We're moving back into the realm of entertainment for today's edition of The Female First Awards, celebrating some of the best television shows of the year and crowning our ultimate favourite from the past 12 months! If you've not seen the entries listed here, what are you waiting for?! And if you have, we're sure you can agree they deserve their spot on our list...
Nominee: When They See Us
Created, co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay, When They See Us is the critically-acclaimed Netflix original series based on the events of the 1989 Central Park five - young, black male suspects who were wrongly prosecuted on charges relating to the rape and assault of a woman in Central Park, New York City.
Told in just four parts, the creative team behind the series had to pull out all of the stops to tell the story they wanted to present on screen, and fortunately they went above and beyond all expectations. Combine that with the incredible performances of a cast that embodied as close to the real thing as one could imagine, and you have one of the most impactful and important, topical shows of 2019.
Nominee: Russian Doll
Another Netflix original series here, this time told in bite-sized episodes as one woman (played expertly by Natasha Lyonne) relives the same night over and over, resulting in her death by various means at the end of each. Refusing to allow the universe to "f**k with" her, she goes on a journey of self discovery and eventually comes into contact with somebody else who is going through the same experience.
Lyonne also serves as a creator on the series, working alongside Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, and the first season was such a huge success that Netflix decided to renew the series for a second outing. It's going to be very interesting to see where things go after the dramatic finale; let's just hope the writers can continue to weave comedy and slick humour throughout their storytelling, because right now, it's sheer perfection!
Nominee: Watchmen
Damon Lindelof has created something truly magical, with the arrival of Watchmen on the small screen. The HBO series is based on the graphic novel of the same name, and takes audiences on a journey into an alternate history, where those who are deemed "superheroes" are treated as outlaws, rather than being lauded for their powers and abilities.
Twists and turns have been waiting around every corner and, although the series still hasn't reached its Season 1 conclusion, we're willing to go out on a limb and say it's one of the very best TV shows that 2019 has offered up.
Nominee: Years and Years
If you're afraid of looking too far ahead into the future, then perhaps steer clear of Years and Years! Sure, the fictional series hasn't got 100% grounding in truth, but the scenarios we see play out from the earliest days shown (that of the modern era) up to the scenes we see taking place in the future, could very much one day become a thing of reality.
Smart writing, characters that have clearly been based off of real-life personalities, and expert performances from an all-star cast including Emma Thompson and Russell Tovey, made Years and Years a real treat to watch. With society changing faster than ever before, both in real life and the series, the dramatic episodes made us all hold our family and friends a little closer, hoping that the madness that took over in this fictional version of reality will never truly see the light of day.
Nominee: Chernobyl
Based on the real-life events that saw the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Soviet Union explode on April 26th, 1986, Chernobyl dramatises the story behind the accident, including the events that led up to the disaster, and sacrifices which were made to save Europe from total devastation.
Creator Craig Mazin did a brilliant job of evoking emotion and surprise from his audience, with the likes of Jessie Buckley, Emily Watson, Jared Harris and other big names giving an A-class performance. Upon its release, there wasn't a single water cooler across the country that didn't play host to conversation surrounding the series, and for good reason!
And the winner is...
Chernobyl! The impact made by the series was unlike anything we've witnessed, with pro-Kremlin media in Russia coming out in force to slam the show for its portrayal and claims that Russian authorities had a hand in covering up the atrocities of the tragedy. Sounds like a win to us!
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