6. The Man in the High Castle
And the award for most unsettling opening credits theme song goes to The Man in the High Castle. A show that does not flinch from the claustrophobic menace of its premise (Japan and Nazi Germany won the Second World War, fascism rains supreme) the Amazon Prime series is at its best when it reveals the consequences of its world on its characters.
Amazon screwed the pooch on this one a little, dumping it on their streaming service the same weekend Netflix released the fantastic Jessica Jones. Still, The Man in the High Castle is a compelling slow burn of a series that enjoys making you feel just how scary and real its world could have been. The series centres on Juliana Crain, whose sister drags her into the world of the anti-fascist resistance and a quest to find the mysterious Man in the High Castle.
There’s also a Nazi spy trying to infiltrate the resistance, and Juliana’s boyfriend Frank, who’s dragged through some pretty dark crap right from the start. Alexa Davalos gives a solid performance as Juliana, gradually becoming less assimilated to Japanese culture and slowly sliding into the resistance. The whole thing will give you goosebumps if you let it.
5. Daredevil
It’s easy to forget how much was riding on Daredevil when it landed on Netflix this past spring. Could it take Netflix to the next level as a platform for original content? Would it prove Marvel Studios capable of delivering genuinely bingeable television? Could the series escape the unpleasant taste of its previous, Ben Affleck starring incarnation?
The answer to all three, somehow, was yes. A crime saga pitting the wills of two relentless men against each other, Daredevil was in many ways Marvel’s answer to The Dark Knight. In fact it manages to hit this gritty tone better even than The Dark Knight‘s own sequel.
Charlie Cox is Matt Murdock by day and Daredevil by night, delivering a stellar performance of a man at war with himself as well as organised crime. Vincent D’Onofrio as crimelord Wilson Fisk was probably the best villain of the year, until being upstaged by Jessica Jones‘ Kilgrave. With outstanding fight scenes, compelling characters and ever rising stakes, Daredevil proved Marvel could do prestige television.
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