'Enlightened' is not particularly easy to get into, which may be the reason for it not being discussed more often as a great show. I felt it flew a bit under the radar, but as I watched both of its seasons I realised that's not due to its quality.
It took some guts for the writers to focus an entire show on a completely unlikable person such as Amy Jellicoe. 'The Sopranos' have a mob boss as the protagonist, 'Mad Men' a habitual adulterer, 'The Wire' focuses on gangsters and equally morally bankrupt policemen, politicians, etc., and Dexter is centred around a serial-killer, but all those shows manage to create sympathy for their protagonists by showing them as very flawed in certain aspects yet also very likable in others. We root for Dexter Morgan, Tony Soprano or Don Draper, but find little to create sympathy or empathy with Enlightened's egotistical, annoying, and narcissistic protagonist. It's a gamble, but one that pays off, I feel.
Very few other shows manage to create such a good balance between comedy and drama, and portray a character as honestly without over-dramatising the bad nor the good sides. At its best 'Enlightened' is a spot-on character study of somebody you would never want to meet, that tells you a bit more about human nature. At its worst it still manages to be very entertaining, funny, as well as well-produced, superbly acted and fluidly paced.
I, for one, like the first season a bit more, as I felt the 2nd season suffered from focusing on the plot too much, which left the characterisation a bit under-developed in season 2. Nonetheless, even that was very good television with moments that bordered on brilliance.
It's a shame HBO canceled it, as I thought it was among the best shows on television alongside the still-running 'Mad Men' and 'Boardwalk Empire'.
It took some guts for the writers to focus an entire show on a completely unlikable person such as Amy Jellicoe. 'The Sopranos' have a mob boss as the protagonist, 'Mad Men' a habitual adulterer, 'The Wire' focuses on gangsters and equally morally bankrupt policemen, politicians, etc., and Dexter is centred around a serial-killer, but all those shows manage to create sympathy for their protagonists by showing them as very flawed in certain aspects yet also very likable in others. We root for Dexter Morgan, Tony Soprano or Don Draper, but find little to create sympathy or empathy with Enlightened's egotistical, annoying, and narcissistic protagonist. It's a gamble, but one that pays off, I feel.
Very few other shows manage to create such a good balance between comedy and drama, and portray a character as honestly without over-dramatising the bad nor the good sides. At its best 'Enlightened' is a spot-on character study of somebody you would never want to meet, that tells you a bit more about human nature. At its worst it still manages to be very entertaining, funny, as well as well-produced, superbly acted and fluidly paced.
I, for one, like the first season a bit more, as I felt the 2nd season suffered from focusing on the plot too much, which left the characterisation a bit under-developed in season 2. Nonetheless, even that was very good television with moments that bordered on brilliance.
It's a shame HBO canceled it, as I thought it was among the best shows on television alongside the still-running 'Mad Men' and 'Boardwalk Empire'.