Good lord but there were a lot of TV shows produced this year.
Somewhere 500 to 600 scripted shows hit broadcast TV and streaming, and while the initial reaction is exultation at so much choice, it’s quickly tempered by the factor that (a) a good deal of those shows are average at best (so phew no pressure to watch them) but (b) of the sizeable number of ones worth your viewing time, there simply are enough hours in the day to get to them all.
I mean, possibly you might stand a fighting chance if your main form of media entertainment is streaming TV shows, which is the case for a number of my friends, but if, like me, you read a lot and go to lots of music and read graphic novels and listen to lots of music then … say goodbye to getting to everything zinging around with FOMO fury in the zeitgeist.
The good news is that for all the unwatched episodes of Umbrella Academy or Young Royals out there, or yes, even the ENTIRE third season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, there were plenty of great shows I did get to which make ne thrill with the storytelling possibilities out there!
They ran the gamut from drama to comedy to sci-fi and fantasy and pretty much every point in-between (except for horror, so nope, not doing it which is Stranger Things 4 didn’t make my viewing schedule) and they made my everyday world so much more magical and extraordinary, and though I quake at the idea of the tsunami of shows that might strike me next year, I am overwhelmingly excited at what lies in store!
Until then here are the 25 shows I loved the most this year …
After Life (season 3)
I love this show! Susan Calman, the host, is a hoot, we get to see all kinds of weird, wonderful, historical and beautiful parts of Scotland and it’s all done in a divertingly bright-and-breezy, hilariously chatty style that lets you escape from the everyday as a good travelogue should do. And yes, it has made me want to go to Scotland very badly, just as Escape to the Country, which I continued to watch this year whenever I need to just switch off and lose myself in a show – I don’t review the show so watching is purely just the delight of watching something – has made want to travel the UK and if that’s not one of the main reasons to watch it, then I don’t know what is …
The Woman in the House Across from the Girl in the Window
Insecure (season 5)
Our Flag Means Death (season 1)
Star Trek: Picard (season 2)
Read my full reviews – episodes 1 to 5 and episode 6 to 10.
The Great North (season 2)
Read my full review of episodes 1 to 10.
Russian Doll (season 2)
An Astrological Guide For Broken Hearts (Guida astrologica per cuori infranti)
Abbott Elementary (season 1)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (season 1)
Read my full review of episodes 1 to 5 and episodes 6 to 10.
Only Murders in the Building (season 2)
Read my full review of episodes 1 & 2, episodes 3 to 6, and episodes 7 to 10.
Never Have I Ever (season 3)
Loot (season 1)
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Read my full review of episodes 1 & 2, episodes 3 to 5 and episodes 6 to 8.
Read my full review of episodes 1 to 4 and episodes 5 to 9.
Andor (my #1 pick for the year)
Read my full review of episodes 1 to 3, episodes 4 to 6, episodes 7 to 9 and episodes 10 to 12.
