1/21/16

1. Siblings
2. Black-ish
3. Baskets
4. Bob’s Burgers
5. The Mindy Project
6. Grandfathered
7. The Grinder
8. Fresh off The Boat
9. Modern Family
10. Always Sunny
11. Brooklyn 99
12. Portlandia
13. Man Seeking Woman
14. New Girl
15. Mozart in the Jungle
16. The Muppets
17. The 100(Season 1)

Kind of a fallow period right now as you can tell by my list kind of being dominated by network sitcoms. I mean, I like them, but all of them I could watch while doing something else. The only thing really exciting me is the long awaited return of Siblings, but there are only like three episodes left at this point. No drama's at all except for my slow trudge through The 100. 

12/28/15

So this is my last ranking of 2015, a little late.

1. Transparent
2. Nathan For You
3. South Park
4. Brooklyn 99
5. Blackish
6. Masters of Sex
7. Peep Show
8. Fresh off The Boat
9. You, Me, and the Apocalypse
10. Grandfathered
11. The Mindy Project
12. The Grinder
13. Bob’s Burgers
14. Billy on the Street
15. Modern Family
16. The Muppets
17. The 100(Season 1)
18. The League

Transparent wasn't as earth shattering as last year, but still and incredibly well made show. Nathan for you had another good season, and still manages to be funny, surprising, and touching. South Park had one of it's best seasons in a decade. I finally finished Masters of Sex and it was pretty good. The final season of Peep Show was kind of disappointing, especially after all the wait, but it's still one of my favorite comedies of all time.

Best of 2015

Top 20 Shows

1. Fargo (FX)
2. Mad Men(AMC)
3. Game of Thrones(HBO)
4. Rick and Morty(CN)
5. You’re the Worst(FX)
6. Please Like Me(Pivot/A(us)BC)
7. Transparent(AMZ)
8. Bojack Horseman(NF)
9. The Americans(FX)
10. Catastrophe(AMZ/C4)
11. Daredevil(NF)
12. Broad City(CC)
13. Veep(HBO)
14. Review(CC)
15. Silicon Valley(HBO)
16. Mr. Robot(USA)
17. Justified(FX)
18. Parks And Recreation(NBC)
19. Community(Yahoo)
20. Blackish(ABC)

Best New Shows

1. Daredevil (NF)
2. Mr. Robot(USA)
3. Red Oaks(AMZ)
4. Siblings(BBC3)
5. Difficult People(Hulu)
6. Documentary Now(IFC)
7. Fresh off the Boat(ABC)
8. Jessica Jones(NF)
9. Deutschland 83(Sun)
10. Humans(C4/AMC)

Shows to get to in 2016

1. The Leftovers
2. Better Call Saul
3. Halt and Catch Fire
4. Peaky Blinders
5. Shameless

Not a ton to say. In the era of peak TV, it's not hard to find a lot that I like, but I'd say this was a particularly good year. Fargo was near perfection every week, and it was a tough decision between that and Mad Men for my favorite show this year. Game of Thrones was pure entertainment every week. Mr. Robot was the surprise of my TV-watching summer, and I can't wait for next year. Justified had a very entertaining final season and satisfying finale. Daredevil hooked me from the first moments and I binged the whole season in a weekend. I also finally caught up with The Americans this year, and, as advertised, it's one of the best shows on TV.

All the comedies I liked last year, for the most part, I liked this year, but there were a few stand outs. I wasn't really that enamored with Bojack Horseman last year, but season 2 was stellar. Its flat out hilarious this year, but its commitment to melancholy is what really pushes it over the top for me. Silicon Valley was a show I liked well enough it's first year, but I thought this season was much funnier, and downright gripping at times. Parks and Rec finished strong after what I though was a down 2ish seasons. Community, I'm really glad got a chance to go out on a good note after a great series run. Blackish continues to surprise me with how smart and funny it is every week. It's the new Cosby Show, now that that other Cosby Show is so problematic.

Rick and Morty is still streets ahead of any other comedy on TV, it's one of the few shows that I immediate start re-watching. I've probably seen every episode at least 3 times. You're the Worst was really daring this season. It's an ostensible comedy that decided to focus on the effects of depression in a relationship. It blew me away, and "LCD Soundsystem" was one of the best episodes of the year. Please Like Me, I tried watching on a whim one night, and ended up watching every episode in a few days and then finishing the rest of Season 3 as it came out; it's delightful. Catastrophe was another import that I had no built-in expectations for, I just started watching and really loved it. 

12/3/15

1. Fargo
2. Please Like Me
3. You’re the Worst
4. Catastrophe
5. Peep Show
6. Nathan For You
7. Jessica Jones
8. Master of None
9. South Park
10. Brooklyn 99
11. Blackish
12. You, Me, and the Apocalypse
13. Grandfathered
14. The Mindy Project
15. The Grinder
16. Fresh off The Boat
17. Bob’s Burgers
18. Billy on the Street
19. Masters of Sex
20. Modern Family
21. The Muppets
22. Last Man on Earth
23. Adam Ruins Everything
24. The League
25. The 100(Season 1)

11/17/15

1. Fargo
2. You’re the Worst
3. Catastrophe
4. Peep Show
5. Nathan For You
6. Please Like Me (Season 1)
7. Master of None
8. With Bob And David
9. Blackish
10. The Grinder
11. The Mindy Project
12. South Park
13. Grandfathered
14. You, Me, and the Apocalypse
15. Brooklyn 99
16. Fresh off The Boat
17. Bob’s Burgers
18. Billy on the Street
19. Masters of Sex
20. Modern Family
21. The Muppets
22. Last Man on Earth
23. Adam Ruins Everything
24. The League
25. The 100(Season 1)

10/26/15

1. Fargo
2. Red Oaks
3. You’re the Worst
4. Nathan For You
5. The Mindy Project
6. Brooklyn 99
7. Blackish
8. Billy on the Street
9. The Grinder
10. You, Me, and the Apocalypse
11. South Park
12. Fresh off The Boat
13. Bob’s Burgers
14. Last Man on Earth
15. Modern Family
16. The Muppets
17. Grandfathered
18. The League
19. Adam Ruins Everything
20. Masters of Sex
21. Orange is the New Black
22. The 100(Season 1)
23. Survivor’s Remorse(Season 1)

Well, the two shows I was most looking forward to are here and at the top of my list. Fargo is the clear best show on TV, it's the only Drama I'm planning on watching for the foreseeable future. I don't have a great feel for what's on the horizon though; most of my favorite TV podcasts have been dissolved. Red Oaks didn't disappoint and took about 4 days to get through, which for me was savoring it. 

The other sitcoms on the list are about what I expect from them. Blackish is really made a decent jump--it's just so sharply written and the kids are phenomenal. It's the new Cosby Show, now that that other Cosby show has become problematic. You're the Worst has been good, but not as strong as last year, they just aired though what was probably the best episode of the series. Nathan For You has managed to stay strong in it's third season and is one of the few shows(maybe I'm exaggerating) that surprises me and makes me actually laugh out loud. Last Man on Earth I've returned to after bailing on it last season, good so far, but we'll see. 

South Park, I should mention, is having one of it's best overall seasons in a while. It's a show that I've watched every episode of since it started. It's obviously had some great years, but recently I haven't really expected much of it--extremely topical episodes with maybe one standout per season. This year's been really consistent, and I could be forgetting, but it feels more thematically unified than ever before.

TruTV has shows I watch on it now, so that's something. Adam Ruins everything was something I really liked as a 5 minute internet video, and it's transitioned well into a full fledged TV show, but it's not essential viewing for me. You think Billy Eichner accosting strangers in New York can only stay fresh and interesting for so long, and then you hear lines like:  "I'll give you 10 million dollars if you can tell me who Taylor Schilling is" and you realize what a fool you were.

The shows at the bottom of my list are still going unwatched. Since my last post I've watched one episode of Masters of Sex. It was good. I think I've finally let go of Comedy Bang Bang after about 3 years of very mildly entertaining me. It seems like they produce 80 episodes a year now. I might still check in if I see an A on the AV club or something.

10/2/15

Rick & Morty
Review
You’re the Worst
The Mindy Project
Brooklyn 99
Fresh off The Boat
Bob’s Burgers
Blackish
Married
Modern Family
South Park
The Muppets
The Grinder
Grandfathered
The League
Continuum
Masters of Sex

The 100(Season 1)
Orange is the New Black

Survivor’s Remorse(Season 1)

It's fall, which I remember being a exciting time for new TV shows, but it's been a dismal offering this year and maybe that's part of a trend. I don't know if there's an overall lack of quality or if networks are just holding off the good stuff until mid-season. The Grinder and Grandfathered had pleasant pilots. The Muppets has been okay, but kind of disappointing after what I thought was a stellar preview over the summer.   

I'm seeing in my list mostly sitcoms, and the few dramas that I do watch have slipped to the bottom of because I can't bring myself to watch them. It's not entirely my tastes. If there were truly great drama's I'd rush to watch them and I imagine that will be the case once Fargo comes back. Master's of Sex hasn't dipped in quality a ton, I think I'll continue to enjoy it quite a bit, I'm just not into it at the moment. I have managed to watch one episode of OitNB since I last mentioned it. The 100 has been serviceable laundry folding TV. I may never get to survivor's remorse. Besides Fargo, the only thing on the horizon that I'm looking forward to is Red Oaks, starting next week on Amazon. I saw the pilot almost a year ago, and have been excited for it ever since.