THE FUSE

The superb, globe-trotting wine drama “Drops of God” debuted in the spring of 2023, almost concurrently with the final season of “Succession.” On the one hand, the two series rhymed with fitting synchronicity; “Drops of God,” too, was driven by the question of which protagonist will take over the empire of a father figure who deeply damaged them. But on the other, the deafening noise produced by the acclaimed HBO drama — among a slew of simultaneous releases rushing into the gap between pandemic-era production shutdowns and impending strikes — initially drowned out a largely subtitled show distributed stateside by Apple TV, a relatively niche service where many series seem to fade into obscurity. Even I, a working television critic, didn’t catch up with “Drops of God” until months after its initial run concluded — to my great shame, because the eight-episode season became one of my favorites of that, or any, year.