Mr. Robot (2015-9)

Mr Robot was a little inconsistent in the middle two seasons, but the final season delivered a highly satisfying ending. Even when the story line got a bit too confusing, the show could still drop a powerful, cathartic, euphoric episode. It started out as an avant garde show about hacktivism, a thematically relevant topic for our times. But the show became much more than that. At its heart it was an introspective character study of a troubled man dealing with mental illness. It delivered twists abound, even at the end when you thought this was it. The music supervisor nailed it every episode. The cinematography created the most stylish stills on cable. Sam Esmail's extraordinary vision was brought to life by a brilliant Rami Malek, one of the only Middle Eastern leading men on TV. Some notable episiodes:

• eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko when Elliot contemplates suicide
• eps3.4_runtime-error.r00 is the single shot episode
• 407 Proxy Authentication Required is the 5 acts theatrical drama

Confirmation (2016)

HBO continues to make dramas of our recent political history, following Recount and Game Change. As always, HBO attracts an all-star ensemble cast that is given plenty of room to shine. Kerry Washington brilliantly plays Anita Hill. She is smart and calm in the face of unimaginable adversity. This is accentuated by juxtaposing her with Jennifer Hudson's more fiery Angela Wright. Wendell Pierce from Treme is angry and defensive as Clarence Thomas.

The film makes a lot of use of actual news footage. It gives the film more authenticity. It gives the viewer insight into what people were thinking at the time, while also portraying a perspective in the film with hindsight. The film takes a pretty negative stance on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the hearings. Particularly, Senator Biden comes off rather weak. But ultimately the film is about Anita Hill. It is about female empowerment. It is about confronting sexual harassment. And it does all these things quite well.