Photo: SundanceTV
Rectify
Rectify is, hands down, the best show on television, and even though it has already aired its last episode, I will continue to put it on every single list I write until I die hunched over my keyboard. Seriously, people. Watch this show.
Rectify is the story of Daniel Holden who was in solitary confinement on death row for 19 years for the rape and murder of his high school girlfriend, Hannah. His conviction was overturned after DNA evidence surfaced and he was released to his small Georgia town. The entire series takes place over the course of (maybe) a year, and its slow release of plot and character is one of its finest attributes. Every thing about this show is so, so well constructed and its writer and creator, Ray McKinnon, is a damn genius. Not only does it capture the human experience, it also carefully appraises the experience of the American South, a complicated, rich culture that is often made into a caricature.
Although we don’t know whether Daniel raped and murdered his high school girlfriend, Rectify is far from a whodunit. It’s a beautiful, quiet series that is mostly about trying to restart our lives when we don’t really know how to. Rectify has made it to dozens of “best of TV” lists, yet it’s still one of the most underwatched shows on television.