Cobra Kai (YouTube Red/Netflix)-The catharsis of landing a devastating flying kick at your bully is at the core of the Cobra Kai experience. The bully-bullied relationship took on added complexity in the show’s second season as it seemed like everyone had an axe to grind based on their socio-economic status or lack of a father figure or the classic “you kissed my boyfriend, prepare to die” scenario. Yes, it was a soapish season but it was one that built the world and developed a lot of solid supporting characters
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Miracle Workers: The Dark Ages (TBS)-This would likely be my tenth pick and I was prepared to write it off, but upon rewatch, however, this show is too darn clever. Show runner Simon Rich wrote the show “Man Seeking Woman” and the short story “What in God’s Name”, upon which the first season is based on, and he is a comic genius. His story of extremely unlikely upward mobility in an era where doing anything other than dying of the plague is virtually impossible.
Middleditch and Schwartz (Netflix)-A live special of Thomas Middleditch ("Silicon Valley") and Ben Schwartz ("Sonic the Hedgehog") are geniuses at this art form. They effortlessly switch characters; incorporate comic tics very early on so you're laughing sooner than later; and think several steps ahead to where the story should go. It's not too far-fetched to think that they could write a sitcom pilot on the spot. Jesse David Fox wrote an excellent article about how this could resurrect the often maligned form of improv, but the problem is that most improv shows you see don't feature people with these abilities. The only problem is that Middleditch and Schwartz only have three episodes.
Never Have I Ever (Netflix)-Co-created by Mindy Kaling, this teen comedy centers on an American-Indian teenager and gleefully subverts the stereotype that a South Asian teenager is obedient and primarily focused on academics. Sure, Dev is smart but she uses her good grades to shove it in her frenemy’s face and begins her sophomore year making a beeline straight for Boyfriend City (or at least sloppily attempting to land there). “Never Have I Ever” dramatizes the dichotomy between immigrant norms and assimilation in a very funny package and won me over quite a bit by zigging where I expected it to zag. The first season closed on one hell of a rewarding tear-jerker.
Nora from Queens (Comedy Central)-Awkwafina broke out in “Crazy Rich Asians” and has had a number of notable roles on screen in an astonishingly short time but nothing is as pure a form of her comic gifts as this show. Awkwafina is a developmentally stunted late twenty-something with minimal job credentials who lives at home and completely owns her mediocrity in all its glory.
Solar
Opposites (Hulu)-The sophomore effort behind the team that bought
us “Rick and Morty” (Mike McMahon and Justin Roliand) brings us a similar
playground of extreme high-tech humor without the nihilism or needlessly
complex mythology that the former has. The concept of the show—aliens have to
present some semblance of normalcy--has been done many times ranging from “Mork
and Mindy” to “Third Rock from the sun”, but the jokes fly at a faster pace
than even by 21st century standards. The show casually throws out a
very wide range of concepts
Space Force (Netflix)-I get the backlash about how lazy it is to rip a show premise from the most bizarre thing in the news. At the same time, both TV insiders and critics know the premise of a TV show is often what gets the show greenlit and is a very incomplete measure of a show’s worth. Yes, the show has plot holes the size of swiss cheese but the solid writing of sitcom pros is on display. Like “The Office” (of which Greg Daniels, Brent Forrester and Paul Lieberstein are also writers here), the characters all have strong comic foundations and there are some very intriguing character pairings. Humorwise, the show splits the balance between poignant satire and throw-away absurdity.
Teenage Bounty Hunters (Netflix)-Call it the “13 Reasons Why” effect. Netflix has developed a wide ilk of teenage shows and this one hits the mark really well. Bounty Hunters hones in on the hypocrisies and occasionally progressive homely vibes in the culture of Christian boarding schools. Pre-marital sex is the opposite of brag-worthy here and group prayer is in. Our heroes are twins Sterling and Blair and they’re juggling a little bit of everything: juicy sex triangles, a secret side gig as bounty hunters (think Nancy Drew, but a bit more hard-core), family troubles, and a refreshingly honest look at navigating religious ethics.
Unorthodox (Netflix)-As someone who has spent time on the fringes of an Orthodox community in Richmond, Virginia, I have seen modern Orthodox Judaism up close, and have often heard horror stories about some communities in the Northeast and this is what this show is about: The entrapment that countless individuals face growing up in such a religious state of insularity where they’re kept from even knowing there’s any other way of life. The magnitude of this knowledge differential is ripe for drama and this miniseries goes a long way to telling that story from a well-researched perspective.
We Are the Champions (Netflix)-As someone who’s been fascinated with some of the world’s most bizarre sports (Bog snorkeling, chess boxing, canal jumping are a few of my favorites), this is my bread and butter. At its height, Rainn Wilson’s narration and Nature-Channel-style storytelling captures the glorious spectacle of something I was already enthusiastic like cheese rolling. Things like hair styling or dog dancing weren’t things I ever felt I’d be caught up in, but the format of the show with its the gradual balancing of storylines and exposition made pretty much any absurd competition watchable.
TV has had an amazing year which has been a blessing during the quarantine. There are a number of shows that would have made honorable mention status in most other years: Animaniacs (Hulu), Archer (FX), Five Apartments (Peacock), Medical Police (Netflix), Studio C (BYU TV), Twilight Zone (CBS All Access), White Lines (Netflix)
Stay tuned for the top 10...
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