The Fall of the House of Usher
Mike Flanagan is well known for his amazing horror-themed shows on Netflix and this may be his best. It opens with the rich and powerful Usher family having lost almost all their children in bizarre accidents. The father (Bruce Greenwood) shares the story of how it happened with each episode focusing on a different child and modernizing the works of Edgar Allen Poe. They involve some nice satire and some brutal deaths.
Carla Gugino is captivating as the mysterious (perhaps demonic) woman involved in the family’s fall and Mark Hamill plays against type as a corrupt lawyer. Each episode unfolds brilliantly with nice storytelling before the epic finale. Any fan of Poe would enjoy this modern take on the master’s dark tales with a wonderful cast.
The Fall of the House of Usher is streaming on Netflix
True Blood
It’s not for the faint of heart, but if any show is a must for adults who love supernatural series, then HBO’s long-running hit is it. The backstory is vampires have revealed themselves to the world and are trying to integrate into society with synthetic blood to feed on. In a small Louisiana town, telepath Sookie (Anna Paquin) is soon pulled into a twisted romance with vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) that’s one of the hottest romances on TV.
The show gets crazier every year with werewolves, witches, ghosts, fairies, and anything else under the moon showing up. The cast is great, especially Alexander Skarsgard as vampire Eric, who becomes part of the love triangle. The later seasons may falter, yet the dark comedy, thrills, beyond-steamy romances, and wonderful cast make for one of HBO’s best-ever series.
True Blood is streaming on Max