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[tellytuber]

14 Shows of 2023

The new (and sometimes old) series and seasons that made my year.

Wife Swap (series pre-revivals) [ABC] For whatever reason this year I fell out of love with television. The overabundance of it overwhelmed me, and I found my patience and attention span for narratives longer than a film depleted. So instead, I turned to reality tv - and Wife Swap was the standout. Great bananas trash tv. Most often near unwatchable for the screeching, but sometimes (before the table showdowns) it could be so beautiful and touching and human.

Paul T. Goldman (series) [Peacock] Not fiction, but not reality either. A weird fun time! As someone who always wonders about the relationship between the ones behind the camera and the ones in front of it whenever watching a reality/documentary anything – This delivered.

There She Goes (series) [BBC] At turns either emotionally devastating or hilarious. Sometimes one right after the other. Sometimes at the same time. A bit repetitive, but it always felt truthful. Jessica Hynes & David Tennant really are incredible.

Fargo (S5) [FX] Thank god for Hawley and his distinct voice and vision. [One day I’d love to see a work of his that isn’t tied to some pre-existing IP. I hate that I’ll have to watch Alien.]

The Other Two (S3/Final) [HBOMax] As the soul twin of my other beloved sharp satire Search Party, I shouldn’t have been surprised at the similarly bizarre genre turn of this season. Although always exaggerated and outrageous, this year jumped whole hog into the surreal. I didn’t love it. It rubbed me both too weird and yet not weird enough – And (personally) it just wasn’t as funny. Maybe I’ll enjoy it more on a rewatch.

Grand Crew (S2) // American Auto (S2) [NBC] Both very funny sitcoms that got even better in their second years (Especially GC – AA didn’t have nearly enough of my fave scene-stealer Cyrus) yet have been unsurprisingly canceled. This is my reminder to buy their boxsets (along with my beloved LA to Vegas) before they’re scrubbed from the internet.

At the Moment (series) [Netflix] These bite-sized romantic dramas were just the thing! Especially the first 3 installments, my favorite being the pervy but sweet 2nd. My favorite part of the whole show was how much it felt like a romance novel series. Each a separate standalone story with its own tone and style but with characters interweaving all throughout. Why is this anthology style not more of a thing! 

Inside No. 9 (S8 + Rewatch) + The League of Gentlemen (series) + Psychoville (series) [BBC] The exception to my narrative tv binging aversion: My great Pemberton & Shearsmith Marathon. After watching the latest No. 9 season, I decided to give second tries to both The League and Psychoville – shows I tried watching a decade ago before switching off after 1 ep because they were both so gross. I still found them gross, but that's the kind of thing I'm into now. By the time I was through, I rolled back around to watch all of 9 again.

Succession (S4/Final) [HBO] I mean, It’s Succession. I’m so grateful to have watched it from the beginning week by week. (But I will be forever be disappointed that of all the Peep Showers, Angus won the micro-cameo over Patterson Joseph!)

Awkwafina is Nora From Queens (S3/Final?) [Comedy Central] Still the most relatable show for a 20-30 something failure. A story for those of us who’ve given up on our dreams or simply don’t have any. It’s about making the most of what you do have and what you can do over mourning the what-if’s, but knowing when to push yourself to strive for just a little bit more. Never not funny, never not weird, just the right amount of earnestness. I love this show!

How to With John Wilson (S3/Final) [HBO] WOW!!! I’m so sad it’s over but beyond happy it happened at all. What I say every time I talk about this show still applies: It’s comedy, it’s art, it’s documentary, it’s collage, it’s “truth” stranger than “fiction”, it’s the intimacy of strangers, it’s the human experience in one weaved together clip show. It’s stunning! Nothing else would unravel a journey that sets out to explore how to track your package and ends with an interviewee divulging he cut off his own [redacted]. Watch it.

Honorable Mentions: Barry (S4/Final), Party Down (S3), Workin' Moms (S7/Final), House of the Dragon, The First 48 (rewatch), Monk (first watch or rewatch idk), Psych (rewatch).

[tellytuber]

12 Shows of 2022

The new (and sometimes old) series and seasons that made my year.

Law & Order (S1-12) + Law & Order: Criminal Intent + Law & Order: Los Angeles I started off the year catching the early (and Best) seasons of the mothership via cable reruns; got Peacock for CI; and then returned midyear when I was half-gone from covid and blearily endured the commercials of what was then IMDBtv for the very LA edition. While I am not technically a "geriatric millennial," I am a millennial and with geriatric interests. For me, peak television has become something that I can either focus on fully or play in the background while I do other things and be equally thoroughly entertained. That is why this franchise has become my number one comfort show.

Shrink + Michael: Tuesdays Thursdays Grouping these into one because I just so happened to watch one immediately after the other, and because they're both about moderately adept therapists who are codependent with their patients. They are also both incredibly funny! These got the biggest laughs out of me than anything else all year. (A shame I didn't get to them till December.) While they are both hilarious, each manage to sweep into very heavy topics and deep emotion without toppling over. #ReviveShrink

Big Love While I’m pretty sure I’ve watched more L&O than anything else this year, I’m deeming 2022 the year of sister wives. In my post marathon blues, I went surfing on HBO and turned on Big Love (after once trying the pilot a while ago and being turned off by its HBO-ness.) But this time it hit me right in the late-00's cable nostalgia. The melodrama, the humor, the cast - Mary Kay Place! It's a (new) classic for me.

Grand Crew (S1) With its simple if derivative set-up, this delightful sitcom got better and better every episode! The ensemble is funny and charming, and the stories silly and fun. Thank god it snagged a renewal and will return because I will need my weekly fix of Carl Tart in between his Comedy Bang! Bang! appearances.

American Auto (S1) At base level, it's just another workplace comedy with a pseudo diverse cast. And the setting of the executive floor of a car company is quite baffling. (It's not even a riff on Telsa. Neither is it too concerned with Detroit.) But it all came together during the commercial episode: During which the team spiral in heated disagreements over how to shoot a commercial that is appropriately inclusive but not too inclusive. Funny! From then on, I started to watch it from a new angle. The ensemble itself is a focus group - and every week is a new satirical debate on the weird standards of contemporary ethics. The show is at its best when it’s everyone in the conference room talking over each other in the voices of their respective demo. I still don't necessarily like it - But it does get me thinking. (About all that I wish it was!) But honestly, I'm only really including this on the list because of the perfect Cyrus played by Michael Benjamin Washington who is never not incredibly funny. He was my favorite character/performance of the year.

Severance (S1) Part Office Space, part Fringe, with the style of Legion. This trippy, beautiful, and exciting drama was a dream to watch! Especially since I watched most of it in the very very early morning with a cup of coffee - the very best way to watch something creepy.

Claws (S4/final) While, the finale was one of the worst I've ever seen (Niecy Nash's scenes were almost exclusively Facetimed!) - This show will go down as being one of the most iconic. The outfits, the colors, the insane swings. It was never not outrageous and gonzo. Did it always work? I don't know. But they had a Vision and Went For It! It was always a wild ride, and I had fun.

Better Things (S5/final) Every year Better Things airs, it automatically gets a spot on my list. And this is the last time. A beautiful show so full of humor and love and art and great music and lots of food.

Search Party (S5/final) Every season comes with a genre turn. And when this one turned, I didn't want to believe it. It wasn't until it turned to black without the Actually It Was All A Dream rewind I was expecting did it set in. I have yet to rewatch it, but when I do I'm sure I'll love it (as my experience with S3). But I do understand it. For Dory, who began the show adrift and yearning for a meaning to her life - to enact some sort of change, to literally change the world is a fitting end. (For me, S4 is the real ending and this is a bonus season.) Either way, it still earns a spot in the TV Hall of Fame. A crazy comedy with twisty mysteries. Extremely sharp and biting, confident in its hipsterness, unafraid of being unlikable - An ideal close to my heart.

Sister Wives (S17) As Elizabeth Laime so astutely put it in the Sister Wives spin-off of Bitch Sesh: There is no other show in which less time was spent making it than time spent watching it. Save for the very beginning (of the end) when Robin joined the family, nothing has happened. (Save for The Catfish, and even then nothing actually happened.) But all that nothing was for the cameras. Big Happy Family propoganda. And this was the season it all fell apart. Now, too much is happening! Cody-19! Christine leaving! Robin wants to talk! Janelle needs a truck for her trailer! (To Cody's dismay) Meri is also there! The knife to the kidneys! As I said before: This was the year of the sister wives. Incredible television.

Evil (S3) The beginning of this season had a lot of splitting up of the trio, which bummed me out. But it made the eventual reunion of the team that much more satisfying, and each of their individual crises of belief more affecting in their isolation. Every season is more weird, more tense, more absurd. I love it so very much! 

My Liberation Notes Every year I have one thing that completely consumes me. This year it was My Liberation Notes. It captured me from the very first episode: A story about a introversion and anti-socialism, when to hold on to it and when to let it go. A story about adult siblings, reared together yet all very different people seemingly in different worlds. So many existential ruminations. Plus an exceedingly slow teasing romance, barely one in the conventional sense, but deeply so as a connection of souls. All about life and its disappointments and mundanity, what beats you down and how you change, how people change you and how you change others.

[tellytuber]

12 Shows of 2021

The new (and sometimes old) series and seasons that made my year. 

Landscapers [HBO]: During the first episode I thought: “Boy, this is pretentious. And an arthouse Fargo by Noah Hawley rip-off.” But then I remembered that I adore all of those things. Sharpe’s literal interpretation of this being a dramatization injects much needed creative life in the now very tired genre of true crime. Stunningly artful with flairs of fly humor. And if they were to make a spin-off of the police squad that I am very much obsessed with, I’d be very happy.

Queen of Mystery [KBS/Viki]: Picked this one up after Hello, Me! because of how much I enjoy Choi Kang-hee and became absolutely obsessed. (Even though it ended with rushed infuriating cliffhangers and never actually delivered on the teased romance...)The chemistry of the leading pair was sparkling (even when it was all yelling), and the premise of an enthusiastic amateur detective and the put-upon detective hooked me deep. So much so it inspired me to develop my own take on this fun trope.

Motherland (S3) [BBC Two]: As my previous year’s repeat watch pick-me-up, this was my most highly anticipated show. But what I wasn’t expecting was this season’s more serious tone. (Even though I should have after S2’s dramatic finale.) It was thankfully still very funny and ridiculous (like the sideways pandemic take with lice), and the more somber turns were lifted up and lead to a light and hopeful end. Julia’s storyline of fancying her builder had me cringing through the episodes, but the conclusion was both hilarious and poignant. And that very last scene with that certain character strutting in? I screamed. I appreciate a show that isn’t afraid to abandon its own conventions to stay fresh.

Mad For Each Other [Netflix]: This cute romcom quickly became a huge joy to me. As it aired, I’d look forward to every workday when I could watch the new episode on my phone during lunch. As a sucker for an icy but fragile woman and a combative but protective man, the sweet romance hit just right. The actors had great chemistry, and delivered the sweetest and sexiest first kiss ever. The series’s side focuses on mental health, identity, and acceptance of those who are different were also handled fairly well, and nice to see in a Kdrama.

Evil (S2) [Paramount+]: A religious/psychological/horror procedural following a ragtag team? Yes, please! Thank you Kings for giving me more of what I loved the most in S1: Kristen/Ben & Kristen unhinged. While watching this season (”S is for Silence” especially), I was struck with just how affecting its quietness is. Without layering on music or action beginning to end, they let scenes breathe, the acting to emote, and the creepiness to tingle. I can’t wait to be freaked out even more next season.

Taskmaster [Channel 4/Dave]: Influenced by my tumblr dashboard, I was curious about this silly gameshow that featured a charming mustachioed suited man twisting himself upside down to produce a fart. It was indeed silly. Joyously & absurdly so. It was just the injection of good humor I craved this year. I sped right through all 11 seasons, and now I crave at least 20 more.

Feel Good [Netflix/Channel 4]: One of the shows I watched as a part of my marathon of projects related to the cast of my previous pick, which absolutely blew me away. I went in expecting a sweet and dirty relationship comedy, but what I got was a powerful exploration of sexuality, gender, addiction & recovery, strained family dynamics, sexual harassment - All in an incredibly funny, beautiful, fantastically soundtracked show.

Succession (S3) [HBO]: While watching the premiere, I was overwhelmed with gratitude to be alive to experience this show in real time. There is truly nothing else like it that weaves comedy (insult to dark to farce), tension, high drama, literature, and dynamic character study together. It truly deserves a genre of its own. Like, Best of All Television. The only reason it’s #5 for me this year is because of how invested I was! It was a real rough ride for the Roy kids, it really bummed me out.

The Other Two (S2) [HBOMax]: Finally!!! The funniest comedy returned! It was great seeing Brooke & Cary inching up the industry ladder this year. (Alessia Cara!) Even though I would have loved more Lance, Chase, and Skeeter, more Molly Shannon and scene stealer Brandon Scott Jones made up for it. But Brooke/Helene York was the real standout for me: From her beautiful candy colored woman-boss wardrobe (that had me buying up suits) to the knockout performance of that dressing down of the Chex Mix bitch.

Awkwafina is Nora from Queens (S2) [Comedy Central]: As loud and brash and wacky as its debut, from time traveling to 2002 with a future serial killer to sidelining the pandemic with a cult stay. This show is a lot of fun. But what really hit me hard this season was how it leaned even further into its exploration of what it feels like to be a late twenty-something wash out in the world today. When social media is a brag board of friends and strangers flying by you with professional and personal accomplishments, how can you possibly catch up? If you’re directionless, how to find your way forward? What does that even mean anyway? Especially when the world the seems to change everyday.

Search Party (S4) [HBOMax]: This show pulled out all the bananas for this season and I loved it. Elliot unabashedly grabbing the Republican cable “news” money. Portia playing the role of Dory. The cinnamon roll twink and that twisted family. The guest stars. Every single performance. The trio kiss! And everything else really. But my top highlight: Elliot’s meta speech about being unlikable. Both a response to every person who complains about intolerable, whiny, self-absorbed millennials. But also (I’d like to think) a slap to every review (at least on tumblr) that claims the show is bad because the characters are bad. And to them Search Party says: You stink like shit too.

How to with John Wilson (S2) [HBO]: There is nothing else like it. Video snapshots that prove reality will always be stranger than fiction, intimate little interviews with real people, and Wilson’s comedic existential narration all ingeniously cut to illustrate whatever story Wilson is telling that week. Taking us on twisting journeys, like being led to a group of Avatar heads seemingly to laugh at them, but instead leave them with heartfelt compassion. As if taking heed of the life coaching from the interior designer from last season, How To’s voyeuristic charm is maximized as he exposes more of his personal life into the narrative. We feel even more connected with him, New York, and all of humanity.

Honorable Mentions: Seeking Sister Wife, Damned, Love 101 S1, A Black Lady Sketch Show S2, Mythic Quest, Inside No. 9, The Duchess, I Think You Should Leave, Frayed S2, Law & Order, Five Bedrooms, Stath Lets Flats, The Other One, Yellowstone S1/S2, C.B. Strike.

[tellytuber]

JANUARY roundup

Going to start a new thing where I catalogue & micro review what I watched throughout the month. Here we go.

Mad About You: With nothing else to watch during holiday vacation, I checked out this classic. Went in expecting to enjoy it, but I very much did not. (The worst nagging uptight sitcom wife treatment I’ve ever seen.) For some reason I pushed through all 7 seasons, all throughout wondering how such an unfunny show lasted so long. I blame the theme song. Overall, a very sad experience. I hope it hasn’t ruined As Good As It Gets for me.

The Stand: As a fan of the ‘94 miniseries, I had been eagerly awaiting this adaptation since it was first announced. But as it went on, it became a real chore to watch. Let’s see how long it’ll take for me to force myself to watch the rest of it.

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer: Empathetic to the victims. Likable detectives. Cool 80’s synth and neon noir visuals. A solid true crime doc.

Search Party (S4): Hilarious. Dark. Loony. Emotional. Perfect. A fantastic wind up for this twisty silly show. One of the very best dark comedy series of all time. If this really is the end, I’d be thoroughly satisfied. But since this cast and team of creators is the most wonderful melding of talents, I wouldn’t hate getting more.

The Victim: An affecting thriller/court drama with strong performances delivering a difficult story. But honestly I was mostly into the weird inferred Anna/Danny subplot.

The Bay (S1): While working on a craft project, I watched/listened to this terrible melodramatic crime drama (with way too many annoying teenagers) as background noise. But I bore through it all for Morven Christie and Matthew McNulty.

Miss Scarlet and the Duke: Fun! Interesting mysteries. A smart, determined heroine. Scene-stealing side characters in Parker and Moses. Would have liked a little more romance, or at least a little less bellowing from “the Duke.” Looking forward to hopefully getting that and more in the next installment.

[tellytuber]

15 Shows of 2020:

The new (and sometimes old) series and seasons that made my year. 

Columbo [Peacock]: After years of seeing only a handful of Columbo’s - and Etude in Black many times, this is the year I finally watched the rest of the rumpled detective. Necessary viewing for any tv fanatic or aficionado of 70’s fashion and/or interior design. My dream kitchen is now pistachio green.

Hoarders (S11) [A&E]: My ultimate comfort show. And this year had me running it repeatedly - Even on my phone at work when we were forced back into the office post-lockdown.

Motherland [SundanceNOW/BBC2]: I first watched this at the very end of last year, but having watched it 3 times through this past month (and itching to do it again) - I had to include it in this year’s list. Of all the Mom (+1 Dad) Support Group sitcoms, this one is the best.

Awkwafina is Nora From Queens [Comedy Central/HBOMax]: Utterly hilarious and so so weird. And strangely extremely relatable. From Depardieu to Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. And most especially the 27 year old woman who still lives at home part...

This Country [BBC3]: The mockumentary is dead, but this gem is its lazarus. It was so much fun watching this family affair. Big Mandy is one of my favorite characters of anything ever. I’ll never hear the word “Tomato” the same way again.

Corporate (final season / S3) [Comedy Central]: I’m happy for this show to end on on a high, but I’m sad that it never really got the attention it deserved. So acidly sharp and wonderfully bizarre. A great workplace satire on the dullness and inhumanity of capitalist America.

Better Things (S4) [FX]: I don’t have much to say, except: It’s still great.

Fargo (S4) [FX]: One of the most exciting shows ever, both creatively and narratively, and this season didn’t disappoint. I was especially pumped for this one since the very first details were released teasing the 50’s-set Kansas City mob plot. I was ready for the Mike Milligan origin story, and I’m happy with what I got.

Ted Lasso [AppleTV]: At first, it was a hate-watch, its earnest good naturedness grating. But like Roy Kent, the Lasso Way quickly wore down my cynical shield. It did goodness without being preachy. It balanced silly jokes and dramatic realism. Plus, a sweet romantic subplot and music by Marcus Mumford. Maybe it was my weakness for an underdog sports narrative or the Sudeikis charm, but I am now a big fan. Can’t wait to watch it again, but not on my phone at work.

I May Destroy You [HBO]: I’ve seen one Best Comedies of 2020 list so far, and this was number one. I disagree. Not that it wasn’t the best, it is. It is funny, but it’s not a comedy. When I think back to my experience watching it, I remember the visceral physical reactions I felt. The nauseating sickness as the instigating event unraveled Bella’s life. The suspended terror as vulnerable T wandered the dark Italian streets, waiting for, expecting a Bad Thing to happen. Both these feelings and worse when we are forced to watch another assault only for the law to sweep it aside. The best sociological horror drama.

Search Party (S3) [HBOMax]: FINALLY. The most bingeable show ever returned. This season had some weak spots compared to the first two, but its best parts more than make up for them. One of them being the introduction of Shalita Grant’s Cassidy Diamond, who took vocal fry and made it a work of character comedy art. Overall, still hilarious and wry and stylish and dark. It’s so much fun watching these apathetic hipsters break into screeching hysterics over their gory (Dory) mistake. 

Law & Order: SVU [NBC]: We will all have that one thing we will forever associate with this global experience. For me, it will be Mariska Hargitay. Midway through the first week of lockdown, I caught a wild later season episode rerun on USA. A few weeks later, I caught up with all 21 seasons. Dun Dun.

Dark [Netflix]: Watching Dark was an all-consuming experience. Visually and musically beautiful. The plot so convoluted I felt like I had to take notes to wrap my head around it all. And when I wasn’t watching it, I was thinking about it. Constantly. 

How To With John Wilson [HBO]: How To With John Wilson is documentary is comedy is video collage. It is pure art. It’s genius. True originality. Both the show itself and the moments of Life that he captures within. The best show of the year.

Koi Wa Tsuzuku Yo Dokomademo [TBS]: Extremely saccharine and layered with trope upon trope of romantic dramas. I laughed, I cried. But most of all, I smiled. This show made me Happy. And because of that simple joy, my first favorite thing of the year ended up being my most favorite thing. 

[tellytuber]

12 shows of 2019

I recently started what will most likely be my top shows of 2020 when I realized I never posted my 2019 list! Better 7 months late than never. Without further adieu:

The new (and sometimes old) series and seasons that made my year. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A random S3-7 rewatch inspired me to play around with my own rip-off story that I became very obsessed with.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency [BBC America]: An extremely fun weird beautiful ride that deserved at least 1 or 2 more seasons.

90 Day Fiancé (the franchise) [TLC]: Trash tv at its finest. For added fun and generational whiplash, concurrently watch the pioneer of voyeuristic reality tv: Michael Apted’s Up series.

Better Things (S3) [FX]: It started great and gets better and better every year. Like Pamela Adlon herself. 

Workin’ Moms (S2) [CBC/Netflix]: This season reinvented the meet-cute, smartly swapped main/side characters, and delivered a wallop of a season finale that perfectly bookended the premiere. 

Claws (S3) [TNT]: The season that finally delivered on its premise in the weirdest, bloodiest, and most fabulous ways.

Silicon Valley (final season) [HBO]: A solid ending for a solid comedy that brought me a lot of joy over the years.

The Other Two [Comedy Central]: The freshest funniest new thing! Quirky. Delightful. Relatable. And just enough emotion and love without crossing into saccharine. Also, it introduced me to Josh Segarra, who I am now in love with.

Barry (ronny/lily) [HBO]: This. Episode. 

Legion (final season) [FX]: From the psychedelic premiere alone, I knew this was going to land on my list again. As much of a visual and auditory work of art as ever, this final bow tightened up the story enough to be a satisfying ending. Also, this ship.

Succession (S2) [HBO]: L to the OG. Boar on the floor. Holly Hunter. Cherry Jones. Stefan Strauss. Gerri and Roman. Brian Cox in every scene. Jeremy Strong’s face. No other show feels like a tight coil in your stomach waiting for the pin to drop while you laugh at filthy insults.

On Becoming a God in Central Florida [Showtime]: This bizarre murky pastel colored 90′s-set dark dramedy immediately hooked me in with its oddness. By the time Dunst’s Krystal took a bird-induced surreal odyssey through Floridian suburbia I was absolutely in love.

Lodge 49 [AMC]: A gem. Influenced by two of my most beloved series: Cheers and Peep Show, I was bound to love this. But it is a masterpiece all on its own. So funny and so sad. It manages to oscillate between silliness and philosophy. It is literary in both text and image. So deeply human in its study of the journey to find meaning in contemporary life. Such a unique meditative show didn’t stand a chance, but the cancellation hurt like the devil nonetheless. (Even more so when not long after AMC premiered a slightly similar show with bigger names and a flashier premise.) Go watch seasons 1 & 2 on Hulu!

[tellytuber]

‘Tis the season. For depression!

Instead of consuming happy or inspirational media whenever my spirits drop I prefer the pieces that drag them down further. I don’t want to see happy people. I want to see people struggling: with loneliness, relationships, jobs, their own heads. Its like rubbing salt in your wounds. But in a good way.

The Book Group (Channel 4): My go-to depression show. I would watch this at least once a month. F*ck Hulu for pulling this. The book group, founded by an American ex-pat living in Scotland looking for friends and someone to sleep with, is a collection of rag-tag, self-interested, unlikeable, messed up misfits. They’re all different, yet all searching for some small sense of enlightenment, fulfillment, and companionship.

Olive Kitteridge (HBO): A four part mini-series that follows the middle to old age of the titular character. She’s a hard, independent woman. A daughter of depression, married to a sensitive man and the mother to a bitter son. With a low tolerance for weakness, we see her attempt to care for the people around her in the small Maine town. Olive is brutal. Life is brutal.

Flowers (Channel 4/Seeso): A story of two parts that begins with the father of the Flower family unsuccessfully attempting suicide. A sad start with a bizarre middle and a crescendo to a deep sadness. This is a story of two parts that explores depression, displacement, trauma, and family. It’s about facing the darkness of life. It makes the good parts so much better.

[tellytuber]

12 Shows of 2018

The new (and sometimes old) series and seasons that made my year.

Party Down [Starz]: Finally got around to watching this. Ken Marino is a joy. I love REM superfan Adam Scott. The Steve Guttenberg episode is a classic.

The Good Place [NBC]: I had put off watching this because it’s a tumblr darling, but caved for Ted Danson. I get the hype now. Gotta love a show that spouts academic theory for comedy. Also, how it constantly reinvents itself.

Santa Clarita Diet (S2) [Netflix]: My highlights: The U2 reference. That zombie hunter’s ponytail. My mom watched the series twice in a row.

LA To Vegas [Fox]: I loved every single second of this goofy show. It brought me so much joy the twenty-something minutes it came on every week. I’m still mourning the cancellation.

The Sopranos [HBO]: It only took me a decade to watch one of the shows to herald in the New Golden Age of Television. And it was fantastic of course. It was perfectly me: a bizarre comedy wrapped in a dramatic character study.

Legion [FX]: I watched the series premiere live, but thought it was a little too weird. Plus, I’m very much over superheroes. But a week before the second started I decided to give it another try, and I got hooked. This is a collage of stunning visuals and effects, costuming, and music. Can’t wait for season three, even if I don’t really understand what even happened in the second.

Killing Eve [BBC America]: Obviously. Maybe technically the best show of the year? A woman-led thriller that’s superbly acted and also funny? Yes. Yes. Yes.

The Terror [AMC]: Missed this when it came on AMC, and finally got the chance to watch it on the plane back from England. Suffering from jet lag and exhaustion, this amazing series felt even more creepy and devastating than it already is.

Divorce (S2) [HBO]: Divorce instantly became one of my most favorite new shows, and the second season didn’t disappoint. The literal changing of the seasons from the winter of season one to the spring and summer of season two was is genius. 

Timeless [NBC]: Every couple of years, something sci-fi breaks into my favorites list. Even though it was often a bit too saccharine for me, it had a Peep Show veteran, a ship that I was powerless against, and a pretty cool leading lady. I was more into the version of this show that was in my head than the actual thing, but I was still obsessed nonetheless. 

The Great British Bake Off (S9) [E4/Netflix]: I was spoiled who the semifinalists were while I was in England, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Kim Joy was one of them. 

Succession [HBO]: The. Best. Thing. Jesse Armstrong made a lot of my favorite things, and this is yet another one. Another dark twisted comedy masquerading in a beautiful designer suited drama. No other show does nasty humor and heart racing tension so well.