It's that time of year where all the respected television critics and other assorted randos put together their lists celebrating the best TV of the year, and for the first time ever, I'm joining those randos. That's right, I'm jumping into the "Best Of List" game with my own list on what I believe to be the best TV of 2016. So a couple things to note before we jump in:
-This list is not ranked because I feel rankings are irrelevant and distract from the purpose of a "Best Of" list. Also it was hard enough narrowing my list down. I didn't want to add to that by ranking what I did have. All shows are listed alphabetically. For what it's worth, if it was a ranked list, The Americans would be at the top (The fact that the alphabetical format puts it at the top anyhow is a happy coincidence).
-This list is Top 12 instead of 10 because I've always found 10 to be an arbitrary number for ranking things. Plus once I settled on the Top 12 I couldn't bring myself to cut anything else and it's not a ranked list anyways so I figured why not 12?
-This list, like every "Best Of" list ever is entirely subjective, informed by my opinions and what I watched. I watched a lot of television this year but I didn't come close to watching everything out there. If I had gotten around to watching stuff like say Halt and Catch Fire, Queen of Sugar or Horace and Pete (The top three things I wish I had gotten around to watching this year), there's a strong chance this list would be different. So if you don't agree with my list, then that's cool. I'm just a guy with a blog. My word is hardly the final one. Feel free to make your own list.
-There were a lot of shows I wanted to put on the final list that didn't make a cut. Those shows will be featured on a "Best Of The Rest Of" list that will be published a few days from now (fingers crossed). So look forward to that.
-Anyways, enough pre-amble. Let's get to the list already!
The Americans (FX): The Americans is both the best show on television barely anyone watches and the best show on television period. A stunner of a period drama about two deep cover Soviet agents (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell doing some of the best work of their careers) in 80's Washington who find the marriage and family they made as part of the cover has become very real, the 4th season (Of what was announced this year to be a six season run) may have been the best yet. As the weight and human cost of the work they do begins to seriously take it's toll on both Philip (Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Russell), the first half of the season builds an increasing amount of dread both from the threat of their secrets being revealed and the deadly biological weapons they're tasked with obtaining before a second half that brings down the threat of exposure without losing the sense that the end is approaching. A number of long-simmering storylines come to inevitable yet still devastating conclusions and multiple long-time regulars die or leave but none of it feels like shock value. Beyond the greatness of Rhys and Russell, there is also constantly great work from the likes of Noah Emmerich (As Stan, the Jennings FBI Agent neighbor), Allison Wright (As Martha, The FBI secretary Philip married as part of an assignment), Costa Ronin (As Oleg, a KGB embassy officer who is starting to waver in his belief to the cause) and many more. As Paige, the teenage daughter who's struggling to come to terms with the truth about her family she learned last year and trying to manage the fallout of an impulsive decision she made to tell her pastor, Holly Taylor is giving one of the best Prestige Show Teenager performances on TV. Dylan Baker is also present this season to bring some welcome levity as William, another Soviet agent who resents how much he's sacrificed for the cause and his presence adds a lot to the story. Ultimately it seems like The Americans is destined to be one of those shows whose greatness isn't truly appreciated until years from now when it's long over, but it's not too late to start watching now and let the methodical dread-filled thrill ride overtake you.
American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson (FX): I'll be honest. When it was announced that the first season of American Crime Story would be tackling O.J. I thought the whole thing would be a glorious disaster. Ryan Murphy (creator of such often self-indulgent messes as Glee and American Horror Story) tackling O.J.? Even with Murphy and frequent collaborator Brad Falchuck taking a backseat to show developers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszweski, my expectations were low (Although I was still going to watch it). So I was stunned by how good the series wound up being. Using Jeffrey Toobin's The Run Of His Life as a jumping-off point, Alexander and Karaszweski wove a complex tale about race, class, gender, celebrity, and the rise of the 24-hour news cycle among other things. Each episode is anchored around a key moment from the case like the Bronco chase or Marcia Clark's perm or the Mark Fuhrman Tapes, providing a clear focus for all the ideas on display to swirl around. The series is full of strong performances (with the exception of whatever John Travolta was trying to do with Robert Shapiro), with Sara Paulson, Sterling K. Brown and Courtney B. Vance in particular standing out as Marcia Clark, Christopher Darden, and Johnnie Cochran, bringing much needed humanity and insight to figures that have become fairly caricatured over the years. Even the odd tangents like the scenes of the young Kardashian sisters getting their first taste of fame work in the context of the greater story going on. Ultimately American Crime Story brought new life to a story that seemed like there was nothing left to tell (It wasn't even the only great TV project about O.J. released this year!) and that's truly remarkable.
Atlanta (FX): Is there anything Donald Glover can't do? He's funny, he can act, he can write, he can definitely rap, and he can create and star in a pretty damn good television series too. Atlanta is unlike any TV show in recent memory. The show has no set structure or template and doesn't follow any typical TV comedy rhythms (If it follows any rhythms at all). Donald Glover stars as Earn, a basically homeless Princeton dropout trying to make money and provide for his ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Zazie Beetz) and their infant daughter, while managing his cousin Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles, a local rapper trying to make a name for himself. This basic premise is used to support what's essentially a series of fascinating, unpredictable and often hilarious (though the show feels no need to constantly be spouting jokes) short stories about being black, poverty, the Hip-hop world, and life in Atlanta. Fire up an episode of Atlanta and there's no telling what you might find within. You might see Paper Boi facing off with a very black Justin Bieber or Earn trying to take Van for a nice dinner with no money or Paper Boi's right-hand man Darius (Keith Stanfield) getting in trouble for bringing a dog-shaped target to a shooting range or a whole episode of a fake talk show on a fake BET-network. Through it all, the well-defined characters keep the whole thing grounded and believable, even with ridiculous gags like an invisible car or a punk kid in whiteface popping up when you least expect them. The result is a viewing experience that sticks with you long after the season has ended. TV could use more shows like Atlanta.
Better Call Saul (AMC): Breaking Bad, one of the best TV dramas of all time was in many ways a horror story. An ordinary man turns out to be a monster but doesn't realize what a monster he is until he's ruined the lives of everyone around him. Better Call Saul, a spin-off/prequel focused on the early days of amoral attorney Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) and seasoned enforcer Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) is more of a tragedy and that tragedy helps set itself apart from it's predecessor for a show that's really come into it's own this year. Jimmy McGill is a lawyer whose efforts to be a good person and do the right thing are blocked at every turn by forces ranging from Jimmy's brother Chuck (Michael McKean), an accomplished lawyer who suffers from a psychosomatic sensitivity to electromagnetism and a deep-seated resentment of Jimmy to Jimmy's own instincts to take ethical shortcuts and play fast and loose with the truth. We know eventually he'll become the sleazy Saul Goodman and wind up in exile to Omaha following the events of Breaking Bad, but Jimmy doesn't and the knowledge of the destination makes the journey that more heartbreaking. Odenkirk brings depth and dimension to Jimmy that Breaking Bad only ever hinted at and Rhea Seehorn stands out as Kim Wexler, Jimmy's friend and love interest who finds her professional life tied to Jimmy's for better and for worse. For people who loved Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul gives plenty of focus to Mike too as he finds himself drawn into the orbit of the Salamenca's and on a road that will lead to a certain chicken man. Jimmy's stuff is just as compelling though and Better Call Saul excels at making potentially boring sequences like Jimmy acting out at work, or spending hours at a copy shop for a scheme into brilliant setpieces. The show has also maintained Breaking Bad's sense of humour, which it uses for great effect. The second season builds to a climax similar to the second season of Breaking Bad, but with a much different conclusion that highlights the difference between Jimmy McGill and Walter White. Better Call Saul may never reach the heights of Breaking Bad, but it's a must-watch experience all the same.
Bojack Horseman (Netflix): One of the most emotionally rich, surprisingly dark and existential shows on TV is also an uproarious satirical animated comedy about a washed-up 90's sitcom actor who is also a horse (Well horse/human hybrid but same diff.). If you've never seen Bojack Horseman or stopped watching during the rockier early episodes before it coalesced into something special, the above sentence probably sounds absurd, but it's absolutely true and the third season proved to be the darkest and funniest season yet. If the second season of Bojack made it seem like he had finally hit rock bottom, Season 3 proved there was a lot more bottom to go as Bojack's quest for an Oscar nomination/happiness led to him finally alienating the people closest to him. This season contained maybe the best episode of television this year in Fish Out Of Water, an almost completely silent episode that sent Bojack to an under the sea film festival best described as "Lost In Translation Meets Looney Tunes" in the best way possible. Other highlights included a period piece set in the good ol' days of 2007, a nuanced and sensitive take on abortion issues, an episode-long phone conversation with guest star Candice Bergen trying to talk Bojack out of canceling his newspaper subscription, Todd starting an Uber-esque service targeted at women that quickly goes awry, the return of Character Actress and Fugitive Margo Martindale and a season-long joke about Mr. Peanutbutter buying hundreds of spaghetti strainers and waiting for them to pay off that has the best pay-off imaginable. Through it all, Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, Amy Sedaris, Allison Brie, and Paul F. Tompkins bring their characters to life with expert precision and the beautiful animation ensures that every scene is crammed with more jokes than you'll ever manage to find. Bojack Horseman can seem offputting at first glance, but under the surface is a treasure trove of narrative and comedic riches just waiting to be discovered.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW): When it debuted last fall, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (One of the two shows on the list I constantly talk about on this blog) was pleasant and charming, but didn't seem that essential or sustainable. A quirky musical comedy about a successful lawyer who drops everything to move from New York City to West Covina, California after a chance encounter with her ex-boyfriend from camp 10 years ago who's moving back there? OK sure. I enjoyed it but figured it would run out of steam fairly fast. In 2016 though, Creators Rachel Bloom (Who also stars) and Aline Brosh McKenna began to dig deep into ideas of addiction, depression, mental health, feminism, self-worth, personal happiness, creating narrative and the complete fabrication of Rom-Coms and showed just how deep and rewarding the show could be. Rebecca Bunch (Bloom) is a self-obsessed anti-hero but we root for her anyways because we understand where she's coming from. She's surrounded by people who are equally easy to root for, even when they're being despicable. The show can veer from comedy to tragedy back to comedy in an instant without skipping a beat. It's lovingly crafted and the world is built out in such a way that even the smallest character like the local bar owner or the grocery store checkout clerk feels like a unique individual. The songs are also brilliant and dabble in every genre and style of music imaginable from Broadway to Country to Beyonce to Spice Girls to 80's Power Ballads to 90's Pop Punk and everything in between. With ratings consistently low and the premise as ridiculous as it is, it seems unlikely that the show will last past season 2, but no matter how long it's run Bloom and McKenna have truly created something special and 2016 was when it got to fully show off how special it was.
Jane The Virgin (CW): The other show I constantly talk about on this blog, Jane The Virgin might be the most consistently great network show on television, which is remarkable considering how small a target it has to hit every week. A comical family show that's a spoof of the telenovella formula, but also an actual telenovella with tons of crazy plot twists including criminal family members, secret twins, stolen identities, and egregious product placement? It's a hard needle to thread but somehow "Jane" pulls it off week in and week out. As Jane (Gina Rodriguez) navigates her way through motherhood, co-parenting, grad school, criminal masterminds, famous fathers, marriage, brushes with tragedy, family secrets, and the lost of her virginity, the show always keeps the focus on the characters, which manages to anchor the show in reality, even if that reality is heightened. Three seasons in and the show still has plenty of narrative tricks up it's sleeve. They don't always work (Last season featured a multi-episode plot where Jane's father was kidnapped by a stalker that was a little too ridiculous) but the show hits way more than it misses, which is impressive this deep into it's run. It's also a very optimistic and joyful show, which is something you don't see enough of on TV these days. There's always a chance that eventually this show will go totally off the rails, but I have a feeling that as long as it runs, "Jane" will continue to be a fixture on my "Best Of" list.
Lady Dynamite (Netflix): Lady Dynamite is the kind of show where it's hard to explain the appeal in mere words but I'll give it my best shot. Created by Mitch Hurwitz and Pam Brady, Lady Dynamite is a loosely-autobiographical comedy about Maria Bamford (Who stars as herself) trying to get her life and career back on track following six months being treated for bipolar disorder. The show jumps between the present, the past as we see the events that led to a major breakdown and an inbetween period as we see her living with her parents while attending recovery in Duluth. It's a hilarious, surrealist romp with no 4th wall, the kind of show where Patton Oswalt will keep breaking character to advise Maria against using stand-up as a storytelling device, John Ridley and the Lucas Brothers will debate if the episode about race actually made any compelling points and the theme song is an out-of-nowhere spoof of Blaxploitation films. It's the kind of show where Maria's pug Bert might casually talk to her and give advice, her well-meaning but completely ineffectual manager Bruce (A brilliant Fred Malamed) might write a song about a Seamen-loving shark or accidentally ship a ton of T-Shirts with her face to child soldiers in Sudan and every predatory force in Maria's life past and present happens to be named Karen Grisham. Through it all Bamford guides us with a manic smile, and though the show threatens to come apart at the seams sometimes it always manages to stay on track right to it's powerful conclusion. The result is a bold show that manages to stand out among the many great Netflix comedies.
Orange Is The New Black (Netflix): The 3rd season of OITNB was lighter and less-focused than the first two but ended on a foreboding note that led to it's best season yet as things got dark for the ladies of Litchfield. As the privatization of the prison led to both an influx of new inmates and a host of new, more brutal and malicious guards, the show continued to make excellent use of it's large ensemble to tell moving stories about trying to maintain your humanity in a system that constantly denies it. One-time lead Piper (Taylor Schilling) became as unlikeable as she's ever been as her attempts to maintain control of her "Prison Panty" empire led to serious consequences and the accidental creation of a white supremacist gang, but as always the best moments of the season belonged to the women around Piper. From Taystee becoming Caputo's assistant to Pennsatucky trying to deal with being around the guard who raped her last season to Maria and Blanca making a play for power to Yoga Jones falling under the sway of celebrity inmate Judy King and the privilege that comes with her to Poussey and Soso's adorable romance to Alex and Red trying to keep schizophrenic inmate Lolly in line after a traumatic event, there was plenty to latch onto this season. The show also continued it's attempt to create empathy for almost every character (Save for captain of the guard Piscatella and a couple of his more sadistic guards), which adds many layers to the building conflict. The season builds to a tragedy that's horrible on every level but feels like it was sadly inevitable and the season ends on a powerful note that will leave you begging for season 5.
Rectify (Sundance): As of this writing, there is still one episode of Rectify left to air and there's a chance the episode will be totally underwhelming and end the series on a bum note, but it's an incredibly small chance. Even if the finale winds up being a disappointment (And again, I doubt it), it would not be enough to knock Rectify's beautiful final season off my list. The last season of Rectify finds former death row resident Daniel Holden (Aden Young giving one of the best performances on TV) living in Nashville in a program designed to help former convicts reintegrate into the world. The trauma of all he's been through is still with him though and season 4 confronts the idea of he'll ever be able to move past this trauma head on. Meanwhile back in Paulie, as the truth of what really happened on the night Hannah Dean (the girl he was convicted of raping and murdering) died comes ever closer to finally being unraveled, Daniel's family find themselves confronting the idea of moving on and finding their own freedom. The show is methodically paced as ever, which allows you to really be drawn into the world of Paulie and find the beauty in the smallest moments. The cast includes such standouts as J. Smith-Cameron, Abigail Spencer, and Clayne Crawford, and really enough can't be said about Young's performance as Daniel (A sequence in the penultimate episode where he listens to a tape of himself describing being sexually assaulted in prison might be one of the best things to air on TV this year). No matter how Rectify wraps up, I'm definitely going to miss it.
Westworld (HBO): OK, if The Americans were at the top of a ranked version of this list, Westworld would be at the bottom. I've moved it on and off the list more times than I could count before ultimately deciding to put it on. Chances are I'll keep moving it on and off the list even after it gets published. Of all the shows on here, Westworld is certainly the most flawed. The first season introduced a complex, fascinating world and conceit (An amusement park populated by robot hosts who slowly become aware) but then seemed content to tease out endless mysteries and twists instead of fulling embracing it's premise, consistently keeping the audience at a distance and making it hard to figure out what exactly the show was trying to say until the very end. Many of the twists were also easily guessable, which made it kind of frustrating when they kept putting off the reveals It's a show that can't be really appreciated on more than a basic level until it's watched twice, which isn't ideal for any show. Despite that though, as I sat to watch the finale, I realized that I had become incredibly invested in what was going on. The show was messy and somewhat impenetrable but also ambitious and beautiful and daring in a way I could appreciate and even if the journey was occasionally tedious, the conclusion came together stunningly, setting the stage for what could be a brilliant season 2 as long as creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy stop playing games. As the park's oldest host, Delores, Evan Rachel Wood gave an incredibly complex and involved performance (The kind that will look even better on rewatch). Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright gave equally stunning performances as Westworld madam Maeve and head programmer Bernard, respectively. Again, Westworld wasn't perfect (The show somehow wasted Anthony Hopkins, despite giving him plenty of screentime), but it was fascinating and compelling in ways that are going to stick with me for a long time and that's why it ultimately made my "Best Of" list.
You're The Worst (FXX): The third season of You're The Worst had a tough act to follow to say the least. After a brilliant second season that provided an honest, stunning look at grappling with depression, season 3 with a broader, looser, shaggier story about family and looking for meaning and happiness in life couldn't help but suffer a bit in comparison. But even if it didn't frequently hit the heights of the second season (Though multiple episodes including one totally focused on Edgar and his struggles with quitting his PTSD meds cold turkey), the third season was still excellent, telling a darkly funny, frequently melancholic story with plenty of interesting twists and turns along the way. Even if the awful behavior of Jimmy (Chris Geere), Gretchen (Aya Cash), and Lindsay (Kether Donohue) plus the significantly less awful behavior of Edgar (Desmin Borges) isn't quite as fresh as it once was, the characters still manage to surprise us as Gretchen goes through therapy for her depression, Jimmy has an unconventional grieving process following the sudden death of his father, Lindsay struggles with a pregnancy and a husband she's starting to realize she might not want and Edgar goes off his meds and starts finding new ways to cope with PTSD. The show continues to be daring too with it's structure. Beyond the Edgar-focused one mentioned above, one episode focuses completely on side characters Paul and Vernon, while another utilizes a series of long single-takes and another completely focuses on three arguments between the three main couples. The show continues to be hilarious too from an out-of-nowhere Mad Men homage to Lindsay demonstrating her unique brand of mindfulness to Vernon's continued desire to be heckled. The ending of season 3 also ties the season together beautifully, ending on a devastating note that promises lots of possibilities for season 4. Wherever the show goes, I will be awaiting it eagerly because You're The Worst is simply the best.
And boom, that's my "Best Of List" for 2016. Thanks for reading it. It was hard to put together (There's just too much great television) but I'm glad I did it. It was a strong year for TV (As we'll see when my list of the shows that almost made this list comes out) and I have hopes that next year will be equally strong. Anyways I hope that this list might inspire you to check out some of the shows you might have missed this year. I know I'll be doing that. Anyways until my next post (whenever that is), keep watching TV and talking TV.
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