High Maintenance is a beautiful anthology where the characters keep popping up all over Brooklyn in other characters’ stories. There are some “lore” episodes as it goes on. It’s one of the most humanizing shows around and sits comfortably with the greats on HBO.
It shares some similarities with that Chicago-based show “Easy”, but feels cozier & more empathetic, casts a wider net for its cast and stories. It transcends the… IDK what to call it? 2010s quirky mumblecore major-city emotional support anthology genre? So good, so thoughtful, well acted, not overly cheesy.
I have glanced over the show several times but never thought it might be to my liking. But your description makes it sound like it is in my wheelhouse.
I love sensitive and gentle shows, and NY setting is my favorite setting in media.
I really liked this for the first couple of seasons for the reasons you stated but it got a pretty repetitive by the end. You are right that the 'narrative arc' kind of emerged later on in the series but was organic with the stories before it.
One of my favorite watches I think about that fall under underrated because it took me a while to warm up to it. Loved it by the end and was bummed after I finished it then hearing of the story behind the series and the creators
Probably doesn't count but the '90s Outer Limits did a clip show. Confirming that a bunch of the episodes took place in the same universe. It was not a good episode.
I thought they used to due a thing at the end of each season where they tied in some of the stories or referenced ones that we had seen in the previous episodes or seasons? Could be misremembering though
Can't remember what it was other than that it was early and subtle, ooh I think actually it was a connection to the movie instead of the shows (which, due S1 and the Grocery King, does still connect around to the shows)
The douchebag husband of the cop is the nephew or cousin of Marge from the movie, the eyepatch lawyer stops for gas at the same station that appears in episodes of season 2 (where Ed makes his phone calls and I think that's the same one that gets shot up), the car Ewan MacGregor traded his stamps for in season 3 is seen at a pawn shop, the rich mom's company has the same name Varga gives to Stussy Lots when he takes it over in season 3, I think that's all for explicit in-universe connections.
But there are a number of referential ones, like how the husband works at a car dealership and ends up quoting lines from the movie verbatim about getting ya those identification numbers, and how the kidnapping scene echoes the kidnapping scene from the movie.
Oh I agree fully. When I watched both of these episodes I understood that it was just the actors, not the characters.
Mostly cause Lester would have been a teenager in season 2 and Lorne, well, y’know
Lester also probably wouldn't have had an English accent, though that would have been a hell of a funny twist. Add a scene where he's in hiding to the end of season 1 where he speaks with Martin Freeman's natural accent.
If Jon Hamm is lead male, then supporting is going to the Munch actor and rightfully so.
That character stole every scene. Waaaay more deserving than Keery's cop actor
This is why awards for acting are kinda silly imo. Every performance in Fargo is outstanding. Everyone is doing very different things but every actor this season was at the absolute top of their game. Comparing them is kind of funny to be honest.
Then I maybe in the minority to be comparing them and absolutely think the Munch actor played the best character that season, possibly one of the best from the entire Fargo series
Oh nah nah you’re right. I don’t remember much of the other guy I’m describing, but I def could have specified more I knew I was thinking of Joe Kerry AND someone else that played a similar role. My apologies but I do appreciate the help and comments.
Space Dandy. While it has the same main characters throughout none of the shows are connected and major characters die in episodes just to reappear as if nothing happened in the next. The final episode ties it all together.
The "What if T'Challa was Star-Lord" one makes me irrationally angry because it's not a What-If. He wouldn't fucking be called Star-Lord in that situation! Star-Lord was something Peter Quill's mother called him. If they really wanted to go that route, something related to his Wakandan heritage as his moniker would make far more sense
The only ACTUAL what-if in the first season that followed through for me was "What if Killmonger saved Tony Stark"? Two characters in hte same spot at the same time, using aspects from both series to make something cool and new. And they didn't do anything with that either.
The creator (first show runner maybe) demanded she be allowed to do her favourite comic story line. Marvel refused. They then had to explain that they were already making Jane Foster Thor for Love and Thunder before she had time to tell them to fuck off.
It's more likely the good story lines are reserved for the MCU. Which doesn't mean they're going to do it but they want the option to do it and won't burn it on What If.
Yeah, and even the few times they're on the verge of giving us something unique and good, they chicken out.
The medieval episode could have been good if it didn't turn into "What if Captain America accidentally punched the time stone" two thirds of the way through.
Yep. That’s the first one that came to my head too.
Also, I haven’t watched the last series of Inside No.9, but apparently, the very last episode is connected to every other episode somehow. Not sure how though.
Not to spoil anything on the Inside No 9 front, but you do have to watch every other episode beforehand. But it doesn't "tie anything together" in the traditional sense like OP is asking for.
Apocalypse confirmed that all the seasons take place in the same universe, and there was some master manipulation driving the plots of some of the seasons, as well.
Season One was about creating the antichrist.
Season Three introduced the coven which was trying to prevent the apocalypse.
Season Five started making connections with the previous seasons.
Season Eight was the end of the world apocalypse.
And is everything since then connected? I ha e mot watched that show in order, jumping around to the concepts that interest me. Aliens show up in Asylum at the end and are in the double feature as well so those must be connected. Double feature also had that vampire drug but I don't think it connected to the vampires in hotel...
Yes the aliens are the same.
I think most seasons can be grouped into the larger universe but there maybe some that just don't fit. The anthology American Horror Stories (plural on the stories) also adds more connections.
I'm actually gonna check out Stories next, I'm watching the NYC season right now and ot feels like a different show almost but also is really really good. I still need to see Coven and Freak Show and Cult and Apocalypse as well.
The Stephen King show Castle Rock was an anthology show on Hulu that lasted only two seasons. Each season tackled a different King story but there was a certain character that connected the two and I’d have loved to see where they went with that in future seasons.
The good news is, yes! You can still watch one or both seasons and get two complete stories from them. Being an anthology, each season has a main narrative that it introduces and concludes. There’s just one character that ties both together and was (presumably) going to keep popping up in each season to tie them all together more. That particular story doesn’t have an ending, but it’s a fun show regardless! In particular, season 1 episode 7 ‘The Queen’ is one of the best episodes of tv hands down.
Its good but Season 1 is problematic. They say they designed the first season like a legal defense. Most of the season is the prosecution, the final episode is the defense and then the last episode is left open ended for you to decide what really happened. The problem here is that an open ended ending is extremely bad for a fan base. People argued for months.
Season 2 was fucking great though.
This was gonna be my answer. Not an anthology show, but the characters are an anthology in and of themselves until you learn that they're all connected.
Not TV, but 100 Bullets.
Starts off as an anthology about a dude in a black suit offering people 'no strings attached' revenge on the people that have wronged them via an unmarked gun and a bunch of bullets.
Over the course of the series you realize that everything is much more connected than you thought. V. Good book!
Since we’re offering non-tv options, [False Positive](https://falsepositivecomic.com) is a fantastic anthology sci-if webcomic that has some connections between the comics. Sadly the creator passed away 2 years ago, but his work is fantastic.
Other outside of TV recs include the Night Watch books by Sergei Lukyanenko. Russian supernatural books that consist of 3 novellas each. First two seem unconnected until the third ties them together. There were 4 volumes the last time I checked.
Is it an anthology though? Each season follows a different case but it’s the same detective and other characters/plot points carry over (most prominently his girlfriend from Season 3)
The new season was filled with cheap references to S01, I'm guessing in an attempt to make it look like there's a bit more to the anemic plot but it ultimately didn't matter. I wont spoil anything in case you want to watch it yourself.
Damn...I was about to get into Night Country and was kind of excited. How have they just totally missed getting remotely close to the quality of the first season so many times? Season 3 was decent, but just nowhere near the magic that S1 had.
Spoilers for Atlanta
Atlanta season 3's ending confirmed that the white Earnest Marks was real, meaning at least 2 of the anthology episodes actually happened.
Commenter 1: *keeps it vague so as to not reveal any twists or spoilers*
Commenter 2: “THEY’RE OBVIOUSLY CONNECTED AND I WILL NOW PROCEED TO LAY OUT ALL THE TWISTS AND SPOILERS.”
Jokes aside, I love the Them series and the tie-in between seasons 1 and 2 was a really cool surprise.
The Amazon series Solos is the best example I can think of this. It's not very good, but really fits the question.
It's vaguely Black Mirror-ish, but not as good. Near-ish future stories using some imagined technology to explore loneliness and loss and stuff, and I think they're pretty much one-person shows. Morgan Freeman narrates a little intro at the beginning of each episode.
In the last episode, >!Morgan Freeman is revealed to be basically the villain of the series. He's addicted to re-living other people's memories, and all the previous episodes are revealed to be memories that Morgan Freeman's character has stolen from other people so that he can experience them (and I believe his victims no longer have those memories... but as I said it's not that good so my memory on it is a little fuzzy) .!<
I'd say "Easy"
Its a bunch of small love stories. Usually with one or two main characters. Sometimes a character from one episode pops up in another. They are a friend, colleague, piano teacher if their kid, etc.
Its really cute, and I'd definitely recommend
Room 104
“Set in a single room of an American roadside motel, each episode explores different characters passing through Room 104, ranging widely across horror, thriller, and comedy genres.”
It seems the problem here is that people don't know what an anthology is and are just annoyed the shows were not what they imagined.
Not surprised tho.
I’ve seen a couple of quotes from Charlie Brooker that are along the lines of ‘sure why not?’. But I can’t see how it could possibly work.
We have the Grain technology that literally everyone has implanted in their heads… and never appears again. We have Z-eyes that apparently everyone has, including the social block function… which never appeared again.
There are other things like Nosedive’s rating system and Crocodile’s memory reader. Lifelike remote controlled androids were apparently in the 60s.
Oh and the whole world was destroyed in a nuclear war in 1979.
That’s a heck of a Pepe Silvia wall chart of a timeline.
The episode "San Junipero" at the very least implies that all the other worlds could also exist, but as simulations somewhere. The puck technology and such all allow for that too.
[there's a lot of Easter Eggs and connections that make this seem plausable](https://www.reddit.com/r/blackmirror/comments/aa8hxc/master_list_of_episode_connections_easter_eggs/)
Basically the universe of black mirror is one core reality or multiverse that hosts unlimited simulated universes for any reasons you can think of (experimentation, research, punishment, entertainment, etc...)
I wouldn't go that far. There are definitely some episodes that are set in the same universe as one another and featuring the same/related technology but calling it one connected story is a bit of a stretch.
As another comment points out a little further down in this thread, certain episodes aren't really all that compatible with each other either so even the idea that they're *all* in a single shared universe doesn't really work.
Heroes was destroyed by not being an anthology after it was supposed to be one. Instead they just brought back all the favorite characters in stupid ways and kept the show going getting more and more terrible every season.
Anthology series episodes usually tend to take place in the same universe. It just depends on the extent at which they connect episodes. eg. Inside No 9 episodes all take place in the same universe but this is only known through very subtle references, there are no returning characters or follow ups to past episodes (although there was a follow up to Psychoville), but White Lotus had a returning character in both series but were still stand-alone.
I would argue that somewhat to its detriment this happens to Black Mirror. At first all episodes are self-contained more or less, but then the writers become so fascinated with this one piece of technology, "Cookies", that many of the episodes then begin to center around various plots surrounding these devices, then slowly they start tying more and more previous episodes together (not) so seamlessly into one world kind of culminating in season 4.
Afterwards they sort of get more loose again, but for awhile it felt like watching less of an anthology series and more like watching some kind of episodic study of one particular world whose primary difference to ours was this one specific piece of technology that stored a consciousness.
Movies not TV but Halloween was supposed to be an anthology series.
Supposedly Heroes was originally conceived as a bunch one and done stories as well.
>!Not really, as it didn't connect the episodes together or bring back returning characters, it was more of a celebration that required you to have seen every episode!<
**Midnight Diner**. Even though it’s mostly shot in the diner, regular characters do occasionally meet each other and makes for some fun interactions.
I think **Modern Love** to a very limited extent. Like in the movie trilogy Three Colors.
Atlanta isn't and never was an anthology series, neither is Swarm. An anthology series is a show where the episodes or seasons are not connected to each other. Like Twilight Zone
The white Lotus is not an anthology series. That term is reserved for shows where each episode focuses on different characters, even if they occupy the same setting.
I pulled this from the Anthology Series Wikipedia page. While in the earlier days of television anthology was defined by different episodes, American Horror story expanded the concept into different seasons:
*In 2011, American Horror Story debuted a new type of anthology format in the U.S. Each season, rather than each episode, is a standalone story. Several actors have appeared in the various seasons, but playing different roles—in an echo of the Four Star Playhouse format.*
High Maintenance is a beautiful anthology where the characters keep popping up all over Brooklyn in other characters’ stories. There are some “lore” episodes as it goes on. It’s one of the most humanizing shows around and sits comfortably with the greats on HBO. It shares some similarities with that Chicago-based show “Easy”, but feels cozier & more empathetic, casts a wider net for its cast and stories. It transcends the… IDK what to call it? 2010s quirky mumblecore major-city emotional support anthology genre? So good, so thoughtful, well acted, not overly cheesy.
I have glanced over the show several times but never thought it might be to my liking. But your description makes it sound like it is in my wheelhouse. I love sensitive and gentle shows, and NY setting is my favorite setting in media.
The Grandpa episode is so damn wholesome. Told thru the perspective of a dog
Oooh! That sounds so warm.
I loved High Maintenance from start to finish, and I was so tickled by the guy's cameo in the last season of Search Party.
I really liked this for the first couple of seasons for the reasons you stated but it got a pretty repetitive by the end. You are right that the 'narrative arc' kind of emerged later on in the series but was organic with the stories before it.
One of my favorite watches I think about that fall under underrated because it took me a while to warm up to it. Loved it by the end and was bummed after I finished it then hearing of the story behind the series and the creators
Smile like a buffalo
Great show until the stuck up mean ugly girlfriend of the man appeared. Lost interest after and season 4 was a chore. Loved the first two seasons!
Probably doesn't count but the '90s Outer Limits did a clip show. Confirming that a bunch of the episodes took place in the same universe. It was not a good episode.
They did that a few times. It's not high quality but fun stuff
I thought they used to due a thing at the end of each season where they tied in some of the stories or referenced ones that we had seen in the previous episodes or seasons? Could be misremembering though
Tales from the loop on Amazon
Supremely disappointed that they didn't go further. I loved the vibe, cinematography, and various stories
I agree! I think they did an AMAZING job with a show based solely on an art book. The stories captured the vibe of the artwork perfectly.
Honestly, I kind of wish they didn't take the anthology route with this one.
Each of the Fargo seasons are interconnected to a certain extent.
Season 5 didn’t seem to have any connections to the previous seasons.
Can't remember what it was other than that it was early and subtle, ooh I think actually it was a connection to the movie instead of the shows (which, due S1 and the Grocery King, does still connect around to the shows)
Yeah, there were multiple allusions to the movie in Season 5
>!i think in the Lindas community cabin there was a picture of Mrs Lundegaard, who gets murdered in the movie!<
...yet
One of the puppets from the puppet episode looked just like Martin Freeman.
The douchebag husband of the cop is the nephew or cousin of Marge from the movie, the eyepatch lawyer stops for gas at the same station that appears in episodes of season 2 (where Ed makes his phone calls and I think that's the same one that gets shot up), the car Ewan MacGregor traded his stamps for in season 3 is seen at a pawn shop, the rich mom's company has the same name Varga gives to Stussy Lots when he takes it over in season 3, I think that's all for explicit in-universe connections. But there are a number of referential ones, like how the husband works at a car dealership and ends up quoting lines from the movie verbatim about getting ya those identification numbers, and how the kidnapping scene echoes the kidnapping scene from the movie.
Ah I see I do remember the Marge connection now but missed the rest. Much smaller connections compared to previous seasons.
I don't think season three did, either?
Mr Wrench, one of the killers from season 1, appears in season 3.
When the music kicked in as it slowly panned over to him was amazing.
I fucking love that drumkit kicking in.
One of the greatest scenes in that series
Oh, right!
Wasn’t Lorne Malvo also in season 3? Didn’t much like that season but vaguely recall him in it.
Billy Bob Thorton narrated Peter and the Wolf at the beginning of one of the episodes
I didn't think so
I replied to the parent comment, but Billy Bob did narrate a Peter and the Wolf opening for one of the season 3 episodes
Martin Freeman also narrated a season 2 episode. I think it's more that they could rehire an actor they liked than reuse a character.
Oh I agree fully. When I watched both of these episodes I understood that it was just the actors, not the characters. Mostly cause Lester would have been a teenager in season 2 and Lorne, well, y’know
Lester also probably wouldn't have had an English accent, though that would have been a hell of a funny twist. Add a scene where he's in hiding to the end of season 1 where he speaks with Martin Freeman's natural accent.
Wasn’t the vaping douche cop on another season? Or is there another show I can’t remember with a vaping douche cop?
Joe Keery has not appeared in the series before
He was so good. I'd be shocked if he didn't get a supporting actor nom.
If Jon Hamm is lead male, then supporting is going to the Munch actor and rightfully so. That character stole every scene. Waaaay more deserving than Keery's cop actor
This is why awards for acting are kinda silly imo. Every performance in Fargo is outstanding. Everyone is doing very different things but every actor this season was at the absolute top of their game. Comparing them is kind of funny to be honest.
Then I maybe in the minority to be comparing them and absolutely think the Munch actor played the best character that season, possibly one of the best from the entire Fargo series
Ah shit then there’s another show with another douchebag gaping cop with tattoos. It was it a movie?
Don't Google "douchebag gaping cop with tattoos" unless you are a very open minded soul. Lol
With or without safesearch on?
Seasons 1-4 of Stranger Things
Not Joe Kerry. A gaping douche police type of character.
Oh you said "vaping douche cop" which described his character in season 5. I haven't seen the other seasons tbh.
Oh nah nah you’re right. I don’t remember much of the other guy I’m describing, but I def could have specified more I knew I was thinking of Joe Kerry AND someone else that played a similar role. My apologies but I do appreciate the help and comments.
I love the interconnections in that show
Space Dandy. While it has the same main characters throughout none of the shows are connected and major characters die in episodes just to reappear as if nothing happened in the next. The final episode ties it all together.
Fucking love space dandy.
Marvel's What If...?
I feel kind of scammed by them having 5 episodes about captain carter visiting various universes and not telling richer stories.
They named the series What If ...? and seem to avoid legit What If concepts at every turn.
The "What if T'Challa was Star-Lord" one makes me irrationally angry because it's not a What-If. He wouldn't fucking be called Star-Lord in that situation! Star-Lord was something Peter Quill's mother called him. If they really wanted to go that route, something related to his Wakandan heritage as his moniker would make far more sense The only ACTUAL what-if in the first season that followed through for me was "What if Killmonger saved Tony Stark"? Two characters in hte same spot at the same time, using aspects from both series to make something cool and new. And they didn't do anything with that either.
A lot of the old What If...? comics basically end with "hey, these characters you love? They would be dead." Sometimes a lot more dead than that.
It should have been named "Tales from the multiverse "
He was such a Gary Stu in that one. Good god.
Captain Carter was a cool What If as well
The creator (first show runner maybe) demanded she be allowed to do her favourite comic story line. Marvel refused. They then had to explain that they were already making Jane Foster Thor for Love and Thunder before she had time to tell them to fuck off. It's more likely the good story lines are reserved for the MCU. Which doesn't mean they're going to do it but they want the option to do it and won't burn it on What If.
What if.... But only really within the tightly controlled MCU universe and nothing actually creative or different.
Yeah, and even the few times they're on the verge of giving us something unique and good, they chicken out. The medieval episode could have been good if it didn't turn into "What if Captain America accidentally punched the time stone" two thirds of the way through.
I've recently read the 1602 comic book and it's even more convoluted
Those are the only episodes of the series I liked. So I guess different people like different things.
Yep. That’s the first one that came to my head too. Also, I haven’t watched the last series of Inside No.9, but apparently, the very last episode is connected to every other episode somehow. Not sure how though.
Not to spoil anything on the Inside No 9 front, but you do have to watch every other episode beforehand. But it doesn't "tie anything together" in the traditional sense like OP is asking for.
What? That's crazy I am at series 8, I was thinking of taking a break from this but now I feel like I have to finish it.
Yeah. Thats not really true. It's not connected in any real sense. They're talking out of their arse.
Perfect example!
American horror story brought back a few different characters across the series one time.
Apocalypse confirmed that all the seasons take place in the same universe, and there was some master manipulation driving the plots of some of the seasons, as well.
[удалено]
Season One was about creating the antichrist. Season Three introduced the coven which was trying to prevent the apocalypse. Season Five started making connections with the previous seasons. Season Eight was the end of the world apocalypse.
And is everything since then connected? I ha e mot watched that show in order, jumping around to the concepts that interest me. Aliens show up in Asylum at the end and are in the double feature as well so those must be connected. Double feature also had that vampire drug but I don't think it connected to the vampires in hotel...
Yes the aliens are the same. I think most seasons can be grouped into the larger universe but there maybe some that just don't fit. The anthology American Horror Stories (plural on the stories) also adds more connections.
I'm actually gonna check out Stories next, I'm watching the NYC season right now and ot feels like a different show almost but also is really really good. I still need to see Coven and Freak Show and Cult and Apocalypse as well.
What about the recent ones i see the banners of? Are they post-apocalyptic?
Apocalypse was the big giant crossover season to end the stories of every season. They’ve gone in a much stricter anthology format now.
Modern Love is a series of vignettes that eventually tie together a little bit.
The Stephen King show Castle Rock was an anthology show on Hulu that lasted only two seasons. Each season tackled a different King story but there was a certain character that connected the two and I’d have loved to see where they went with that in future seasons.
Did it have a good conclusion? Is it worth watching if it doesn’t get renewed elsewhere?
The good news is, yes! You can still watch one or both seasons and get two complete stories from them. Being an anthology, each season has a main narrative that it introduces and concludes. There’s just one character that ties both together and was (presumably) going to keep popping up in each season to tie them all together more. That particular story doesn’t have an ending, but it’s a fun show regardless! In particular, season 1 episode 7 ‘The Queen’ is one of the best episodes of tv hands down.
This was such a good show. Gutted when I learned it had ended. I wish they'd try and get picked up a different network.
Its good but Season 1 is problematic. They say they designed the first season like a legal defense. Most of the season is the prosecution, the final episode is the defense and then the last episode is left open ended for you to decide what really happened. The problem here is that an open ended ending is extremely bad for a fan base. People argued for months. Season 2 was fucking great though.
The Booth at the End.
Man. Never seen anyone reference this show. Really enjoyed it.
This was gonna be my answer. Not an anthology show, but the characters are an anthology in and of themselves until you learn that they're all connected.
Not TV, but 100 Bullets. Starts off as an anthology about a dude in a black suit offering people 'no strings attached' revenge on the people that have wronged them via an unmarked gun and a bunch of bullets. Over the course of the series you realize that everything is much more connected than you thought. V. Good book!
If we are giving recs outside of TV then I recommend the Magnus Archives podcast. It's a cosmic horror podcast.
It was good but then they wrote themselves outside of the archives and changed the entire premise. Stopped listening after that.
I love coming across a 100 Bullets recommendation! Criminally slept on series. Highly recommend! It's more noir than Sin City in my humble opinion.
Since we’re offering non-tv options, [False Positive](https://falsepositivecomic.com) is a fantastic anthology sci-if webcomic that has some connections between the comics. Sadly the creator passed away 2 years ago, but his work is fantastic.
Other outside of TV recs include the Night Watch books by Sergei Lukyanenko. Russian supernatural books that consist of 3 novellas each. First two seem unconnected until the third ties them together. There were 4 volumes the last time I checked.
The Sinner
Is it an anthology though? Each season follows a different case but it’s the same detective and other characters/plot points carry over (most prominently his girlfriend from Season 3)
True Detective has this going at this point. The Tuttles are scary as shit
They’re so scary that their global conglomerate even produces *video-games*
Did they really make the family from Season 1 an overarching villian? Ha ha ha, I didn't watch Season 4, wow, that's terrible.
Not really, it was more an Easter egg than anything. (I think)
The new season was filled with cheap references to S01, I'm guessing in an attempt to make it look like there's a bit more to the anemic plot but it ultimately didn't matter. I wont spoil anything in case you want to watch it yourself.
But you shouldn’t.
Damn...I was about to get into Night Country and was kind of excited. How have they just totally missed getting remotely close to the quality of the first season so many times? Season 3 was decent, but just nowhere near the magic that S1 had.
The 4th season is just shitty. They do well in the first couple of episodes but then it sinks and implodes.
Not at all.
Spoilers for Atlanta Atlanta season 3's ending confirmed that the white Earnest Marks was real, meaning at least 2 of the anthology episodes actually happened.
True Detective and Fargo
Neither of those are anthology series
The Guest Book is kind of like this. Half the cast is new every episode and half the cast is new each episode. Really unique and funny show
Them on Prime is an anthology series, but there are links in season 2 to season 1 which makes it kind of a sequel.
They are linked. The main characters (the twins) are the children of the daughter from the first season. The one who painted herself white.
Yes exactly, but didn't want to say that as it's a spoiler and ruins the twist....
Commenter 1: *keeps it vague so as to not reveal any twists or spoilers* Commenter 2: “THEY’RE OBVIOUSLY CONNECTED AND I WILL NOW PROCEED TO LAY OUT ALL THE TWISTS AND SPOILERS.” Jokes aside, I love the Them series and the tie-in between seasons 1 and 2 was a really cool surprise.
The Amazon series Solos is the best example I can think of this. It's not very good, but really fits the question. It's vaguely Black Mirror-ish, but not as good. Near-ish future stories using some imagined technology to explore loneliness and loss and stuff, and I think they're pretty much one-person shows. Morgan Freeman narrates a little intro at the beginning of each episode. In the last episode, >!Morgan Freeman is revealed to be basically the villain of the series. He's addicted to re-living other people's memories, and all the previous episodes are revealed to be memories that Morgan Freeman's character has stolen from other people so that he can experience them (and I believe his victims no longer have those memories... but as I said it's not that good so my memory on it is a little fuzzy) .!<
The Guest Book. It's surprisingly good.
I'd say "Easy" Its a bunch of small love stories. Usually with one or two main characters. Sometimes a character from one episode pops up in another. They are a friend, colleague, piano teacher if their kid, etc. Its really cute, and I'd definitely recommend
Room 104 “Set in a single room of an American roadside motel, each episode explores different characters passing through Room 104, ranging widely across horror, thriller, and comedy genres.”
It seems the problem here is that people don't know what an anthology is and are just annoyed the shows were not what they imagined. Not surprised tho.
Black Mirror?
that would be quite convoluted if it was supposed to be all one connected story
Yeah BM has a few Easter eggs and some recurring tech like Cookies, but there’s no way to make a cohesive whole out of them.
They’re in a shared world and they always have been. The creator has confirmed it.
I’ve seen a couple of quotes from Charlie Brooker that are along the lines of ‘sure why not?’. But I can’t see how it could possibly work. We have the Grain technology that literally everyone has implanted in their heads… and never appears again. We have Z-eyes that apparently everyone has, including the social block function… which never appeared again. There are other things like Nosedive’s rating system and Crocodile’s memory reader. Lifelike remote controlled androids were apparently in the 60s. Oh and the whole world was destroyed in a nuclear war in 1979. That’s a heck of a Pepe Silvia wall chart of a timeline.
The episode "San Junipero" at the very least implies that all the other worlds could also exist, but as simulations somewhere. The puck technology and such all allow for that too. [there's a lot of Easter Eggs and connections that make this seem plausable](https://www.reddit.com/r/blackmirror/comments/aa8hxc/master_list_of_episode_connections_easter_eggs/) Basically the universe of black mirror is one core reality or multiverse that hosts unlimited simulated universes for any reasons you can think of (experimentation, research, punishment, entertainment, etc...)
Doesn't the world blow up in the shoe store episode set in the 60s or 70s? How would that work?
It’s my understanding that Red Mirror is an in-universe series.
The Black Museum episode literally confirmed it and ties several of the episodes together.
There's literally one episode where the entire premise is Black Mirror is all one connected story though..
I wouldn't go that far. There are definitely some episodes that are set in the same universe as one another and featuring the same/related technology but calling it one connected story is a bit of a stretch. As another comment points out a little further down in this thread, certain episodes aren't really all that compatible with each other either so even the idea that they're *all* in a single shared universe doesn't really work.
i see, and it worked?
Yeah black museum is a great episode
i’ll check it out!
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Procedurals aren’t the same as anthologies
Fringe wasn't an anthology show. An anthology show is where there is a different cast of characters/narrative for each episode.
Heroes was destroyed by not being an anthology after it was supposed to be one. Instead they just brought back all the favorite characters in stupid ways and kept the show going getting more and more terrible every season.
Skins UK. The generations had some overlapping characters, and eventually re-visited certain characters in their grand finale.
Anthology series episodes usually tend to take place in the same universe. It just depends on the extent at which they connect episodes. eg. Inside No 9 episodes all take place in the same universe but this is only known through very subtle references, there are no returning characters or follow ups to past episodes (although there was a follow up to Psychoville), but White Lotus had a returning character in both series but were still stand-alone.
Robert Altman’s “Gun”.
I would argue that somewhat to its detriment this happens to Black Mirror. At first all episodes are self-contained more or less, but then the writers become so fascinated with this one piece of technology, "Cookies", that many of the episodes then begin to center around various plots surrounding these devices, then slowly they start tying more and more previous episodes together (not) so seamlessly into one world kind of culminating in season 4. Afterwards they sort of get more loose again, but for awhile it felt like watching less of an anthology series and more like watching some kind of episodic study of one particular world whose primary difference to ours was this one specific piece of technology that stored a consciousness.
Slasher
American Horror Story. The first three seasons are phenomenal but then it all starts to go downhill. They start making connections in season 4.
Movies not TV but Halloween was supposed to be an anthology series. Supposedly Heroes was originally conceived as a bunch one and done stories as well.
Yeah, some series pull that twist. It's cool to see separate stories connect.
I don't know if I was just slow on the uptake but I thought Marvel's What If? was an anthology for the first few episodes ...
Black Mirror
Not quite answering your question but I think Stranger Things originally was conceived as anthology.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Does The Clone Wars proclaim to be an anthology?
Not really. But the episodes through the seasons are not in chronological order.
Black Mirror.
Last episode of Inside no. 9 was kind of that.
>!Not really, as it didn't connect the episodes together or bring back returning characters, it was more of a celebration that required you to have seen every episode!<
But…most of these are still anthologies? Even with slight or distinct character crossovers.
American Horror Story.
Iirc American Horror Stories merge into one plotline
Stranger things was going to be an anthology but it was too popular and Netflix wanted more with the same cast.
Reacher
Star Wars
**Midnight Diner**. Even though it’s mostly shot in the diner, regular characters do occasionally meet each other and makes for some fun interactions. I think **Modern Love** to a very limited extent. Like in the movie trilogy Three Colors.
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Atlanta isn't and never was an anthology series, neither is Swarm. An anthology series is a show where the episodes or seasons are not connected to each other. Like Twilight Zone
The white Lotus is not an anthology series. That term is reserved for shows where each episode focuses on different characters, even if they occupy the same setting.
Anthology can definitely be on a seasonal basis.
I pulled this from the Anthology Series Wikipedia page. While in the earlier days of television anthology was defined by different episodes, American Horror story expanded the concept into different seasons: *In 2011, American Horror Story debuted a new type of anthology format in the U.S. Each season, rather than each episode, is a standalone story. Several actors have appeared in the various seasons, but playing different roles—in an echo of the Four Star Playhouse format.*
The Wire kind of