Print Black characters are hunted, persecuted and worse. Gay people are boiled alive. Women are shunted aside. Welcome to the middle of the 20th century, as imagined by some of the most prestigious TV series of this awards season. Shows like “Lovecraft Country,” “Them,” “Ratched” and “The Queen’s Gambit” depict a potently non-romantic 1950s-era past. We’re a far cry from “Happy Days.” Filtering horror movie and melodrama ideas through thoroughly modern sensibilities, these series leave an acidic aftertaste as their heroes fight to be treated as human beings. Sometimes the goal is dignity. Others, basic survival. Advertisement Take “Lovecraft Country,” the HBO fantasy series based on the novel by Matt Ruff. Borrowing from pulp horror master H.P. Lovecraft, the series takes us on a journey through Jim Crow America of the ‘50s, North and South. Its torments include real-life horrors (the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, bloodthirsty town sheriffs, burning crosses on the lawn); a white, spell-casting secret society; and various monsters, spirits and demons.