The Top Ten TV Shows of 2020

2020 is finally on its way out (and not a moment too soon for anyone), which means it’s time for that time honored holiday tradition: Critics’ Top Ten Lists! As we all spent more time on our sofas watching TV this year than any of us thought we would, I suspect many of you will have seen several of these shows already – and that’s great. I love that some of my favorite shows have reached cultural mass and become the favorites of many others. Often, I feel like I’m yelling into a void with my annual list, talking about shows people have never seen and don’t have the time to watch. But, with a long, dark, indoor winter ahead of us before we can start living our full lives again, I hope this list highlights a few new shows you can give a look.

This list is a bit different than in years past (as I suspect most Top Ten Lists have turned out to be in this strange, hard year). As I compiled it, I found myself rewarding the shows I loved that also provided me some modicum of comfort. Whether it was a show that made me laugh, one that made me cry tears of joy, or one that made me feel hope and remember how wonderful people can be, these are the ten shows I most enjoyed during my 2020. Almost all of them have links included to season (or series, in the case of some shows) reviews, so you can read more in-depth on the shows. And, as with every year, there were a number of worthy shows that just didn’t make the cut. When push came to shove, I went with the show that brought me the most joy. So, without further ado, my Top Ten TV Shows of 2020.

10. The Last Dance (ESPN)

As a kid growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the 90s, the Chicago Bulls were a huge part of my life. Every May through June, it was a given that they would be competing for (and almost certainly winning) the NBA Championship. I would get to stay up late on school nights to watch play-off games, and, while I didn’t realize it at the time, I would be spoiled by this incredible dynasty led by Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan – the greatest duo to play the game together. In the years since, the Bulls have become a shell of their former selves, occasionally mustering up a strong roster to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling apart. But Chicago has never seen that basketball dominance since (now, if you want to talk hockey – we’ve had a dynasty there, but I don’t think that miniseries would do nearly as well).

So, for me, The Last Dance was a chance to relive my childhood by watching my sports heroes drive to victory one more time. But for many others, it was a chance to get inside the mind of one of the greatest athletes of all time and get a better understanding of what made Jordan tick – and to see how and why it all fell apart in the summer of 1998 in Chicago. I don’t know if we’ll ever see a team as impressive as those Bulls teams were, but for several weeks in the heart of a global pandemic, the nation once again collectively watched the Chicago Bulls put on a show. And it was amazing.

9. The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix)

This delightful series from Netflix offered another hit of nostalgia for me this year, as I was one of the millions of young girls who read “The Baby-Sitters Club” books with abandon in my youth. But what got this series onto my list was just how great the show was from start to finish, keeping the essence of the stories fans know and love and managing to update them just enough to fit our modern world. With some truly great casting (getting tween actors who are believable as normal kids and also strong actors is not an easy thing) and stories that resonated (even with jaded adults), The Baby-Sitters Club was a great gift in this dark year. If you are looking for a kind, hopeful show that will once again prove that Gen Z is alright, look no further.

8. The Good Place (NBC)/Schitt’s Creek (Pop TV)

These two exceptional comedies ended their runs in 2020 (even though The Good Place stretched their final season across 2019-2020), and both did so with aplomb. Both shows, ultimately, were about flawed people learning to love not only others but themselves. And along the way, both shows held a mirror to our own insecurities, hopes, and fears, asking us to become a better person along with the characters we were watching on screen. That’s a heavy ask for any show, but for a half hour comedy? Pretty unheard of. And while another show higher on this list also walked that same tightrope (albeit with a more cynical, if just as funny, bent), 2021 will be all the poorer for losing these wonderful shows. Yes, they ended on their own terms and were able to craft the finales their creators wanted, but they will absolutely be missed.

7. Pen15 (Hulu)

Middle school is hell, especially for tween girls, and no show captures this reality as well as Pen15. While the series will resonate for all viewers (after all, the universality of the middle school gauntlet is well known), the series is especially visceral for older Millennials who lived through the experiences depicted within the late 90s/early 00s set series. As someone who assumed my own struggles, fears, and pain in middle school were uniquely my own, it was surprisingly wonderful to watch this season of television and realize that many other girls went through exactly what I did – and that we’ve all come out of it on the other side stronger and more sure of ourselves. Yes, it’s great to laugh at some of the more ridiculous elements of that era (my god, the clothes were so atrocious), but it was just as cathartic to get a chance to excise past demons through this shared experience.

6. BoJack Horseman (Netflix)

BoJack Horseman has the distinction of being the best series to ever air on Netflix, while also being one that very few people ever saw. And that’s a plain shame. Much like The Good Place and Schitt’s Creek, the show explored how pretty awful people (well, people and anthropomorphized animals) confronted their demons and attempted to become better. However, unlike those other shows, BoJack took a much darker path toward redemption. In its final set of episodes in 2020, the show took on the #MeToo movement with a sharp eye, truly forcing its titular character to take a long, hard look at his past behavior and how he hurt those in his life. Very few shows are willing to force their characters to reckon with such darkness, but BoJack managed to do it and continue to layer in the comedy. While the series ended as perfectly as it possibly could (the penultimate episode was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen), I’ll miss spending time with these strange, complex cartoon characters.

5. I May Destroy You (HBO)

A number of shows in 2020 dealt with trauma and its deep, painful impact on the lives of those who experience it, but few shows looked at the deep, emotional, psychological, and physical scars wrought by sexual assault with as unflinching focus as I May Destroy You. But, just when you assumed you knew and understood the story being told, the series managed to pivot to other characters dealing with their own traumatic experiences, deepening the story and making the series all the more impactful. Michaela Coel, the writer, director, and star of the series, is a star in waiting, and this series proves that the entertainment business needs to allow space for BIPOC individuals to tell their stories. My hope for 2021 is that we get the chance to see more compelling work from artists like Coel that challenge our presumptions and force us to open our eyes.

4. Ramy (Hulu)

Speaking of BIPOC artists getting the chance to tell their own stories, Ramy‘s second season turned the series from a biting comedy that addressed how race, religion, and modern culture clash into a deep, emotionally resonate exploration of faith and the struggles faced by a young Muslim man as he attempts to find his place in the world. Coming to the series as someone far removed from this particular character’s path, Ramy was a series that offered me a look into a world I knew precious little about. And what I found was that no matter who we are and where we come from, we have a lot of shared worries and fears. Ramy Youssef, the creator and star of the series, is a brilliant observer of human nature and I cannot wait to see where the series goes in its third season.

3. The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

Far and away my most recommended show in 2020, The Queen’s Gambit is a series that appears to know no bounds when it comes to audience. And, with a few exceptions, I’ve heard nothing but raves from folks once they’ve finished it. I can’t pinpoint a specific element that makes the show work so darn well – the stunning starring turn from Anya Taylor-Joy, the spectacular set and costumes, the great writing and excellent direction – but it all blends splendidly into the perfect eight episode binge. This isn’t a sunny, bright tale of hope, but rather a stark look at one woman’s quest to become the best while eschewing the support of those around her (a traditionally male action in stories about “difficult geniuses”). But despite the darkness, the story continues to grip its audience and make us root for our difficult heroine to succeed. It’s a wonderful series and the perfect fit for 2020.

2. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Speaking of perfect fits for 2020, no show was more necessary and more welcome than Ted Lasso. I was a late adopter of the series, assuming it would be a silly, grating expansion of the sketches Jason Sudekis and NBC put together for the network’s Premier League coverage. But boy was I wrong. Ted Lasso is one of the most charming, delightful, joyous, and funny shows I have seen in years. It reminds me of peak Parks and Recreation, presenting us with a genuinely cheerful and kind lead who helps change those around him by never resorting to painful name calling or derogatory rhetoric. Outside of Ted (played wonderfully by Sudekis), there’s a star-making turn from Hannah Waddingham as the show’s grinch who slowly begins to let others into her orbit by realizing that not everyone is out to get her and that some people are genuinely good and kind. If you are looking for a series that will make you feel happy whilst laughing, this is the one for you.

1. Better Call Saul (AMC)

While much of this list includes shows that brought me (and hopefully others) joy in this dark year, Better Call Saul was destined for its place at the top of my list from the moment the credits rolled on the final episode of its fifth season. A prequel to the great Breaking Bad, the series finally emerged from that show’s large and imposing shadow this year by turning in one of the greatest seasons of television to date. Telling the twinned tale of the emergence of Saul Goodman (the slimy alter-ego of Jimmy McGill) and Gus Fring’s drug cartel in Albuquerque, the story is the odd tale where we know the ending going in. We know what will happen to Gus at the hands of Walter White and we know where Jimmy’s path ends (or, at least where he ends up at the close of Breaking Bad). But there’s a wild card in the series in the form of Rhea Seehorn’s Kim Wexler (who somehow managed to once again not get nominated for an Emmy, despite giving one of the best performances on television). The seemingly straitlaced foil to Jimmy, the love of his life who appears to be the one thing keeping him on the straight and narrow for much of the season, becomes the ticking time bomb who may just herald Jimmy’s transformation into Saul in a very different manner than most fans assumed at the start of the series. We’ll have to wait awhile longer to see just what the show’s sixth and final season has in store for Jimmy, Gus, and, most intriguingly, Kim, but I’m willing to wait if it means that Kim remains safe and sound for a little while longer.