The Jussie Smollett story has been a lead news item on every network and tabloid outlet. The last time anything queer got so much MSM hype was when 49 LGBTQ people were murdered and 53 wounded as they danced at Orlando's Pulse nightclub in June 2016.
We have been enjoying Netflix series we should have watched a year or more ago, like the superb British crime series "Paranoid," "The Five" and "Happy Valley."
We try to give TV series three episodes before we decide a show is irredeemable. We're trying to give 2019 at least a month before we make the same decision, but this new year doesn't look so shiny and fresh.
Filmmaker Jayan Cherian and his cast throw caution to the wind with the tale of a gay artist and a feminist who rebel against the societal norms of their conservative Indian city in "Ka Bodyscapes."
As awful as the year was in politics, it was pretty fabulous for TV, no matter what some critics will tell you. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime all added to the joys of cable, and even network had some good offerings.
"Harold Prince: The Director's Life" premiered on PBS' Great Performances series at the end of November, and is available for free streaming until the end of December.
Amazon Prime's new TV series "Homecoming," which started streaming Nov. 2, with its circuitous intrigue, puzzling twists, and Hitchcockian suspense, is tailor-made for our times.