hey so TC I'm just gonna drop it to dump a bunch of examples as to why you're wrong
Fargo's first three seasons. It's an anthology and I haven't seen 4 or 5 but the look of the series is entirely of film quality that frequently makes stylized choices in its direction and presentation.
True Detective's first season obviously qualifies in terms of pretty much everything, but like with Fargo, it is very well-directed. Even the second season - a very divisive and often maligned piece of TV - has flaws that don't really register with anything that you're saying in this thread and has very good direction, arguably it's only consistently solid element.
In terms of pure anthology and despite fictionalized elements, both Chernobyl (grounded) and The Terror (supernatural albeit loosely based on real events in its first half) are astoundingly well directed with a constant emphasis on atmosphere.
Even earlier "golden age" television shows like The Sopranos and The Wire qualify here on style, either by the consistency and breadth of the setting in the latter in which novel-level detail is given to the entire cast and the environment feels almost documentary-esque.
With the former, the Sopranos has a very good grasp of filmmaking that seeps in critical ways that are necessary for the story and don't ever underdeliver. Dream sequences are incredibly surreally made and true to the absurdity of dreams without the people in the dreams acknowledging the oddities, and the show generally undergoes a stylistic transformation that can really be seen. For example; the colorful and dutch angled pizzeria scenes in early seasons contrast against the bleak, drab ways they are shot late in the series, reflecting the broad decay of the mafia, Tony's morality, and the dwindling numbers of his crew that are caused by both of the former.
(I shouldn't even need to point out that numerous scenes in the show are some of the most hyper-analyzed things I've seen in visual mediums; despite it being dialogue focused, the series is rich with visual storytelling both in environment and subtle acting cues.)
Breaking Bad, while more directly an action-oriented show (in terms of pacing and behavior and not "Action scenes") is also obviously well stylized as a neo-western that is filled to the brim with creative montage sequences. Even small pacing decisions like quick cuts in proper action scenes that serve to make time go faster but not obscure flaws can represent the emotional state of the character. This is not unique to Breaking Bad or TV, but it is not low rent by any definition.
I'm mostly listing very well known stuff, but hey, let's dip in with The Knick, a great medical drama that is harrowing and disturbing throughout with uncompromising surgical scenes and a realistic and infuriating tale of a doctor's physical and mental decay under drug abuse. His genius and arrogance works against him under the same synth toned and sterile scaled environments while you watch everyone's lives go to complete shit.
Hannibal is also insanely well made, even moreso since it is network television. Despite some early constraints it becomes largely serialized the more it continues, drenched in incredible lighting, set design, weird sequences - everything.
I assume we're not counting anime as TV here so I'll stop there I guess but the idea that the medium can be wholly judged as low rent is absurd, particularly based on a one minute clip of an Amazon tv series. Does it look bad? Yeah, the camerawork is shit. Does this condemn the medium? No, you'd have to be willfully ignorant to actually believe that.
Despite clearly being into cool stuff I gotta say you sound fundamentally uncurious about non-film to the point where you just look really ignorant and offer zero respect to something that can often be as good or better than film.
insanely based for bringing up the terror. super dope show
---
https://i.imgur.com/hLHUnOI.jpg You act like I don't know my own way home