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domino harvey wrote:President Obama named it as his favorite show

Geez, even the President of the United States is more up to date on TV shows than I am.

Soderbergh may have lost Best Direction a second time last night, but he definitely won the night for this.

He also (jokingly) tried to get Moby to go as him

Luke M wrote:Just finished the first season and thought it was brilliant. Enjoyed Soderbergh's use of electronic music - it is a welcome refresher from most period piece soundtracks, but most of all it fits beautifully.

Couldn't disagree more. Takes you right out of the turn of the century achieved so beautifully with the set/art design. I did notice that it usually accompanies the "corruption" scenes. Soderberg is obviously up to something else here. I think too much is made of the racist atmosphere and the negro doctor's pride - rasicm is as matter of fact in New York as the subway. The handling of sexist attitudes are more subtly effective.

It's an intriguing series. Glad I stumbled on it. Think I'll complete the first season before I venture the posted reviews.

My only qualm with this show was the ending of the 2nd season feeling a little rushed along, but it was essentially perfect for its entire run and I'm glad that'll be in amber forever. Hopefully it gets the kind of cult following something like Twin Peaks is richly enjoying right now as time goes on. It's my favorite work Soderbergh has done, period.

I finally caught up with the second season a month ago, and it's just as good as the first though different. It was veering toward a 1900s version of The Wire (down to corruption on the docks), which meant it spread its characters out a bit much, but it found new points of interest in its world.

As said above, the writing stuck out more this season (particularly some soapy turns later on), but Soderbergh never failed to present the material in a fresh way that alleviated its failings. The acting in particular felt much more confident from the whole ensemble; in the first season it was hard not to feel that Owen, Holland, Seymour, and Sullivan were lapping the rest.

Sad to see it go out on such a dour note, but it's a fine conclusion. Of course, it also seems constructed to endure a big time jump, so it could come back years later somewhere else. But something so esoteric probably needs a Megan Ellison type to shepherd it. Maybe Obama can use his millions in book and speaking deals to start a production company?

I just finished watching these two seasons, and if this isn't the best thing Soderbergh's ever done, it's certainly in the conversation.

It's also one of the best ever American films - let alone television series - about racism. It's the animating force of so much that goes on throughout the series, even when it's unacknowledged, and it's always richly shaded. I don't think any two characters represent the same take on it.

The Narrator Returns wrote: Thu Sep 24, 2020 7:45 pm Season 3 is happening, with Barry Jenkins planning to direct

Spoiler for season two in the above link, FYI

Starting tomorrow, The Knick will be available to stream on HBO Max.