Must See Spring TV

It's been just over a year since 'Peak TV' - a term introduced by John Landgraf, the CEO of pay TV network FX, as shorthand for "simply too much television" - entered the pop-culture vernacular, and it seems we are still nowhere near the mountaintop.

We still have our free-to-air networks churning out material, with the occasional scripted drama or comedy interspersed with home-makeover programs and culinary comps, but the pay TV stations are continuing to ramp up production of their own original content, as are streaming services like Netflix and Australia's own Stan.

Now you and I both know there's nothing - nothing - more important than watching TV. But when you have so many options to choose from, it can be tough making a selection or two.

Luckily, I have watched every* television program that is currently airing or scheduled to air in the near future, so you can place your trust in the following picks.

(*this is not entirely true)

Westworld

Despite its blue-chip pedigree (reboot regent JJ Abrams as executive producer, Dark Knight screenwriter Jonathan Nolan as co-creator, a cast including the esteemed likes of Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris), the HBO sci-fi drama Westworld seemed like a bad bet for a while there, especially when production was postponed in order to retool storylines. Turns out the hiatus was the smart play - now that it's airing, this tale of a high-tech Old West theme park staffed by lifelike robots becoming a little too lifelike has revealed itself as an incredibly intelligent, thematically rich and dramatically involving series. (Now airing on Showcase, through Foxtel)

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life 

Devotees of sharp-tongued, hyper-caffeinated Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her sweet, studious daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) can rejoice, because the whole Gilmore Girls crew - including, maybe, Melissa McCarthy - are back in this four-episode reunion series premiering on Netflix this November. Details on A Year In The Life, which picks up a decade after the much-loved series left off, are being kept hush-hush but series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino did state that the relationship between mother and daughter is now more equal: "What's cool for these two is that, because it wasn't about a high school girl and her mom, now it's two women. Suddenly, they can have cocktails together. They can drink and sit and talk about shit." Which is what Gilmore Girls always did best anyway, yeah? (Premiering 25 Nov on Netflix)

Atlanta

Donald Glover is a protean and prodigious talent - that's just a fact. And even if you're disinclined to agree, maybe give his new TV series Atlanta (which he co-created, stars in, writes, and sometimes directs) a whirl. Based around the hip hop milieu of the titular city, it's got a unique tone and energy, nimbly moving between moments of bracing dramatic honesty and quirky-verging-on-surreal comedy. I can't think of anything else like it. (Australian airdate to be announced)

Black Mirror

Sure, you can watch TV for fun, or to soothe your soul after a hard day of drudgery. But why not check out a handful of stories that'll really rattle your cage when it comes to humanity's own worst impulses and its increasingly complex relationship with technology? That's what Black Mirror, penned by provocateur par excellence Charlie Brooker, has done for a couple of seasons, and now it's back with six new stories The Hollywood Reporter has dubbed "as bracingly original and thought-provoking as ever". Watching this show is like being around when The Twilight Zone premiered - it's helping define science fiction as social commentary for this era. (Premiering 21 Oct on Netflix)

No Activity

The improvised Australian comedy about the uneventful work lives (but surprisingly detailed banter) of a handful of inner-city cops is back for a second season, with all six episodes dropping (do we still say that?) 26 Oct on streaming video service Stan. Original cast members Patrick Brammall, Darren Gilshenan, Harriet Dyer and Genevieve Morris all reprise their role in the new season, and the show has pulled off quite the coup by securing Rose Byrne and Damon Herriman (who's also giving one hell of a good performance in the pay-TV crime drama Quarry) in supporting roles. (Premiering 26 Oct on Stan)

Fleabag

You may not have heard the name Phoebe Waller-Bridge prior to watching the six-episode UK comedy-drama Fleabag; you will not forget the name Phoebe Waller-Bridge after watching the six-episode UK comedy-drama Fleabag. She's the writer and star of the series, adapted from her one-woman show, about a young woman navigating the troubled waters of modern life with a blistering, unfiltered wit (which she often shares with the audience by addressing us directly). Shows using both scathing humour and piercing candour to 'tell it like it is' are having their time in the spotlight right now. Fleabag is, in my opinion, the best of them. (Australian airdate to be announced)

The Wrong Girl

Of course, scathing humour and piercing candour isn't what you want from your TV series chronicling the urban misadventures of a 20-something woman. Sometimes you want something a little more... frivolous. That sounds like I'm damning the new Ten series The Wrong Girl with faint praise, I know, but there's a place for lightweight entertainment on our screens as well, and this adaptation of Zoe Foster Blake's novel is kinda fitting the bill right now. Jessica Marais is hitting some interesting notes as the flustered heroine of the title, and it's great to see new faces (and cool talents) like Rob Collins and Hayley Magnus breathing life into potentially stock characters. (Now showing on Ten)