THE BEST OF 2018 - The Best TV Shows of The Year
- Hey guys - I'm back! While I'm no longer posting regular reviews here on the ol' blog, I'm still keeping it going as a forum to post on special occasions. And certainly, one such occasion is my annual set of BEST OF THE YEAR posts. And since I've not been writing regular reviews (save for the occasional quick take on social media), man, I've got a lot to say. So let's get right into it and talk about TV.
- 2018 was a really interesting year for TV. For the last few years, we've seen the balance of power in the TV world shift towards the big streaming services - not just in terms of overall volume of content, but also in terms of the likes of Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu having many of the industry's buzziest and most critically-acclaimed series. In past years, other than the occasional standout like Stranger Things, I'd often de-prioritize streaming series vs. those on more traditional networks. I'd clean out my DVR first, then get to whatever people were binge-watching on streaming. But this year, I definitely noticed a shift in my own habits. More and more, a lot of the best TV (not to mention movies - but that's a whole other discussion) was on streaming, and it felt like there was less and less on the major broadcast or cable networks that could compete. At the same time though, I think we are seeing some of the cracks show in Peak TV. It feels like we are still waiting for the next Breaking Bad-level phenomenon that is both a buzzy audience fave and a critical smash. And a lot of the big "next big thing" series that launched this year didn't quite meet expectations. I'm thinking about series like Altered Carbon, that promised to do for cyberpunk what Game of Thrones did for epic fantasy. The show was entertaining, but was more B-movie TV than prestige TV. I'm thinking about a show like Maniac, that seemed to promise a must-see, mind-bending journey from True Detective helmer Cary Fukunaga, featuring A-list talent Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. It was another mixed bag - an interesting but overindulgent series. And I'm thinking of a show like Castle Rock, which promised the ultimate take on the Stephen King connected universe, but which delivered an all-over-the-place story that had a couple of standout episodes (hello, Sissy Spaceck spotlight ep), but somewhat underwhelmed. And so while the Netflix's of the world could probably stand to reign some of their creators in a bit more, the opposite is probably true of many more traditional nets. They seem to largely be ceding the big, high-concept stuff to streaming - going for safer fare aimed at the older audiences still tuning in.
Anyways, we'll see how this all shakes out. There's way more content out there than anyone can possibly watch. I regularly hear about series - that people really like, and that have been out for a while - that I've not even previously heard of (and I'm pretty in the know!). How this is sustainable, I don't know. But I do think it's overwhelming. At the same time, it's all sort of fascinating. To see a show like The Haunting of Hill House become a viral, word-of-mouth sensation upon release ... I mean, when you think about the careful (and costly) marketing that goes into more traditional series, and then Hill House just drops out of seemingly nowhere and becomes the talk of the internet ... it's nuts.
- So here is my list of the Best TV Series of 2018. There was some amazing TV this past year. Some old favorites came to a close and some new shows rocketed to the top of my must-watch list. And of course, there's a metric ton of TV I've not seen - I'm behind on Mrs. Maisel and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I need to watch Bojack Horseman. I still haven't seen The Crown. So with all those disclaimers out of the way ... here we go:
DANNY'S TOP TV SHOWS OF 2018:
1. THE AMERICANS
- The Americans has been near the top of my annual best-of lists since Season 1 ... that is, until 2017's Season 5, when it felt like it lost its sense of urgency and became way too much of a slow burn. So there was a question of whether the show could rally for its sixth and final season and go out strong. Personally, I felt confident that it could - because while Season 5 was a bit of a drag, it nonetheless set up a lot of dominoes for Season 6. And when you think about the talent both behind and in front of the camera on this show - well, I had a feeling they were going to give us something special for the final season. And give us something special they did. The Americans' final season was an absolute all-timer - one of the best final seasons of a prestige TV drama ever, culminating in a final episode that was arguably the greatest series finale of all time (and yes, I might even rank it higher than the lauded finales of shows like Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and Justified). This is where the series' slow-burn pacing really paid off - the show would often tease a confrontation between Russian spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings and an increasingly suspicious Stan Beeman, but always held back on blowing up the show to deliver it. That is, until the absolutely explosive finale - a wrenching episode of TV that brilliantly delivered on six seasons' worth of story and emotional payoffs. The acting on this series was so, so fantastic - Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell deserve all of the awards for their nuanced performances. As does the criminally underrated Noah Emmerich, who absolutely made the finale with his acting. Holly Taylor, too - as conflicted Jennings daughter Paige - went from token daughter character in S1 to heart-and-soul of the series by the show's end. The Americans had so much to say. It was a nuanced commentary on both what makes America great and what makes some resent it. But ultimately, it was both a critique of and a celebration of the American Dream. It was a show that was both of a specific time (1980's, Cold War America) and very much for our time. It was also a show about morality and about how far one can go in the name of a cause. And at what price for one's soul? The final season of The Americans cemented it, to me, as one of the Great TV Shows ever made. And yeah, I put that in all caps because it really was that damn great. If you've not seen it, you need to watch it. There will be a void in the TV landscape now that this show is done - but man, I won't forget the series - or its haunting, intense, poignant finale - not now and not ever.
2. AMERICAN VANDAL
- To sort of follow-up on the preamble above ... this era of Overwhelming TV is bound to have some unfortunate casualties, and one of those is, sadly, American Vandal. Somehow, despite being universally beloved by anyone who watched it, American Vandal got the axe by Netflix after two brilliant seasons. But guys: you have to watch this show. It's one of the funniest series I've ever seen, and also a spot-on satire of both true-crime documentaries and of high school life. Season 1 was absolutely brilliant, but I maybe liked Season 2 even more because it had even more depth and nuance in its portrayal of high school clique culture and classism. The location shifts in S2 to a prep school - and the mystery shifts to a mysterious prankster known as the Turd Burgler. It's crazy and absurd - but the show (and its high school sleuths) treat it all with absolute straight-faced sincerity. And that's what makes it all work so well. This show was amazing. I hope its creators get to do more comedy in this vein.
3. ATLANTA
- Speaking of dark comedy, Atlanta was so, so good in Season 2. And it had an unpredictability-factor that made it a must-watch, must-discuss each and every week. The cool thing about Atlanta is that an episode can pretty much be anything. And that means that we got all-time gems in S2 like the genius "Teddy Perkins," in which Darius (the hilarious Lakeith Stanfield) runs afoul of a creepy, Michael Jackson-esque musician and gets trapped in his house of horrors. Yep, for one episode, Atlanta became, almost, straight-up horror ... and it was awesome. Atlanta also pulls no punches when it comes to tackling issues of race, and that leads to moments like in "North of the Border", when Earn and his crew end up hanging with a bunch of low-key racist frat boys while on a college concert tour. It goes without saying, but Donald Glover is consistently fantastic here, as is Lakeith Stanfield, as is Brian Tyree Henry, as is Zazie Beetz. More, please.
4. THE GOOD PLACE
- The Good Place is pulling something off that's almost never been done: it's a half-hour sitcom (and a really funny one at that) that's also a high-concept, serialized sci-fi/fantasy series. Mike Schur and co are giving us a consistently funny show filled with hilarious characters (and the cast just gets more funny, more assured, and develops better chemistry with each passing episode). But they're also giving us a crazy plot filled with twists, fake-outs, and cliffhangers - one where I can't wait to see how things develop over the course of each season. When I think about the latter half of S2, and now S3, I think about how Jason Mendoza (as played by Manny Jacinto), has developed into a legendary comedic supporting character - delivering some of the most quotable lines on TV. I think about how D'Arcy Carden has done so much with Janet - going so far as, in a recent S3 episode, doing Janet as every other character on the show in a tour de force performance. I also feel like, as good as The Good Place has been - it's only just getting started. I can't wait to see where it goes.
5. BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
- I'm going to move this one up substantially on my 2018 list vs. where it's been in the past. Don't get me wrong - I've been a B99 fan since Season 1. But I honestly feel like the show reached a level of comedic brilliance in 2018's Season 5 that it had never hit before - at least not this consistently. The show was quite simply firing on all cylinders this past season, producing a string of classic, hilarious episodes. The whole cast is so great, but once again I'm just going to single out Andre Braugher. Not to beat a dead horse, but it's insane that Braugher has not been an annual Emmy winner for his portrayal of Captain Raymond Holt. He's one of the funniest characters ever on TV, period. Anyways, it was quite the rollercoaster when this show was cancelled by FOX - right as it was coming off a series-best season - only to then get picked up by NBC for a Season 6. But a cool side effect of all the drama was that, it seems, a lot of people *finally* got on the B99 bandwagon and started binge-ing the show. Good! This show is toit!
6. BETTER CALL SAUL
- Better Call Saul, when it's at its best (which is usually), is pretty damn amazing. Vince Gilligan and co are geniuses, and every time you think there's no way to milk more story out of the transformation of Jimmy McGill into Saul Goodman - they find ways to twist the narrative knife just a little more and deliver Breaking Bad-level "holy $&%#" moments. Personally, I missed the presence of the irreplaceable Michael McKean after the events of Season 3. But ... the show did a bang-up job of delving deeper into the relationship between Jimmy and Kim (a better-than-ever Rhea Seehorn), as well as slowly amping-up the presence of Breaking Bad big bad Gus Fring, whose shadow loomed over the entire season. This led to some really cool stuff with Mike, now in Fring's employ. I loved everything having to do with Mike working to get Fring's secret drug lair built. My only hope here is that the show heads towards its finale sooner rather than later. Breaking Bad always had a major sense of urgency to its storytelling - Saul is starting to feel, just a little, like its trying to stretch things in order to fill out six seasons worth of content. My longshot hope is that there's only one more prequel season, and then one final epilogue season that takes place post-Breaking Bad. Now that would be exciting.
7. WESTWORLD
- Okay, I know a lot of people were down on Westworld in Season 2. But come on - while the season had its ups and downs, it also delivered some of the best individual episodes of TV I've ever seen. Yes, the show still has a macro issue of figuring out what it is. And I'll acknowledge that the week to week plot this season could meander - it got too confusing for its own good at times, and certain characters (Delores, The Man In Black) felt directionless after their fantastic S1 arcs. That said: Westworld delivered some of the best standalone eps of sci-fi TV since the days of "The Constant" from Lost. I mean, "Kiksuya" - you know, the episode all about Ghost Tribe member Akecheta? - that was holy-$&%# good. Same goes for "The Riddle of the Sphinx" - a jaw-dropping flashback episode that focused in on the mystery of James Delos. Westworld can be a frustrating show, no question - but when it can deliver episodes this memorable (and when it's got knockout performances from the likes of Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, etc.), it's still a must-see (and one of the year's best) in my book.
8. BIG MOUTH
- So just recently I've gotten aboard the Big Mouth bandwagon, and I am now sort of obsessed. This show is just so ... freaking ... funny. And in a year with no new Rick & Morty, this filled the void nicely (and as I say that, I'm picturing the show's grotesque Hormone Monster appearing over my shoulder and whispering "yeah it did."). Big Mouth is hilariously, almost shockingly vulgar at times - but it's also a very sweet, sincere animated comedy about the trials and travails of a bunch of middle schoolers going through puberty. It's actually sort of amazing to me the balancing act the show manages to pull off - it tackles very tricky issues, like consent, with intelligence, but also is not afraid to get completely weird and random to get a big laugh. The voice work on the show is also so good - Nick Kroll just kills it playing a variety of characters. John Mulaney is hilarious, and Jesse Klein is too. But I have to give a special shout-out to Jenny Slate as awkward nerdy girl Missy. Slate makes Missy so consistently funny and such a consistently amazing character - she almost steals the show away from everyone else (and her conversations with imaginary Nathan Fillion - oh man). Anyways, this is one of Netflix's 5,000 recent originals so people (like me) are still discovering it. But add this one to your list.
9. BARRY
- One of the breakout new series of 2018, Barry was a showcase for the immensely talented Bill Hader - a guy who is absolutely hilarious, but who also has legit dramatic chops. Barry is a great vehicle for Hader because it's a dark (i.e. pitch black) comedy that isn't afraid to deliver moments of genuine, nightmarish terror. I mean, it's about a hitman trying to leave that life behind and pursue his newfound dream of acting ... so the premise is inherently dark. But Season 1 genuinely shocked me a few times with the places it went. This can be a seriously &%$#'ed-up show. And that, I think, is what put Barry over the top for me - it was wholly unpredictable. Just when it lulls you into thinking you're watching a sweet show about an awkward dude trying to turn his life around - the show reminds you that, nope, Barry is that but he's also a stone-cold assassin when he needs to be. This show is not messing around, and it's going to be very, very interesting to see where it goes in Season 2.
10. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
- As always, it was a tough decision to narrow down my Top 10. There were a few shows I wanted to include for various reasons, but ... I'm giving this final slot to Hill House, because it had a string of episodes that were just off-the-charts good. Hill House is, I think, one of the best Season 1's, pound for pound, that Netflix has yet released. It takes a few episodes to really get rolling, but by the time I got to Episode 3 ("Touch"), I could sense that this was shaping up to be something special. By the time I got to Episode 5 - the creepy, mind-bending tour de force that is "The Bent-Neck Lady" I was all-in. What an episode of TV. Now, I could write paragraphs about why I didn't love the ending, etc. But I want to focus on the fact that Hill House was one of the best seasons of horror TV I've ever seen. It was a moving family drama, a poignant story about addiction and love and loss, and also a creepy af ghost story. Creator Mike Flanagan really showed me something here (though, hey, I've sung his praises since Ouija 2!) and he's 100% a person to watch. No question: Hill House was one of the most memorable and affecting things I watched in 2018.
The Next Best:
11. HUMANS
- Man, I wanted to put this one in the Top 10 because it's such a cool, endearing, underappreciated show. Seriously - whenever I meet a fellow "Humans" fan I get way too excited and immediately commence nerding out about the show. But yeah, there's a reason why Humans has been steadily producing a stream of breakout stars - from Black Panther's Letitia Wright to Crazy Rich Asians' Gemma Arterton. It's a great show filled with talented actors, and often I wonder if it does Westworld one better when it comes to its science-fiction take on robots becoming sentient and trying to co-exist with often hostile humans. Anyways, Season 3 was by far the best season of Humans yet - it raced right to the brink of robot-human war, and had some very intriguing twists and turns. Sure, the show throws in a bit too much CW-ish soap opera at times, but it never skimps on the sci-fi. Bonus: it's got the coolest opening credits sequence / theme music in the biz. If you love sci-fi stories about robots and AI as much as I do, then you need to be watching Humans.
12. WHO IS AMERICA?
- Back in the day, I was convinced (and still am!) that Da Ali G Show was one of the most brilliant pieces of comedy I'd ever seen. So it was pretty damn exciting that Sacha Baron Cohen was returning to TV with a surprise Showtime series, that would again see him go undercover as a motley crew of fake characters designed to fool unsuspecting targets. This felt like the show we needed in the age of Trump, and in many ways, it delivered on its promise. There were segments that were absolutely jaw-dropping - some unspeakably dark and messed-up, some more silly and random. At the same time, there were certainly some segments (and even whole characters) that sort of bombed. But nonetheless, the show was perhaps *the* conversation-starter of 2018. And while some may now reject Cohen's shock-TV sensibilities, I more than welcomed the return of his unique, brazen brand of brilliance.
13. KILLING EVE
- I was late in checking this one out, but very quickly became a big fan. I had heard about how good Sandra Oh was on this show, but man, I was not prepared for Jodie Comer as the oddly lovable psycho-killer Villanelle. Comer kills on this show (in more ways than one), and is already on my list for all-time great TV villains. I loved the way the show never took the easy way out with her and made her too much of an antihero - she was a villain through and through (just one that you can't help but root for). And the cat and mouse, Batman/Joker-esque relationship with her and Oh's Eve was full of great moments, including a jaw-dropper of a finale. This show - with its mix of action, oddball humor, great characters, and slowly-unraveling mythology definitely helped to fill the Orphan Black-sized void in my TV viewing diet.
14. THE HANDMAID'S TALE
- Season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale blew me away last year ... but getting through it took a toll. The show was so bleak and harrowing (especially given its unsettling parallels to current real-life politics), that it took me a long time to hit play on Season 2. And when I did, I found the same visually-stunning, incredibly-acted series that I'd praised in Season 1. Elizabeth Moss is, again, amazing - and I liked the expanded scope of the storytelling that shined a spotlight on characters like Alexis Bleidel's Emily. I think, perhaps, that S1 was so much of a gut-punch that getting an even darker, bleaker S2 almost felt like too much. Nevertheless, this remains a high mark of quality TV, and a constant reminder of what our not-so-implausible darkest timeline could look like.
15. THE LAST MAN ON EARTH
- Everyone (rightly) got up in arms about Brooklyn Nine-Nine's cancellation this year - but let us not forget the other painful casualty of FOX's show-slashing in 2018, that being the often hilarious and brilliant Last Man On Earth. Unfortunately, unlike B99, there was no last-minute renewal for Last Man. Even worse, this past season ended on a huge cliffhanger (!!!) that will remain unresolved. And worse still, the show was cancelled after making a remarkable creative comeback in Season 4. After a bit of a slump, the show rallied in Season 3 and was back to full strength in its final season - with sharp writing, some of the funniest banter on TV, and a totally amazing (and totally underappreciated) lead performance from Will Forte - who should have won all the Emmys for his funny-af work on this series.
16. THE GOLDBERGS
- Yes, The Goldbergs is what I call comedy comfort food, but what makes it great is that it combines aw-shucks sweetness with genuinely inspired jokes and comedic dialogue. The show can be saccharine, but it's also sharp-as-hell - it's one of the most quotable comedies on TV. And the show was really killin' it in Season 6 - with classic episodes like the one about Barry's Bachelor Party - an ep that rang particularly true after having just planned my own brother's bachelor celebrations. So please, don't dismiss the Goldbergs as a run-of-the-mill sitcom. It's schmaltzy but also doesn't skimp on the comedy. An underappreciated gem.
17. AMERICAN HORROR STORY: APOCALYPSE
- Well, this was a huge surprise. I've bailed early on the lat few seasons of AHS - the last one I really got into was Hotel. And when Apocalypse began, I almost bailed again. The season's first two episodes were campy and awkward. As the story - about a bunch of people trapped in a bunker following apocalyptic disaster - was initially set up, I assumed this would be a not-so-good season of a show whose quality can vary wildly. But soon enough, the season did a 180. It morphed into a gleefully insane epic that brought back characters from Coven and Murder House, and wove a grand unifying season of AHS that was chock full of comic book-y awesomeness. In fact, for all the crazy places the story went, this ended up being a surprisingly coherent season of AHS. And it was filled with an all-star cast of AHS all-stars to boot. This was hugely fun.
18. CRASHING
- I liked Season 1 of Crashing, but Season 2 really upped the show's game and got really, really good. This biographical comedy about comedian Pete Holmes working his way up the stand-up comedy ladder got funnier and more ambitious in S2. It had some fantastic guest appearances from people like Bill Burr and Artie Lange. I also really liked the introduction of Jamie Lee as a new love interest / foil for Pete - her character Ali was a strong addition to the series. Highly recommend this show.
19. RIVERDALE
- This one is hard to talk about in any rational sense. Is Riverdale a good show? I'm honestly not sure. Is Riverdale the most entertainingly insane show on TV? Hell yes. Somehow, Season 3 has been the show's craziest yet. I can't even describe the main plotline coherently, except to say it's about a Dungeons & Dragons-like game called Griffins & Gargoyles that turns teens into culty murderers and is part of an evil Hiram Lodge master plan to rule Riverdale and its populace. I ... think the show's writers know what they're doing? Or they're just doing some really hardcore drugs. I don't know. But one thing is clear: if you're not watching Riverdale, you are seriously, seriously missing out.
20. GLOW
- I marked GLOW as one to watch last year. I enjoyed Season 1, but felt like there was further room to improve in Season 2. And the show did definitely improve. It got a little meatier - grappling (see what I did there) with issues like sexual harassment and gender politics. It gave a little more nuance to the central Ruth/Debbie relationship. And it had a little more fun with the wrestling of it all as well. I'd still love to see the show more fully embrace its pro-wrestling backdrop - it's such a unique world that I'd still love to see explored a bit more. But even so, the so is highly watchable thanks to a combination of humor, style, and a great cast. Alison Brie knocks it out of the park in each and every episode.
21. PREACHER
- I'm a huge fan of the Preacher comics, and Season 3 of Preacher captured more of the tone of Garth Ennis' modern classic series than ever before. This season doubled down on the kind of dark, out-there humor that made the books a cult favorite - and the way in which it adapted the "All in the Family" story arc was really well done. At the same time, the show has carved out its own identity. Case in point: Ruth Negga as Tulip O'Hare. Negga has taken an already-iconic character and made it her own - she's a force of nature on the show and is the lynch-pin of a kick-ass cast.
22. NEW GIRL
- New Girl is an all-time comedy fave, and I really thought it was done following Season 6. But lo and behold, we got a surprise S7 that wrapped up the show in a less-rushed fashion, and got to fully explore the Jess-Nick relationship and bring it to a satisfying end point. I really liked this final season! It had some super funny episodes, and man, this cast was just so great together. Jess, Nick, Schmidt, Winston - they're some all-time great comedic characters. I will miss this show.
23. THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA
- The new kid on the Netflix block is off to a really fun start. Sabrina recreates the anything-goes vibe of its sister series Riverdale while going a bit darker and grittier and, um, Satanic. I was surprised at how all-in this series goes in this respect - it doesn't shy away from getting into some pretty, well, evil territory - and hey, that's really cool. And yet - the show still manages to somehow be uber charming and witty and funny all the same. It's a tightrope walk, but the show seems intent on walking it (rather than just going off the rails all the time like Riverdale). I'm curious how this show evolves and if it has staying power, but I seriously dug the overall tone and vibe of the show. My main complaint: the episodes are too long. A show like Sabrina does not need 1 hour plus episodes!
24. PORTLANDIA
- Another favorite that bid farewell in 2018. It felt like the time had come - as the hopeful hipster age of Portlandia felt sadly obsolete in our current, more dire era. But this show kept the dream of the 90's alive and well for eight seasons - and while the show didn't always hit a homerun with its sketches, its best bits were often instant-classics. Even in its final season, there were a few random sketches that just killed it - like an absurdist take on escape rooms, or a series about online dating featuring Rachel Bloom. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein were truly a match made in hipster comedy heaven. Fred is everywhere these days, but I hope we see more of Carrie in the years to come - she was an unexpected comedic powerhouse on Portlandia and I'll miss her on my TV.
TIE: 25. LEGION
- Legion occasionally lost me in Season 2, but its highs were uniquely awesome. Creator Noah Hawley is a master of acid-trip surreal storytelling - and from the first crazy dance number on the S2 premiere of Legion, you knew you were once again in for a ride. Now, I think the show got a bit lost in its own labyrinthine ideas in S2 - there were stretches in the middle part of the season that felt nigh-incomprehensible. But the show rallied late-season and delivered one hell of a finale - it was enough to get me legit excited again about the series and about Season 3.
TIE: 25. DISENCHANTMENT
- Here's a show that got off to a solid start - but that I'm VERY excited about going forward. Disenchanment launched with sky-high expectations - after all, it was the first new series from Matt Groening since Futurama. I was lucky enough to see the first look at the show this past summer at Comic-Con, and the clips killed with the audience in the room. When I actually got to see the full episodes, things proved a bit more uneven. The voice-cast was amazing, but the jokes occasionally fell flat, and some of the characters didn't 100% pop in the same way they did on Futurama. That said, the more I watched of Disenchanted, the more I liked it. By the end of S1, I was a big fan. The show grew on me, the humor began to really click, and I became excited by the possibilities of the series. Well worth a watch, says I, if you're a Simpsons or Futurama fan.
SPECIAL MENTIONS:
a.) CONAN
- 2018 marked the end of an era for Conan O'Brien. After decades of hosting a late night talk show, Conan did his final traditional-format episode for TBS this year. He'll be back in 2019, but with a new half-hour format that will focus on comedy bits and remotes, and (presumably) eschew the usual monologues and guest interviews. While I'm excited to see the evolution of Conan's series, I have to admit it's also sad to see his tried and true late-night format end. Conan is one of my comedy and entertainment industry heroes - I've watched him for years, am a former Late Night intern, and liked the fact that Conan seemed so reverent of the old-school style of late night show. Sure, his humor has always tried to put a unique, absurdist spin on the format - but there was still, behind it all, an ongoing tribute to late night TV and the likes of Johnny Carson, etc. I loved the way Conan brought a wink and a sense of self-deprecation to his monologues. And I loved the interviews with Conan regulars like Jeff Goldblum, Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, Aubrey Plaza, Will Ferrell, and Norm McDonald. That said, Conan has of late found an amazing forum for his comedic sensibility with his travelogue specials. Conan's been doing these for years dating back to the NBC days, but they've become a regular event on TBS and they're always gold. In 2018, Conan did specials from Italy and Japan - and both were instant classics. The Japan special might be one of my favorite things on TV from 2018 - it was drop-dead hilarious. So I definitely look forward to more travelogue specials, more offbeat remotes, and more absurdist sketches that will, perhaps, hearken back to the golden-era Late Night days. Conan's 2019 return is going to be a TV comedy event, no question. But I'll still pour out a proverbial glass for the end of an era - Conan's long tenure as TV's best, funniest, and often most underappreciated late night TV talk show host.
b.) SUPERGIRL / THE FLASH / DC on the CW
- You guys probably know that I'm a huge DC Comics nerd, and so I consider shows like Supergirl and The Flash to be great comfort-food TV - they are basically my adult version of Saturday morning cartoons. That said, my patience was definitely tested with these two series heading into their summer 2018 season finales. (as an aside: I don't watch Arrow, am behind on Black Lightning, and couldn't get into Legends - and yeah, I know people love it now!). I love a lot of things about Supergirl and The Flash - they exude charm, they embrace a lot of the comics' more out-there concepts, and they both have a ton of heart. At the same time, these shows - at their worst - can be a drag. Forced to run for 22+ episodes per season, both series continuously saddle themselves with season-long villain arcs that seem constantly stretched out to their breaking point by season's end. It makes the shows repetitive and frustrating - and that's not even getting into the templates that they strictly adhere to that are par for the course with the DC TV series (ex: the constant "balcony talks" - inherited from Smallville - that pop up on every. single. episode.). So I was on the verge of a "break-up" with DC TV ... but decided to give both Supergirl and The Flash one more chance going into their new Fall 2018 seasons. And I've got to say - both made admirable comebacks. Supergirl doubled down on political allegory in its new season - and while heavy-handed at times, it's a welcome change from the constant romantic soap-operatics that weighed down the previous season. The Flash, meanwhile, surprised me with how fun its "Barry-and-Iris'-daughter-from-the-future visits the present" storyline has turned out to be - and XS is yet another uber-charming addition to the Flash cast of characters. So, I'm still onboard with these series. They're comfort-food, like I said. But I will be watching to see if both shows can attain even higher heights as their current seasons roll on. With these legendary characters, the sky should be the limit.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:
The Best TV Heroes of 2018:
1.) Akecheta - Westworld
2.) Eve Polastri - Killing Eve
3.) Sabrina Spellman - The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
4.) Cordelia Goode - American Horror Story: Apocalypse
5.) Princess Bean - Disenchantment
The Best TV Villains of 2018:
1.) Villanelle - Killing Eve
2.) Aunt Lydia - The Handmaid's Tale
3.) Father Faustus Blackwood - The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
4.) Noho Hank - Barry
5.) Herr Starr - Preacher
The Best TV Anti-Heroes of 2018:
1.) Barry Berkman - Barry
2.) Niska - Humans
3.) Tulip O'Hare - Preacher
4.) Madison Montgomery - American Horror Story: Apocalypse
5.) Delores - Westworld
Best Actress in a Comedy:
1.) Alison Brie - GLOW
Runners Up: Kristen Bell - The Good Place, Zooey Deschanel - New Girl, Carrie Brownstein - Portlandia,
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy:
1.) D'Arcy Carden - The Good Place
Runners Up: Stephanie Beatriz - Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Melissa Fumero - Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Best Actor in a Comedy:
1.) Bill Hader - Barry
Runners Up: Donald Glover - Atlanta, Will Forte - The Last Man On Earth, Andy Samberg - Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy:
1.) Andre Braugher - Brooklyn Nine Nine
Runners Up: Manny Jacinto - The Good Place, Joe Lo Truglio - Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Lakeith Stanfield - Atlanta
Best Actress in a Drama:
1.) Keri Russell - The Americans
Runners Up: Elizabeth Moss - The Handmaid's Tale, Sandra Oh - Killing Eve
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama:
1.) Jodie Comer - Killing Eve
Runners Up: Thandie Newton - Westworld, Kate Siegel - The Haunting of Hill House, Rhea Seehorn - Better Call Saul
Best Actor in a Drama:
1.) Matthew Rhys - The Americans
Runners Up: Bob Odenkirk - Better Call Saul, Dan Stevens - Legion
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama:
1.) Noah Emmerich - The Americans
Runners Up: Jeffrey Wright - Westworld, Jonathan Banks - Better Call Saul
