Have you heard? There's lots of television out there. I watch a lot of it.
My list contains a bunch of old stuff and just about as much new stuff. Dramas, comedies, and (my strong preference) drama/comedies. A lot of classics are wrapping up (Veep, Silicon Valley, Game of Thrones, The Good Place, Broad City, Catastrophe). Plus a handful of new classics, I hope (Russian Doll, Watchmen). With the glut of television out there, that also means there's space for singular voices (Shrill, Ramy) and weird stuff (I Think You Should Leave).
Shows qualified if the majority of the season aired in 2019. Which is why I excluded Bob's Burgers (season 10) because it's less than half-way aired but did include Bojack Horseman (season 6, part 1) simply because Netflix is dropping the final season in 2 equal parts and part 1 is dang good.
Okay, here are my top 25.
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The end of an era. This show is jam packed with (dirty) jokes. While it pre-dates the Trump presidency, it has been smart enough to reflect the absurdity of the defunct political system.
Another end to a legacy HBO show. Once again, packed with jokes and tech world ups and downs. I'll miss this crew's screw ups and foibles.
Better Things is just so insightful. It's not just one thing. And each season brings depth to its characters. Following a single mother and her three daughters (and mother, and friends). The show meanders, in the best way possible. Happy to carry on with this gang.
The ensemble cast on this show is just great. The characters are fairly well established and now we get to see them explore a number of different themes and plot lines. Obviously all with the background of 80's women's pro wrestling.
Aidy Bryant! Adapted from the book of the same title, Shrill is funny, empowering, and empathetic.
I want more voices like Ramy. The show is funny and insightful. (I also really loved his HBO standup special.)
Who knew I needed a heart-warming anthology series on love? But this show is just so sweet and warm and exploratory.
Oh I love Tuca & Bertie. Weird, strange animal-people characters dealing with adult anxieties and issues. Women in the two title roles. Even more bizarre than Bojack. So into it. (And then Netflix cancelled it...)
The gang is back! (On NBC.) With one of the best ensemble comedy casts out there, Brooklyn ranks up there with the some of the network greats from the last 20 years (Parks & Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock). Glad they're still on air doing their thing.
Oh the final season was a mess. But a spectacle of a mess. The first season I watched live, I enjoyed the communal experience along with the rest of the GOT fans.
Some of the funniest puberty humor out there. Fully realized characters painted with loving strokes. Also, the hormone monsters.
Bill Hader is so good. And this dark comedy is so weird and twisted and full of broken people.
Just the sci-fi western + Baby Yoda show I needed. Happy to watch alongside the rest of Twitter.
The first part of the final season continues with the emotional punch the series is known for. Rehab and depression and guilt and all the adult themes. Of course all within the bizarre and inventive animation and animal-people characters the Bojack universe provides.
This show is funny. Really funny. Show runner and lead Andrea Savage goes through life with husband and daughter and parents in LA. It's not the most creative premise. But, again, it's funny. Also the tank-top, season long joke alone puts it on this best-of list.
Made with the same ensemble cast comedy DNA as Parks & Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine but a heck of a lot more plot driven, The Good Place flips the script each season. Philosophical questions puncture each episode and story arc. Deep life questions are interspersed throughout. And each of the leading six characters are just fabulous. (Final season!)
The opening episode is shot through Instagram and it's just perfection. The final season of Broad City brought the same friendship and wacky humor that the series has just about perfected. I'm happy for the seasons we've had with Abbi & Ilana.
Perfectly weird and off-the-wall sketch comedy show. Robinson and his many regulars take a funny idea, stick with it for the perfect amount of time, and then move on.
The setting of Catastrophe has pulled me in like few other shows have. Its two leads bounce off each other hilariously and authentically. This last season is fantastic though perhaps not the perfect season that season 3 was. I'm hugely invested in the characters and the final season did well to land the series. I'll miss you, friends.
This show revolves around Midge yet the entire cast is wonderful. The show could have stalled after the (excellent) season 1 and its initial premise yet each season the focus evolves and allows for exploration. This season allows for further investigation into the friendship between Midge and Susie, Susie's own short-comings, and Abe and Rose's ideas of fulfillment. The writing, the costumes, the chemistry between all the characters. Keep 'em coming.
Living the same day over and over (and then dying). It's been done before though Russian Doll moves it beyond gimmick. Lead Nadia explores what makes her life worthwhile and all within such a creative and smartly written show.
Back with the gang! The kids are getting older and more hormonal, Chief Hopper is working things through as surrogate dad, and Steve is, as always, the best. Back with nostalgia - 4th of July and 80's malls! - that creates the vibe. And saving the world is on the line. I'm here for it.
3. Unbelievable (mini-series)
Ugghhhh. That first episode is rougghhh. For a show about sexual assault and rape, Unbelievable is understandably difficult to watch. The show then moves onto the complexities of victim care and the detective work required to apprehend a sexual assailant. Wever, Dever, and Collette are excellent in their leading roles. The show is necessarily frustrating and nuanced with the detectives showing the grit and determination to diligently work towards justice.
2. Watchmen (season 1)
I have little attachment to the Watchmen franchise. I've read the graphic novel though have little emotional connection to it. That said, the show takes the essence of the novel and moves it forward into a whole new bonkers world. It is excellent superhero and sci-fi. It's bizarre and weird. And it explicitly and unapologetically re-centers its plot on race, pulling from US history and mixing it with alternate world Watchmen history. It shows racism and the racist history on which this country is built to be the de facto lynchpin on which the country is run. This is the rare show where the few backstory episodes (eps. 6 & 8) keep my attention (they're also masterpieces). Regina King is a total badass and the rest of the cast is solid. The story is so complex is satisfying. Here's hoping for a season 2.
1. Fleabag (season 2)
Perfection. Season 2 of Fleabag capitalizes on the fourth wall breaking comedy season 1 did so well to introduce while exploring mental health and grief. Season 2 champions the excellent characters from the first go around and introduces us to Hot Priest. The show includes conversations around faith and doubt and, of course, is wickedly funny.
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Honorable Mention (alphabetical)
Alternatino with Arturo Castro (season 1); Big Little Lies (season 2); The Bisexual (season 1); Black Mirror (series 5); Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner (season 1); Chernobyl (mini-series); Dead to Me (season 1); Dear White People (season 3); Good Omens (season 1); Hip-Hop Evolution (season 3); Jane the Virgin (season 5); Killing Eve (season 2); Living with Yourself (season 1); The Other Two (season 1); Pen15 (season 1); The Politician (season 1); Undone (season 1); Rhythm + Flow (season 1); Sex Education (season 1); Special (season 1); State of the Union (season 1); Succession (season 2); What We Do in the Shadows (season 1); When They See Us (mini-series); You’re the Worst (season 5)
Highly Anticipated (alphabetical)
Astronomy Club (season 1); Atypical (season 3); The Boys (season 1); Mindhunter (season 2); Mr. Robot (season 4); The Queen (season 3)
