The current state of the “show of the summer” competition
Stranger Things — Credit: Netflix
The summer season of TV is still ongoing, but what’s the current state of the “show of the summer” competition?
Back in May, I went through the most anticipated TV shows and considered what would be the “show of the summer.” I narrowed it down to five options: Black Mirror, The Handmaid’s Tale, Succession, Stranger Things and Big Little Lies. The one option I didn’t consider that may now have a case is HBO’s Euphoria.
As all-powerful judge, I’ve been looking for the show that is both received well by critics and audiences AND generates significant attention and conversation.
The summer isn’t over yet so it’s too early to declare a winner, but it’s worth checking in on the state of the race thus far. Among the five shows I initially considered, only Black Mirror and Stranger Things have released all episodes of their new seasons. Handmaid’s has four episodes remaining, Big Little Lies has one, and Succession’s season doesn’t begin until August 12th (Euphoria has three episodes remaining).
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Black Mirror
I thought it “would win” due to the creativity and sophistication of every episode, along with the inclusion of stars like Miley Cyrus and Anthony Mackie. I thought it “wouldn’t win” due to there only being three episodes and the likelihood that some of the stand-alone stories would be received better than others.
What’s happened: As far as I could find, Netflix didn’t release any viewership numbers for Black Mirror’s latest season, so it’s difficult to judge it from that perspective. Per Rotten Tomatoes, season five was the worst received of all the seasons.
Rotten Tomatoes Scores:
Season 1: Tomatometer 97%, Audience score 93%
Season 2: Tomatometer 87%, Audience score 93%
Season 3: Tomatometer 86%, Audience score 92%
Season 4: Tomatometer 85%, Audience score 82%
Season 5: Tomatometer 67%, Audience score N/A
Takeaway: Even if it was received really well, the three episode, stand-alone story format was unlikely to make it the “show of the summer.” Black Mirror is a great TV show, but it probably doesn’t deserve the championship belt.