Top 10 TV Shows of 2019

Welcome back, loyal reader! 

Today I will share my thoughts on the best television series of 2019, across genres of comedy, drama and everything in between. I decided not to include talk shows or live sketch shows as they were too difficult to compare with the rest – suffice to say, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Saturday Night Live were among my favorites of the year on those fronts. For the types of shows that are included on the list, here are my honorable mentions of ones that barely missed the cut for the top 10: 

Big Mouth; Rick And Morty; Sex Education; Star Trek: Discovery; The End Of The F***ing World 

And now for the list of the top 10 TV shows of 2019! 

10. The Walking Dead 

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a series so beautifully resurrected – coming back from the dead not like a zombie uprising, but as a work of quality television. I stopped watching AMC’s survival drama around season 7; it hadn’t exactly gone bad, but so much less good that I didn’t feel invested anymore. After hearing about the positive reaction to season 9, I decided to see what the fuss was about and fight myself through the less-good seasons, and I sure am glad of doing that. Seasons 9 and 10 have been among the best work the show has ever done, and I can’t wait to see where the series goes next. 

New showrunner Angela Kang has truly done wonders with The Walking Dead’s storylines, individual episodes, and overall atmosphere. The Whisperers are a compelling new threat to the main cast, and the journeys of many characters – especially Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) - have been more exciting than ever to follow. Kudos to Angela Kang and her crew at AMC for bringing The Walking Dead back to the level of its former glories! 

9. 13 Reasons Why 

The third season of Netflix’s controversial drama series was definitely not perfect. There were elements I did not enjoy – especially in the middle parts of the season the show went deep down a Riverdalean rabbit hole of convoluted and overarching secrets, backstabbings and lies on top of lies. With that off my chest, I will now explain why the series, despite those glaring negative sides, still made it onto my top 10 while shows as good as Rick And Morty and Sex Education didn’t. 

I’m a glass half-full type of viewer; I can very much enjoy a movie or series that has clear shortcomings, as long as its better sides make it worth watching and overcome the failings. And the newest season of 13 Reasons Why is an ultimate example of this; at its best, season 3 is extremely powerful, relevant and emotional on multiple levels. At its core, it’s still the series I fell in love with at season 1. There are moments in the new season that touched me in a profound way and made me see the world as a slightly better place, proving that the show is still based on the same important messages it set out to tell. And so, the end result of season 3 was overwhelmingly positive for me, despite all of it not being pure gold in quality. 

8. Stranger Things 

The third season of Netflix’s megahit Stranger Things begins with a couple of very carefree episodes – sure, there are darker things it’s building towards, but it really lets its characters breathe and have fun for a bit. This was a good call; at this point the viewer is so invested in these characters and they have been through so much, that it’s great to see them having a nice summer for a change. Once the plot gets rolling, season 3 starts to get more intense and suspenseful with each episode, while still not reducing the levels of entertainment and fun that Stranger Things has been known to provide. 

The acting by the ensemble cast is once again on point, as are the exceptional production values and the show’s nostalgic 80’s setting. The aforementioned balance of intensity and fun makes for addictive viewing, and it all culminates in a season finale filled with laughs, tears, edge-of-your-seat thrills and fist-pumping awesomeness. The Duffer Brothers have truly kept their level with this series, and the hype is strong for season 4. 

7. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 

Remember how I said that The Walking Dead is very impressive for being so good in its tenth season after having some lame seasons in between? Well, even more impressive is a sitcom that has been great for 14 seasons straight (“14 Seasons Straight” sure sounds like a less inspired spin-off of 13 Reasons Why). But amazing as it is, IASIP has stayed its course while also widening its concept into various new directions, and this year’s season 14 was once again a hilarious and unique set of creative dark comedy. 

How IASIP’s writers come up with the scenarios for these episodes is just beyond me. A satirical episode about the discussion on abortion, with women cutting their hair short as an allegory? Sure. A meticulously directed film-noir episode with the characters arguing on which character archetypes they are playing? Why not. A laser tag episode with no real message until its genius double meaning hits you in the final moments? Sounds great. These are just some of the crazy ideas that It’s Always Sunny went with for this newest batch of the clever, multi-level irony it keeps providing. 

6. Ramy 

The first season of this severely underrated sitcom about a Muslim family in New Jersey really surprised me with its humor, concept episodes, and poignancy. It checks all the boxes of good sitcom: decent humor, likable characters and an original premise. But it also works beyond that as a show to expand one’s world view: Muslims are generally portrayed in American television as different levels of stereotypes and caricatures. Comedian Ramy Youssef created this series to depict a regular, American Muslim family and the everyday things they go through. Unless you already know tons about Muslim culture, this show will be sure to widen your view on what regular Muslim life might be like (spoiler alert: as with any other religion, they’re cool people although there are individual jerks in the mix). 

As a big fan of memorable individual episodes on TV shows, Ramy was very appealing to me. There’s an episode entirely of a few-day period of big changes in the main character’s childhood, which feels very different from usual flashback episodes in sitcoms. There’s one episode revolving entirely around the main character’s sister and her everyday struggles, and a similar one about their mother. There’s even a subtly profound one where the main character travels to his native Egypt to reconnect with his faith, and many more memorable and creative episodes. All in all, season 1 of Ramy was eye-opening and fun to watch, and I highly recommend it to more or less everyone. 

5. The Good Place 

Michael Schur’s philosophical high-concept sitcom never ceases to amaze me. The fact that a half-hour comedy can be so deep in its constant ponderings of the universe’s largest questions is incredible enough; but the fact that it also works as a chill feel-good comedy that’s fun to watch at the same time is just beyond me. In 2019’s episodes (the second half of season 3 and first half of season 4), The Good Place once again provides the viewer with truly thought-provoking questions and dilemmas, while also providing great amounts of top notch humor, entertaining situations, and ultimately uplifting payoffs. The cast does an amazing job, with especially Kristen Bell’s Eleanor and Ted Danson’s Michael being better than ever in these new episodes. The stakes seem higher than ever as the series nears its end (season 4 will be the final season), making The Good Place all the more exciting to watch. 

This year, the show brought us some of its most emotional moments, as well as interesting new characters and very memorable episodes. I particularly enjoyed the latest one, season 4’s midseason finale The Answer – it made me and other viewers care about a certain character on a level very rare for any fictional characters, while also containing clever humor, impressive philosophical themes, and a major cliffhanger ending. I can’t wait to see the final episodes! 

4. Barry 

Now here’s a unique show. The balance between very dark themes and hilarious comedy by creator and writer Bill Hader is extraordinary. The action sequences in landmark episode ronny/lily, helmed by director Bill Hader, are intense and very impressive. The level of acting is great overall, but especially with main star Bill Hader. If you read between the lines, you might be able to guess who the MVP of this HBO series is... 

Barry’s second season is a wild ride, continuing the dark comedy story of hitman-turned-actor Barry Berkman as his double life continues to lead to intriguing and often comical results. The balance between themes of violence and PTSD, crime drama elements, the joys of theater acting and good situation humor is extremely bizarre, but it works to an amazing result. Hader has truly created a masterpiece with the two first seasons of this strange and wonderful show, and thoroughly deserves all the critical acclaim that has come his way. 

3. Brooklyn Nine-Nine 

The police comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, one of those rare shows to get better with each season, got abruptly cancelled by Fox at the height of its popularity after season 5. Thankfully, NBC picked it up and produced what is easily the series’ best season thus far. B99 has always been fun and entertaining to watch, but the landmark sixth season brought it to whole new levels of greatness – nearly every episode in the season is exceptionally memorable and/or special by the show’s standards. 

There are so many treats for fans of the series; a flashback-heavy episode featuring younger versions of the lovable characters Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller), a charismatic guest performance by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a new twist on the show’s beloved Halloween Heist tradition, and a 24-style real-time thriller of an episode, just to name a few highlights. There’s even a gripping episode touching some very real-life issues, which manages to balance its strong themes with some good-taste comedy in a heartfelt manner. The cast of the series is amazing as always, with especially main star Andy Samberg bringing new and deeper sides to his character Jake Peralta while still very much keeping the essence of the character intact. All in all, season 6 is definitely Brooklyn Nine-Nine's best season, at least up to this point – here's hoping season 7 continues the upward trend. 

2. Chernobyl 

HBO’s 5-part miniseries on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster was not fun to watch. The sheer volume and gravitas of what happened in Chernobyl and how much pain it created on so many levels is thoroughly and honestly explored, making for some truly heart-stopping hard-to-watch viewing. But once you get past the gripping nature of the show, it is easy to recognize this as a pitch-perfect production, and one to really leave you thinking. 

The first episode shows the events leading up to the disaster, adapting these intense moments into truly riveting television. The following episodes focus on the aftermath, and the sheer scope on the effects that this nuclear accident had on people. The production values are top quality, as is the acting (with Jared Harris’s performance as chemist Valery Legasov being especially amazing) and Hildur Guðnadóttir’s soundtrack. The miniseries manages to honestly depict the deep levels of corruption and hypocrisy in the Soviet system, without portraying the USSR as a nation of evil caricatures as is often the trend in American media. The realism and fact-based screenplay are impressive, making for a great (if sometimes painful) viewing experience. 

1. Game of Thrones

Yes, I absolutely loved Game Of Thrones’ final season. I’m aware that a lot of people were less impressed with it, and have spent a lot of time debating this with friends of mine. I don’t feel like writing a series of defensive counter-arguments, so instead I’ll just explain why I personally found this season to be a great ending for the series (and the best television show of the year). You are very much allowed to disagree with me, but I do ask you to hear me out. 

HBO’s fantasy epic faced the huge challenge of bringing the biggest TV series of all time to a satisfying close. The cards were in many ways stacked against them: the show had surpassed George R. R. Martin’s unfinished novel series in terms of chronology, so instead of adapting the show from 800-page-books, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were down to adapting the show from details that Martin told them about the future books. Considering this, they did an amazing job with the final few seasons, as the story and the production values stayed on the same incredible level they have always been on. At least that is how I felt. 

Without going into spoilers, I will say that the plot of the final season was unexpected in a very Game Of Thrones way. The series has always been about subverting expectations in a sneaky way – you think the story is building up to something only to find out that this has been a mislead, and they have actually been building up to something totally different in a less obvious but logical way. That is what they did with the Stark family’s story in season 1, as well as the infamous Red Wedding in season 3. And that is exactly the same thing they did in the final season’s episode The Long Night, where the end result is not what you would expect, but after seeing it you realize how said event has been sneakily in the making across multiple seasons. The same is repeated in a certain shocking event in the series’ penultimate episode The Bells, where once again the expectations of the viewer are subverted in a genius way into an interesting direction. 

Every major character who is still left on the show is written off in a poetic way. I especially enjoyed Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) character arch in the final season, as well as Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) and Arya Stark’s (Maisie Williams). Things are left wonderfully open and up to speculation until the final episode, in which everything important is resolved and the major characters get meaningful, sometimes uplifting and sometimes tragic endings. The spectacle of episodes 3 and 5 (both featuring incredible long and chaotic battle sequences directed by the meticulous genius Miguel Sapochnik) makes for explosive and majestic television, while the final episode is visually calmer and creates spectacle only through its strong character drama, which at that point feels absolutely Shakespearean in its complicated dynamics and ultimate poetic resolutions. 

Throughout GOT’s eight seasons, I became very invested in the world of The Seven Kingdoms and the wonderful character stories and power struggles of said world. And I felt thoroughly satisfied with the final season, which managed to shock and surprise the viewers with clever twists once more, while also bringing all character journeys – as well as the political power struggle for the Iron Throne itself -  to a climax that felt right, and paid off all of the buildup that the previous seasons had created. I for one salute Benioff and Weiss, not to mention the show’s mega-talented cast, masterful directors and all other departments that helped create this unique dark and violent yet hopeful and beautiful fantasy world, for creating what is perhaps the greatest television series of all time. 

That is my list, feel free to comment on how I will go to hell for putting GOT ahead of Chernobyl on my list or anything else that comes to mind! As always, recommendations for top 10 list –topics are extremely welcome and encouraged. Coming up next Thursday: My top 10 most anticipated movies of 2020!