We live in the digital revolution. It’s easier than ever to check out the latest groundbreaking television without even having to look at a television.
IBIS World estimates that video streaming has become a $60 billion industry today. Whether you watch shows on your TV, mobile device, or laptop, there’s no shortage of options today. However, there are some cult classics that were around pre-streaming that you would do well to acquaint yourself with.
Below are some of the best TV shows that you’ve probably never seen.
Tell Me You Love Me
Tell Me You Love Me was released over a decade ago and provided an incredibly fresh take on relationships.
It follows three couples – an older couple struggling with sexless marriage, a 30’s couple having trouble conceiving, and a younger couple dealing with commitment and infidelity issues.
They all visit a therapist to discuss their relationships, and the viewer gets a glimpse of the therapist’s marriage and how she reconciles with what she learns about relationships from her clients.
As much as anything, the show is an example of how quickly media has changed. Tell Me You Love me had a short run on HBO, so fans had to grab the DVD box set. Streaming is now in full swing, so years later, you can finally watch it on HBO Max.
Watching the presentation of the show will make you realize how much the world has changed since 2007. The show was pre-iPhone, media is now largely consumed on mobile apps, and many people find love on dating apps. A plethora of entertainment is moving online. Even casinos are largely moving to online spaces in order to offer a more convenient gaming experiences without having to leave the house. One of these examples is the New Jersey PlayStar casino.
When you watch Tell Me You Love Me today, you’ll probably reflect on how certain relationship issues are as prevalent now as ever, while marveling at one of the last glimpses of pre-social media relationships. Sit down with your significant other to watch the first season and talk about each episode.
The Knick
If you love medical dramas and period pieces, you get the best of both worlds with The Knick. This show originally debuted on Cinemax in 2014. It’s a drama set in New York City at the turn of the 20th century.
Clive Owen plays a doctor in charge of the medical staff at a renowned hospital. Not only does he contend with the medical challenges of the day, but the show also touches on societal issues that people in 1900 in New York lived through.
It’s an intriguing period in history, and one that doesn’t often get the same examination or attention that other time periods receive.
For context, the show is set 19 years before the first Miss America pageant was held some miles down the Garden State Parkway in Atlantic City, 21 years before the city built its first casinos, and nearly a century before the existence of online versions. The storylines in the show serve as a reminder of just how far society has evolved and progressed.
There are storylines that discuss racial discrimination, women’s reproductive health, poverty, bureaucracy, and so much more. The show is loosely based on the real-life Knickerbocker Hospital. The National Library of Medicine has records of the Knickerbocker Hospital holding several conferences where groundbreaking medical advancements were discussed, prior to the hospital closing in 1979.
Hello Ladies
If you’re ready to see a show that takes the cringe-worthiness of Curb Your Enthusiasm and mixes it with the existential angst of a lonely single man, Hello Ladies deserves your attention this weekend.
The show centers around Stuart, a man from the UK who moved to Los Angeles and goes above and beyond to find the love of his life. He crashes and burns nearly every step of the way. The show is a hilarious gut punch that’s guaranteed to make you think about life.
Queue up whichever of these timeless suits your interests, and you won’t be disappointed.
