Best of 2018: The TV That Made My Year
So many shows, so little time. Just consider that the mantra for this list each time it gets updated. There’s a roster of series I want to…
So many shows, so little time. Just consider that the mantra for this list each time it gets updated. There’s a roster of series I want to check out that’s longer than both my arms and legs stitched together in a straight line. What follows is the best of what I did find time to watch, as well as choice selections that also deserve your attention. May you find your next favorite program in the list below.
16) Kidding (Showtime)
Jim Carrey and director Michel Gondry re-teamed for this dark comedic look at the life of a children’s television presenter (think Mister Rogers, but more idiosyncratic), who’s suffering from a nervous breakdown in light of the death of one of his sons and the dissolution of his marriage. Funny, heartbreaking, endearing and endlessly fascinating, this is a sterling showcase for Carrey and the fantastic ensemble cast, including Judy Greer, Frank Langella and Catherine Keener.
15) YOU (Lifetime/Netflix)
Getting in the mind of a romantic stalker who isn’t afraid of killing the competition that gets in the way of him being with the object of his obsession sounds like a bad idea for a series. (It’s amazing “Criminal Minds” hasn’t crafted a spinoff around it.) However, with proper execution, this concept can actually be compelling. Based on the Caroline Kepnes novel, we are with Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley in a career-best performance) as he sets his sights on the beguiling Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail). Preferring to zag where others would zig, “YOU” ensures the edge of your seat is your new favorite place.
14) Man in an Orange Shirt (PBS)
Two romances set in two different eras, yet both inextricably linked. Michael and Thomas find love at the end of World War II. Adam and Steve fall for each other in the present day. Neither set of circumstances are easy, but hope never dies. Patrick Gale’s script is a valentine that resonates and his words are embodied by an exceptional cast, including Oliver Jackson-Cohen, James McArdle, Joanna Vanderham, Julian Morris, David Gyasi and Vanessa Redgrave.
13) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
FOX’s loss is NBC’s gain as the network’s best comedy got a reprieve and a new home after it was dumped in May. Had this been the Nine-Nine’s last stand, at least they would have ended on a high note (no doubt hit by Gina). Season five was the series’ best yet and it culminated in the wedding of Jake and Amy. So where we going on our honeymoon?
12) The Tunnel: Vengeance (PBS)
The final series of the exceptional crime drama ended with a punch to the heart and the throat. Before that, Elise and Karl (the perfectly paired Clémence Poésy and Stephen Dillane) struggled to find their way back to each other emotionally while they tracked down the Pied Piper, who was leaving a bloody trail behind. “The Tunnel” is one of the rare cop shows where the main characters are so fully realized, they leave their mark.
11) Mr. Inbetween (FX)
Hired hitman Ray Shoesmith seems like your typical gun-for-hire on paper. However, he’s just a regular guy trying to balance fatherhood with being a good boyfriend, all while taking dirty jobs that pay the bills. He has a dark sense of humor as does the show, which is the brainchild of writer-star Scott Ryan. Chances are you missed this fantastic series when you blinked back in the fall. It’s been renewed, so track it down. You’re welcome.
10) Lodge 49 (AMC)
One of the most original, entertaining and flat-out endearing series on television, it’s also incredibly underrated. Dud (Wyatt Russell in a breakthrough performance) has been lost in a sea of ennui following a surfing accident. When fate leads him to the erstwhile lodge, he finds an unexpected path for himself. A charming ensemble and strong writing make this an unexpected delight. Seek and ye shall find something truly special.
9) The Good Place (NBC)
Constantly rebooting itself while keeping its identity in check, the afterlife comedy continues to impress as it explores the inner lives of Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, Jason, Michael and Janet as they fight to enter the eponymous locale. Becoming a better person is never easy. In this case, it’s highly entertaining — and emotionally fulfilling.
8) The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
This horror drama is as insidious as the evil lurking within the walls of Hill House. It infects your brain, ensuring you’ll never forget as it haunts you long after the closing credits roll on the final episode. A creative re-imagining of Shirley Jackson’s classic novel, the series follows the Crain family during their time in the house and how the events that unfolded there scarred them for life. Writer-director Mike Flanagan and his amazing cast, including standouts Kate Siegel, Olivier Jackson-Cohen and Victoria Pedretti, bring you into their dark nightmare and never let you go.
7) A Very English Scandal (Amazon Prime)
Based on a true story, this limited series follows the fallout from an affair between Labour Party leader Jeremy Thorpe and his lover, Norman Scott. Thorpe tried to have Scott assassinated when the younger man decided he wouldn’t keep quiet about the illegal relationship they had embarked upon once it had ended. The twists and turns this story took are so ridiculous at times, you’d be forgiven for thinking writer Russell T. Davies took real liberties with the tale. Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw shine as Thorpe and Scott, respectively, bringing humor, heart and pathos to a love story that’s as warped as it is captivating.
6) Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW)
Watching Rebecca Bunch (the crazy-talented Rachel Bloom) evolve over the course of this insanely clever musical comedy honestly has been one of the best character arcs. Although, to be fair, all of the characters here have grown and matured during the past three years. Hell, even long-lost Greg doesn’t look like himself anymore. (Wink wink.) All this is to say that while change is inevitable, the jewel in The CW’s crown is still the same smart and funny show it’s always been as it prepares to croon its final song.
5) Atlanta (FX)
Donald Glover’s project has broader ambitions than most thirty-minute shows. Where the majority of series are content to be defined as “comedies” or “dramas,” for example, this show defies labels. There is no box in which to house it. It is an original in every way. Each episode is a short film that ties into character more than plot. You never know what you’re going to get from week to week or with which characters you’ll be spending time. How many other series keep viewers on their toes in similar ways?
4) The Little Drummer Girl (AMC)
Chan-wook Park helmed this tense, sexy and affecting adaptation of John Le Carre’s novel. An impressive cast headlined by Florence Pugh, Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Shannon give an electricity to the taut script about an actress recruited to infiltrate an Islamic terrorist cell in the early 1980s. AMC scored quite the hat trick in 2018 with this, “Lodge 49” and “The Terror.” (Throw in “Eli Roth’s History of Horror” and the criminally cancelled “Dietland” for further proof of its stellar year.)
3) The Terror (AMC)
One of the year’s best series proves horror can be more than shows with the undead milling around. Based on true events and the book by Dan Simmons, the season told the tale of two warships, the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus, whose crews were sent to explore the Northwest Passage only for hell to descend upon them. A truly great cast, including Jared Harris, Tobias Menzies and Ciarán Hinds, is helped by first-rate scripts and stunning direction. It’s a period horror that rivals anything on the big screen.
2) Killing Eve (BBC America)
The assassin and the government officer going head to head in a game of cat and mouse. Been there, done that, right? Allow me to introduce you to Villanelle and Eve. The remorseless killer is inexplicably drawn to the MI5 agent when they meet in a hospital ladies’ room. Once each figures out who the other really is, they can’t stay out of each other’s way for long. Based on the novellas by Luke Jennings, the series is a fantastic take on the spy genre and features two kinetic leads in Jodie Comer as Villanelle and Sandra Oh as Eve.
1) The Americans (FX)
Speaking of spies, the end of the line has arrived for the Jennings’. It was never going to be a happily ever after, but what came was infinitely satisfying. The final puzzle pieces fit perfectly into a story that was well-crafted from start to finish. Some questions remain unanswered, but it works to have them linger in the ether. Kudos to Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields, Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and the entire cast and crew for creating emotionally compelling, insanely suspenseful television that will be discovered, analyzed and cherished for years to come.
Best of the rest:
12 Monkeys (Syfy); The Alienist (TNT); Back (SundanceTV); The Bold Type (Freeform); Call the Midwife (PBS); The Chi (Showtime); Dietland (AMC); Doctor Who (BBC America); Endeavour (PBS); Grown-ish (Freeform); Humans (AMC); Jane the Virgin (The CW); Jesus Christ Superstar Live! (NBC); Legion (FX); The Magicians (Syfy); Making It (NBC); The Miniaturist (PBS); Patrick Melrose (Showtime); Queen of the South (USA); The Sinner (USA); Snatches: Moments from Women’s Lives (BBC America); The Split (SundanceTV); The Woman In White (PBS); and Younger (TV Land).
Joanne Thornborough is pop culture junkie with a particular love for film, TV and the printed word. Find her at @cinelitchick on Twitter.