Spanning a decade, Daisy Jones & the Six follows the formation, stratospheric success, and crushing breakup of the greatest band the 1970s never saw. In the late ’60s, talented but listless ingenue Daisy (Riley Keough) meets aspiring rocker Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) and his group, eventually joining the band herself. Soon, her soulful vocals and insightful songwriting help propel The Six to the top of the charts—but at the height of their careers, everything comes tumbling down, undone by years of wandering hearts, illicit sex, battles with sobriety, and the rigors of rock ‘n’ roll. If it all sounds a bit Fleetwood Mac, that should come as no surprise—the author of the book the series is based on, Taylor Jenkins Reid, has said the legendary folk-rock band was an inspiration. Yet with its fantastic cast, period-perfect tone, and phenomenal soundtrack—released as the album Aurora by the series’ eponymous band—Daisy Jones & the Six takes on a life of its own.
7. The Legend of Vox Machina
Bawdy, gory, and absolutely not for kids, The Legend of Vox Machina began life as the hit Critical Role, in which a group of the biggest English-language voice actors in animation and gaming livestreamed their Dungeons & Dragons sessions before it evolved into its own beast. In the first season of this exquisitely animated fantasy, the show follows the eponymous Vox Machina guild—a motley crew of usually drunk adventurers consisting of gunslingers, druids, and the requisite horny bard—as they battle to reclaim the city of Whitestone from the monstrous Lord and Lady Briarwood. The recently added second season ups the ante with “the worst team ever assembled” fighting four apocalyptically powerful dragons. Fully accessible to long-time fans of the source material and newcomers alike, this series manages to be a love letter to D&D while poking plenty of fun at the classic RPG and transcending its origins to become one of the most original adult animated shows on Amazon.
8. The Rig