Fantasmas is a show that recently concluded a weekly run on Max, but you wouldn’t believe that from a single episode alone. People say that every HBO show feels the same regarding its feel and direction – think The Sopranos or The Wire if you need a refresher. Well, now that door has been opened without you, dear reader, even knowing. There is a rising talent. Julio Torres.

You may know him from his A24 heavy-hitter Problemista that hit the waves last year, or from the little HBO show he worked on called Los Espookys. The main problem leading his career, which it seems Fantasmas hasn’t fixed, sadly, is a strong audience, which makes sense. Fantasmas isn’t for anyone specifically; it’s more of an experiment in conception. Think of James Joyce’s Ulysses and the odyssey of one day in Leopold Bloom’s mundane life. Think of how Joyce writes about the average person’s mundane achievements, similar to Odysseus. Torres certainly has this ambition and direction, even if his execution can be a bit too dry and predictable.

There’s never been a show like Fantasmas, which follows an extensive search for a golden oyster earring in a dystopian New York City. Often when one considers writing and breaking down a mountain of a work like this, you consider comparison. But if you had to compare Fantasmas to anything, it would be solely to Torres’ past work and nothing else. It’s quite hard to find a true relative that directly links to it. Torres’ influence is all over the place and that seems to be his intention.

Directing and costume design are hard for most shows. Even on HBO, it is common to see most characters wearing some bland, throwaway outfit with nothing that feels especifically considered. Torres gives life to these two specific things and reveals the power of full artistic intention. Every shot in Fantasmas is not like the last. For instance, we have one shot with characters sitting behind, for only a couple of seconds, a colourful background reminiscent of silent films. This is followed by outlandish characters wearing peculiar outfits that match perfectly and stand out meticulously. It’s weird. Certainly odd, but so desperately needed.

One could argue it’s all a bit too much: the colour scheme, the perfectly considered direction (despite my belief that it will be studied in universities within half of a century). However, the reason it all works is because that is the Fantasmas world, an overly designed experience filled with many influences and consideration only Torres’ poignant vision could deliver so authentically. It’s a modern utopia that is not so different from ours since, in a way, we are in a utopia. Existence.

We are left with many shows today that feel empty, blank, and only good for their writing. Actual consideration for what a viewer will see is secondary. Here, Torres shines. It is the kind of direction you would expect from an artist, not a worker in cinema. If you look hard enough, you will notice more and more of Torres’ unique vision.

It’s no wonder big names such as Emma Stone, who has had her own artistic renaissance recently, were a part of this. A great aspect of Fantasmas is its jaw-dropping acting. We have Paul Dano, Dylan O’Brien, Alexa Demie, Julia Fox, and Steve Buscemi, amongst over a dozen others who all work to Torres’ whim here. Each big-name heavy hitter feels honed into the world of Fantasmas, never falling astray to their namesake.

One of the greatest downfalls of Torres’ magnum opus is that his humour is all too wasted in its execution. Torres has a very specific sense of humour that is quite distinct, especially if you’ve seen Los Espookys: dry, random, complex, and sparkling with surrealism. Torres’ writing speaks to the average individual navigating modern existence through a futuristic world as a symbolic metaphor. In Fantasmas, we get a plethora of jokes about the fear and longing of influencer culture, customer service problems, and all the common insecurities we see in everything and in ourselves, that eat at us on a daily basis. The issue is in how Torres, almost mechanically, resolves and fails to properly integrate them into the narrative.

We have characters thrown in randomly throughout Julio’s mundane journey that, after appearing for only a moment, take over the narrative. The episodes quickly turn into an examination of their lives, a switch-up that feels overused considering it happens many times in every single episode like a cycle. Even worse, as soon as we are shown the height of their dilemmas, we simply move on to the next scene. It feels as though Torres is still navigating dilemmas himself and never finds a solution but rather just peaks through these other characters’ vignettes like a child through a crack in the door. In other words, there is no true insight.

Regardless, Fantasmas is a needed show on the scene, as it exudes an artistic force that has been lost to time. While it may not be perfect, the first step to consistent artistry like Fantasmas usually never is. It’s always the second person who can learn from it and improve that brings us even closer. Without a doubt, Fantasmas is a much-needed swing in a direction that television will and should learn from. A work of elegance in craft and pure artistic freedom, it is a beck and call to other artists – or, if I had to be more precise, a challenge to artists to make something better.

All episodes of Fantasmas are now streaming on Crave.