Top 20 TV Shows of 2020
20. The Queen’s Gambit
My brother played chess in high school. I cannot even get through the beginning stage against a computer player on the Nintendo Switch’s 51 Clubhouse Games version of chess. When I tell you that as an absolute novice to the game of chess that showrunner Scott Frank crafted a thoroughly addicting series about chess, addiction and growing up, you best believe this was worth checking out. A slow burn, but by episode two the show finds its groove and becomes a fun series to marathon through over the course of a weekend. The MVP of course was Anya Taylor Joy.
(The entire miniseries is available on Netflix)
19. Search Party
After a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, Search Party moved from TBS to HBO Max without missing a beat. Going after Law-and-Order styles of programming this season and parodies of O.J. Made in America and the Amanda Knox trial, Search Party continues to be one of the great under the radar series currently airing on TV that gets better with each new season.
(All episodes currently streaming on HBO Max, season four drops January 14th)
18. Ted Lasso
An adaptation of the former NBC Sports comedy sketch, Ted Lasso is a very sweet series about trying to find the best in people. After winning a title in the Wichita State football program, Ted Lasso travels to England to take on a new challenge in coaching an entirely different sport. Each episode finds Ted Lasso and this oddball cast trying to find new ways to win games while working on their own personal issues and work as a team instead of the selfish style of play the AFC Richmond club has been operated under. Always nice to have Bill Lawrence’s shows on TV and this may very well be his best work yet.
(All episodes are currently streaming on Apple TV+)
17. High Fidelity
In the Top 10 heartbroken TV cancellations, this one hurt. After being shipped over to Hulu because it was “too adult” for Disney+, this reimagining of the 2000 film had Zoë Kravitz run a record store accompanied by two of her best friends and pondering over failed relationships. A second season would have seen Da’Vine Joy Randolph, the show’s breakout star, get the spotlight in trying to find love in Brooklyn which makes the cancellation sting. As Cameron Crowe once wrote, “If you ever get lonely, you just go to the record store and visit your friends”, and I plan to do that sometime soon.
(All episodes are streaming on Hulu)
16. Brockmire
When the MLB and all major sports ceased to determine how to address playing in a pandemic, there came a hero by the name of Jim Brockmire to provide solace for a few weeks. In the final season of this IFC gem, Brockmire becomes the MLB commissioner in a post-apocalyptic landscape as baseball is on the verge of ceasing due to a lack of interest and attendance. In addition to trying to save the league, he is also raising a daughter and trying to protect her from turning out like his former alcoholic and self-destructive self. Like with BoJack Horseman and Eastbound and Down, Brockmire was a tale of hitting rock bottom and trying to claw your way out of the rubble featuring Hank Azaria’s best performance to date.
(The entire series is available on Hulu)
15. Infinity Train
I am amazed the first two installments even aired on a children’s TV network.
(All episodes currently streaming on HBO Max)
14. BoJack Horseman
It feels like a lifetime ago when the second half to the final season of BoJack Horseman aired. It proved not only was this one of the best shows of the last decade, but the quality was so overwhelmingly high it managed to raise my opinion on the season as a whole. The final two episodes to the show are among the show’s best with BoJack finally paying due all the bad karma he contributed during the show.
(The entire series is available on Netflix)
13. Secret Base Video Team/YouTube Video Essays
Some of the best television this past year did not air on linear television, it was on YouTube. Instead of chasing the latest headlines of rumors and trades across the major leagues such as the NBA/NFL/MLB/NHL/etc. the Secret Base portion of SB Nation puts its focus into telling stories about the collapses of once great teams, how certain players went untitled or how to break a sports video game. Do you want a four hour documentary on the history of the Seattle Mariners? Secret Base has you covered. One of the best YouTube channels in existence right now, and the level of pathos this crew puts into their videos can help even the most casual of sports viewers can gain a great appreciation into why these athletes and teams hold importance. Beyond Secret Base, some of my favorite video essays that came out this year included In Search for a Flat Earth, a 75-minute documentary into how people fall for conspiracy theories and why they will triple down on them, an essay about how good Titanic is, and a deep dive on The Last of Us II. The future of entertainment lies here.
(Select Secret Base Shows and video essays are in the underlined text on YouTube)
12. What We Do In the Shadows
Very few shows are as witty and committed to telling as many jokes as possible in a minute right now, and What We Do in the Shadows is an excellent continuation of the film it is based on. I loved watching Matt Berry sneak away into becoming Jackie Daytona, a “regular human bartender” so he does not have to fight against Mark Hamill, an episode dealing with a chain email “curse” and Guillermo turning into a vampire killer despite his resistance to it. A ridiculously fun show airing right now and I can only imagine what the future holds for these misfits next season.
(All episodes are streaming on Hulu)
11. Little America
The best kind of anthology series on the air right now, every story featured is something personal with a lot of heart attached to it. A silent retreat gone haywire, a Nigerian trying to become a cowboy in the Midwest, a penned script by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V Gordon, Little America is a strong showing for what Apple TV+ can accomplish. A delightful viewing during the lockdown.
(All episodes are streaming on Apple TV+)
10. How to With John Wilson
John Wilson walks around NYC creating stories out of whatever he shot in order to create tutorials like scaffolding and improving your memory. Every episode ends up becoming a Möbius strip, weaving and turning into surreal territories. A very shy individual finds his way into a MTV Spring Break beach party, memory improvement finds its way into a conference in Idaho about the Mandela effect, there is no telling where the show and its supposed episode tutorial will wind up by the end. The best episode of the show and one of the best episodes that aired this year was “How to Cook the Perfect Risotto” which features John Wilson trying to make dinner for his landlord while also trying to quit smoking and vaping in the process. Often funny and bittersweet, John Wilson picks up where Nathan for You left off and runs wild with it.
(All episodes streaming on HBO and HBO Max)
9. Harley Quinn
The Venture Bros. may be gone* but its spirit lives on in the delightfully animated Harley Quinn series. Unlike most DC properties that are hell bent on being dark and moody for the sake of it, Harley Quinn is a biting satire on superhero culture giving a wide range of joke characters like Kite Man to iconic villains like Clayface and Bane a chance to shine in this dark comedy. The best thing about Harley Quinn is watching her self-discovery journey of what it means to be the ruler of Gotham while realizing being a villain might not be all that it is cracked up to be.
(All episodes streaming on HBO Max)
- HBO Max was in talks to possibly bring the Venture Bros to their platform, but we’ll see
8. Better Things
I loved that Pamela Adlon, one of the best directors currently working right now, managed to paint the perfect storm through images of rain in every episode this season about dealing with her ex-husband. One of the best visual storytellers in the medium right now. A bonus is Adlon’s Instagram page where she goes behind the scenes of the show about how it was edited together or the effects that were used and what it took to stage having rain in Los Angeles. The final sequence of the season houses one of the best songs from my favorite band utilizing its lyrics for a nice and bittersweet moment.
(All episodes streaming on Hulu)
7. FX on Hulu
When the pandemic first started, Hulu launched their FX on Hulu hub promising to bring most of FX Networks previous shows into one streaming service. Through that came two outstanding miniseries this year with Devs with one of the best sound designed shows for television along with Mrs. America and the struggles of trying to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in congress. My favorite experience from this hub was Terriers, a comedy-drama series from 2010 about an ex-cop and an ex-convict trying to do PI work together that had been a massive pain in the ass to find because it was previously unavailable on other streaming sites and no DVDs were ever print for it.
(All shows are completed and streaming on Hulu)
6. Normal People
Alternatively, the Irish version of “You’re The Worst”. Based on the book by Sally Rooney, the half hour drama series shows a young couple going through a messy relationship. They fundamentally love each other, but certain circumstances keep them from being fully able to embrace how serious of a relationship they want to have with each other. The performances by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal make the show worth marathoning through it, delivering some of the most authentic on-screen chemistry TV has not quite seen since The Americans concluded two years ago.
(The entire miniseries is on Hulu)
5. I May Destroy You
Michaela Coel created a deeply moving and personal experience about rape, trauma, and what does it mean to give consent while simultaneously being a satire on living in the age of social media. The series was craft as a mystery with every episode finding Coel trying to remember what happened the night she was attack. Each new installment uncovered bits and pieces into her past and the trauma that lasts after experiencing being assault. It is a challenging watch, but it is a necessary and powerful work of art.
(The entire miniseries is on HBO and HBO Max)
4. ZeroZeroZero
The best way to describe ZeroZeroZero is it is a combination of Netflix’s Narcos, Breaking Bad, Metal Gear Solid and a story about living with a chronic illness all while excepting your fate. The cinematography and score paint the drug cartel into a horrifying lens after leaving its characters to live with the consequences of their own actions. Shot across five different countries housing seven different languages, it is one of the last pillars of a pre-pandemic world where this kind of entertainment is possible, I can only hope for something this ambitious to happen again soon.
(All episodes currently streaming on Prime TV)
3. Joe Pera Talks With You
“It’s a little more casual than usual but if just one nurse can come home and watch it to fall asleep it’ll be worth it” ~Joe Pera on his Relaxing Old Footage special
Not since Mr. Rogers has there been a TV show with a kind soul guiding viewers through situations that may never have given much thought to such as building a bean arch or walking around a grocery store and not deviating from your shopping list. There is an overwhelming sincerity when it comes to Joe Pera Talks With You that makes it one of the best shows Adult Swim has ever produced. With the show’s 11-minute format and episodes available on YouTube, there is no excuse in avoiding it. Bonus points for compiling a quarantine special using previously unseen footage in the hopes folks can distract themselves from the pandemic for a short period.
(All episodes are streaming on HBO Max, the Relaxing Old Footage special can be found on Adult Swim’s YouTube Channel)
2. Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal
The second half to the Emmy winning Primal continues Tartakovsky’s legacy as a mastermind storyteller and filmmaker. Through all the bloodshed and gore this show unleashes, Tartakovsky’s crew managed to tell an entire season of television with minimum dialogue and outstanding visuals. There is a real sense of evolution with how far Fang and Spear take their relationship and the methods they must use to survive. The plot twist in the finale sets up uncharted territory for the beloved dino and caveman in the next season, and I look forward to seeing how it pays off.
(All episodes are currently streaming on Adult Swim’s website)
- Better Call Saul
On a week-to-week basis, Better Call Saul was the only show this year where I set out to make weekly viewings for as it was airing. Often existing within the shadows of its predecessor, the penultimate season found Saul Goodman stranded in the desert left to die with nothing left to drink but his own pee, Kim Wexler finding legal loopholes to continue her relationship with Jimmy, and a fun new villain in Lalo Salamanca. Beautifully shot with Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn giving the best performances of their career, Better Call Saul was the lone reason for me to get out of bed and figure out what day it was during the beginning stages of the lockdown.
(seasons 1–4 on are Netflix, season 5 is available on demand through various streaming services)
