With 2018 coming to an end, it’s time for me to make my annual list of the best television shows of the year.
15 - Cobra Kai - Season 1 (YouTube Red)
This show was so much better than I had ever expected. This is how sequels and reboots should be done. It is so well written and acted. Corny at times though, but was super well made. My only disappointment was that I was really hoping for an Elisabeth Shue appearance. Shame it never happened. Next season, maybe?
14 - Forever - Season - 1 (Amazon)
Forever is so good and original. I had no idea what it was about going in and I was pleasantly surprised. Great writing and very interesting premise. I also really enjoyed the chemistry between Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph.
13 - Wild Wild Country (Netflix)
Wild Wild Country is a carefully crafted documentary series about the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho), his personal assistant Ma Anand Sheela, and their cult in the Rajneeshpuram community located in Wasco County, Oregon The documentary makers had access to a lot of the people who were involved with the cult. And they did a pretty good job offering different perspectives.
12 - Barry - Season 1 (HBO)
Barry is a dark comedy starring Bill Hader as a depressed, low-rent hitman from the Midwest. This show is one of the best dark comedies I’ve seen in awhile. Barry is such a great antihero. And Bill Hader’s performance is so good that I’m still rooting for him even though his character has done awful things. Henry Winkler is also fantastic. He stole every scene he was in.
The ending was intense. I can’t wait for season 2!
11 - The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
What a great show. Slow burn but really well done. At first, I thought it was going to be another boring and cheesy horror show. But it was so much more. This is actually a family drama show that uses supernatural events and ghost apparitions as a plot driver.
10 - Homecoming - Season 1 (Amazon)
Homecoming is such a good show. It is very well acted (Julia Roberts performance was outstanding) with excellent writing, score, and a stunning cinematography! The 30-minute episodes are also refreshing. Most of the TV dramas are having way too long episodes when it’s not necessary, The show is really mysterious and tense. It feels a bit like a Hitchcockian or a DePalma movie to me. Kudos to Sam Esmail. The man is a creative genius. He killed it with Mr. Robot and he did it again directing all the episodes of Homecoming.
9 - Killing Eve - Season 1 (BBC America)
I am obsessed with this show. It is awesome how it makes women the leading characters instead of secondary ones. Villanelle is the greatest. She is a pure psycho-evil but I adore her. The acting from the leads are really good and I love how obsessed Eve and Vill are with each other. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is such a great writer she had proved that already with Fleabag and showed us how talented she is again with Killing Eve.
8 - GLOW (Netflix)
The second season of GLOW was so good. I was hooked from the beginning of the season until the very end. The show has such well-rounded characters. And Season 2 gives them much more depth Alison Brie puts in one of the best comedy performances of the year. Her timing and delivery are perfect. And Marc Maron is still Amazing,too. I’m super excited to see where season 3 goes.
7 - Sharp Objects (HBO)
Sharp Objects is an eight-part mini-series based on the novel by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl). The atmosphere is great with very disturbing characters and dreamy flashbacks. I loved the way the director told the story with a unique sense of style. Amy Adams does a typically flawless job. She is good at literally everything she’s in. I highly recommend this show.
6 - Better Call Saul - Season 4
I really disliked the first two seasons of Better Call Saul. The pace of them felt frustratingly slow and little was accomplished. But things changed for the better in season 3 with the addition of Gus Fring to the show. And got even better in this fourth one. The development of Mike and Jimmy in these 2 last season was amazing! Really fun to watch their transformations. And the story with the Germans building the Super-lab this season was great. Overall, Season 4 of BCS was simply a great season of television.
5 - The Americans - Season 6 (FX)
This was the last season of this amazing show. And I thought it was masterfully done. The Americans is one of the few shows that remained truly good throughout its run. The season five was a bit filler but it was necessary to set up the final season. And boy, it was worth it. Season 6 was absolutely awesome. I really loved the ending and don’t mind certain questions being unanswered. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone so I just going to say that, the garage scene in the last episode, was close to perfect. Great show, I’m sad it’s over
4 - BoJack Horseman - Season 5 (Netflix)
In its fifth season, BoJack Horseman remains one of the best shows on TV. What can I say? It is brilliant, with flawless writing and performances. There are a lot of callbacks to previous seasons and the writers explore every corner of the world they created during these five seasons. Episode 6, Free Churro, is an instant classic! With a masterful performance delivered by Will Arnett. I seriously don’t understand why this show is not getting any awards recognition yet. A major injustice if you ask me. I cannot wait for season 6!
3 - The Deuce - Season 2 (HBO)
Once again The Deuce brought us an amazing portrayal of life in the ’70s in NYC. The show has a brilliant cast, writing and some amazing attention to details. And that is why I absolutely love this show. David Simon always delivers and this is one the best show on television right now. Bring on season 3!
2 - Succession - Season 1 (HBO)
What a wonderful surprise this show ended up being. It started slow, but from episode 4 on, things picked up. The premise of the show is nothing new, but I love how all the characters are deeply flawed and multidimensional. It can be super uncomfortable to watch them interact with each other sometimes but it is also very entertaining. Succession is probably one of the most honest commentaries I’ve seen about wealthy people. This first season was phenomenal and I did not see t that finale coming.
1 - Atlanta - Robbin' Season (FX)
Season 1 of Atlanta was already great. But season 2 was near perfect. I found it to be darker and more serious. I felt uncomfortable in each one of those 11 episodes. And I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be like that. The Teddy Perkins episode was one the greatest half hour of television ever made. Lakeith Stanfield has become one of my favorite actors. I love him in Atlanta and he is even better in Sorry To Bother You. This second season Atlanta confirmed to be as one of my favorite shows of all time. I absolutely cannot wait to see what’s in store next.