I have nearly finished the first series of Enlightened, a TV Series created by Laura Dern and Mike White. The series is extraordinary - even in a world where TV series have become over the last ten years a leading entertainment and art form.
It is not an easy or “fun” series, which probably accounts for its cancellation after just two seasons - I’m sort of amazed it got made in the first place - I imagine Laura Dern had something to do with it.
In fact, it is often profoundly sad - and darkly funny - as we watch the small tragedies and ironies that attend upon Amy (Laura Dern) and those around her. Amy herself is a great tragi-comic creation who remains all too human and un-enlightened despite her initial “enlightenment” at the meditation retreat at the start of episode one.
The best way to describe the series is to imagine it is what Raymond Carver might have produced had he switched from writing short story miniatures of the small desolations and tragedies of suburban America and made TV instead.