The first season of The Pitt. The second season of Severance. The third season of The White Lotus. The fourth season of Abbott Elementary.
By pure happenstance, the concurrence of these four dissimilar series, all reaching their own echelons of creativity and communal reach at different points in their lifecycle, have ushered in a mini golden age of television.
Unlike the most recently documented golden age which was thematically focused on the anti-hero and was ushered in with The Sopranos, peaked with Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and seemingly died with the betrayal that was the series finale of Game of Thrones, this mini-golden age is unique in its disparate and seemingly organic nature.
All four shows are revivals of previously successful sub-genres: the medical drama with The Pitt, the puzzle-box serial with Severance, the satirical nighttime soap opera with The White Lotus, and the fake-documentary sitcom with Abbott Elementary. But they work not only because of their reverent adherence to their generic tropes, but also because of their social-political context that taps into the fears or foibles or our chaotic and divisive age.
The Pitt posits a system and populace hopelessly broken, yet still filled with consummate professionals (who yes, break down, too) who rise to the intimately individual moments of chaos and horror with grit and kindness in the face of life and death decisions. It’s a comfort show in an age of madness. We would all be so lucky to land on our worst day in the ER of The Pitt where everyday heroes have an opportunity to be their best.
Severance, meanwhile, basks in retro-fascism, blurring corporate and cultish malfeasance in its twisted tale of cogs within the machine rallying against their oppressors. It creaks along –like our real world – surreal, dark, angry and painfully repetitive and cyclical.
On The White Lotus, creator Mike White continues his expose of white privilege in exotic locales, satirizing the ultra-rich while marginalizing the marginalized seemingly there only to serve them, or if lucky, finding ways to improve their status through blackmail or violence. Money will always talk, but so, too, will other deviant ways. White taps into the suspense of wondering just how weird or bad it could get when awful people play childish games with adult consequences.
Abbott Elementary, meanwhile, continues to chug along, showcasing joyous and creative ways to meet the needs of a neglected community. It celebrates teachers and students…and an entrepreneur principal who breaks all the rules. No matter what systemic mechanism keeps the funds and resources from the school, those working there find a way. It’s also funny as hell without ever being mean.
These four shows work because they allow us to be seen while still working within the comforts of tried-and-true familiarity. They reflect where we are now, showing the forces of the world at their worst pitted against a resilient subgroup striving to be their best. We need this kind of entertainment to avoid screaming into the void. It’s comfort food in a dark, dark age.
The Schleicher Spin 