Items9The creator’s order
  1. 1Galavant (2015)Galavant (2015) 8.1/10 on IMDbFirst aired 4 Jan 2015A disgraced knight's attempt to reclaim his happy ending keeps colliding with characters who would prefer a different song. Alan Menken and Glenn Slater's numbers give fairy-tale exposition, villainy and romantic disappointment an unusually nimble comic form. Its two-season adventure offers plenty…0
  2. 2Schmigadoon! (2021)Schmigadoon! (2021) 7.4/10 on IMDbFirst aired 16 Jul 2021A couple enters a town whose inhabitants obey the conventions of a classic musical, then discovers that knowing the conventions does not solve a relationship. Original songs both celebrate and tease the form. The second season moves towards the darker styles of 1960s and 1970s stage musicals; the…0
  3. 3Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (2020)Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (2020) 8.0/10 on IMDbFirst aired 7 Jan 2020Zoey hears other people's unspoken feelings as pop performances, creating a direct gap between what she knows and what somebody has chosen to tell her. The choreography makes grief, embarrassment and workplace tension visible. Two seasons and a subsequent Christmas film offer a distinctive musical…0
  4. 4Up Here (2023)Up Here (2023) 6.3/10 on IMDbFirst aired 24 Mar 2023Two people trying to form a relationship are accompanied by singing versions of the fears and memories inside their heads. Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez's songs make self-sabotage theatrical without requiring the couple to say everything aloud. The eight-episode romantic musical is a…0
  5. 5Flight of the Conchords (2007)Flight of the Conchords (2007) 8.5/10 on IMDbFirst aired 17 Jun 2007Two New Zealand musicians attempt to survive New York, with songs expanding a tiny humiliation into a full stylistic performance. Their limited resources make the fantasies funnier rather than less musical. The two-season comedy is especially rewarding for a listener who enjoys hearing a genre's…0
  6. 6We Are Lady Parts (2021)We Are Lady Parts (2021) 8.3/10 on IMDbFirst aired 20 May 2021A shy guitarist joins a Muslim women's punk band and finds that performing changes what she can say and whom she can become. This is a band comedy, with rehearsals and original songs doing narrative work rather than every conversation turning into a number. Its energy and formal play make it a…0
  7. 7Blackpool (2004)Blackpool (2004) 7.9/10 on IMDbFirst aired 11 Nov 2004A murder near an ambitious arcade owner's business draws police and family into a story punctured by pop-song performances. The lip-synching does not pause the drama: attraction and self-justification keep leaking into it. This six-part British serial is a particularly enjoyable bridge between a…0
  8. 8The Singing Detective (1986)The Singing Detective (1986) 8.6/10 on IMDbFirst aired 16 Nov 1986In the 1986 British serial, a hospitalised writer's memories and imagined detective story are interrupted by perfectly arranged popular songs. Michael Gambon's performance makes the form an argument about shame, illness and the stories used to endure them. It is a deliberate older, challenging…0
  9. 9Lipstick on Your Collar (1993)Lipstick on Your Collar (1993) 8.1/10 on IMDbFirst aired 21 Feb 1993Young clerks facing the Suez crisis escape the stiffness of a government office through extravagant rock-and-roll fantasies. Dennis Potter's six-part 1993 serial uses lip-synched recordings to make repression burst into performance. The craft is fascinating for a musical viewer, alongside sexual…0