My Top Ten TV Shows of 2019

It was a good year. Like, a really good year. Like, I-had-to-leave-some-great-stuff-off-of-this-list year. As usual, “specials” count as TV for the purposes of this list (and oh, what a special we have for you this year!).

10. Legion

Season Two ended in a place that could have gone in a lot of directions, only a few that would really deliver on the potential social relevance of the series. This season was one of those directions. Without giving too much away, Noah Hawley manages to keep the original, wackadoo style of Season Two, but with greater focus and a satisfying, yet unique conclusion to the story.

9. Mr. Robot

Speaking of bringing a difficult show to a close, Mr. Robot had high stakes going into its final season, and immediately ups those stakes in the first few minutes. It seems every episode adds some major curveball, yet it never goes off the rails, arriving in a place at once surprising yet appropriate.

8. The Boys

We’re going to have two shows on this list that try to re-invent and interrogate the superhero narrative. Both do incredible jobs while approaching the task in significantly different ways. Both are telling stories about power, but this one is taking it from the point of view of the crass commercialization of superheroes and the ensuing bad behavior that must follow. It’s also very, very gross and very disturbing (pretty much every trigger warning applies). But all of it is in service of a compelling story about power unchecked and sold. It’s also funny. Karl Urban turns in a typically great performance but it’s Anthony Starr who really stands out as the chillingly psychopathic Homelander.

7. Good Omens

There’s something very feel-good yet unrelentingly satirical about this show which should come as no surprise because it’s the child of Neil Gaiman and is itself based on the child of Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. With all the imagination on display, it’s truly the chemistry of David Tennant and Michael Sheen that makes this show shine.

6. Killing Eve

Season Two expands on an already excellent Season One taking us deeper into the world of double crosses and hidden agendas. Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh continue developing their fascinating arcs and have even more screen time together to let their interplay flourish. Fiona Shaw, though, is still the cherry on top for me, with her world-weary, shade-hurling spymaster role.

5. The Mandalorian

In a year that saw the end of the latest round of Star Wars cinematic events, the best content from that universe turned out to be on television. A formidable first salvo from Disney Plus, The Mandalorian arrives with beautiful cinematography, sparse storytelling, pitch-perfect action, and Baby Yoda. Oh, and Werner Herzog. That’s almost as important as Baby Yoda, honestly.

4. Chernobyl

Equal parts heartbreaking and riveting, this true, painstaking tale of the worst nuclear disaster in history unfolds in a way that never talks down to you but is never terribly confusing either. Tethered by the undeniable trio of performances from Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, and a never-better Jared Harris, Chernobyl demonstrates, in a very timely way, “the price of lies.”

3. Homecoming

An achievement on par with Hamilton, both culturally and artistically, Beyonce’s Coachella performances, captured here in a Netflix special, demand attention, both in terms of spectacle, but even moreso as an exercise in reimagining her catalog through the lens of HBCU’s rich musical legacy.

2. Fleabag

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one woman show turned series explores in great, painful detail what it means to see your own flaws (and those of others) and reckon with them, sometimes failing (spectacularly, and hilariously) and sometimes eking out small, personal victories. Waller-Bridge’s well-deserved-Emmy-winning performance is complimented beautifully by Andrew Scott’s unlikely priest and Olivia Coleman’s excellent turn as Fleabag’s stepmother, one of the best villains in television history.

1. Watchmen

The second of our shows that interrogates the superhero narrative in a way that’s really interrogating power, Watchmen isn’t just the best show of 2019, it damn well might be the best show of the 2010’s (I’m working on that list now). A tale about race that earns the name “Watchmen”, Damon Lindeloff’s collaboration brings together the dizzying storytelling he developed on Lost and gives it a much more cohesive resolution and a focus on much more diverse characters and more socially relevant storylines. A masterclass in worldbuilding, Watchmen uses that world as a stage for incredible performances from a solid cast, especially Regina King and Jean Smart who, thankfully, get to share that stage in some amazing scenes.

Watchmen uses its platform to bring to light history that is forgotten, such as the Black Wall Street Massacre, and history that is yet to be written, as in the first serious depiction of what reparations might look like. Be sure to listen to the fantastic official podcast about the show where Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin interviews Lindeloff about the episodes after you’ve seen the whole thing (although you can dip in every three episodes if you like).

Honorable mentions: Stranger Things, The Good Place, Last Week Tonight, Legends of Tomorrow, Jessica Jones