The Best of the 10's - Danny's Best TV of the Decade!

THE BEST TELEVISION OF THE 2010's:


1. Breaking Bad

- The gold standard. Breaking Bad was the peak of peak TV - and though it premiered prior to 2010, it was also the first series to make binge-watching catch-up marathons a widespread cultural phenomenon. No series was ever more intense, more impeccably written or acted or saw through from beginning to end. This was the show that knocked, the king of kings.


2. Black Mirror

- An obscure British series that became a viral hit in America thanks to Netflix, Black Mirror is nothing less than the modern day Twilight Zone. No other streaming series has left me waiting in more anticipation for new batches of episodes. And what episodes they were - some of the finest TV installments ever produced, including the all-time-classic San Junipero. A thrilling, disturbing, must-watch sci-fi reflection of the times we live in.


3. Parks and Recreation

-The best sitcom of the decade, Parks and Rec was infinitely quotable, endearingly earnest, and laugh out loud funny. With an all-star cast and an all-star writing team, the show kept getting better and better, up to and including its phenomenal final season in 2015.


4. Game of Thrones

- No other TV series, ever, was more epic. GoT brought sprawling fantasy storytelling TV in a way that had never been seen before, and in doing so produced some of the greatest and most jaw-dropping moments in the medium's history. The last great water-cooler series, the end of Thrones marked the end of a TV era.


5. The Americans

- One of the all-time great TV dramas, The Americans never quite got the fan-following or the critical buzz it deserved. But the show will go down as a classic - a Cold War story that spoke to the troubles and tensions of that era as well as this one. The show was a slow-burn that you couldn't look away from, culminating in perhaps the greatest series finale in TV drama history.


6. Justified

- Speaking of all-time great finales, Justified also gave us one of the best ever. But more than that, the show was a deceptively layered drama filled with iconic characters and memorable locales. A modern Western that never skimped on the badassery, Justified was one of the true can't-miss series of the decade.


7. Community

- A series ahead of its time, Community was constantly on the verge of cancellation - even as it developed a passionate fandom that recognized it as one of the funniest and smartest shows ever. An episode of Community could be anything - and episodes of Community *were* everything. Six seasons and a movie (we still need that movie!).


8. Nathan For You

- Nathan For You is easily one of the strangest, darkest, and most hilarious things I've ever seen. Once you plug into the deadpan wavelength of Nathan Fielder, the only conclusion one can draw is that Nathan For You simply operates on a level of meta comedic genius rarely seen on television.


9. Penny Dreadful

- Those who stuck with Penny Dreadful through its three seasons of gothic Victorian horror were rewarded with one of the most mesmerizing, awe-inspiring, darkly poetic TV series ever made. The series gave us fascinating, re-imagined takes on classic monsters while also introducing Eva Green's iconic Vanessa Ives - tragically struggling with her literal inner demons. And that struggle, man, it made for some incredible TV.


10. Fringe

- The only show in my Top 10 that was *also* on my Best of the 00's list, Fringe started off really good, but ultimately became *great.* What started as a cool new take on X-Files monster-of-the-week procedurals evolved into an epic sci-fi saga that centered around an interdimensional war. The show got better and better as it got more ambitious, and ended up being something unique and unmatched - the decade's ultimate geek-out TV adventure.



THE NEXT BEST:


11. Twin Peaks: The Return

- What an unexpected blast of surreal brilliance this series was - a triumphant return to TV for David Lynch and Mark Frost, revisiting the cult-favorite TV series that had become a pop-culture sensation thirty years earlier. You never knew what Lynch and Frost had in store for you week to week, and that was part of the fun. In fact, it made for some damn fine TV.


12. Mr. Robot

- A series uniquely suited to this decade, Mr. Robot was a mind-bending show that functioned as both a more conventional cyber-thriller and as a meta-journey into the fractured psyche of its main character. Tackling modern political and social issues head-on, Mr. Robot was, ultimately, a bold look at the past decade and a call-to-arms to face the challenges of the next.


13. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

- Nine-Nine! After his incredible sting behind the scenes of Parks & Rec, Mike Schur went on to help create the other best sitcom of the decade - the still-going-strong (and somehow getting better with each season!) B99. Every year, the chemistry of the cast gets better, the joke-writing gets sharper, and I get increasingly annoyed that the great Andre Braugher still hasn't won an Emmy for this show.


14. Fargo

- This show should not have worked. The Coen Bros' cinematic classic did not seem to lend itself to a spin-off TV show ... but creator Noah Hawley proved that there were great stories to be mined from diving back into the snow-covered world of Fargo. And with Seasons 1 and 2 in particular, he gave  us some of the decade's best TV.


15. 30 Rock

- One more holdover from the previous decade - don't get me wrong, 30 Rock is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. But I also would make the argument that it was just as strong, if not stronger, in the latter half of its run as in the first - producing multiple seasons of hilarity post-2010. Oh how I miss this show. I'm still trying to live every week like it's Shark Week.


16. Eastbound & Down

- Eastbound kicked off in 2009, but a few years later it would go down as one of the craziest, most boundary-pushing, most hilarious TV shows ever. Since the end of the series, we've seen the team of Danny McBride, Jody Hill, and David Gordon Green go on to produce so much great television - but this was really the show that started it all ... and the saga of Kenny Powers remains a comedy classic.


17. Boardwalk Empire

- With an incredible cast and an incredible pedigree of creators behind the scenes, this Martin Scorsese-produced, Prohibition-era crime drama showed the origins of organized crime in the United States - and in so doing showed us a lot about the origins of the world we live in today. Filled with memorable characters both real and fictional, this one was an underrated epic that demands to be binged.


18. Better Call Saul

- Breaking Bad set such a high bar ... it seemed like folly to try to follow it up with a prequel series. But never doubt Vince Gilligan and co. They've made Better Call Saul, in its own way, nearly the equal of Breaking Bad. The show tells a similar story of a good person's slide to the dark side, but it does so with a lighter touch and a more contemplative pace. In the end, Saul will be considered nearly the classic that Breaking Bad was.


19. Silicon Valley

- Incredibly spot-on at all times, always, Silicon Valley was a biting satire of the tech-world culture that has shaped so much of the last decade. Mike Judge again proved his comedic genius here, and the cast was so funny and so good.


20. New Girl

- Another great comedy series, New Girl was a joke-machine with some of the sharpest writing of any recent comedy. The main cast was so good and so funny, and the show did a great job at capturing elder-Millennial issues and anxieties.


21. True Detective

- While True Detective had a bit of a sophomore slump, it was absolutely killer in Seasons 1 and 3 - delivering a certain brand of gothic-noir crime-story I really hadn't seen on TV before (and certainly not done this well). Attracting A-list talent like Matthew McConauhey, Woody Harrelson, and Mahershala Ali - this show at its best was a tour de force.


22. Rick & Morty

- This infinitely creative animated series manages the impossible task of being both laugh out loud hilarious and a genuinely mind-bending sci-fi adventure that never skimps on the science-fiction. In fact, the show's willingness to go all-in on its crazy sci-fi conceits is part of what makes it a legend it its own time.


23. Review

- Hopefully, this under-seen Comedy Central series lives on forever as a genuine cult classic. It's one of the strangest, funniest, craziest shows I've ever seen. Andy Daly plays Forrest McNeil - a man who, for some unknown reason, is forced to host a TV show in which he *must* review any life experience that viewers ask him to. The result is a shockingly dark and daring comedy the likes of which may never be seen again.


24. The Good Place

- Set to finale in January 2020, it will feel like we're all in The Bad Place when this modern comedy classic comes to an end. The Good Place dared to bring high-concept, Lost-esque serialization to a sitcom - and it brilliantly mixed smart philosophical discussion with some of the best comedy writing around. That Mike Schur guy is pretty good.


25. Westworld

- In its twisty, time-jumping first season, Westworld rocked the pop-cultural landscape and set the internet on fire. And with good reason: it gave us some of the most compelling, thought-provoking, can't-miss sci-fi television of the decade. Its return in 2020 for Season 3 is easily one of my most-anticipated TV moments of the upcoming year.

THE NEXT BEST

26.) American Vandal

27.) The Handmaid's Tale

28.) Vice Principals

29.) Sherlock

30.) Bates Motel

31.) Atlanta

32.) Orphan Black

33.) Louie

34.) Key & Peele

35.) The Goldbergs

36.) Stranger Things

37.) American Horror Story

38.) An Idiot Abroad

39.) Documentary Now

40.) Broad City

41.) Children's Hospital

42.) Terriers

43.) Portlandia

44.) The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

45.) Big Mouth

46.) Fleabag

47.) Barry

48.) Big Mouth

49.) Fosse/Verdon

50.) Veronica Mars
 

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

a.) 24: Live Another Day was a legitimately great season of 24. Jack Bauer was sorely missed for much of this decade.


b.) The Walking Dead's first season from 2010 truly kicked-ass. But the show's quick downhill slide made it hard to include on this list from a big-picture perspective.


c.) Riverdale was one of the most fun semi-guilty TV pleasures of the decade.


d.) The Righteous Gemstones had an incredible Season 1. I have a feeling this show will, in short order, be a modern classic. But it felt too early to include quite yet.


e.) The Flash, especially early on, provided some awesome comic book-inspired moments. I really loved the show when it first premiered.


f.) Watchmen was one of the most compelling new series of 2019. I'm still digesting it. It just barely missed making the list.


g.) Chernobyl was another show from 2019 that barely missed the cut. It's amazing television.


h.) Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life was another one that just barely missed the list. A mostly-great return for one of my favorite series ever.

i.) Humans - when this show was on its game, it was genuinely amazing. It faltered at times but I really dug its look at AI.

j.) The Haunting of Hill House just missed the cut ... only one season and it took a few episodes to get great ... but when it was at its best it was truly fantastic.


SHOWS I NEED TO CATCH UP ON:

- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Bojack Horseman, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Succession, The Magicians, Mad Men, The Crown ... and probably about 500 others!

THE BEST OF 2018 - The Best TV Of The Year

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

THE BEST OF 2016 - The Best TV Of The Year

THE BEST OF 2016 - The Best TV Shows of The Year

- It's old news at this point to talk about Peak TV, but things truly reached a critical mass in 2016. There was not just a lot of TV to watch, but a lot - too much! - *good* TV. It's funny, because in a year in which some very old favorites returned (hello, X-Files), I thought a lot about TV-watching habits now vs. then. There used to be a dozen or so really good shows, and a small handful of really great shows. Now, the number of great TV shows is completely overwhelming. Netflix Originals alone - who could keep up with all of them? 

On one hand, you almost wish that the rate of content production would slow down - at some point, it becomes a zero sum game where nobody watches anything. Already, it's hard to find a real-life fellow fan of most shows, given how fragmented audiences are. And even powerhouse pop-culture sites like The AV Club have been forced to slow TV coverage - overwhelmed by the sheer volume of series that demand weekly reviews. 

On the other hand, the breadth of content that we're getting continues to be pretty exciting. What I love is how outlets like Netflix - that have the freedom to experiment - are continually able to prove conventional programming wisdom wrong. STRANGER THINGS is case in point: so many stories about the series having been pitched to various networks, all of whom rejected it based on assumptions like: "a show for adults can't work if it has kid protagonists." And yet, Stranger Things went on to become *the* buzziest show of 2016. Especially in a Summer where many big-screen blockbusters disappointed, this retro sci-fi series was the pop-cultural event of the season. This wider breadth of content has meant TV that doesn't conform to rigid genre lines, but also more diverse representation. This is still a major issue for both TV and film, but things have been getting better. 2016 series like ATLANTA and BETTER THINGS showcased perspectives that we don't see enough of on TV. But of course, the secret is that (as any writer knows) specific stories are often, ironically, the most universal.

So let's dive in. Obviously there are going to be shows that I miss here (hello, all the Marvel Netflix shows). But by the same token, I'm guessing there is stuff below that you missed. The good news is that we truly live in a golden age where TV can be binge-watched at your leisure. So if you're behind, well, here's a to-watch list that should only last you about thirty years or so. 


DANNY'S TOP TV SHOWS OF 2016:


1. PENNY DREADFUL

- One of the most shocking TV moments of 2016 was the surprise end of Penny Dreadful. For the series faithful, it seemed unfathomable that this cult-fave could end after only three seasons. After-all, the nightmarish, gorgeously-gothic world that series creator John Logan had so carefully crafted seemed so rich, so endlessly filled with storytelling potential - how could it end before every nook and cranny of his universe had been fully explored? But end it did, with no forewarning, but with an undeniable air of finality that left me reeling. This was a show that had gotten better with each successive season, and Season 3 was a true epic - careening between Victorian London, the Old West, and other exotic locales. But what made the show so memorable were the characters - unique spins on literary classics, re-defining the likes of Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Grey, and Dracula with instantly-iconic re-interpretations. In Season 3, Rory Kinnear's take on Frankenstein's lowly and broken Creature - now known as John Clare - was an absolute highlight. An awards-worthy turn that culminated in an all-timer episode in which we learned more about Clare's pre-resurrection backstory, and previous connection to Eva Green's Vanessa Ives. That standalone episode - set in a white-walled asylum - stands as one of the greatest episodes of a TV drama I've seen. Going into S3, Penny Dreadful had already established a tradition of one-off episodes that essentially served as a showcase for the always-amazing Eva Green and her now-immortalized character of Ms. Ives. But to now have her paired with Kinnear - it took the show to new heights, as the two delivered a master-class. Green was the engine that powered the show - a true force of nature, perfectly capturing the show's theatricality in her performance, and helping to make Ives a character for the ages. She was helped by a supporting cast that was absolutely stacked, with players like Kinnear and Billie Piper (delivering a powerfully gripping performance in S3 as the monstrous Lily) doing best-ever work this season. Many of you, I'm sure, are seeing Penny Dreadful as my #1 TV pick for 2016 and wondering how this show that you've barely heard of could be the best of the year. Just trust me - this show's cult will only grow with time. It wasn't always perfect, but when it was firing on all cylinders this show did big, epic, serialized, character-driven, mythology-filled TV better than any other show of the Peak TV age. Farewell, Penny Dreadful - until we meet again. 

2. BLACK MIRROR

- Black Mirror S3 felt like the most vital scripted series of this crazy year - a Twilight Zone for the social media age, this is a series that I sincerely hope continues for a long time to come. The story of how a third season of this show came to be - thanks to Netflix - is fascinating in and of itself - but the biggest revelation here is how great so many of S3's episodes were. Most notably, there were two installments that stand as two of the greatest pieces of television I've ever seen, and may actually surpass anything from the show's first two excellent seasons - the premiere, "Nosedive," and Episode 4, "San Junipero." Nosedive is an absolute must-watch - an alternatively hilarious and terrifying look at a near-future in which today's social media norms dominate our entire lives - real and otherwise. It's also got a career-best performance from Bryce Dallas Howard in the lead role (seriously - who knew she had *this* in her?!). Meanwhile, San Junipero is the rare Black Mirror episode that's actually life-affirming and uplifting - an incredibly-done piece about identity, love, and life-after-death in a digitally-created heaven. If the closing moments of this one don't give you chills, you may be a robot. But seriously, Black Mirror is the TV we need heading into the (cough, vomit) Trump age - a stark reminder of where we are and where we could end up if we're not careful.

3. THE AMERICANS

- The Americans has been so consistently good for so long now that it feels easy to take it for granted. But this past season may have been the show's best yet - delivering Breaking Bad-esque intensity on a regular basis. What could have been a huge misstep - having teen daughter Paige become privy to her parents' true identities - was instead a stroke of dramatic genius, driving a good deal of the season's storytelling. And this was also the season that things with poor Martha finally came to a head. But what we have to talk about with this show is the acting triumvirate of Matthew Rhys, Kerry Russell, and Noah Emmerich - who just kill it year in, year out. They deserve all of the awards. I could go on about this show, but fear doing so for fear of spoilers. If you've not yet watched it though - get on board immediately. This really is the best TV drama going.

4. GAME OF THRONES

- Game of Thrones had one of its best seasons yet in 2016. With the light at the end of the tunnel starting to shine through, we're now starting to see some huge stuff - stuff that's been building for years - start to transpire. Pieces are being put into place. And what fun it is to see the board prepped for the inevitable end game. I mean, talk about epic - this season's finale was one of the most jaw-dropping episodes of TV I've ever seen - a true stunner that ranks among Game of Throne's finest moments. This season also saw the epic Battle of the Bastards. And the rise and fall of Jonathan Pryce's High Sparrow. And the union of Tyrion and Daenerys. And the return of the Hound (featuring Ian McShane!). This season quite simply delivered one epic moment after another, and - after having passed the books in its story - there was a tightness to the narrative that hadn't always been there before. Game of Thrones was flat-out awesome in 2016. 

5. WESTWORLD

- The Best New Series of 2016, no question. I have not obsessed over a show's mysteries like this since Lost was in its prime. Westworld was smart, thematically-rich, challenging, thought-provoking TV. The cast was completely stacked, with a new actor - Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton - seemingly stealing the show each week. The sprawling sci-fi narrative mixed was the perfect sci-fi narrative for 2016 - a prescient mediation on morality in a synthetic age. How do we act in virtual or artificial worlds? Does it matter? At what point does an artificial intelligence become something more? To what extent are we constrained by our own pre-written "narratives," and how can we break away from them. Are we human or are we dancer? Okay, kidding on that last one. But Westworld asked so many big questions in such intriguing ways - you've got to love it. This is a show that had me racing to read reviews and commentary and theories. And it was that rare TV text worthy of all the analysis and think-pieces. Westworld was, deservedly, the nerdy obsession of 2016. 

6. VICE PRINCIPALS

- The most must-watch comedy of 2016. No surprise, given that it came from the same comedic geniuses who brought us Eastbound & Down. And it was a pleasure to have a product of the Danny McBride / Jody Hill team on TV again - these guys were much-missed. Nobody else does dark, &%$*-up humor like they do. And few other comedies would dare go to the depraved places that Vice Principals went. What you've got to admire about McBride and Hill is their total willingness to give us protagonists who terrible and unlikable - and yet, have enough humanity and authenticity to tempt us to root for them regardless. Because, no question, Vice Principals' Neil Gamby and Lee Russell were fairly horrible people - and yet, McBride and the great Walton Goggins brought them to life so well that we can't help but feel like we know these guys, we've seen these guys, and if we're not careful ... we could become these guys. No show was more laugh-out-loud funny or downright shocking this year. Bring on Season 2. 

7. GILMORE GIRLS: A YEAR IN THE LIFE

- Those who dismiss Gilmore Girls based on its title are missing one of the funniest, most moving, smartest, most brilliantly-written and performed series in TV history. That said, as much as I loved the show during its original run, I was definitely a bit skeptical about its Netflix-sponsored return after a ten year hiatus. Could the show really re-capture its old magic? Turns out, the answer is yes. And turns out, creator Amy Sherman Palladino was actually able to create a legit TV epic - something that in some ways surpasses the TV show, given the show's bigger budget and increased creative freedom. Palladino made the choice to center the show around the death of family patriarch Richard Gilmore - after the actor who portrayed him, Edward Hermann, passed away. Richard's death colors the entirety of A Year in the Life, in a way that provides for rich story and character growth. In particular, Kelly Bishop shines as the now-widowed Emily Gilmore, who must come to terms with life without her husband of fifty years, and must re-evaluate who she is and wants to be. But even amidst the drama (including numerous moments that will make you reach for the nearest box of tissues), there is so much humor - the show's trademark banter, nonstop pop-culture references, quirky supporting characters (including a show-stealing return for Liza Weil's one-of-a-kind Paris Geller). It's just a fantastic return to Stars Hollow and a great, satisfying bookend to the original series.

8. BATES MOTEL 

- This one is a surprise. I was not 100% feeling Bates Motel in Season 3 - the show felt rudderless, and had lost a lot of the momentum it had built up in its first two seasons. But then came Season 4, and Bates Motel decided to kick things up a notch. Or three. I don't want to spoil things, but suffice it to say that S4 finally took us much, much closer to the Norman Bates of Psycho - and series stars Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga stepped up to the challenge and did series-best work. Every scene shared by Highmore and Farmiga was a creepy, unsettling joy. If you haven't gotten into Bates Motel or dropped it, just trust me - this is one you want to binge on asap. In 2016, it was one of the absolute can't-miss series.

9. STRANGER THINGS

- I freely love Stranger Things. Sure, this show felt like it was engineered in a lab to appeal to all of my biggest geek sweet-spots: 80's nostalgia, weird sci-fi, underdog heroes ... but the fact is that Stranger Things could have easily been a failure if the execution was not there. You've got to give the show credit for it's fantastic characters, fun story, and for all of the little details it got just exactly right. From the already-iconic opening credits/theme to the spot-on homages to 80's pop-culture archetypes and storytelling tropes, Stranger Things was the sort of homage to 80's movies and TV I've always wanted. Why? Because it reminded us of something we've lost in the years since those simpler times. Meaning: in an age where everything must be darker, grittier, more sophisticated - Stranger Things was a callback to the long-lost but still-potent power of a story about kids on their bikes venturing out into the unknown. And trust me - this could have gone wrong (see: JJ Abram's well-intentioned but ultimately forgettable film Super 8). But Stranger Things melded something old with something new - by reaching into the past, the show felt like the freshest series of 2016. 

10. ATLANTA

-  In the post-Louie era of semi-biographical, socially-conscious comedy - Atlanta feels poised to take the genre to a new level. Donald Glover's FX series almost immediately felt like something special - in large part because it was so hard to categorize. At times hilarious, at times depressingly bleak, and always unpredictable - Atlanta quickly became a must-watch because every episode felt like some sort of pop-culture truth-bomb - anchored by a fantastic performance from Glover as struggling, would-be music mogul Earn. The show was also not afraid to throw curveballs - from an episode that focused solely on an awkward dinner between Van (the mother of Earn's child) and an old acquaintance, to a full-episode B.E.T. parody where series breakout Paper Boi (played to hilarious effect by Brian Tyree Henry) is interviewed about transgender issues. I can't wait to see where this show goes - undeniably a breakout of 2016.


The Next Best:

11. AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE VS OJ SIMPSON

- A supremely well-acted, constantly riveting account of the biggest celebrity scandal in American history - this one really surpassed expectations, taking full advantage of a loaded cast (including Sarah Paulson destroying as Marcia Clark) to deliver something special. 

12. DOCUMENTARY NOW

- Comedy genius from Bill Hader and Fred Armison. Season 2 of the series delivered some new classics - including the hilarious "Juan Likes Rice and Chicken,"Globesman," and the sublime Talking Heads spoof "Final Transmission."

13. BETTER CALL SAUL

-  Better Call Saul turned in another great season in 2016, continuing to both differentiate itself from Breaking Bad while also slowly and satisfyingly leading Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill down the path that leads to Saul. To me, the hero of this season was Michael McKean, who just killed as Jimmy's brother Chuck. McKean's efforts to overcome his tinfoil-wearing, shut-in ways were a season highlight. Get this man an Emmy, stat.

14. THE UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT

-  In a post-30 Rock world, Kimmy Schmidt continues to be TV's best source for hilarious, eminently-quotable dialogue that is destined for comedy immortality. Not only that, but Kimmy continues to be quietly inspirational - the story of a woman overcoming great trauma who starts fresh and always sees the sunny side of life. Ellie Kemper, Titus Burgess, Jane Krakowski, and the rest of the show's amazing cast continue to shine. There's so much I could say about this great series - but ultimately it boils down to it being one of the flat-out funniest things on TV, with brilliant writing and winning performances.

15. LOVE

- Judd Apatow's latest was an at-times frustrating, at times spot-on, at times hilarious look at a relationship between two insanely broken people. Personally, I was won over by its look at the less glamorous and more mundane side of LA living. I really dug the way it told a relationship story in a complicated way about not-always-likable characters. I sort of loved Love.

16. SEARCH PARTY

- Continuing this year's Showalter-ssance, this awesome little gem of a series came to us from executive producer Michael Showalter, who also hit a home-run this year with his movie Hello My Name Is Doris. In any case, Search Party is a surprisingly dark, often funny mystery series about an aimless woman who finds meaning by devoting herself to the search for a friend-gone-missing (a friend she barely knew, from college). It's got a great central performance from Alia Shawkat. It's a great look at Millennial ennui and I can't recommend it enough.

17. MR. ROBOT

- Following a jaw-dropping first season, Mr. Robot had a tough act to follow with Season 2. And for a while there, things looked a little worrisome - with the show trying to repeat its nothing-is-as-it-seems trick that blew minds last year. Luckily, S2 rebounded as it headed towards the home stretch - delivering Lynchian weirdness, status-quo-shattering revelation, and letting Portia Doubleday steal the show as morally-conflicted Angela. Under the singular guidance of series creator Sam Esmail, Mr. Robot remains one of the most interesting things on TV.

18. CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND

- Crazy Ex is so smart, funny, and consistently inventive that it's hard to believe it exists and is on The CW (not a knock against CW, just that smart, hilarious musical-comedies are not something they've really been known for ... okay, I guess no one is known for them, but you get my drift). In any case, each episode of the show reaffirms that Rachel Bloom - the creator and star of the show - really can do it all. Bloom kills it on the show, but the secret is that her heightened comedy perfectly captures the everyday absurdities and struggles of modern life. Rare is the comedy that both swings for the fences with its humor *and* feels like a dead-on portrayal of the daily grind. This show does it all.

19. BETTER THINGS

- Another spawn of Louie, Pamela Adlon's new series is nonetheless its own, pretty amazing thing. Adlon brings the often-heartbreaking comedy of Louie and meshes it with a unique perspective - that of a single mom trying to raise three kids while balance a career. And as with Louie and Atlanta, FX has given Better Things the latitude to do whatever. Episode structure and themes have been all over the map - and that's the beauty of the show - it's a sharp, unique, unpredictable look into the darkly comic mind of Adlon. 

20. BROAD CITY

- Broad City continues to be a breath of fresh air on TV - two hilarious women being brilliantly stupid. This season saw such highs as Abbi and Ilana meeting Hillary Clinton - the ultimate "yass, queen!" moment for the pair - and emblematic of the show's subtly progressive message that the women we should be admiring are the nasty women who get %&$# done (even if Abbi and Ilana's comedic personas don't exactly fit that mold). But really, what makes the show work so well are all the little moments between its stars - the random banter and anything goes humor that surfaces as they roam NYC in search of adventure.

21. THE GOOD PLACE

- The Good Place was my most anticipated new Fall TV series going into this September - and why not? It was from Parks and Rec / Brooklyn Nine Nine creator Mike Schur, featured Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, and was a high-concept comedy about the afterlife. The show pretty much lived up to its pedigree and potential, giving us a bit of a slow build but really ramping up as it went (shades of Parks and Rec there). What's interesting to me is that Schur has compared the show's slowly-unraveling world-building to the likes of Lost - meaning, we have only just begun to go down the rabbit hole with this one.

22. AGENT CARTER

- Man, am I going to miss this show. Peggy Carter feels like a character that Haley Atwell should play forever - a can-do, kick-ass woman whose pulp adventures mix old-school movie-serial stylings with Marvel U imagination and superheroics. Season 1 of this show was all potential, but Season 2 really upped the show's game - matching Atwell's awesomeness with a fun plot and a great villain. Atwell was so born to play this role - she feels sort of wasted in anything else - certainly, anything more mundane than the two-fisted adventures of Agent Carter. Netflix, can you hear me?!

23. THE GOLDBERGS

- Sure, The Goldbergs is total comfort-food TV - a fairly traditional family sitcom that might as well have been created by me (A movie-loving geeky Jewish kid in the 80's? Dude.). But after some serious slump-age earlier this season, The Goldbergs has been on a real hot streak to close out 2016. How? By toning down mom Beverly's constant overbearingness just a tad, and instead focusing on coming-of-age stories centered around the cast's three teen characters - all played to great effect by the talented cast. And let's give credit where it's due - when was there last a live-action sitcom character with more reliably-funny schtick than Barry "Big Tasty" Goldberg? You might have to go back to Cosmo Kramer to find an answer.

24. THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

- One of the most awesomely weird comedies on TV - I'm still sort of baffled how this continues to be a show on FOX. But what I love about Last Man is how it pretty much gives zero &%$#'s. It dares to be stupid, dares to make its lead character an insufferable moron, dares to spend whole episodes on complete randomness, and dares to go uber-dark and not shy away from the fact that it's a comedy about the end of the world as we know it. Will Forte is so good here - a comedic tour de force. Boom.

25. SUPERGIRL

- I debated what show to give the last spot on my list. Orphan Black had an only-okay season, but damned if I don't still sort of love the show for it's great characters and what Tatiana Maslaney brings to them. Silicon Valley is still one of the best comedies on TV, but this past season was more pretty-solid than great. Maron had a great final season, but it never quite went over the top to become a classic. New Girl and Brooklyn Nine Nine were reliably funny, but both feel like shows that have, perhaps, already peaked. And The Flash stalled a bit in its second season, going out on sort of a whiff and then struggling to regain momentum in S3. But - Supergirl! This show is flawed. It's sometimes cheesy af. It occasionally suffers from serious CW-itis (even now that it's actually on CW!). And yet ... the show is so damn full of heart and good intentions that I can't help but include it. Melissa Benoist is already iconic as Kara Danvers - alternately adorkable and heroic (seriously, was there anything better than her exclamation of "ice cream!" in that first crossover episode with The Flash?). And the move to CW has allowed the show to get geekier - with more DC Comics mythology than before, more action and adventure, and more fun. Supergirl may not always nail the details, but it does 100% "get" what makes Supergirl super. And that alone earns it the last spot on this list.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

- Silicon Valley
- The Flash
- Orphan Black
- Masters of Sex
- Maron
- New Girl
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- Portlandia
- Inside Amy Schumer


SPECIAL MENTIONS:

a.) THE X-FILES, "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster"

- I could easily write a whole blog post (or five) on the return of The X-Files and what went wrong. It sucks, because I was so, so excited for the return of my favorite TV series ever. More than that, it felt like the time was right - it felt like in 2016, we needed The X-Files again. We needed to hear Mulder's take on the alt-right and the dark net, on the way in which his brand of conspiracy-theory-thinking has been co-opted by sinister forces. We needed Scully to return and show us again what being an empowered, kick-ass woman was all about. The time felt right - and my excitement was at a fever pitch when, this past summer, I attended an X-Files fan event at the Cinefamily in LA. Hosted by uber-fan Kumail Nanjiani, the event was an X-Files-phile's dream - a screening of six of the best-ever episodes of the show, with appearances and commentary from all the big creators and writers, and then, the capper, a first-look at the new season. Based on that first look - I was pumped. "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" was exactly what I'd dreamed new X-Files could be - a new masterpiece from visionary writer Darin Morgan, in the vein of his quirky classics like "Jose Chung's From Outer Space." If this was what we could expect from The X-Files' return, I was all in baby. But alas, it was not to be. The rest of the six episodes ranged from just-okay to embarrassingly bad (the finale was an all-time head-scratcher, courtesy of the seems-to-have-lost-his-mojo series creator, Chris Carter). I still hold out hope that the show will return with some fresh blood at the helm, and that it can, finally, go out on a high note. Us X-Files fans have had a rough go of it - enduring the underwhelming series finale, the even more underwhelming second movie, and now this. But! "Were-Monster" alone almost made it all worth it - a brilliantly satirical look at modern life's absurdities - with a great guest appearance from Flight of the Conchords' Rhys Darby - it was vintage Darin Morgan, and vintage X-Files. So yeah, even if I'd like to forget most of X-Files 2016 ... hey, we'll always have "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster."

b.) LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER

- The most vital show of the nightmarish 2016 election season was undoubtedly John Oliver's. Oliver grabbed the mantle of "America's truth-teller" from John Stewart, and put things in vital perspective as rational-minded people everywhere tried to sort through the mountains of BS that spewed from the likes of Donald Trump and others over the course of the campaign. Sure, Oliver was likely, often, preaching to the choir. But if nothing else, Oliver reminded us - with humor and smarts - that all of this was not normal - but that, thankfully, there were still sane people out there even in these insane times.

c.) CONAN

- I almost always mention Conan in these wrap-ups, but with good reason: he remains ridiculously funny even as his TBS show gets overlooked by many. Just recently, he's been on fire with his show's hilarious Trump/Obama phone conversation bits - another example of how Conan and his genius writers continually come up with awesome new bits. Also, Conan's increasingly-frequent travelogues are always must-watch. His recent Berlin special was an instant-classic (find it online if you've not seen it!). Point being, I like Fallon, Colbert, etc. - but to me Conan will always be "the man" when it comes to late night comedy.

d.) LUCHA UNDERGROUND

- Finally, I'd be remiss if I did not mention the craziest show in existence, El Rey network's Lucha Underground. A hybrid wrestling show / serialized grindhouse movie, LU is one of the most entertaining things on the air - an awesomely over-the-top melding of high-flying lucha libre - with a stacked roster of talented performers - and comic-book storylines that feel lifted from producer Robert Rodriguez's fever dreams. Seriously - the show gives us undead warriors, serpent-cults, undercover cops, and evil conspiracies. What more could one want? 

e.) CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

- I never know how to rank Childrens Hospital in my Best-Of lists. For several years, it's been one of the most consistently brilliant and hilarious comedies on the air. But with its 15-minute running time and over-the-top absurdism, it feels weird to even compare it to anything else on TV. It was its own little slice of weird-comedy nirvana. And so, man, I am going to miss this show. With the involvement of folks like David Wain and Ken Marino, it felt like a definite spiritual successor to The State. Certainly, Childrens had an absolutely all-star cast, including some of TV's funniest women - Malin Ackermann, Lake Bell, Erin Hayes Megan Mullally, and more. It had some of the cleverest jokes and sharpest writing of any comedy of the last five years. It had an all-star line-up of guest stars. It was unpredictable and unusual. A comedy masterclass. So long, Childrens Hospital - you will be missed.


INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:


The Best TV Heroes of 2016:

1.) Vanessa Ives and John Clare - Penny Dreadful
2.) Kara Danvers - Supergirl / Peggy Carter - Agent Carter
3.) Eleven and her friends - Stranger Things
4.) Delores - Westworld 
5.) Jon Snow - Game of Thrones


The Best TV Villains of 2016:

1.) Cersei Lannister - Game of Thrones
2.) Lily - Penny Dreadful
3.) The Demogorgon - Stranger Things
4.) Phillip Price, CEO of Evil Corp - Mr. Robot
5.) Madame Masque - Agent Carter


The Best TV Anti-Heroes of 2016:

1.) Philip and Elizabeth Jennings - The Americans
2.) Saul Goodman and Mike Ehrmantraut  - Better Call Saul
3.) Angela Moss - Mr. Robot
4.) Neil Gamby and Lee Russell - Vice Principals
5.) Maeve - Westworld


Best Actress in a Comedy:

1.)  - Rachel Bloom - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Runners Up: Alia Shawkat - Search Party, Ellie Kemper - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Gillian Jacobs - Love, Pamela Adlon - Better Things


Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy:

1.) Jane Krakowski - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Runners Up: Claudia O'Doherty - Love, Kristen Schaal - Last Man on Earth, Kimberly Hebert Gregory - Vice Principals


Best Actor in a Comedy:

1.) Donald Glover - Atlanta

Runners Up: Danny McBride - Vice Principals, Will Forte - The Last Man on Earth, Bill Hader/Fred Armisen - Documentary Now


Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy:

1.) Brian Tyree Henry - Atlanta

Runners Up: T.J. Miller - Silicon Valley, Andre Braugher - Brooklyn Nine Nine, Walton Goggins - Vice Principals, Titus Burgess - The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt


Best Actress in a Drama:

1.) Eva Green - Penny Dreadful

Runners Up: Keri Russell - The Americans, Evan Rachel Wood - Westworld, Sarah Paulson - American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson,  Tatiana Maslaney - Orphan Black, Lauren Graham - Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life


Best Supporting Actress in a Drama:

1.)  Kelly Bishop - Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life

Runners Up: Vera Farmiga - Bates Motel, Lena Heady - Game of Thrones, Portia Doubleday - Mr. Robot, Alison Wright - The Americans, Thandie Newton - Westworld, Billie Piper - Penny Dreadful, Liza Weil - Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life


Best Actor in a Drama:

1.) Matthew Rhys - The Americans

Runners Up: Freddie Highmore - Bates Motel, Rami Malek - Mr. Robot, Bob Odenkirk - Better Call Saul, Cuba Gooding Jr - American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson


Best Supporting Actor in a Drama:

1.)  Rory Kinnear - Penny Dreadful

Runners Up: Anthony Hopkins - Westworld, Jeffrey Wright - Westworld, Jonathan Banks - Better Call Saul, Michael McKean - Better Call Saul, Noah Emmerich - The Americans