Capping a year filled with horrendous headlines, former president Barack Obama is sharing his annual list of favorite films and TV shows offering inspiration — or just a desperately needed escape.
Obama first introduced the list while still in the White House, and it’s since become a yearly tradition.
“Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual storytelling that I’ve enjoyed this year, regardless of format,” Obama wrote in the intro to this year’s list posted on social media.
He topped his seemingly unranked list of 14 favorite movies with George C. Wolfe’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” now streaming on Netflix.
The movie adaptation of playwright August Wilson’s classic stars Viola Davis and features the final performance of Chadwick Boseman, the beloved “Black Panther” actor who died in August.
His list also included Chloe Zhao’s film festival favorite “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, and Bradley Garrett’s acclaimed documentary “Time,” about the family impact of incarceration (Amazon).
Not surprisingly, Obama also loved the inspiring youth-driven documentaries “Crip Camp,” from his Higher Camp Productions (Netflix), and “Boys State” (Apple).
“Bacurau,” a sociopolitical drama set in Brazil, and Steve McQueen’s “Lovers Rock,” an ode to British reggae (Amazon), also make the list.
In the TV genre, the former president known for his pop culture savvy upset some fans by not adding Disney’s “The Mandalorian” or the Emmy-winning sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” to his more abbreviated list of 10 favorites.
Instead, he recommended the long-running “Breaking Bad” spinoff “Better Call Saul” (AMC) and the Netflix mega hit “The Queen’s Gambit.”
The HBO comedy-drama “I May Destroy You,” the Amazon superheroes show “The Boys,” the Showtime historical drama miniseries “The Good Lord Bird,” and the NBC fantasy-comedy “The Good Place” also made the list.
Obama shared his list of favorite 2020 books on Thursday.
