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| Credit: IGN |
1. Daredevil (Netflix)-After giving up on season 2, I couldn’t have been more surprised by how transfixed I was here. In terms of technical elements, the color palate is carefully selected, and the fights are a combination of camera virtuosity and choreography that blows most CGI out of the water. Like Christopher Nolan’s films, the story easily transcends the trappings of the superhero genre with a villain whose relationship to his suit is transitive: A means to get things done and can be dropped if need be. The season wrestled with questions of faith and friendship (the bond between Murdoch and his two closest allies drove the show’s emotional push) with a villain (Vincent D’Onofrio) that could provoke genuine anger and fear in an era of superhero glut (not to mention the actual news) where it’s more common to see villains as showcases for actors to ham it up. And then there was Bullseye who took the complexity of the plot (he’s a doppelganger of sorts) to another level.
2. Sneaky Pete (Amazon Prime)-Created by Bryan Cranston and David Shore ("House"), "Sneaky Pete" built on a nail-biter of a first season and continued to find new ways to expand its core cast. As sacrilegious as it is to unfavorably compare "Breaking Bad" to an up-and-coming show, I'm going to go there: This show has a lot to offer that "Breaking Bad" didn't in terms of characters that are honest with themselves over exactly how evil they are and cop characters who don't fall under broad cliches. With the development given this season to Carly (Libe Bearer) and Taylor (Shane McRae), "Sneaky Pete" has earned its stripes as a family melodrama without losing site of the serialized con storyline. Jane Adams also provides great contrast as a psychic threatening to drive Marius/Pete crazy
3. Silicon Valley (HBO)-This show had
a distinctive tone in its first season but it didn’t necessarily have a
laugh-out-loud cadence with the exception of the twist ending at the end or the
occasional gag like the “pros and cons of killing Blake” board). By the fifth
season, the character beats are solid enough that the laugh-per-minute humor
and overall plot are now on par with Mike Judge’s brilliant screen comedies. The
fifth season is even more incredible considering that the group dynamic
survived the departure of the show’s funniest stand-alone character Erlich
Bachman (T.J. Miller) while characterization continued to march on with Richard
developing a harder edge. The show treaded so much in tragedy initially that
it’s refreshing to see Pied Piper net a win or two.
4. Crashing (HBO)-The adorably naive
Pete Holmes continues his evolution into late adulthood as he finds himself
further down the road towards his stand-up dreams and faces increased pressure
to decide between personal integrity and fast money (not to mention, all the
other dangers that come with being friends with Artie Lange). Also, he somehow
lands a girlfriend that looks remarkably like his ex-wife (Lauren Lapkus) in an
uncanny bit of casting. TV shows about comics playing themselves are a dime a
dozen but few celebrate the joy of mutual creation and camaraderie as well as
this, and fewer yet are as thematically thoughtful.
5. Another Period (Comedy Central)-Think
“Downton Abbey” crossed with trashy reality show. The show has tremendous fun
satirizing historic mores of the aughts and key figures: Sigmuend Frued’s
misguided psychotherapy theories are turned into a cringey orgy; Scott Joplin (Cedric
the Entertainer) becomes a fill-in for Kanye West; Eleanor Roosevelt’s feminist leanings get
turned into full-on seduction, and yes they even take a shot at sweet pre-teen
Hitler because why not? This is a show that, more often than not, goes low-brow
and doubles down on low-hanging fruit (lots of incest, an ugly duckling sibling,
etc.) but it’s also supremely clever and boasts well-developed comic characters
(even the incestuous ones).
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| Caption: Indiewire |
6. Maniac (Netflix)-The likely
one-off season by genius director Cary Fukunaga (“Beasts of No Nation” “Sin
Nombre”) takes place in a quasi-futuristic world (a la “Black Mirror”)
emphasizing the disconnect between humans (friends are for sale here). A story
of mutual healing of two damaged souls (Emma Stone and Jonah Hill) and unlikely
friendship (sorry shippers!) becomes a trippy exploration of subsconscious
desire, the elusive search for the magic silver bullet that will cure our
problems, and the elasticity of trauma.
7. The Mick (Fox)-Lately, I’m finding myself
measuring the quality of a comedy through an imaginary decibel meter that
records my laughs. “The Mick” isn’t particularly innovative and it’s not even
the only place on TV you can see Kaitlin Olson debasing herself, but that doesn’t
take away how much I looked forward to this show every week before it’s
unceremonious axing. The comedy works through the clash between the snootiness
of spoiled children (Thomas Barbusca and Sophia Black-D’Ella) and their unfiltered
white trash live-in aunt, but let’s not underestimate the wild cards in wildly
overconfident Alba (Carla Jimenez) and Jimmy (Scott MacArthur) who is always
dishing inappropriate wisdom to any takers.
8. Marvelous Mrs Maisel (Amazon
Prime)-The challenge of following up a hit with a sophomore season that builds upward
and maintains the novelty is not easy and “Maisel” came through. The second
season had some refreshing location changes (I’ve never wanted to visit the
Catskills so badly), a very organic new romance for Midge, bigger arcs for side
characters (Joe becoming sympathetic? imagine that!), and a hinting that Midge
could become a star down the road. Perhaps the smartest move of the second
season was lampshading (particularly, through a frustrated coworker who’s
wedding was ruined through Midge’s showboating) how Midge is annoyingly on all
the time.
9. Trial and Error (NBC)-The uber-eccentric
small-town comedy traded in aloof
bisexual professor John Lithgow for haughty socialite Kristin Chenoweth. Like before,
there was no shortage of sight gags (shout out to whoever thought up the daily cannon
ball), eccentric characters, and rare illnesses for Sheri Shephard’s character
to contract. The podcaster who gets entangled into a love triangle with Josh
didn’t do much for me but it allowed Josh to run and duck like Jack Tripper and
it strengthened the romance between Carol Anne and Josh which was quite sweet. The show took a while to reach last year’s levels of sublime mania (perhaps the
change from defending to prosecuting Lavinia midway broke up the flow?) but it
finished strong enough to make this year’s list again.
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| Courtesy: NBC |
10. The Good Place (NBC)-Mike Schur’s hybrid ethical
manifesto/long-form sitcom is still one of the best things on TV but the
transition into the third scene took a dive in immediacy as the gang was
stranded a little too long in Australia. Even off-episodes still had great
content to offer and “The Ballad of Donkey Doug” and “A Fractured Inheritance”
provided comic highlights as they combined the “Very Special episode” sitcom
format with Jason and Tahini’s ridiculous back stories. Towards the end of the
year the show started accelerating fast into game changing twists but unlike
the first season, our preconceptions haven’t been shattered so it’s still
holding steady.
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| Courtesy: Variety |
11. Ozark (Netflix)-Much
of the first two seasons here were spent squeezing the protagonist between
various characters, capable of inflicting death or worse, who exact opposite
demands on him like “Malcolm in the Middle” with psychotic thugs. The tension
on this show has gone from satisfying to an adrenaline high but there’s a point
when you start to wonder if credibility gets sacrificed. Don’t blame this show:
It’s been the template of much of peak TV since “Breaking Bad” and “The Americans”:
The more implausible obstacles your antihero is faced with, the better the
show. “Ozark” has some great characters, even better acting, and a strong sense
of place but it really started to distinguish itself towards the latter half of
the season when Marty tried to actively look for a way out (as any sensible character
would do) which made his moral conflicts so much more interesting.
12. Disenchantment (Netflix)-Matt
Groening mined the genre of futuristic tropes for an anachronistic playground in
“Futurama”, and he does the same here with medieval Europe. The visual details
are rich in a way that humor can be mined out of all the Easter eggs in the
backdrop. John DiMaggio doesn’t do much with King Zog to make him interesting
but the rest of the cast is pretty solid and like Groening’s two other
creations, there’s already an array of solid side characters. To give an idea, Zog’s
second wife is a salamander who talks like Eva Gabor and one of the red shirt
knights is named Mortimer the Expendable. It’s not a finished product yet but it’s a good
bet that this show will get significantly richer in future seasons.
Honorable Mention:
Baroness von Sketch Show, IFC-These four seasoned ladies continue to kill it with innovative sketches that vary by length and consistently deliver fresh and original commentary on human nature. Meredith MacNeill, in particular, is a great physical comedian who will bend and contort in any which way for a laugh.
BoJack Horseman, Netflix-#1 last year, "Bojack" felt like it was treading through familiar beats to some extent but there were several positive developments to show character growth including BoJack maintaining a relationship with Hollyhock, going through both ends of the #metoo movement with a determination to cure himself of alcoholism. and holding down a job (harder than it looks for BoJack). The show found avenues for everyone's arc to continue to be worthwhile five seasons in (although Dianne has a ways to go, we'll be pulling for you next season). On the humor front, it was hard to top Henry Fondle and on the experimantation front, the show batted one for two in my book (the episode with four Halloweens was the season's MVP to me although some prefer "Free Churro")
Camping, HBO-Co-written by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner, this show feels like a spiritual successor to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff" if the party size was doubled and extended to an entire weekend camping trip. Jennifer Garner stars as Kathryn, an uptight mother in a sexless marraige, who's good graces belie her deep insecurities. Juliette Lewis plays the free-spirited Jandice who is the perfect foil to Kathryn's facade and the season is a slow burn to watching Kathryn unravel. In between these two are a ragtag group who collectively demonstrate that adulting isn't always as complete a process as it seems.
Derry Girls, Channel 4/Netflix-This Irish import found a distinctive voice (quite literally with the thick brogues) and plot format rather quickly. It's rooted in a strong sense of place and a point of view that adolescence is cruel but has moments of rose-tinted nostalgia here and there.
Impractical Jokers, TruTV-On the surface, this looks like four goofballs laughing too hard at their own shennanigans, but this show involving four Staten Island men daring each other to say and do absurd things with strangers involves highly skilled improv packaged in a format that encourages edge-of-your-seat escalation.
Me Myself and I, CBS-A family comedy starring recent SNL alum Bobby Moynihan and John Larroquette that has two things going for it. The gooey morality fables found in the TGIF sitcoms of old, and labyrinthine Sienfeldesque plotting that takes place across the past, present and future of a man's life. Unfortunately the sitcom was cancelled but burned-off episodes are available online.
Orange is the New Black, Netflix-One of the best ensemble shows in the television history, there are high points and storylines that work in every season. The new dynamic with the two fueding sisters and the moral shading of the guards based on their varying stopping points to a sadistic game of fantasy prisoner were this year's highlights. The tour de force that had the power to get the audience angry enough to want to take action (hello criminal justice reform bill?) was the show's focus on the trial of Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson in all its rawness. The show might have cracked the top 12 if it didn't feel like such a hard reset from last season.
Rise, NBC-The show was flawed by a protagonist who had such tunnel vision in directing his school play that he was willing to put a not-yet-out gay student in the crosshairs of his conservative family, deny the primadonna her lead role, and screw with the football team's winning formula for the sake of his precious vision. And that's to say nothing of the dues-ex-machinas that continually saved him. But what can I say, somehow this show really worked for me. It hit the right timbre in its emotional relationships (think "Glee" without the whiplash) and has a very strong sense of economically margainalized Red State America
Succession, HBO-There’s not much to write here beyond “spoiled rich family schemes and quibbles and schemes some more” and it’s a lot of fun. A murderer’s row of character actors—Jeremy Strong, Matthew McFayden, Kieran Culkin, Brian Cox, Alan Ruck—lend slightly different shades of nasty to their characters and they’re largely attending a lot of formal events where they’re acting inappropriate.
Others Shows I Watched That Didn't Make the List:
9-1-1, Fox*; 13 Reasons Why, Netflix; ACS: Versace, FX; Adam Ruins Everything, TruTV; Alex Inc, ABC*; AP Bio, NBC*; Arrested Development, Netflix; Barry, HBO; Billy on the Street, Lyft; Big Mouth, Netflix; BoJack Horseman, Netflix*; The Break with Michelle Wolff, Netflix; Brockmire, IFC; Comedy Knockout, TruTV, Corporate, Comedy Central*; Casual, Hulu%; Camping, HBO; The Cool Kids, Fox; Corporate, Comedy Central; Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, CW; The Flash, CW; Derry Girls, Channel 4/Netflix; Electric Dreams, Amazon%; Empire, Fox*; Family Guy, Fox; Gifted, Fox; Glow, Netflix; God Friended Me, CBS; Good Girls, NBC; Great News, NBC; It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, FXX; I Feel Bad, NBC%; Jack Ryan, Amazon*; Jessica Jones, Netflix; Kidding, Showtime%, Killing Eve, BBC; Last Man on Earth, Fox; LA to Vegas, NBC; Last Week Tonight, HBO; Late Night with Seth Meyers, NBC; Lost in Space, Netflix; Modern Family, ABC; Mom, CBS; No Activity, CBS All-Access; Once Upon a Time, ABC: Queer Eye, Netflix*; Mozart in the Jungle, Amazon; Norm McDonald Has a Show, Netflix; Real Time with Bill Maher, HBO; Schitt's Creek, Pop TV; Sick Note, Netflix; SNL, NBC; Superstore, NBC; Timeless, NBC%; A Very British Scandal, Amazon; Westworld, HBO%
*=Considered for honorable mention
%=Didn't see more than one or two episodes
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