The Best TV Shows of 2019
The year was filled with good TV shows. From 'Watchmen' to 'Stranger Things 3', here are Complex's best TV shows of 2019.
Too. Much. TV. That’s it—that’s the mantra. It’s rough keeping up with TV and film on a regular basis, especially when so much great television has been hitting screens in 2019, on an array of networks. From massive-budget, epically drawn-out endings to iconic series to smaller, more personal takes on real life, there’s something for everyone out there.
2019 saw the swan songs of You’re the Worst and Game of Thrones; series we swore would be one-and-done, like Big Little Lies, Barry and Killing Eve, returning for improbable second seasons; and the debuts of a number of shows that you might not even be aware of but should be adding to your queues and taking time out of your day to revel in.
From the series that make you laugh, cry, or scream at the television to the most expertly crafted tales on the small screen, here are the best TV shows of 2019.
31.
Too. Much. TV. That’s it—that’s the mantra. It’s rough keeping up with TV and film on a regular basis, especially when so much great television has been hitting screens in 2019, on an array of networks. From massive-budget, epically drawn-out endings to iconic series to smaller, more personal takes on real life, there’s something for everyone out there.
2019 saw the swan songs of You’re the Worst and Game of Thrones; series we swore would be one-and-done, like Big Little Lies, Barry and Killing Eve, returning for improbable second seasons; and the debuts of a number of shows that you might not even be aware of but should be adding to your queues and taking time out of your day to revel in.
From the series that make you laugh, cry, or scream at the television to the most expertly crafted tales on the small screen, here are the best TV shows of 2019.
30.‘Bojack Horseman’
Network: Netflix
Stars: Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, Aaron Paul
Dropping roughly a year to the day after being announced, Netflix's Bojack Horseman is riding into the sunset in top form. Still managing to give viewers surprises when you're so close to the end of the line (this sixth and final season is airing in two parts, with the second half of the season premiering in 2020) is beautiful; being able to shift to focus to widen the scope while examining some of the harder parts of life? It's a task many shows wouldn't even attempt, and here Bojack is, going out the same way it came in: as one of the best series on television. —khal
29.‘Silicon Valley’
Network: HBO
Stars: Thomas Middleditch, Josh Brener, Martin Starr, Kumail Nanjiani
At most times, I feel like I'm the only person who watches Silicon Valley. I don't really talk about it with anyone and sort of am just watching because I made it this far in the series and it's about to end. However, that's not to say that it isn't still quite good. The quirky comedy about Richard Hendrix and his tech friends still delivers plenty of laughs while we wait and see what sort of setback the group is faced with next. There's a bunch of characters in the show you really don't like, but at the end of the day, I just find myself hoping that Pied Piper makes it through and they all become super-rich. Will it happen? Doubtful, but I give them credit that I still care about the journey after six seasons of tech drama. So who really won here? —Zach Frydenlund
28.‘South Side’
Network: Comedy Central
Stars: Sultan Salahuddin, Kareme Young, Chandra Russell, Bashir Salahuddin, Lil Rel Howery, Zuri Salahuddin, Quincy Young, Diallo Riddle
This summer, Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin owned one night of the week. Their comedy series Sherman’s Showcase (IFC) and South Side (Comedy Central) aired on Wednesday nights, at some points battling each other for funniest show of the night, let alone the week. While Sherman’s dove into more of a sketch-based framework, the impressive South Side captured real Black life on the South Side of Chicago. Sure, it focused on two guys looking to get paid by working at a Rent-A-Center-esque establishment, but it opened the doors to talk about everything from new Jordan hysteria to the art of stepping. It found the delicate balance of quirky and ratchet, giving Comedy Central another win post-Broad City. —khal
27.‘Ramy’
Network: Hulu
Stars: Ramy Youssef, May Calamawy, Stephen Way
Faith is interesting when it is taken seriously, but also taken honestly. And that balance is the beauty of Ramy.
On its surface, Ramy Youssef’s Hulu series doesn’t feel much different than Master of None, Insecure, Atlanta and the glut of beautifully shot, contemplative dramedies that have flooded prestige TV in recent years. Ramy goes to parties, struggles with money, and considers the meaning of life. And admittedly, there are some episodes that just about hit the average of this subgenre.
When Ramy deals with faith, however, the show feels special, and even transcendent. The hook for this show is a young Muslim man is dealing with identity in the era of the Muslim ban, but Ramy takes that promise and delivers on it with such depth and care that it almost feels unfair to offer such a pithy description.
Ramy is at its best when it tries to measure what is means to be Muslim, meaning part of a community, against what it means to be an individual Muslim.
In one of the most memorable moments in the entire series, Ramy tells his date, “The day the Muslim ban happened, I had a really good day. You know, like personally, it was a really good day. This guy on the news was like, ‘This is a terrible day for all Muslims.’ I was like, ‘Not all Muslims.’”
The show reaches similar levels of brilliance when Ramy has to contend with his homophobic, racist uncle who his family expects him to respect, and when Ramy’s friend Mo uses a refugee resettlement effort as a way to get a date with a girl from Instagram.
This measure of big cultural, religious, and social concerns against individual experiences makes Ramy one of the most thoughtful, funny, and meaningful shows of the year, all while never taking itself too seriously. —Brenden Gallagher
26.‘Dark’
Network: Netflix
Stars: Louis Hofmann, Dietrich Hollinderbäumer
If you’re into mindfucks, then Dark should be your wave. You can watch the English-dubbed version, but I employ you to watch it in German with subtitles because the urgency in what’s happening translates better. This show is if Stranger Things was serious and not the pop culture money grab that it has devolved into. They deal with the same things: a team of young kids trying to find out what weird shit is going on in their neck of the woods. You might have to rewatch episodes to fully piece things together, but it’s worth it. Just know that time is a circle. There is no past, no present, and no future. —Angel Diaz
25.‘GLOW’
Network: Netflix
Stars: Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Sydelle Noel, Britney Young, Marc Maron
One of the better binges of 2019, Season 3 of GLOW felt like the long-ass movie many binge-ready series claim to be. Taking the gorgeous women of wrestling to Vegas was an interesting touch; you got to explore the fatigue performers go through, the guilt of being away from home, and what goes down when the stir-crazy vibe sets in. It also touched on everything from Judaism to LGBTQ issues back in the '80s. That, and it's hilarious as hell, and it's still about wrestling! Some of the best bits from Season 3 is when we get to see the actual shows being done, whether it's a Christmas Carol-send-up or some wild opposite day ish. Knowing that it was renewed for a fourth season is a major win, although bittersweet, as it will also be our last go-round with these leading ladies. —khal
24.‘Dead to Me’
Network: Netflix
Stars: Christina Applegate, Linda Cardellini, James Marsden, Max Jenkins, Sam McCarthy, Luke Roessler
Christina Applegate is always a wonder, and Linda Cardellini, despite being a two-decade veteran, hasn’t anchored something like this in long enough for me to think she’d slay like she did here. But this Netflix series, which featured two women dealing with two different kinds of grief in two very different ways, was one of the better binges of the year—and one of the most surprisingly rewarding watches of 2019. Somewhere in the mountain of cliffhangers, macabre humor, and outright intensity is a relationship between two women more connected than they realize, leaving viewers hanging on the edge of their seats, waiting for the characters to catch up to the information the audience already has. That desire, paired with a challenging on-screen relationship, was enough to prepare us for the total mess of a finale that we received. Luckily, Season 2 has been ordered, so we’ll at least get to consume their grief for another season-long stretch. —khal
23.‘Vida’
Network: Starz
Stars: Melissa Barrera, Mishel Prada, Ser Anzoategui, Chelsea Rendon ,Carlos Miranda, Maria-Elena Laas, Roberta Colindrez
Season 1 of Starz’s LGBTQ+-friendly series about a Mexican community in California slipped under the rug in 2018; those who knew knew, and were treated to an enthralling tale regarding two sisters having to deal with the death of their mother and the series of issues (and secrets) that arose in its wake. It was an intoxicating collection of woke, sexy, and hilarious tales woven together in intriguing ways. Season 2 doubled down on all of that, kicking things off with an orgy and ending things with a protest, finding ways to bring everything from SJWs, Latinx culture, and more to the fore. Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada are enthralling as Vida’s daughters, bringing so much to their characters while also allowing a talented cast to get their shit off. This is appointment television. —khal
22.‘The Boys’
Network: Amazon
Stars: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Kapon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Elisabeth Shue
I wasn't surprised at all that The Boys was a success for Amazon and that they quickly approved a second season. In an era when there are superhero movies and shows everywhere, The Boys gives a much-needed refreshing look at the genre. It's raw, violent, and crass, but also maintains that hero charm. Homelander is a pretty memorable villain and delivered probably my favorite moment of the series when he hit the pose after bringing down the plane. Just sensational and entertaining TV. This was probably one of my favorite shows of the year to binge and I can't lie, I'm really looking forward to Season 2. —Zach Frydenlund
21.‘Killing Eve’
Network: BBC America
Stars: Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw
Killing Eve’s return to the small screen may not have been perfect, but it was the most entertaining the show has ever been. With zero build-up, we pick up almost to the moment where season one left off—Villanelle gushing blood, and Eve holding the knife. This cat and mouse dynamic once again carries the series, only this time the stakes actually seem fitting for an international assassin and her will she/won’t she law enforcement fangirl. The answer: she will. And does. Finally! Eve breaking bad in all the right ways isn’t a steady trip though. Sidetracked by her cursory home life, and a humdrum mystery that is The Twelve, the taut plotting found in the show’s freshman season has all but vanished. Yet, even with the handicap of a slightly choppy narrative, the acting clinic that is Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh serves to make Killing Eve one of the most dynamics shows out, as well as one of the year’s best. —Nate Houston
20.‘Fosse/Verdon’
Network: FX
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Michelle Williams, Norbert Leo Butz, Margaret Qualley
It's easy to see why critics were tough on Fosse/Verdon when it launched. The biopic on prolific actor/director/dancer/choreographer Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon, his wife/muse and a prolific actor/dancer/choreographer in her own right, is broken up into eight installments, but redundancy creeps in around No. 3. We get it: Fosse was a brilliant piece of shit. Powering through the episodes, though, reveals that to be a reductive read. Fosse/Verdon, the couple and the miniseries, isn't merely a clear-cut case of Genius Men Behaving Badly that we've seen so much of on prestige television this century. As one of the last century's most enduring showbiz power couples, their relationship, as presented on-screen in a work that draws on the novel Fosse as well as their daughter Nicole's (also an executive producer) account, was singularly symbiotic, an idea that doesn't really crystallize until the series peak in Episode 5.
At series start, the couple is in the midst of a string of some of Bob's most stinging artistic failures—his tendency to mitigate them by leaning on Gwen's innate ability to elevate his craft immediately stands out. Bob eventually achieves the level of success and acclaim he's dreamed of—only, reconciling it with his demons almost kills him. Then Episode 5 hits. A bottle installment, it finds an estranged Gwen, Bob, their respective lovers, and a handful of equally legendary showbiz friends cooped up in a Hamptons mansion on a weekend getaway. Tensions arise from their dueling agendas—in the wake of a physical and mental breakdown, Bob wants to pursue a brooding, dark drama; Gwen wants them to realize their lifelong dream of staging Chicago. Bob's new girlfriend wants him to take a year off altogether—Gwen knows him well enough to realize idle hands will kill him faster than anything else. But as Hollywood ageism looms over her, Gwen's ache to work is almost just as palpable (her proficiency for manipulation isn't far from Bob's), and during a climactic impromptu performance for the rest of their friends, Bob sees it. He recognizes it. Even through screaming matches and seething disdain, they get each other, need each other, and wouldn't be whole—artistically and emotionally—without the other. —Frazier Tharpe
19.‘Big Little Lies’
Network: HBO
Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep
Flawed from its inception, season two of the surprise-hit Big Little Lies seemed an unnecessary resurrection destined to air DOA. And upon first viewing, it did…But it also didn’t. The domestic mystery that ensnared our attention and fandom in season one was wrapped without a thread left loose for a sequel to grab onto. Which is maybe why every time it tried it failed. “But wait. Why is the second season on this list then?” you ask. Well, because of all the times it didn’t try. With the intro of Meryl Streep as the mother of murdered dirtbag, Perry Wright, a narrative was created independent of its previous. Once this season started telling its own story we found ourselves right back laughing with Renata, cheering for Madeline, crying with Jane and Celeste. Oh, and there was plenty of crying. The mystery effectively concluded, Mamma Wright gets on her bougie Hannibal Lecter game, pulling at the heartstrings of every one of our beloved characters as she hunts for the truth of what happened to her son. The result: the all too real aftermath of rape, domestic violence, custody battles, and mental health comes spilling out of this powerhouse cast with devastating artistry, giving us something enormously different from the show’s first outing, but equally deserving of a place in the canon. —Nate Houston
18.‘Mindhunter’
Network: Netflix
Stars: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Hannah Gross
The choice to make this season about an “unsolved” case was confusing at first, but as the season played out it all made sense. From the local hysteria to the way race plays a part in how these situations are handled, the second season of Mindhunter was about how complicated serial killer cases can be. The FBI maintains that Wayne Williams is the man who committed the murders that rattled Atlanta between 1979 and 1981, however, they were unable to tie him to the child murders due to lack of physical evidence. Williams is serving life in prison for killing two adult men around the same period of time. It was interesting to go back in time and see how the investigation played out. Weaving in the BTK Killer storyline was genius as it showed how these maniacs are out on the loose while the Feds have their resources focused in another part of the country. It also showed how unique the Behavioral Science Unit was and still is. Those agents don’t just fall of trees. One would need the stomach and the foresight for such a task. Being manipulated by visiting serial killers face-to-face has to take a toll on you. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another two years for the next season. —Angel Diaz
17.‘Stranger Things 3’
Network: Netflix
Stars: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown
If Season 2 of Stranger Things was a fall from grace, then Season 3 is a return to form. More specifically, ‘80s form. No, this isn’t my nostalgia for an era I wasn’t even alive in, but instead a healthy dose of elation at the series ability to recapture what made it special in the first place. It was never the actual movies referenced or throwback product placement. It was the gut rush you got seeing E.T., or in this case, Eleven rescued by bike and a new group of friends so close they’d become family. Hawkins is full of these cinematic moments its third time around, with evil Russians, possessed teens, and underground bases all tied to our small-town heroes the same sort of way Terminator was really just about Sarah Connor’s fight to survive. The issue with building a show from movie motifs is that movies end. Harper and Joyce’s storylines are the most evident victims of this burnout, spending the first few episodes doing nothing but taking up space. Showrunners the Duffer Brothers appear to avoid another gaffe though by offering the characters a conclusion both decisive and poignant enough to compete with even the very best of the era that inspired it. Then again, Netflix’s already confirmed another season, so maybe this is actually like Rocky IV. You know, the one before that garbage Rocky V. —Nate Houston
16.‘The Act’
Network: Hulu
Stars: Patricia Arquette, Joey King, AnnaSophia Robb, Chloë Sevigny, Calum Worthy
Since The People v. O.J. Simpson, the boon of quality limited true-crime series hitting television has been extraordinary to watch. As more real-life stories have been mined for the small screen, the ante has been upped, and the first season of Hulu’s The Act, starring Patricia Arquette and Joey King as Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard (respectively), has been a whirlwind of emotions to partake of. Starting out as a BuzzFeed article about the tragic ending of one of the worst cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy many have ever heard of, their story was told in a 2017 documentary before this limited series hit. There’s something about the use of sound, intensity, and engaging performances by both King and Arquette that turned this series into some of the most captivating television to hit this year. Sure, it looks amazing, with the slow-motion, drawn-out camera shots and the intense close-ups, but the way the story developed, and the parallel “acts” being played both on the public at large and within Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee’s homemade for rough, worthwhile viewing. The struggle Gypsy Rose went through was real, and while the end result of her relationship with her mother, Dee Dee, is a struggle to rationalize, this series at least shows you just how real it got for her in that situation. —khal
15.‘Russian Doll’
Network: Netflix
Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, Yul Vazquez, Charlie Barnett, Elizabeth Ashley
“Gender-swapped Groundhog Day set in 2019 Brooklyn” is the kind of high-concept pitch that sounds like it would play well in a conference room and then fall flat once the actors and crew hit the set. It is a testament to the talent of creators Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, and Amy Poehler that Russian Doll ended up as much more than a glossy pitch come to life.
In many TV series, episodes become a burden as writers run out of story. Episode 3 becomes a needless side quest. Episode 7 has the main character attend their high school ruin. Everything is just window dressing to fill the space between beginning, midpoint, and finale.
By contrast, Russian Doll relishes every one of its episodes as a way to tackle the story a different way. Every time we see Nadia she is living the same day over and over, but some episodes are a meaningful exploration of faith, others function as rom-coms, questioning the nature of love and lust, others are semi-scientific explorations of chaos theory.
What Russian Doll understood—what made the series so special—is that with each day lived comes another potential way to view the world. The same day, it turns out, contains innumerable possibilities, endless forks in the road.
Special mention needs to be given to Natasha Lyonne for her work to balance these existential possibilities with her trademark cool nonchalance. While every day contains infinite possibilities, a day also contains a certain amount of bullshit.
Russian Doll reminds us that each day, just like each TV series, contains multitudes. —Brenden Gallagher
14.‘Pose’
Network: FX
Stars: Dominique Jackson, Billy Porter, Indya Moore
Probably the most important show on this list, Pose dug even deeper into what made the first two seasons special. Never has a primetime television show touched the “taboo” subjects that this show has dedicated whole seasons to. Telling stories of marginalized communities is the easy part. The real challenge is to tell those stories in an authentic, yet unique way and Pose’s showrunners have done an exceptional job at tackling those very important issues in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Nuance is the name of the game and Pose feels as if Paris Is Burning was a groundbreaking scripted series instead of a groundbreaking documentary. And that’s honestly the best compliment I can give it. The LGBT community was ground zero once the HIV/AIDS epidemic really popped off in ‘80s NYC and Pose tells that story with much-needed understanding and passion. —Angel Diaz
13.‘Chernobyl’
Network: HBO
Stars: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Paul Ritter, Jessie Buckley
A dramatic television series about one of the largest man-made disasters in history isn’t exactly enjoyable. But Craig Mazin somehow accomplished the seemingly insurmountable task of showing the catastrophe, the subsequent investigation, and eventual coverup from the Soviet government in five compelling episodes. The first episode immediately starts with the disaster at the nuclear, unfolding in real-time as engineers and firemen alike try to mitigate the situation to devastating results. In the episodes following, the show’s focus on the Soviet Union’s efforts to minimize negative global news coverage of the disaster demonstrates how pride, on an individual and national scale, led to such fatal consequences.
Chernobyl is a show that pursues the unseen truth of a historical event that we know so little about. It’s because of the show’s attention to bureaucratic pride and willful ignorance that makes the severity of the disaster even more felt—specifically in seeing the human lives involved in the damage control. The show puts special focus on the people who contributed to the cleanup efforts - people who couldn’t fully understand the severity of the side effects yet they were aware enough to know that their health would be forever impacted. The disaster required endless acts of selfless heroism through the workers and scientists who jeopardized their lives doing jobs that no one would dare to do. When we do watch the cleanup efforts in real-time, the intensity and suspense overwhelm our senses in a way that even a horror film cannot evoke. We try to imagine the fear and shock of the moment while also realizing the level of radiation that’s silently seeping through their pores. The physical and emotional results of watching the series can sometimes be overwhelming. Yet watching individual acts of sacrifice so closely gives us a reason to keep push through the horror and discomfort of it all. —Andie Park
12.‘Billions’
Network: Showtime
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Damian Lewis
You have to love when a plan comes together. Season 4 of Showtime’s runaway hit that exposes the skeevy but glitzy world of high-net-worth individuals and the invisible but ever-present hand of the law seemed to back itself into an uninteresting corner. Instead of showcasing the zeal and ingenuity of the players maneuvering in those worlds, the show turned its attention to the most base and petty of its characters’ motivations. We saw billionaire hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod take aim at his former protege while his former nemesis-cum-crutch, Chuck Rhodes, did everything in his power to abdicate his power by trying to empower his comically aloof pops—the inimitable Jeffery DeMunn. It seemed like the thread had completely unraveled. But Brian Koppelman and David Levien had other plans. The showrunners weaved together a narrative that saw the protagonists lean into their base impulses—Bobby, the vindictive sociopath hellbent on conquering all he can control; and Chuck, the vindictive sociopath hellbent on bending the system to his will—so far that they’ve wound up back in the positions we found them in when the show began. It’s a masterclass of pacing and plotting. The running narrative has been that the wealthy are just like us. They’re not. This show proves it. You love to see it. —Damien Scott
11.‘Veep’
Network: HBO
Stars: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Game of Thrones writers David Benioff and Dan Weiss could learn a thing or two from Veep’s last hurrah. It’s difficult for a revered series to stick the final season’s landing, but Veep did that. In what is easily one of the most brilliant satirical shows in an era of super-PC television, the writers played Trump’s rise to power to amazing effect. They split his scandals, strategies, and tendencies between Selina Meyer’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Jonah Ryan’s (Timothy Simons) presidential campaigns to make everybody more unlikeable than they already were. Selina and her band of win-at-any-cost misfits will be sorely missed. Job well done. —Angel Diaz
10.‘The Righteous Gemstones’
Network: HBO
Stars: Danny McBride, Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, Tony Cavalero, Cassidy Freeman, Skyler Gisondo, Gregalan Williams, Tim Baltz, Dermot Mulroney, Walton Goggins, John Goodman, Jennifer Nettles
"A new Danny McBride series on HBO" just sounds like a winner, right? His brand of humor will always be a must-see event for a certain slice of the viewing audience, but with Gemstones? We get something that breathes in McBride's bag, but just by sheer force (and subject matter) is mighty appealing. The series, which finds McBride in good form as one of three Gemstone children (with siblings played by the always-on Adam DeVine and the insane one-liner queen Edi Patterson) who work within a megachurch. John Goodman being the patriarch of the Gemstone empire is icing on the cake. McBride and company weaved a series that's part satire, part heist, very hilarious, and also kinda real. This impressive cast of characters (which includes the living legend Walton Goggins) telling this tale about the crude side of the religion business was a consistent, continued blessing for HBO. —khal
9.‘Euphoria’
Network: HBO
Stars: Zendaya, Maude Apatow, Angus Cloud, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Barbie Ferreira, Nika King, Storm Reid, Hunter Schafer, Algee Smith, Sydney Sweeney
Is it unlikely that at one high school, you’d find every single one of the countless dramas that took place in Euphoria’s first season? Maybe—or maybe not. But whether or not the teens you know are part of the online dominatrix community or selling drugs behind what looks like a standard bodega fridge is irrelevant. Sam Levinson’s semi-autobiographical television debut isn’t meant to be a digestible program about the typical high school experience. Like the most prestigious TV dramas in history, it’s about people with traumas and difficulties, and the ways they confront—or don’t confront—them. In this case, the people just so happen to be below the legal tobacco-purchasing age.
While Euphoria’s characters might seem like tropes at first glance, its writers are careful to avoid parody or stereotype territory. Zendaya’s Rue, battling addiction at the ripe old age of 17, isn’t a party girl; she’s mentally ill and incredibly lonely, and, more often than not, her apathy isn’t a facade. Hunter Schafer’s Jules isn’t struggling with being a trans woman; she’s much more concerned about her freedom to explore who she is beyond her gender identity. Breakout stars Alexa Demie, Angus Cloud, Jacob Elordi, and Algee Smith play flawed characters who simultaneously hurt others and are hurting, and appear to have little to no interest in unpacking that dichotomy or getting better. Even if you can’t literally see yourself in the story, the compelling performances in Euphoria engage you. The broad range of human emotions and experiences portrayed in the show—a range rarely afforded to or expected of young people, on or offscreen—sticks with you long after the end of an episode.
Beyond the performances, the show is beautifully shot, organically diverse, and often hilarious. And while the score can at times be a little too on the nose, the execution of certain music cues is lethal. Like the over-the-top, glittery makeup looks the series has become known for, Euphoria isn’t meant to be logical or relatable. Whether or not you choose to believe it, though, you can’t deny its shine. —Carolyn Bernucca
8.‘When They See Us’
Network: Netflix
Stars: Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse, Jharrel Jerome, Marquis Rodriguez, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Justin Cunningham, Freddy Miyares, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Kylie Bunbury, Aunjanue Ellis, Vera Farmiga, Felicity Huffman, John Leguizamo, Niecy Nash, Michael K. Williams
It’s been three decades since the now infamous Central Park Jogger case—When They See Us shows us how the world that facilitated such injustice hasn’t changed since then. Created and directed by Ava DuVernay, When They See Us takes an excruciating look at how the police interrogations, trials, and the men’s transition to prison forever debilitated the lives of five black and Latino teenagers.
Seventeen years have passed since the men’s exoneration and the degree of injustice is glaring and infuriating to examine in the present day. “How could this happen?” we ask aloud. DuVernay, however, puts a magnifying glass to the prosecutors’ investigation to show how bureaucratic biases were able to thrive and succeed, at the cost of human lives. Smaller, more intimate moments like a conversation between a prosecutor and a public defender negotiating fairness as if it’s a power struggle exemplify the ways that politics persist and stomp over ethics. It’s not that hard to imagine conversations—strategies—such as these existing today, multiplied by the millions.
The miniseries wasn’t just the excellence of Ava on display; there were some phenomenal performances throughout the four episodes. Jharrel Jerome, who is the only actor to portray one of the accused “Central Park Five” as a child and as an adult, put on a clinic during the series’ final part, more than earning the Outstanding Lead Actor Emmy. Niecy Nash and Michael K. Williams also stepped up, giving viewers two frighteningly real sides of life in the city of New York.
When They See Us makes a point for us to truly see the faces of the exonerated men. The miniseries follows each of the men from the night of the crime through their gruesome prison sentences and, finally, their return to the world that no longer is familiar or survivable to them. It’s a look at the years that were stolen from them. Getting a glimpse of their stolen years makes their helplessness more palpable. When They See Us provides a lesson on how to avoid the missteps of the past. Or, at the very least, gives us the hope of doing so. —Andie Park
7.‘The Other Two’
Network: Comedy Central
Stars: Drew Tarver, Heléne Yorke, Case Walker, Ken Marino, Molly Shannon
Surf a channel or a streaming service and you’ll find two dozen sitcoms with some variation of a premise that lampoons Hollywood, and/or the contemporary pop music industry, and/or the vapid people who populate those spaces, and/or the desperate, potentially corruptible people who want to sit beside them. Few, I’d wager, can match the acerbic wit, incisive perspective, dead-on yeah-this-could-totally-happen precision, and all-around hilarity of The Other Two. The logline alone is enough to sell any recommendation: The eponymous other two refers to Cary and Brooke, early-30s siblings in a losing battle with their career trajectories, love lives, and New York City overall, whose new best option is to ride the coattails of their viral pop sensation of a preteen younger brother Chase (his performing moniker: the perfectly saccharine Chase Dreams), a nascent Justin Bieber type. Across its 10-episode debut season, The Other Two has fun holding up a funhouse mirror to plenty of contemporary pop culture’s ridiculous staples, including everything from the VMAs to “InstaGay” culture. But instead of, say, limiting Cary’s sexuality to a source for humor and caricatures, the show slowly but surely threads an arc about Cary’s own acceptance of his sexuality, or lack thereof—sometimes rendering him the villain of his own subplots. The same empathy is provided to Brooke; Chase, who, despite his success, hasn’t lost his earnestness; and their mother (the GOAT Molly Shannon), whose dark secret about their father’s death informs her seeming willingness to push the family into the media orbit with reckless abandon. Most shows take time to find their footing—this is one of the greatest series debuts in recent memory. We might have under-ranked it. Catch up, tell your friends, and keep the hype for this gem going until we get six seasons and a movie. —Frazier Tharpe
6.‘Better Things’
Network: FX
Stars: Pamela Adlon, Mikey Madison, Hannah Alligood, Olivia Edward, Celia Imrie
In 2017, when Louis C.K. acknowledged the allegations of sexual misconduct lobbed at him for years as being true, FX reacted in kind, essentially taking all that he’d given the cable channel away from him. For observant fans, that meant the possibility of losing Pamela Adlon’s acclaimed Better Things. Wisely, FX saw the vision, giving Adlon the reins of the series that mirrors her real life and in turn setting her free to cultivate the best season of the show to date.
Building on the themes of seasons past, Sam (Adlon) has a lot on her plate. Her oldest daughter, Max, is off to college in Chicago, while her youngest, Duke, is the most in tune with the spirits inhabiting their family home. Frankie is ever the proverbial middle child, more headstrong than Jan Brady and more woke than, well, anyone. As in real life, nothing will be the same: Max is back home before the school year’s over, and Frankie ends up charting her own path. Duke is stuck figuring things out by herself as Sam wanders, trying to keep all of the pieces in the air before her whole world falls upon her.
Somewhere in the middle, Better Things’ third season gives voice to the voiceless in the mainstream, from middle-aged women and the elderly to teens, who, like many of us, spend their time trying to navigate a world that seems to be changing on a dime. Through it all, Sam keeps the funny while being unafraid to keep shit real. The series also doesn’t dole out happy endings; again, as in life, things don’t settle down neatly. We fuck up. We don’t always win. But we get up every day and try. That’s about all you can really do. —khal
5.‘Snowfall’
Network: FX
Stars: Damson Idris, Carter Hudson, Sergio Peris-Mencheta
Snowfall is one of those shows that get better with each season. Shouts to the people over at FX for letting John Singleton’s vision be able to grow in this era of binge-ready, disposable television. Some are usually skeptical when British-born actors are picked to play American roles, especially a role about how crack cocaine took over the streets of Los Angeles in the ’80s. Damson Idris puts those skeptics to bed, though, as his turn as Franklin Saint should surely earn him an Emmy nomination in a perfect world. With the help of West Coast rap legend WC, Idris has mastered the Southern Los Angeles accent as if he lived there his entire life. Idris carries this show with the help of some incredible writing that makes you root for a young teenager slowly turning into a money-hungry monster. If only John Singleton were still here to watch his seed grow into the beautiful piece of television it is. Snowfall is one of the greatest crime dramas ever made; this past season confirmed that for me. —Angel Diaz
4.‘Barry’
Network: HBO
Stars: Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan, Henry Winkler
There has been a trend over the last 10 years or so where television comedy has grown increasingly dark, trying to pack the highest highs and the lowest lows into the same show. Though series like Louie, Atlanta, and Better Things succeeded at this by varying degrees, Barry feels like the final culmination and triumph of that experiment.
Barry stars Bill Hader as Barry Berkman. Berkman is at once the height of comedy and the height of tragedy. He has the darkest job known to man—hitman—as well as the most absurd: actor. The ridiculous distance between playing pretend and the all too real act of taking another person’s life sets the stage for the series to bounce back and forth between the funniest comedy and the depths of despair.
In every episode of Barry, the cast and crew are walking a tightrope. It’s not uncommon for Barry to have to shoot someone in the head and then meet his scene partner for rehearsal or for him to have to threaten the life of NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) only to turn around and get chewed out for bad acting choices by his teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler).
Every member of this cast deserves endless praise for their amazing work in hitting the razor-sharp tone of the show, but Carrigan as NoHo Hank and Stephen Root as Monroe Fuches turn in performances that speak to the heart and soul of Barry. Both men have comedy experience, and if you let yourself fall into the moment, you feel like they fit right in with the clowns from acting class. Their disarming physical comedy and genuine camaraderie with Barry make you forget, if only for a moment, that these are bloodthirsty, evil men.
Likewise, Winkler’s performance as Cousineau channels the show’s opposing tones. Cousineau is the other side of the coin from Hank and Fuches. He is an absurd and ridiculous figure we’ve seen a thousand times before: the acting teacher who takes himself too seriously. But, as we stay with him episode after episode, we realize how much he cares about his craft and that, beneath the ego and the grandstanding, he actually knows what he’s talking about. Sometimes, he helps his students break through the pain of life and find something beautiful. Just as the killers can make us laugh, the clowns can make us cry.
And in the middle of it all is the career-defining performance by Bill Hader. He is good as Barry, sure. But it is more than that. All of the conflicting forces and tones swirling around the show come together in his performance. It’s simple to say that Barry is the straight man of the show. It’s more accurate to say that he is the body that all various good and evil forces of the show act upon. It isn’t that he is giving a still performance; it is that his soul is perpetually being battered, and so his body doesn’t often have much energy left to emote.
After two seasons of Barry, it’s hard to be sure what is “good,” or if such a thing as “good” exists. But we can confidently say that Barry is a good show. —Andie Park
3.‘Mr. Robot’
Network: USA
Stars: Rami Malek, Carly Chaikin, Christian Slater
What can be said about Mr. Robot that hasn’t been said about some of the greatest television ever made? This is easily my favorite show of the year, and I would argue that it should be No. 1 depending on how it sticks the landing in the upcoming finale. In short, though? Sam Esmail is a genius that needs to be treated as such. It sucks that USA decided to put this show on Sundays at 10 p.m. EST, as most of America isn’t aware of Rami Malek’s incredible performances this season and Sam Esmail’s consistent flexing behind the camera. His masterful eye and pen are the best in the business. There are at least two of the best episodes in the entire series this season alone, and there’s still a handful of episodes left.
This season of Robot is doing a great job in tying loose ends together in what has been a very intricate series to follow these last few years. Esmail and company have been able to capture modern-day New York in a way that feels authentic. If I keep writing about this, I’m going to spoil the show, so just know that Sam Esmail and Rami Malek could be this generation’s Scorsese and DeNiro. I pray that they work together again and give us another classic television show. When they speak of the “Golden Age of Television,” best believe Mr. Robot is at the top of that list. —Angel Diaz
2.‘Watchmen’
Network: HBO
Stars: Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Andrew Howard, Jacob Ming-Trent, Tom Mison, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Louis Gossett Jr., Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, Hong Chau
Damon Lindelof probably had no business adapting Watchmen for television. With a checkered history of the industry’s numerous attempts at it, as well as Watchmen author Alan Moore’s vocal opposition towards any film or TV adaptations of his work, any remake would be met with skepticism, at the least. More than aware of the criticism, Lindelof claimed that his undertaking with HBO would not be a reboot but, rather, a “remix.” As a result, we got one of the most inventive and culturally refreshing TV shows in recent memory.
Taking place in the books’ alternate universe, HBO’s Watchmen starts nearly 30 years after the novel’s major events. In present-day America, masked vigilante cops hunt for members of Seventh Kavalry, a white supremacist group that follows the ideals of Rorschach. The award-winning Regina King stars as protagonist Angela Abar, a vigilante cop who consistently and delightfully kicks ass. Through this setup, the series branches off onto its own and deftly explores issues of radical racism through themes of vigilantism, police corruption, and the White Savior Complex. The series widened its scope of ambition with its incredible sixth episode, “This Extraordinary Being,” a surreal flashback episode that explores the country’s history of vigilantism with its first masked hero, Hooded Justice. The twist is revealed that Hooded Justice, America’s first superhero, is actually a black police officer who decides to enact justice on his own terms. Through this episode, the audience confronts its own tendency to make assumptions that heroes, for the most part, are white.
It may have been public opposition and high expectations that allowed Lindelof and his team to eschew a strictly formulaic, and perhaps predictable, adaptation. With only a couple of episodes left this season, it’s hard to say where exactly the show is taking us—only that it will take us to a place that hasn’t been explored. —Andie Park
1.‘Succession’
Network: HBO
Stars: Hiam Abbass, Nicholas Braun, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Peter Friedman, Natalie Gold, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook, Jeremy Strong, Rob Yang, Dagmara Domińczyk, Arian Moayed, J. Smith-Cameron
There is a near endless amount one could effuse about Succession Season 2. We could talk about how thoroughly it pulls off the Devil’s Greatest Trick: compelling us to invest in the squabbles and fates of rich white people, even in these times of creatives of color gaining more freedom to present new and heretofore under-represented stories and perspectives. We could highlight how it’s just one of the eight series on this list whose widespread acclaim rebukes the idea—silly but nonetheless widespread at the top of the year—that the Home Box Office network would be dead in the water post-Game of Thrones. (And now that you’re at slide 1, do take note of what did not make the cut.) We could talk about how it’s the latest in a long line of series to challenge the genre binary establishment, inciting many a debate of whether it’s a “comedy” or a “drama.” (It’s a very funny drama, please.)
But that’s all fluff. Filling. Fat. To quote Logan Roy, the terse patriarch of the series’ Murdoch-esque clan: what’s the protein? That is to say, the meat, the core, the heart of the argument. What is the thesis, how is Succession king among the 400-odd fiction series this year?
Succession Season 2’s greatness is intangible, maybe even imperial. The still-nascent series unlocked a gear only few series achieve, especially in real-time: just three weeks into its run, the question quickly evolved from whether a given episode was great, to how great. The sophomore season represents an opportunity to fumble and slump—or double down and go further, faster and harder. The first six episodes of Season 2 (I will allow that 7 and 8 aren’t quite perfect, but even an imperfect episode still has L to the OG, so really, how imperfect is it?) is everything great about Season 1 dialed up to 10 and firing on all cylinders.
This isn’t a series reveling in the narcissistic muck of the 1%. The riches are matter-of-fact; the lack of any establishing shots within any Roy family member’s penthouse reminds me of how Oliver Stone opted to do the same for Bud Fox’s multi-million dollar abode in Wall Street, the better to display the house as just another asset failing to fill our protagonists’ cold dead heart. The Roys, especially the eternally nouveau-riche Logan, may not know the bard off top, but their inter-familial power plays—which only pause to solidify against external threats—are as deliciously, indelibly Shakespearean as they come. Wearing its King Lear aspirations on its sleeve would render a lesser show basic and predictable, Succession is, anchored by a palpably dead-eyed Jeremy Strong putting up several Emmy reel performances, tragically inevitable. The fatal allure of a proximity to wealth, the cosmic trap that is growing up within it, the un-bridgeable divide between second-generation silver spoons and their father, forever haunted by his sacrifices and formative years spent struggling: all themes explored on the periphery as the series races through plots like a ticking clock buyout that has all the nail-biting intensity of 24. As Strong’s numb and neutered would-be prodigal son spent a season re-examining family loyalty and waking up to realize the only way to truly obtain respect, Succession gave us hit episode after hit episode. The Roy family may be too New Money to appreciate Shakespeare, but in creator Jesse Armstrong’s hands, the tales of their rise and fall are thrilling theater. If you're still hesitant about joining the ever-widening bandwagon, allow me to quote the bard: Take the fucking money. —Frazier Tharpe