8 Best Movies to Watch From Legendary Television

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

Set in the Monsterverse—the same shared universe that King Kong, Godzilla, and their respective films inhabit—Skull Island follows a group of shipwrecked travelers who find themselves stranded on the mysterious titular island, which they soon find out is home to a variety of prehistoric creatures, including the mighty Kong.

Skull Island, the series, delivers wholesome relationships and touching character growth in the face of imminent danger, while also offering exciting action scenes, eye-popping visuals, and amusing jokes that are well-served by voice acting. It's an easy, fun watch that is sure to appeal to fans of the Monsterverse, as well as fans of animated adventure series. 

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Benjamin Bratt, Betty Gilpin, Darren Barnet, Mae Whitman, Nicolas Cantu

A true Cinderella story on TV if ever there was one, The Expanse went from the limited resources of Syfy for its first three seasons before receiving a massive boost in scale and ambition for its final three. But whether it was negotiating through political deals or engaging in dogfights in space, the series never lost sight of its sociopolitical foundations. Like the best sci-fi, The Expanse uses dense world-building and the idea of unexplained scientific phenomena to examine human nature. And in this case, humanity proves itself quick to draw lines in the sand and adhere to a hierarchy, as if colonization is something that needs to be expanded and reinforced when the universe opens up, rather than abolished. The Expanse is also notable for somehow still looking so good despite mostly being set in cold, metallic interiors and the colder emptiness of space. It's a great example of a show using its visual effects smartly, using spectacle ultimately to clear the way for its characters to take center stage. Some of these characters have rockier arcs than others or are given far less to work with, and the series' treatment of its final antagonist is too simplistic given how thoughtful its politics usually are. But there's more than enough interesting conflict among these characters' social and political differences to make watching them rewarding.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Science Fiction

Actor: Cara Gee, Dominique Tipper, Frankie Adams, Jasai Chase-Owens, Keon Alexander, Nadine Nicole, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Steven Strait, Wes Chatham

Rating: TV-14

In the multilingual Drops of God, French author Camille and Japanese sommelier Issei battle for a wine expert's multi-billion-dollar inheritance. Camille may be the expert’s daughter, gifted with an incredible sense of smell and taste, but Issei is the so-called “spiritual son,” the protégé who filled in Camille’s shoes upon her abrupt departure from her father’s life. Whoever wins a series of wine-related tests gets to keep the expert’s estate and continue his legacy.

Based on the Japanese manga of the same, Drops of God is strangely but enjoyably competitive as it plunges you deep into the complex world of wine—through intense competitions, we get a closer look at the drink's many layers, long history, and even its cultural connotations. This nice blend of knowledge and rivalry makes it a thrilling watch, but the show also has an unexpected but welcome family element to it that softens the edge a bit and gives it a sweet aftertaste. If you were ever looking for a smart but heartfelt show about wining and dining, this is it.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Azusa Okamoto, Cécile Bois, Diego Ribon, Fleur Geffrier, Gustave Kervern, Luca Terracciano, Makiko Watanabe, Margaux Chatelier, Satoshi Nikaido, Sophie Mousel, Tomohisa Yamashita

Rating: TV-MA

As is sometimes the case with multi-genre shows, Paper Girls starts off slow and gives us a lot to process at the onset. But if you give it some time, the eight-episode series delivers both on the sci-fi and drama fronts. Sure, it could benefit from a bigger CGI budget, but the world it imagines about timekeepers and time benders is inspired and intriguing, certainly worth exploring as much as we do the lore behind shows like Doctor Who and Loki. 

That said, the series is at its best when it centers on its mundane leads, the titular paper girls. The conversations they engage in and the epiphanies they have are gut-wrenching, not only because of their sentiment but also because of their truth. These 12-year-olds are confused and anxious and awkward and lonely—preteen girls on the brink of adolescence. The show doesn’t shy away from those qualities and parallels their volatility with sci-fi elements. The result is a nicely balanced story, equal parts thrilling and touching. It’s the perfect watch for people who enjoy fares like Back to the Future, E.T., and Stranger Things, which are themselves perfect blends of the sci-fi and coming-of-age genres. 

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Science Fiction

Actor: Adina Porter, Fina Strazza, Riley Lai Nelet, Sofia Rosinsky

Rating: TV-MA

There are two timelines in Monarch, one set in a post-war world where trio Bill (Anders Holm), Shaw (Wyatt Russell), and Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) look for monsters, and another set in 2015, where trio Cate, Kentaro (Ren Watabe), and May (Kiersey Clemons) look for Cate and Kentaro’s missing father. Both timelines are action-packed and mystery-filled, eventually intertwining in a surprising but thrilling way. But for all that’s happening, Monarch is weirdly missing the monsters. Godzilla, along with other creatures old and new, rarely appear, though when they do, they make sure to put on a spectacle you can’t look away from. The show could use a lot more of these monsters, though there’s much to like in the human cast too—especially in Shaw, whose present self is played by Russell’s father, the iconic Kurt Russell. The decision to cast them in this role is more than inspired, it’s downright entertaining. Not only do they look alike, but they have the same mannerisms and charismatic flairs, though both actors make sure to inflect the character with their own specific charms. Seeing their interpretation of Shaw is reason enough to watch this series, but everything else is pretty epic too.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Anders Holm, Anna Sawai, Elisa Lasowski, Joe Tippett, Kiersey Clemons, Kurt Russell, Mari Yamamoto, Ren Watabe, Wyatt Russell

Rating: TV-14