Mesmerizing TV shows with magical realism

Based on the film of the same name, What We Do in the Shadows focuses on a group of vampires living in Staten Island, as well as their human familiar, Guillermo. The show is sublimely ridiculous at times, particularly since the vampires seem woefully ill-equipped to deal with life in the modern world. However, the series' juxtaposition of vampiric life with the more banal aspects of modernity explains the series’ appeal and its unique sense of humor and absurdity.

Natasha Lyonne gives another of her usual terrific performances in Russian Doll, in which she plays Nadia, who finds herself trapped in a situation where she has to live the same day over and over again. It’s one of those series that takes its intriguing premise and compelling heroine and runs with it. Moreover, Russian Doll also serves as an illustration of the extent to which magical realism can be used to tell impactful stories that nevertheless stretch the bounds of what is possible within the realms of TV storytelling.

The power of magical realism as a mode of storytelling is that it often enables new and diverse voices to speak of their experiences. Dollface, for example, addresses the issue of women’s friendship and how they are sometimes fraught by the nature of the society in which they live. The series adds its own surreal elements to the story, adding intrigue and literalizing many of the struggles people face as they cope with issues like anxiety and friendship in the modern world.

The magical realism in the comedy/mystery series Poker Face is subtle but nevertheless present since the main character, Charlie Cale, can detect when anyone is lying. There’s never a real explanation for why this is the case; it’s just taken for granted that it’s a gift innate to her. Fortunately, Natasha Lyonne’s performance as Charlie is more than enough to sell this conceit, and the series makes the most out of its case-of-the-week format. What’s more, Charlie takes her place among other off-beat crime solvers such as Columbo and Jessica Fletcher.

Roar is one of the more unique series that emerged out of the 2020s, but it’s also remarkably insightful. Its self-contained episodes straddle the line between the fanciful and the surreal, and each one contains a potent message about the experiences and struggles that women face in the modern world. Some of the episodes are really quite absurd, but they are also thought-provoking. The series is anchored by some inspired performances from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Judy Davis, and Cynthia Erivo.

Few shows have had quite the impact of The Twilight Zone, which remains a true touchstone in the history of TV. Its power stemmed from its ability to take the anxieties of postwar America and transform them into eerily plausible — and possibly supernatural–stories. It was particularly known for its twist endings, many of which would leave the audience chilled to the bone and grappling with the philosophical and ethical questions raised by the episode as a whole. It’s a series that makes remarkable use of the surreal, and it has been often imitated but never surpassed. 

Based on the novel by Dan Simmons, the first season of The Terror focuses on an Arctic expedition. As the season goes on, it becomes clear that something very sinister is hunting them, and it will take everything they have to survive. The series’ unsettling power stems precisely from its adherence to the conventions of realism, particularly when it comes to historical drama. When the creature is revealed in all its haunting glory, it’s a moment of catharsis and power. 

The various seasons of True Detective,  particularly the first one, make extensive use of the conventions of magical realism in order to add a new gloss to the traditional procedural. The menacing and the supernatural are always lurking outside the frame in the first season, causing no end of trouble to detectives Rust and Marty (Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson). The magical realism here is particularly potent since the series never really offers conclusive explanations for the various unsettling phenomena that the characters experience.

Few TV series have leaned into their strangeness more than Twin Peaks. Co-created by the late David Lynch — arguably the maestro of the surreal and magical realism — the series is, at first blush, about an FBI agent investigating a murder. Soon, however, it becomes something far more complicated and strange. Among other things, the series demonstrated the extent to which television could be used to tell complicated and immersive stories, and it has also exerted a remarkable influence on several TV shows that followed in its wake.

I Dream of Jeannie is one of those sitcoms that could only have come out of the 1960s. As its title suggests, it focuses on the rather strange romance between Jeannie, a genie, and astronaut Tony Nelson. As with the similar series Bewitched, much of the series’ humor comes from the juxtaposition of the supernatural world and powers of Jeannie and the normal human world in which she now lives. Even now, it retains more than a little of its camp sensibility, which is enhanced by nostalgia.

Like the Coen Brothers film on which it’s based, Noah Hawley’s Fargo often plays fast and loose with both the truth and actual reality. This is particularly evident with the characters of Lorne Malvo (from the first season) and Ole Munch (from the fifth season). Neither of these characters seems to be entirely of this world, and that’s precisely what makes them so unsettling and often downright terrifying. The series’ dabbling with magical realism allows it to reflect some of the more troubling aspects of the modern world.

Carnivale is one of those series that, in hindsight, was very much ahead of its time. Though it only ran for two seasons on HBO, it nevertheless developed quite a cult following. The story's heart was a traveling carnival wandering through the landscape of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, but beneath this was a far more sinister world, one of the surreal and titanic struggles between good and evil. It’s the kind of show that invites viewers to lose themselves in its sinister world, even if it’s somewhat stymied by the what-might-have-been of its premature cancellation. 

The last few years have seen a flowering of series focusing on Indigenous peoples, and one of the best examples of this phenomenon is the crime thriller Dark Winds. It skillfully combines elements of the traditional police procedural with elements of the supernatural. What’s more, it features some terrific performances, particularly from Zahn McClarnon (also known for his work on Reservation Dogs). It’s the kind of show that immerses the viewer in a sinister milieu, and each season improves on its predecessor.

The 1960s was a fascinating decade for the sitcom, largely because the form experimented with some new situations that strained the bounds of credulity. Bewitched, for example, focused on the strange but endearing marriage between mortal Darrin and witch Samantha. Obviously, Samantha’s witchy identity caused more than a few problems, but the series maintained a certain camp sensibility throughout its run, helped in this regard by the presence of such guest stars as Agnes Moorehead and Paul Lynde.

Los Espookys is an example of a show that was sadly not given enough seasons to reach its full potential. Still, it manages to pack into its two seasons, and its central characters are endearing, particularly as they try to make a few bucks using their love of horror and all its macabre delights. However, there are also numerous suggestions that there are some truly surreal and supernatural events going on just beneath the surface, and the series makes the most out of its own uniquely bizarre sense of humor.

Schmigadoon! was, in many ways, a shot of pure joy. Starring Keegan Michael-Key and Cecily Strong as a troubled married couple who find themselves in the midst of two different musical lands: one based on 1950s musicals like The Music Man and the other darker musicals of the 1960s and 1970s. The series expertly blends the emotional realism of the couple’s struggles with the musical styles of its fantastical settings. Like so many other shows, it was canceled prematurely, but the two seasons that it gave to viewers were delightful and demonstrated the enduring appeal and utopia of the musical.

Lee Pace gives one of his career-best performances in Pushing Daisies, a series that focuses on his character, Ned, who can bring things back to life. The show was one of those that was truly ahead of its time, particularly in its unique visual design and, of course, its very unusual premise. It’s one of those shows that came out of a particularly fertile period in TV storytelling, and though it only lasted a couple of seasons, it managed to develop an enduring and devoted cult following. 

Reservation Dogs received a great deal of critical praise during its three-season run, partly because it took an honest, sincere look at the lives of young Indigenous people. Though many of its stories are firmly based in the world of reality, there are also several characters and plots that clearly exist in a strange supernatural world. The most notable of these is the character known as the Deer Lady, a spirit who makes a number of notable appearances throughout the series.

Based on the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez — one of the classics of world literature — One Hundred Years of Solitude follows the fortunes of the Buendia family. Many strange and unexpected things happen during the series, and, like its source material, it has a very flexible and sometimes uncanny relationship with traditional time and narrative causation. Despite the novel being very complex, the TV adaptation manages to stay largely true to it, which hopefully bodes well for its own future in terms of the television canon.