are marginalized to the fairly weak romantic storylines, but other than that the series gets a lot of stuff right. Writing, acting, and action are on point and make The Looming Tower a gripping as well as insightful watch.

Genre: Drama, Thriller, War & Politics

Actor: Alec Baldwin, Annie Parisse, Bill Camp, Jeff Daniels, Louis Cancelmi, Michael Stuhlbarg, Peter Sarsgaard, Tahar Rahim, Virginia Kull, Wrenn Schmidt

Director: Alex Gibney, Ali Selim, Craig Zisk, John Dahl, Michael Slovis

Rating: TV-MA

With true crime hitting an all-time high, and Making a Murderer making millions, here comes Netflix's The Keepers. However, while the two shows share a common genre and general tone of voice, The Keepers is a much more interesting show. For one, it focuses on the victims and their stories, instead of the grisly perpetrators. Second, it trades cliffhangers for substance without compromising on breathtaking twists and revelations. Across seven taut episodes, it meticulously examines the unsolved murder of Catherine Cesnik, a Baltimore nun in 1969, who is suspected of being murdered to cover up sexual abuse at the Catholic high school she taught at. Adroitly edited, beautifully shot, and featuring great music by Blake Neely, The Keepers unfolds a horrific tale and emphatically captures the pain still lingering on five decades later.

Genre: Crime, Documentary, Mystery

Actor: Abbie Schaub, Gemma Hoskins, Jean Hargadon Wehner, Tom Nugent, Virginia Anzengruber

Director: Ryan White

Rating: TV-MA

Based on Gillian Flynn's 2006 debut novel, the two actors are showcased by director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club). Amy Adams stars as the troubled crime reporter Camille Preaker, who investigates a serial murder in her hometown after a stint at a psychiatric hospital. The second female lead is Patricia Clarkson, who stars as Camille's oppressive mother, a small-town socialite. Uncovering the mystery of the city of Wind Gap, anti-hero Camille must delve into the town's gruesome history well as that of her own family, while also confronting her trauma and self-harming behavior. This three-pronged plot and great acting makes for a tense thriller drama. A slow-burner without being slow—grim and disturbing—and one that also packs a lot of insight into the ramifications of abuse.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Amy Adams, Chris Messina, David Sullivan, Eliza Scanlen, Elizabeth Perkins, Henry Czerny, Lulu Wilson, Madison Davenport, Matt Craven, Miguel Sandoval, Patricia Clarkson, Sophia Lillis, Sydney Sweeney, Taylor John Smith, Violet Brinson

Rating: TV-MA

Sixteen-year-old Rae Earl struggles with many things, among them: severe mental illness, a distorted body image, and less-than-ideal home life. In an attempt to redefine herself and pursue the teenage dream she’s always wanted, she reconnects with her estranged friend Chloe and the cool new people she’s met in Rae’s absence. As Rae gets to know this group more, she embarks on a coming-of-age journey that is, at turns, hilarious, awkward, and painfully real. Set in ‘90s-era UK and scored to the unbeatable, headbanging tunes of English rock, My Mad Fat Diary is also an effective throwback of a show. It’s sure to be nostalgic to those who grew up in that era, while also doubling as a finely-aged portrait of a simpler time to the rest of us. Elevated, too, by diary doodles come to life and Rae's unflinching witticisms, the series is a gem for anyone who has struggled to come to terms with their teenage self.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Ciara Baxendale, Claire Rushbrook, Dan Cohen, Darren Evans, Ian Hart, Jodie Comer, Nico Mirallegro, Sharon Rooney

Rating: TV-MA

Regardless of being gay or straight in the 80s, AIDS has irrevocably shifted America in ways it long refused to acknowledge. The six New Yorkers at the center of Angels in America have their lives completely shifted due to the disease, but the way Tony Kushner weaves the disease into various social and religious concerns of the end of the 21st century, and the way director Mike Nichols translates Kushner’s brilliant play into a moving, yet comedic near six-hour miniseries proves how intrinsically linked these irrevocable shifts– the grief, the pain, and the need for hope– has been to the bittersweet progress America has made and has yet to make.

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Al Pacino, Ben Shenkman, Brian Markinson, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, Justin Kirk, Mary-Louise Parker, Meryl Streep, Patrick Wilson

Rating: TV-MA

When a girls soccer team is left stranded in the wilderness, things quickly descend from worrisome to outright, delightful, and sometimes unbearably weird. It’s a classic tale of survival injected with fresh mystery and drama, and as you watch these girls navigate humanity in all its extremes—from the primal urge to live to the existential need to bond—you’re left feeling both wildly entertained and deeply disturbed all at once. 

Though Yellowjackets has drawn comparisons to beloved stories like Lost and Lord of the Flies, its unique pulse on the female experience is arguably its own thing: a sure and instant classic in the making. 

Genre: Drama, History, Horror, Mystery

Actor: Christina Ricci, Ella Purnell, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, Sammi Hanratty, Sophie Nélisse, Sophie Thatcher, Steven Krueger, Tawny Cypress, Warren Kole

Rating: TV-MA

In Years and Years, showrunner Russel T Davies (Doctor Who) takes our worst fears in 2019 and makes us live through them in shocking detail through the Lyons family, a likable and relatable bunch who bond through the joys and horrors of a quickly changing nation. It amplifies heated issues like the growing conservatism in the UK and the threat of world war ignited by China and the US, as well as global warming, depleting species, and our growing reliance on AI and tech. As one review puts it, Years and Years feels very much like Black Mirror, but with more heart and hope. It’s both fascinating and frightening, especially since the predictions Davies makes aren’t too far off from the unstable reality we’re living in now.

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, War & Politics

Actor: Anne Reid, Emma Thompson, Jessica Hynes, Lydia West, Maxim Baldry, Rory Kinnear, Russell Tovey, Ruth Madeley, T'Nia Miller

Rating: TV-MA