I was planning on posting this yesterday, but then yesterday happened. For those reading this when it was posted, I need no further explanation. The people who stumble onto this at a later date though, well it's January 6, 2021 and I'm just going to hope you can figure it out from there.
Not that today hasn't had its share of excitements, but I've been much less glued to the news so I'm finally free to sit down and write my top ten comedies of 2020. It's a weird list. Feels a bit weaker than most years except at the top, which is probably about as strong as any year. But I can't help but feel I usually can't come up with better shows on the backend, not that I don't like those shows.
Moving onto the top ten
#10 Archer - Season 11 (FXX)
Archer has not been particularly close to my top ten in some years, which goes to show what an improvement season 11 was over previous years. It's also partially why I feel the backend of this list is weak. Archer's 11th season aired 8 episodes, and not all of them were a hit. Enough of them were to distinguish the show from what will end up being honorable mentions though. Archer both returned to the basics of what the show was - instead of having a completely new setting - while having a different dynamic than in the past. Good merge of knowing what works, but keeping things different enough to not feel like you're watching the same thing over and over. Makes sense for a show losing its main creator for the first time ever.
#9 Mythic Quest: A Raven's Banquet - Season 1 (AppleTV)
Another show that really seems like it'd be on honorable mention most years. I mention that because this show took a few episodes before things really clicked. They have an episode entirely unconnected from the rest of the season, focusing on two characters who are only seen in that episode. It's a wonderful episode. Weirdly, what came after seemed like a much better show than what came before. Eventually the show provides a reason for why this episode exists, although it doesn't need one it's so good. But it ends up making the season storylines of the present day characters work better when it does provide that reason.
#8 DAVE - Season 1 (FXX)
I won't lie. I didn't want to like this show. I'm not a fan of Lil Dicky. But then Alan Sepinwall kept raving about the show so I felt like I had to give it a shot. So here it is. I would have bet a lot of money that DAVE would not make my top ten list before I watched an episode to be honest. But I guess there's the lesson: never assume. There's a particular episode focusing on a certain character's mental disorder - I believe the person who plays him also has that mental disorder - and I don't really want to say anymore because part of the power is that you don't really expect it.
#7 Ramy - Season 2 (Hulu)
Ramy season 2 is a bit weird to describe. The main character, Ramy, is pretty unlikable in it. I like the overall journey that he goes through, but it's not always fun to watch. If that were all the show was, it wouldn't be here. But the series decides to give the supporting characters their own episodes - mom, dad, sister, and uncle all have episodes solely focused on them - and all of those episodes are better than the episodes focusing on the season-long storyline. Which is weird to say, because Mahershala Ali is in Ramy's storyline as Ramy's new sheikh. But the solo episodes are just better.
#6 Never Have I Ever - Season 1 (Netflix)
I have confined myself to a top ten, but I must note it is at this stage that I see a huge jump. Never Have I Ever would make my lists most years I suspect. And it might even be as high as #6 most years. Possibly higher. If I followed the spirit of a top ten list by focusing on the elite shows, I would only have a top 6 this year. A large reason why it's here is because of Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, the main character of the show. The name of the show appears to just be here to provide a way to give episode titles and not actually for anything in the show itself. Like for instance, one of the episode titles is "... gotten drunk with the popular kids." Get it? Yeah it's kind of stupid name for a show, but it's great nonetheless.
#5 The Great - Season 1 (Hulu)
Typically, I tended to put half hour shows on this list and hour long shows on the drama side. But between this show and I May Destroy You, I had to change it up a bit. Both are listed as comedy-dramas, but the half hour show is barely presented as comedic while The Great is almost all comedic. It's a satirical series focused on Catherine the Great, who came to Russia as an outsider. The first season is about her journey from being an almost perfect wife who is so disillusioned by how awful her husband is that she begins plotting to overthrow him. Kind of a spoiler, but you know in history she really did overthrow her husband in a coup.
The performances are why it's here. Elle Fanning stars as Catherine, who is probably nothing like the real Catherine, but Fanning is charming as someone who is constantly upbeat and cheery despite what she's doing. But the real accomplishment and why this series is better than it has any right to be is because of Nicholas Hoult, as Peter III, who is so gloriously awful that he is entertaining to watch. And despite him being awful, he somehow finds the humanity in the character and there are moments where you care about him. It's a tough feat to pull off but he did it.
#4 What We Do in the Shadows - Season 2 (FX)
I had never seen the movie and I missed the first season. Right around the time season 2 was happening, all I could hear about was how great this show was. So I watched it from the beginning. My expectations were perhaps too high because season 1 did not meet them. Whether it was because my expectations had been sufficiently lowered or what, but season 2 blew me away. I genuinely think it was a much better season, but I'll confess it might just be some weird quirk of how I perceived the show instead of that. Not that comedies need this, but it became much less standalone in season two at the least.
Hate to repeat myself here, but this show entirely works because of the performances as well. It's an open competition as to who's the best here. It's a master class in how to get laughs from delivery alone. Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou and Kayvan Novak all have moments where I think they're the funniest, but then one of the other will say something else. And then there's Mark Proksch, who will deliver a line in the most deadpan way.
#3 The Good Place - Season 4 (NBC)
I totally forgot The Good Place ended in 2020. Feels like a long, long time ago. If you're not aware of my rules for a top ten list, I only look at episodes that aired in the year of the list. So when I say season 4 above, what I really mean is the last four episodes of Season 4. Because the finale was an hour long, it's really five episodes. That's pretty much the only reason The Good Place isn't higher. Even making the top 3 with just five episodes is a difficult feat.
Most of why it's here is the finale. Not that the other three episodes weren't top notch, but if that's all I had to work with, it would find a way to the back of this list. A lot of the episodes leading up to the finale were plot-related, to get to the finale. As such, they tended to have a rushed feeling and weren't necessarily as funny as the show could be. But the finale was one of the greatest finales of all time so it's #3.
#2 Bojack Horseman - Season 6 (Netflix)
Another show I forgot aired a season in 2020. Much like The Good Place, only a part of season 6 is being factored into this top ten. In this case, six episodes aired in 2019, and the last eight episodes aired in 2020. I'm not sure why the show was released like that, but because it was it finds itself here. While I didn't have the first half of the sixth season that high in my top ten last year - episode count was a factor - the second half was an improvement.
Again, I really like how this show ended. In Bojack's case, it's not specifically the finale that brings it this high. It's the culmination of where all the characters end up. It's in the outstanding penultimate episode. There are a lot of ways this show could have fucked it up, but they delivered on the ending.
#1 Ted Lasso - Season 1 (AppleTV)
This was an easy decision. If anything, Ted Lasso being ten episodes made this way easier than it otherwise would have been. The Good Place with ten episodes against Ted Lasso is a tough competition. But I give props to length of season in my placement. And Ted Lasso was just such a breath of fresh air. I heard about Ted Lasso A LOT before I ever watched the show. I mentioned above that me hearing the praises of What We Do in the Shadows may have harmed how I saw the first season. No such issues here.
When I said I was tired of comedies making their main character unlikable, I had Ted Lasso in the back of my mind. Because Ted Lasso is very likable. Just about every character is. You root for everybody. And it's funny. And it's heartwarming. It's just such a feel good show. That's the only way to describe it. Anyone can watch this. I recommended it to my sister - we do not have the same taste in TV shows - she watched it in two days and loved it. I'd be surprised if anyone didn't love this show who watched it.
Honorable Mentions
Avenue 5 - A show that never felt as funny as it should have been with the names involved. That said, the last few episodes were its strongest, so I'm hoping season two can find its way on my top ten next year (or in 2022).
Better Things - A show I feel like I should like more than I do, and I think the awfulness of the kids might have something to do with that.
Big Mouth - Big Mouth is 11th on my list. It was close to making my top ten. I do hope I can go back to loving this show like I loved the second season.
Bob's Burgers - I always have to give props to Bob's Burgers for still being as good as it is, as far in its run as it is. That said, I do think this may have been the first year where I felt like it was declining.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - B99's greatest offense is simply the wear and tear of having been on for seven seasons.
High Fidelity - I never watched the movie back in 2000, although I know I need to. A show that probably deserved one season because of its limited premise.
Insecure - Ultimately the show tried something knew by creating a feud between its two friends and I don't think it was entirely successful because it was always obvious they would make up.
Search Party - Another strong contender for the top 10, Search Party is a satirical show that keeps reinventing itself. The third season skewers celebrity trials.
Sex Education - A show I still like very much that has TWO annoying pairings when the alternatives look like better options. Worse, the show doesn't necessarily seem to think they're choosing the wrong pairing.
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