In
spring 2013, HBO conducted a sly experiment on the “elite” TV-viewing
public. It aired two new shows – both buddy dramas – back to back. Each
was conceived as a short, self-contained season. Each had a single
talented and idiosyncratic director for the entire season, and each
dispensed with the convention of having a large team of writers in
favour of a unified authorial vision. Both shows appeared to belong to
one genre, but gestured at several others. Both used excellent actors to
anchor a meandering, semi-disciplined style. And both ended by
reasserting the romantic bonds of friendship. Those shows were True
Detective, and Doll and Em.
Their critical reception was drastically different. One was analysed
and investigated to the point of parody. The other show – a much tighter
work of art – was breezily and inaccurately labeled a “satire” and
forgotten. To be explicit, the show about boys got way too much credit,
and the show about girls got way too little.
Source: Theguardian
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