Top 12 of 2026

Announcement: I will be winding down on this blog. To anyone who read for the past 20 years, thank you. I will be migrating my content almost exclusively to my Patreon, and potentially to Substack. 

Even if I never get any readers, this would be the one thing I do a year for myself. Read, enjoy, fight, and debate me on this!

1. Resident Alien (Syfy) – Long one of my favorite series on the airwaves, Resident Alien reimagines the Andy Griffith show in the remote mountains of Colorado with a socially out-of-step alien and a surprisingly deep mythology. At times, this mythology could feel overcomplicated for light viewing, but it was remarkable how well things tied together in the last batch of episodes. On top of that, the catharsis of each "yes, he's an alien" reveal gave me such a strong sense of feels, I can't help but let emotion guide my judgment in placing this as the best show of the year. The conclusion validated the show's great run over so many years.

2. Your Friends and Neighbors (Apple) -- It’s the standard plot from the golden age of TV with The Americans, Breaking Bad and Ozark — ordinary guy’s story arc veers towards illegality, he’s in too deep, and has no choice but to find his way from the hole he’s dug. At  least that’s how one expects it will turn out, but the show does some pretty epic zagging as the main character –  a bitter divorced dad (Jon Hamm) – doubles down on his lies through the finish line This is a rare show from this genre that employs a reverse dramatic irony: The audience is rarely let in on how far ahead of the game Coop is. On top of this, the show folds in a convincing family drama and a meaty satire of suburban mores.

3. The White Lotus (HBO) – I can pick at a few minor glitches in the season: The first three episodes were too slow of a burn for an eight-episode season; a few minor character tics didn't quite land; the power lady trio never got hooky enough; Scott Glenn character's actions made no sense; Sam Rockwell felt too much like a stunt cameo; and the White Lotus Parker Posey was more over-the-top than even Christopher Guest Parker Posey. OK, I can pick quite a few. Still, this is generally the best thing on TV and has so much ambition and craftsmanship at every step. The stories resonate with me over a year later. And, my god. the opening credits. That is some unsettling music.

4, The Studio (HBO) - Few shows have infused the Hollywood-mocks-itself format with such zippy energy. The show operates under a standard Murphy’s Law cynicism, but true to the Hollywood spirit, the crew at Continental Studios always knows another opportunity is around the corner. The dialogue rests somewhere between Tina Fey and Aaron Sorkin’s less preachier projects and the cast gels like few others. Seth Rogen, Ike Barinholtz, the deeply missed Catherine O’Hara, the never-failing Kathryn Hahn, are joined by newcomer Chase Sui Wonders and several of Hollywood’s most improbable cameos.

5. The Paper (Peacock)-Considering The Office has been our de facto comfort viewing for nearly 20 years, it would be impossible for Greg Daniels' follow-up The Paper live up to the hype, but let’s take off our rose-colored glasses and remember how much of an egotistical oaf Michael Scott was in the first few episodes. So yes, I do declare this is off to a better start with characters with delightful idiosyncrasies we’re just beginning to peel the layers off of. The inane boss activity (particularly Sabrine Impacciatore) occurring at the level above our lead protagonist, freeing Domnhall Gleeson’s idealistic Ned to be a sweetheart that’s worth rooting for.

6. Poker Face (Peacock)-Leans on the same three tropes every episode -- accidental murderer, detective in the right place at the right time, and deus-ex-machina to get the hero kicked out of her home every -- BUT Riann Johnson imbues every episode with movie-level quality. That's a pretty high level of consistency for a show that switches settings every episode. It also helps that Natasha Lyonne is so charismatic in whatever she's in.

7. The Four Seasons (Amazon)-Unfairly compared to the original film by the critical sphere. Steve Carell, restless from his marriage (to Kerri Kinney), experiences a mid-life crisis and subsequent May-December romance that threatens to throw off the long-standing equilibrium of the friendship between three couples. The show's format of rotating over four vacations is clever. The show is largely populated with comedic actors, but it's oh so sweet, and the automatic reaction by the gang to the May-December romance is surprisingly salient.

8. Stick (Apple)-Owen Wilson has played sleazebags (Wedding Crashers, Starsky and Hutch), wide-eyed nomads (Midnight in Paris, Darjeerling Limited, Royal Tenenbaums) and the occasional sweet spot in between (You Me and Dupree, Internship), but this role as a hustling ex-golfer looking to make a sincere turn on a young talent feels like the culmination of the Owen Wilson persona. With the golfer (Peter Dager) and his mother (Mariana Trevino); a she/they caddy who’s not shy about her zoomer political views (Lilli Kay); and an old friend (Marc Maron), the quintet hits the road on a qualifying tour. The show unapologetically delves into generational gaps with at least one character (Marc Maron) who’s on the wrong side of political correctness, but it navigates some edgy material to pull off the found family trope. It’s even goshdarn heartwarming  without losing its edge:  Each character has at least one solid foil among the other members of the quintet.

9. Spud Hut (Smosh) - An entirely improvised series that premie on Smosh's YouTube channel with the main cast often doubling on key roles. The basic premise is a Romeo and Juliet story between two employees at opposing baked potato vendors in a mall. Improv is generally inconsistent and can sometimes overly rely on the gimmick, but these guys have a great knack for "yes and"-ing the right spots and building from there. Good improv has a contagious glee from the actors discovering in real time that they hit the right notes. Plus, the costumes are adorable. 

10. Running Point (Netflix) – Inspired by the Buss family of the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty, the sports sitcom takes a fish-out-of-water angle at the NBA with a female executive at the helm of the fictional LA Waves franchise. It’s exec-produced by sitcom pros Ike Barinholtz and Mindy Kaling so there’s a familiar pace linking to when the single camera sitcom was finding its stride in the 2010s. The sitcom has inspired casting—Kate Hudson, Drew Tarver, Justin Theroux, and Scott MacArthur—as siblings who inherit a basketball team. It moves fast, cleverly segments certain episodes to tangential stand-alone shots, and features a great array of guest stars.

11. Nobody Wants This (Netflix)-The second season premiere launched the characters with a glaring lack of consistency. Whereas hunky (that adjective appears mandatory, based on the show's treatment of the character) Rabbi Noah had previously delcared that he'd throw his calling away from love, the second season begins with Noah never officially quitting. He and Joanna oscillate heavy between love and faith throughout much of the season. However, everyone in Noah and Joanna's orbit gets a little more colored in that there's hardly a character I wouldn't want to hang out with. Throw in exciting new bears and characters (Morgan's shady ex-shrink/boyfriend; Noah's new uber-lax Rabbi boss), and it still makes my list despite that retcon glitch.

12. Grosse Pointe Garden Society (NBC) – It's a show about gardening and murder but not really either of those things. Even with a flat murder twist, the show delivers a compelling take on an adrift version of adulthood, and the intersecting plots are doubly rich. Two actors that have been begging for meatier work --Melissa Fumero and Josh Radnor -- turn in career-highs here.

Honorable Mention: Deli Boys, DMV, English Teacher, Friend Zonedd, Ghosts, Going Dutch, Haunted Mansion, Krapopolis, Man on the Inside, Rain Maker

For Reference, Everything Else I Saw This Year:
America's #1 Family (Amazon), Bat-Fam (Amazon), Dark Winds (AMC), Cassandra (AMC), Cobra Kai (YouTube Red ---> Netflix), Chad Powers (Hulu), Black Rabbit (Netflix), Destination X (Peacock), Etoile (Amazon), Futurama (Fox ---> Comedy Central ---> Hulu), Good Cop/Bad Cop (The CW), Hunting Wives (Netflix), Long Story Short (Netflix), It's Always Sunny (FX), Krapopolis (Fox), Last Resort (Apple) North of North (Netflix), Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (Amazon), Shrinking (Apple), SNL (NBC), Studio C (BYU TV) , Stumble (Peacock/NBC), Twisted Metal (Peacock), Universal Basic Guys (Fox), Upload (Amazon) Yes, Chef (Peacock)

Oscars 2026: Pluses and Minuses

Time Pegs Be Damned at this Blog! I'll React to the Oscars When I Want to React! In All Seriousness, Please Consider Raising Your Subscription From Free to Paid to Help Incentivize Me to Write In a More Timely Manner. It Takes a Decent Amount of Human Labor to Write This After All, and The Traditional Journalism Outlets to Publish These Pieces Are Dying.

Plus: A Great Year on the Whole

To people who aren’t film buffs, it seems like a blanket generality to say that one year was good and one year wasn’t, but it actually can be true. Certain trends — and especially the ripple waves of COVID — altered release dates to the point where some years were complete duds (looking at you, 2022!).

2024 only had four films I would unequivocally recommend — Here, Anora, Between the Temples, and Challengers. This past year? I’d classify somewhere between 15 and 20 films at that level of quality. So when it comes to Sinners and One Battle After Another, they are both extraordinary films in an extraordinary year.

Minus: The Back End of the Nominees

I found Frankenstein too gory and disturbing to be a positive experience. But I can accept that it’s not my cup of tea, and it fills a nice niche for a Best Picture slate.

What I wholeheartedly reject is the inclusion of F1 and Bugonia. Terrible movies must not be allowed to be nominated, troops! Just kidding — I know art is subjective — but I thought those were seriously unimpressive films. Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most imaginative filmmakers out there, but he’s been nominated for far better films before. This one was a flat horror film with a half-baked twist, not something on par with his usual level of world-building.

F1 was a clichéd sports film that saw Brad Pitt playing to the exact behavioral expectations I would have of a Hollywood star who has consistently been told he’s one of the sexiest men on the planet. Also, let’s be honest: Sentimental Value wasn’t that far off from the SNL sketch.

Plus: A Veteran Wins Supporting Actress

In the last few years, the Academy has been using the supporting categories to kowtow to groups that insist the Academy award a diverse set of winners. Everyone’s opinion will vary, but I found Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Zoë Saldaña, Lupita Nyong’o, Ariana DeBose, Ke Huy Quan, and Troy Kotsur all unworthy of the Oscar, and it’s difficult not to believe the race was altered to some degree because of the diversity narrative.

My friend told me, “Congratulations, you have the same view as Fox News,” and my hatred for the Republican Party is well documented, but that doesn’t mean I like seeing Oscar voting influenced by counterfactual pushes for diversity. Watching someone like Ariana DeBose campaign for the Oscar on the basis that she’s the more diverse choice — while ignoring that this benefits her in today’s socio-economic climate — and then hammering “the continued importance of diversity” in her speech the following year feels tone-deaf.

This year, I was impressed with Chaser Infiniti in One Battle After Another, and Regina King knocked it out of the park in the unnominated Darren Aronofsky film Caught Stealing, so I was pretty thrilled for Amy Madigan, although I should point out…

Minus: That veteran was Someone I Had Never Heard Of. Skarsgard Family Still Goes Unrewarded:

Although, I do have to ask: who the hell is Amy Madigan? Am I the only one who can’t remember her from Field of Dreams? Personally, I’ve only seen her in three films: Rules Don’t Apply, Pollock, and Field of Dreams. She’s also famous for Uncle Buck and the Oscar-nominated Places in the Heart. But that’s a pretty thin résumé.

It’s nice to see an older actor rewarded, but Stellan Skarsgård would have been a much nicer choice. Still, it’s the kind of bombastic supporting-character role that we don’t see too often.

Plus: Conan O’Brien Goes All In on Sketches

From 2002 to approximately the dawn of YouTube, I was a Conan obsessive. If you were up past midnight, this was the only game in town, and it was quite a game. His stand-up was pretty typical, and his Hollywood banter had a nice awareness that he was a small fish in a big pond, but he really shone brightest in sketch work.

With the aid of Brian Stack (who I am scheduled to interview this May), Brian McCann, Andy Blitz, Max Weinberg, Joel Goddard, a young Amy Poehler, and others, Conan presided over a gonzo theater of the absurd. He crammed in an especially high number of bits: imagining himself as an entitled Oscar winner being serenaded by Josh Groban; memeing Leonardo DiCaprio and duplicating Michael B. Jordan; a future Oscars overrun by product placement; a parody of Netflix’s habit of spelling out plot points mid-movie.

This is Conan at his best.

Minus: The Backlash to Sinners Losing

I’ve written plenty about how the Oscars continue to be a referendum on progressiveness by a bloc of critics, movie fans, and industry advocates who believe that lashing out at the minute shortcomings of one of the most progressive industries on the planet will make a ripple in fixing our messed-up society.

As Chris Rock once said, the Black community in the 1960s wasn’t protesting Sidney Poitier’s Oscar snubs because they were too busy getting lynched. In the past decade, I’ve witnessed mass calls for greater inclusiveness during Awards Season that are just plain intellectually insulting, and I’ve had to risk looking racist or sexist if I didn’t join that bandwagon.

On top of the slant toward people wanting to see Black nominees win, we have the additional backlash that inevitably comes from Sinners being such a highly nominated film. They are both incredible films but one has to be a winner. The problem is that both films will be defined forever in a debate that will go beyond the Oscars (expanded upon here)

Side note:

My biggest irritation here is that Ryan Coogler won an Oscar, but some people will claim it’s not the right Oscar. Try telling that to Ryan Coogler! You think he's not happy winning an Oscar or that an anti-Black Academy would really pick and choose which type of Oscar to give someone?

Plus: Writing Wins for One Battle After Another and Sinners

So much of what worked well with these movies happened at the writing level.

Sinners established great backstory for its characters without dragging (impressive for a 137‑minute movie) and pulled the wool over our eyes as it underwent a very smooth genre shift.

One Battle After Another walked the thin tightrope between being relevant but not preachy or specific. It built out an entire world that could be explored in sequels or spin-offs.

Minus: The Ceremony Started an Hour Early

Whose bright idea was this? Who exactly wants to start an Oscar party on the West Coast at 4 p.m.? It was a major schlep just to make it to my own party by 7 p.m., and I had the easiest time zone in the country.

There’s “starting early,” and then there’s “my Aunt Hilda insisting we eat at 4:30 because she doesn’t like driving in the dark.” The Oscars should not be taking scheduling cues from Aunt Hilda!

Plus: The Casting Oscar

The new casting award is a good start — a long‑overdue acknowledgment of a crucial part of filmmaking — but it remains to be seen whether the Academy will just copycat the Best Picture race (the way the SAG Ensemble award often does) or actually think creatively. Would a good ensemble film featuring risky choices like Bad Shabbos or  the Knives Out sequel have made it in under ordinary circumstances? How about a foreign crossover like Rental Family, with an entirely fresh cast of Japanese actors alongside Brendan Frasier?

It’s a promising category, but the Academy has a long history of defaulting to the familiar. Let’s see if they can resist that gravitational pull.

Plus: The Bridesmaids Reunion

Probably the funniest non-host bit of the night. The forced improv element with the most random selection of audience members was killer. I was disappointed to see Wendi McLendon-Covey (unfortunately, the least famous of the sextet) absent on stage, but fortunately that was explained as a scheduling difficulty.