“Gryznya” is the best series of the year according to Lifehacker

2023 gave fans of TV series many projects of different genres: from post-apocalypse in “The Last of Us” to rethinking the work of Edgar Allan Poe in “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Choosing which one is better is not easy: the shows are too different in themes, scope and atmosphere. But among all the exciting series, one can single out the most unexpected and important.

“Gryznya” is a joint project Netflix and the famous independent studio A24. The plot was invented by Korean screenwriter Lee Sung-jin, who worked on episodes of “Silicon Valley” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

This black comedy, turning into a thriller, perfectly reflects the state in which many people live: constant stress, the inability to share their problems even with loved ones and breakdowns over little things.

The plot is familiar to almost everyone

Danny Cho (Steven Yang) works as a contractor in the United States. But the work is going badly, there are few orders, and his brothers are just getting in the way and wasting money. Amy Lau (Ali Wong) is a flower shop owner and general businesswoman. She has excellent career prospects, and a loving husband and daughter are waiting at home.

But one day, two heroes, being in a very nervous state, almost collide with cars in the parking lot. Everything seemed to work out well: both honked their horns indignantly and drove away, no one was hurt, not even the cars were dented. But the woman shows her middle finger from the window, and Danny breaks down. He chases his opponent, remembers the car number and decides to take revenge. This is where the enmity between two people who actually haven’t done anything to each other begins.

What attracts us most in Gryzn are the familiar and understandable characters. Both of them are from migrant families, but they don’t put much emphasis on this - except to emphasize the coldness of the heroine’s parents and make one joke. It is more important that the main characters are representatives of different strata.

Danny is trying with all his might to somehow get settled and help his parents and even borrows money from a criminal relative. Amy's life seems to be the complete opposite: there are no problems with money or family. But she has even more irritation inside her than her future enemy. Because of childhood traumas that the woman never overcame, and even more because of the constant feeling of loneliness and the inability to share emotions even with those closest to her.

The viewer can even choose which character’s tragedy is more understandable to him: the one who struggles from powerlessness and grabs onto any an opportunity to improve life, or someone whose problems are simply not noticed, who are always advised to just think about something good.

The collision of this couple is, in fact, a trifle. But for everyone, this becomes a boiling point: for the first time in a long time, their lives acquire a simple and clear goal - revenge. At first Danny does a minor dirty trick, then Amy responds a little more seriously, and the cycle of cruelty becomes worse, drawing in more and more people.

Like the heroes of the films “I’ve Enough” or “Joker", the characters, unable to resist the roughness of the world around them, begin to engage in either destruction or self-destruction.

“Griznya” surprises with plot twists and genre changes

Based on the first episodes, it may seem that this is just a black comedy: the most terrible and witty thing that Danny comes up with for the sake of revenge is to urinate on the floor of his opponent’s bathroom.

It seems that the heroes will continue to do dirty tricks to each other until something stops them. But the tragedy of the lives of each of them is gradually revealed, a separate line will be dedicated to Amy’s childhood - and this is a real living drama. The main action will quickly turn into a tense thriller.

But even this would hardly have captivated the audience for long. Therefore, from the middle of the season, “Gryzny” begins to change with each episode. There are jumps in time and it seems that the heroes have completely changed. But again and again they are captured by the old enmity.

The most unexpected thing is the final two episodes. Here everyone will certainly remember that studio A24 was responsible for the production of the series. It is this company that is responsible, for example, for many “post-horror" or "sublime horror": "The Witch" and "Lighthouse"Robert Eggers, "Reincarnation" and "Solstice"Ari Aster, "A Ghost Story" by David Lowery and others. By the last episodes, “Gryznya” turns into complete madness, and then into a psychedelic trip with a very unexpected ending.

"Rumble" at first seems like a show about feuds. And in the end it turns out to be a tragic story about loneliness, accumulated stress and the inability to escape from the vicious circle of everyday life. And also about how people unexpectedly find loved ones and how former loved ones become strangers. It combines funny, sad and scary, and literally everyone will find the characters familiar. If this is not the main story of the year, then what?

A few more cool series released this year

• "One of us" — film adaptation computer game of the same name. A large-scale post-apocalyptic series in which action is organically intertwined with drama.
• "The Fall of the House of Usher" - new Job author of The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, Mike Flanagan. A beautiful horror series based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe.
• "Poker face" — «reverse detective"with the star of "Matryoshka Lives" Natasha Lyonne. The main character has the ability to know exactly when people are lying. Fleeing persecution, she travels around the country and solves crimes.
• "Therapy" - a new series from the author of Ted Lasso. How I Met Your Mother star Jason Segel plays a psychotherapist who breaks the rules of the job. Bonus: Harrison Ford's excellent comedic performance.

What series do you remember in 2023?