I have a process for how I make my top ten lists, and one of the first things I usually do is look at the past year's list. After all, great shows normally have more than one good season. I look at the placement of the shows, see if they had a similarly great year this year, and that helps me begin to formulate my list.
Slight issue: none of my top 10 dramas in 2019 aired a season in 2020. Not a one of them. Three of them were limited series, another three ended their run in 2019, two of them got cancelled, and the other two shows took 2020 off, possibly pandemic-related.
While I'm getting used to at least half of the shows disappearing from the roster, I think all of them disappearing is a first for me. There is one show that took 2019 off that has made an appearance every year of its existence and another show that would have made my 2019 list had I watched it in 2019. But aside from that, I really couldn't have foreseen no new season of Succession or that On Becoming a God in Central Florida would be cancelled.
On to the list.
#10 - The Boys - Season 2 (Amazon Prime)
This has been such a long year that I didn't even realize I watched season one and season two of The Boys this year. The Boys' first season would probably have made my list, but I didn't get to it in time. I like the second season a little less than the first - I think it starts off a bit slow and the ending wasn't totally satisfying, but in between it was probably as good as the first season.
#9 - Doom Patrol - Season 2 (HBOMax)
I had a better reason for not watching Doom Patrol in 2019: I didn't have a DC Universe subscription. Once HBOMax bought it as an original series, I binged all 29 episodes. Similar story to The Boys actually. I thought the second season was weaker - the loss of Alan Tudyk was really felt - but this is still a superhero show unlike any other that primarily focuses on the broken down characters and trying to do at least one extremely silly thing per episode (there's a reason for this I swear, but ghosts fuck in one episode).
#8 - The Queen's Gambit - Limited Series (Netflix)
It's this low, because the story it tells does not really support it being seven episodes. Which is not to say that the show's "extra" episode(s) are bad or anything, but you can definitely feel the story being stretched beyond what it probably should by the penultimate episode. Things could have been condensed is what I'm saying. There's not a whole lot I could say about this, seeing as everyone reading this has watched it since it's the most watched Netflix drama ever.
#7 - Perry Mason - Season 1 (HBO)
I don't think Perry Mason would have made my list had it not come up with a great ending. It's got a central, driving mystery that moves the plot along for its first season, culminating in a trial to wrap things up. So a lot of the quality of the show is relying on the ending to deliver the promise of the first seven episodes. And as convoluted and confusing as the mystery could be, I think the show ultimately delivered on that promise.
#6 Mrs. America - Limited Series (FX on Hulu)
I both enjoyed this as entertainment and as sort of a history lesson. And by history lesson, I mean I would look up to see what was accurate, not that I took what happened on the show as face value. For the purposes of this list, the entertainment part is the important part. You get to see the important players in the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, with Phyllis Schafly played by Cate Blanchett as the primary villain who fights against it. The rest of the cast, which includes Margo Martindale, Rose Byrne, Sarah Paulson, and Uzo Aduba, tend take their turn in the spotlight, but the show never deviates from Schafly, who according to this show at least helped the ERA fail to be ratified.
Also, the theme song is "A Fifth of Beethoven" and I listened to that for like two straight months thanks to this show.
#5 The Plot Against America - Limited Series (HBO)
You only need to hear one name to convince you to watch this: David Simon. Also his writing partner Ed Burns, but there's an actor named Ed Burns and that may confuse you. Also half of the six episodes are directed by Thomas Schlamme, who directed quite a lot of The West Wing episodes and some of the better episodes of The Americans. Yes, I have made it my duty to insert The Americans into anything I can with the slimmest of justifications.
The Plot Against America is firmly alternate history, but an alternate history that is frighteningly easy to imagine. The context in which this is being released certainly helps, although the book was actually written in 2004, so good job Phillip Roth. Essentially the question this series posed is: what if Charles Lindbergh was able to actually make political ground with his anti-Semitic views? The series somewhat mirrors current day although I cannot stress enough that it's based on a book that was written well before now. It's just apparently not hard to predict America getting pushed into fascism.
#4 I May Destroy You - Limited Series (HBO/BBC One)
I avoided watching this show, because I largely expected it to not be a very fun watch. The show did not hide what it was about so I knew I was watching a show about a woman trying to deal with getting raped. It's about more than that though. The show deals with various types of sexual assault, about consent, and about different types of victims. The show is listed - when you google it - as a comedy-drama. I don't think that's accurate. I think this is just a drama - with some comedic elements. The comedy aspect may just indicate the tone is not quite as heavy as you'd expect, but to be honest, it's not particularly funny.
It had the potential to be higher because it has supporting characters that it sort of ignores. The main character, played by Michaela Coel, has a clear arc. It's about as well done as you can get. Her friends have the makings of an arc, but get dropped or don't get enough screen time in the end to really be satisfying. It feels like she could have spent a little bit more time on them to complete their stories.
#3 My Brilliant Friend - Season 2 (HBO)
Every year when I make these lists, I have trouble remembering shows that aired early in the year except for broad outlines. Now this was true before 2020. 2020 has felt like 10 years. My Brilliant Friend's last episode was March 16th, which was either right when everything shut down or immediately before it. I'm saying this to say that I remember feeling the same way about season 2 as I did about season 1, but I cannot specifically tell you details of the second season without looking at an episode synopsis.
Seeing as My Brilliant Friend season 1 was listed as #3 back in 2018, this feels like a good placement. It's about two smart girls who end up taking diverging paths, because of their home life back in 1950s and 1960s Italy. One of them is (probably) smarter than the other, but had less supportive parents and had to stop going to school. The other didn't exactly have supportive parents in the modern day context, but they allowed her to keep going to school which qualifies as supportive then. They both end up envious of the other, because they want what they do not have. I need to rewatch this before the third season, whenever that happens.
#2 Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist - Season 1 (NBC)
Do I... do I like musicals? First Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, now this. Weirdly, I don't have a particular affinity for movie musicals, but I can't for the life of me think of a musical-like moment done in a TV show I was watching that I didn't like. If I had to guess, movie relies on songs to flesh out its characters, TV shows typically involve musical numbers after the characters are already fleshed out. Essentially, movies end up relying way too much on the quality of the song for me, while the quality of the song is less important in TV as long as the emotion is there. I rarely get invested enough in the characters in musicals during movies to really care about what's happening.
The musical element isn't why it's here. Well it's partially why it's here. But the premise of the show is that Zoey has a dad who has a condition that leaves him unable to interact with his family - he just stares straight ahead all day. It's a real condition based on the creator's real life father. Zoey, through a medical mishap that is no way realistic, begins to hear characters spontaneously sign pop songs to hear to express what they're really feeling. It's not a spoiler to say that the dad eventually sings to her. I can guarantee you will cry watching this show. That or you have no soul.
#1 Better Call Saul - Season 5 (FX)
Back in 2018, I wrote: "Better Call Saul, to date, has the misfortune of airing at the same time as one of my favorite shows of all-time. Said favorite show - which you should be able to guess if you have read any of these lists - ended in 2018, so Better Call Saul will have the chance to be #1 next year. I can only hope it achieves that lofty goal."
Well, it didn't have a season in 2019, but as soon as it finally aired its fifth season, it accomplished the task of replacing The Americans. Back in my Top 50 shows of the 2010s - hate to keep referencing my own work here - I said it has a chance to better than Breaking Bad. I wrote that before the fifth season. And since I wasn't all that satisfied with Breaking Bad's ending, a truly fantastic ending to Better Call Saul may very possibly surpass its predecessor as the better show. For now, it's a better show than anything else airing.
Honorable Mentions
Fargo - The show is suffering from hitting some of the same beats that it has. I still enjoy the show and I definitely feel weird not including it in my top 10, but this may just be a case of having too high of expectations.
The Mandalorian - This show, to quote Ryan Theriot, is what it is. It's good for what it is. And if season 2 didn't fiddle around for its first few episodes, I may have even ranked it.
Lovecraft Country - It is completely bizarre to me that with modern TV comes a new type of show - a show that has an episode or two that can stand with the best of TV and the rest is... a mess. Off the top of my head, Master of None's second season, Handmaid's Tale's first season, and The Leftovers first season all had this.
Good Lord Bird - A show I wanted to include in the top ten purely for being a show about John Brown, but the show's less about him, and more about a character in his orbit.
Marvel's Agents of Shield - Another show I wanted to include, it being its last season and its last season being a step up from what came before. In fact, its last season reminded me of
DC's Legends of Tomorrow - This is one of those shows where its quality doesn't necessarily occur to you when watching it - you just go with the flow. It's a top 10 entertaining show of the year ever year since its first season.
The Crown - This is the same show it's been since it started, with some standout episodes and a nagging feeling that it could be better.
Stargirl - I was very surprised this show was as good as it was, and part of that is thanks to a strong selection of villains.
Homecoming - A departure from the Julia Roberts first season, the second season tells a story of a woman (played by Janelle Monae) who wakes up having no idea where she is or who she is and the rest of the season is her discovering that. Not a great ending to the season though.
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