“Sharp Objects”

When two girls are murdered in the hometown of journalist Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), more than a few ghosts call her back to town. The series was created by Marti Noxon, based on the novel by Gillian Flynn and directed with Jean-Marc Vallée’s eye for marrying the aesthetic and the unsettling. While falling back into an unhealthy dynamic with mother Adora (Patricia Clarkson), Patricia also connects with Detective Richard Willis (Chris Messina) and with her half-sister Amma (Eliza Scanlen) who both reminds Camille of and ties her to the murdered girls. With immense performances by the entire cast, mesmerizing visuals, and an ending we’ll never forget, “Sharp Objects” rewired the TV murder mystery for the 2010s and set an impressive bar. —PK