One odd consequence of Disney’s massive purchase of Fox was getting control of FX — one of the most consistently interesting and appealing channels out there, marrying premium cable quality with a slightly edgier, punkier energy. As a relatively small potato in the Disney bag, FX has never quite seemed to find a home, existing in its own little streaming corner of Hulu. But that also comes with some perks, since FX has a lot more liberty to take creative swings on original content than other, flashier properties. In other words, FX is a channel worth paying attention to.
Here are nine FX shows worth your time.
The Bear
The second season of The Bear just dropped, and the Internet can’t stop talking about it — for good reasons. The hit show is many things. It’s a definitive Chicago show. It captures the weird energy of Millennial work. It’s a show about the restaurant industry, its many rewards and crises. But mostly, it’s a show about people who probably wouldn’t be friends if they weren’t working together learning to be a family.
Reservation Dogs
This comedy thrives on off-kilter energy, depicting the friendship of four Indigenous teenagers trying hatch a criminal empire to make enough money to escape rural Oklahoma. Taika Waititi’s involvement ensures the wry wit, but what you don’t see coming are the occasional moments of surrealism.
Under the Banner of Heaven
Andrew Garfield’s first small screen appearance is one-part true crime procedural, one-part examination of the history of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Adapting Jon Krakauer’s 2003 book for a TV series was no mean feat, but Garfield carries the complex series squarely on his shoulders.
What We Do in the Shadows
Another Waititi godchild, this show faced the uphill climb on adapting a beloved cult movie into a television series. What might have seemed like a needless cash grab at the time has proved incredibly rewarding, with the serialized mockumentary about vampire roommates and their human servants providing some of the most reliable laughs on television.
The Old Man
Jeff Bridges turns in yet another magnetic performance in a career full of them, transforming what could be a standard spy thriller into a gripping meditation on age, loss and evil. The Dude abides, yes. But this Dude also survives.
Atlanta
This show hardly needs any more press than it’s already gotten, but Atlanta remains one of the strangest and surest bets on television, exploring both the outer and interior worlds of its remarkable cast. You never quite know what you’re going to get with an episode of Atlanta, be it another chapter in Earn and Paper Boi’s quest to make it in the music industry, a bizarre talkshow or a parable about white savior-ism in the adoption world.
Devs
Nick Offerman as a mysterious tech guru. Sonoya Mizuno as the girlfriend of one of his employees. And a very eerie project that nobody wants to talk about. Devs is the creation of Alex Garland, the guy behind sci-fi twisters like Ex Machina, Men and Annihilation and it carries the slightly creepy vibes of those movies, but with even more ambitious themes.
Fargo
Like What We Do in the Shadows, Fargo faced the unenviable task of turning a beloved movie into a series that wouldn’t just disappoint all the fans. Fortunately, the show had a secret weapon in creator Noah Hawley, who understood the moral universe Joel and Ethan Cohen inhabited for their classic and found interesting ways to play within that world without being derivative.
The Patient
Steve Carell is back in a dark and twisted new role as a therapist who is held captive by a serial killer. The Patient is a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. With its sharp writing, complex characters, and stellar performances, The Patient is a must-watch for fans of psychological thrillers and Steve Carell alike.
