Top 50 Shows of the 2010s

With 2020 approaching, many websites primarily writing about movie and television are doing their end of the decade list, so I thought - why not join in?  I've certainly seen enough to make such a list.  While I glanced at a few - mostly to make sure I wasn't forgetting any shows - I have tried to make this list with as little outside information as possible.  And there are a few shows listed in most lists that I simply haven't seen or haven't seen enough of to include unfortunately - Halt and Catch Fire, Treme, Persons of Interest, The Good Wife, Legend of Korra, Fringe - those are at least the big ones.  There is a good chance that - when I would get to those shows - at least one or more would be a part of this list.  But there's always going to be blind spots for a list with one person.

I'm going to follow Alan Sepinwall's model on this one on what shows to include.  For shows that premiered before 2010, it must have over half of its episodes air in this decade and that it must not have aired over two seasons.  The big omission by this rule is Mad Men, which aired 3 seasons in the 2000s, and It's Always Sunny, which has actually had 97 of its 148 episodes this decade.  Which is a blessing frankly.  I have no idea how to judge Mad Men as a show if I'm forced to remove the first three seasons, which when included with the fourth, I think are its best.  It's certainly on this list, but where is a mystery, especially since I haven't watched the show since the finale.

That's another thing - I am not a heavy rewatcher of shows.  Its why I'm able to watch so many shows, because I watch it once and then move on to another show.  So some of this list will include shows that I haven't seen in over five years, and thus, I'm mostly trusting my memory of how I felt about the show.  Again I have one very specific example in mind that I will rewatch at some point, because I don't remember the show all that well, just that I loved it.  This is going to be a long list, so I'll just get on with it.

#50 - Drunk History

Drunk History has suffered in my annual top ten lists, just because it's basically the same thing season after season.  But for a list like this, that doesn't matter.  It's a simple concept - drunk people trying to tell history accurately - and done well.  As a person who has entertained the idea of becoming a history teacher and as a drunk person, this show is right up my alley.

#49 - Arrow

The first Arrowverse show is also its best.  Legends of Tomorrow was strongly considered and frankly I have preferred that show to Arrow for most of its run, but no Arrowverse show has matched the heights of Arrow - back half of season 1, all of season 2, season 5, and this latest season.  It would not have made the list if not for its last season and I'm worried I'm letting recency bias affect this too much, but I think it deserves a spot.

#48 Key & Peele

I watched my first episode after it went off the air - although obviously I had seem some of the individual sketches - and was at first underwhelmed.  The thing about sketch comedies shows - even highly acclaimed ones - is that not every sketch is a hit.  But this has enough classic sketches that can go face to face with any classic sketch comedy show and the pure consistency of this show to produce at least mildly funny laughs is nearly unparalleled in sketch comedy shows.

#47 New Girl

I'm not much of a binger - I try not to watch two episodes of the same show in one day believe it or not - but I was put off by the ads for this show and didn't watch it immediately, but I watched the first two seasons on Netflix in like 2 weeks.  And I was a fan for good.  This just has a very good comedic cast that could make even mediocre writing funny.  And I'm not suggesting this had mediocre writing (although later in its run, they kind of did, but that's most comedies that air as long as this one did)

#46 Marvel's Agents of Shield

Two superhero (or superhero-adjacent) shows already?  I believe this is the last one.  Whether you consider that a good thing or bad thing, well I'm just letting you know this really isn't indicative of most of my list.  Partially due to trying to time the show with a Marvel movie, this show started really slow, so much so that I stopped watching.  But I picked it back up and it got better and better.  It still has one more season to go, but the show doesn't pick up steam until the last batch of episodes in season 1. (If you're considering starting this, just start at Bill Paxton's first episode.  You may or may not be a little lost, but the first fifteen episodes are extremely skippable)

#45 Silicon Valley

Pending on how I end up finishing my 2019 top ten list - which I haven't started - this show never made my top 10 comedies of the year and yet I have it here.  Part of that is that I didn't have a list in 2014 honestly (I think it would have made it), but it was pretty consistently in the 11th-15th range if I extended my list past ten shows.  I probably gave it an honorable mention every year for instance.  Anyway good show with a very good cast.

#44 Black Mirror

I hesitate to put this on my list because it doesn't have that many episodes and it doesn't really have that many truly great episodes either.  It's not like it has a 100% success rate with its episodes, especially the Netflix seasons.  But I don't know it would feel weird to not include this show (which also never made my list and I'm not even sure its best seasons that were before I started this would either cause they were three episodes).  And even if the episode is not quite as good as I'd like, it at least is vastly different than anything else on television.

#43 The Leftovers

Holy shit Gabe this is low, right?  I liked the show more with each successive season, but there are three seasons and I liked two episodes - TWO - of the first season.  And the Guilty Remnant was a huge drag on the show in my opinion.  So yeah it's not going to rank all that highly for me - especially in comparison to other critics - and I'm definitely going to one day give it another shot, but hey I still have it at 43, so clearly I like it a lot.

#42 Catastrophe

One of the truly annoying things about making a list like this is just how different certain shows are in length.  This has four seasons with six episodes a season.  That's as much as one season of a network comedy.  How the hell do I judge these shows in comparison to one another?  Well, fair or not, what I usually do, is I give credit to the longer show if it uses the extra episodes to still make good episodes.  Which is mostly why Catastrophe is this low.  Because there just aren't that many episodes.  (I do have shows with less episodes higher, so it's not the only reason admittedly)

#41 Terriers

Ladies and gentleman, this is the show I was referring to above.  I probably haven't seen this show in 8 years - it was on Netflix whenever I watched it, but it wasn't long after it aired.  And I did love the show.  But I remember very little about why I loved it.  So admittedly, this could be higher - or lower - and I wouldn't argue with you, but I feel like 41 is a pretty good hedge bet especially since this only had 13 episodes.  I will one day rewatch this show.

#40 Master of None

The second season was unfortunately very hit or miss, which is why it isn't higher, even though the hits were among the best episodes on television.  The first season was much more consistent, but again I'm just not working with very many episodes, so I can't place it much higher than this.

#39 Succession

The timing here is fantastic for Succession to make my list.  The most recent episode I watched - and I haven't watched all of the second season yet - was my favorite of the series.  I know people wanted this to be labeled a comedy, but it wasn't until my most recent episode that it completely clicked as a comedy for me.  And I realize that's a little insane if you watch the show, but it wasn't really laugh out loud funny for me.

#38 Russian Doll

If End of the Fucking World is any indication, it's a blessing that the second season hasn't aired yet.  End of the Fucking World, clearly a one season show if there ever was one, would have made this list if they didn't have season two.  But they did.  Russian Doll is also clearly a one season show that will be making a season two - and I'm part of the problem since I'm going to watch it - but boy did I like the first season.  I hate to sound like a broken record here, but it's only eight episodes and that's why it's not higher.

#37 Bob's Burgers

Bob's Burgers does not have the lack of episodes problems - it has 181 episodes made in this decade.  And I think maybe 10 of them are weak episodes.  It probably doesn't reach the heights of most of the shows on this list, but it is startlingly consistent.  Nearly every episode is at least good and definitely entertaining.

#36 Game of Thrones

Everyone talks about how bad the final season was, but it barely came as a shock to me because it wasn't all that good the season before.  Nonetheless, it still has what I'd call the "book years."  I'm not going to overreact to the last season and not include it on this list, but I'm also not going to pretend that I included this show on my top 10 every year before its last season.  (Granted, no top ten lists before 2015, which is removing its first four seasons).  This should probably be higher, but it's also a show that was pretty heavily reliant on nailing its ending and boy did it not do that.

#35 Louie

Oh boy did I not want to include this show!  And apparently a lot of sites felt the same way.  Including this show is a minefield I'm not interesting in stepping in, but I'm also interested in, you know, presenting an accurate list so I kind of had to include this.  It would feel dishonest not to, which is why I'm not going to pretend this wasn't one of the most highly acclaimed shows of its time (including by me).  Now that I've properly pissed off half the people reading this, I'll piss off the other half: it's fine if Louis CK goes away from pop culture and is never heard from again.  (He has admittedly made this incredibly easy if his recent standup is any indication of where he plans to go from here)

#34 Mr. Robot

I hate that I'm writing this list before the conclusion of this show.  This is at 36 with the assumption that it's going to nail its ending, because it has sure nailed the final season.  This is a show that lost me with its second season and with a third that I thought was fine, but nothing special.  But I was a Mr. Robot fanboy for its first and the show grabbed me back with a gripping final season.  If Sam Esmail fucks up the ending, it's lower than this and maybe not even in the top 50.

#33 Documentary Now!

What a difficult line the writers (and directors) have to straddle to make this entertaining television.  They have to craft 21 minute effective parodies of well-known documentaries and put enough of a twist on them to still make it entertaining on its own.  And they manage it every time.  And like Drunk History, bonus points for a comedy making me interested in classic documentaries which I think is cool as shit.

#32 Lodge 49

This is not a show I would oversell to someone who is interested in watching it personally.  It is an extremely low key type of show that is pretty uninterested in plot.  That's the type of show, that if oversold, can make people wonder what the big deal is.  That would have happened to me had I not "discovered" it on my own.  But I recommend this show and be prepared for how laid back it is.  Unfortunately it was cancelled which on the bright side means a low investment in time to watch the whole thing.

#31 American Vandal

Remember above when I mentioned that Russian Doll is probably benefiting from not yet having its second season air?  Well it could pull an American Vandal, which did have a weaker second season, but not by much.  What a delightfully unusual show this one is.  It's a show that makes you sound like a crazy person when you make the case for it in person: believe me I've tried.

#30 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

I'm very glad this show exists.  While I don't exactly think this show had many weak points, the main character could be... tough to watch at times, which is why I can't place it higher than this.  But still this is a show with many, many original numbers (most of them inspired by something else) that are endlessly re-listenable.  Search for some Crazy Ex songs on Youtube, and if you enjoy them, this show might be for you.  (Here are two of my favorites: 1 and 2)

#29 You're the Worst

This show was a little too committed to the awfulness of its characters to place higher than this (sometimes it became hard to watch), but it told its story in the time it wanted and had a good final season, which is better than you could say about a lot of shows honestly.

#28 Watchmen

To be perfectly honest, this show is better than some shows above it - but it is working with a very small sample of episodes, and if it continues its momentum, will be high on the 2020 lists.  I've also only currently seen four of the episodes, but am pretty sure I'm not going to regret this ranking.  Including shows that clearly are going to go for more seasons but literally just started is weird when making an end of the decade list.

#27 GLOW

This is mostly here on the strength of its second season, probably one of the best seasons of television of this decade.  That's to take nothing away from its first - which needed to get to the wrestling part to find its groove - or its third - which is a little too scattershot, but still has its high points.  Still a pretty great show.

#26 Party Down

All shows are unrealistic, but I now know how lawyers feel about the accuracy of lawyer shows and doctors feel about doctor shows.  Cause wow.  This show is about Hollywood caterers and while I obviously live in St. Louis, this show does not seem all that realistic.  Nonetheless, this has one of the greatest comedy casts ever and takes advantage of that.

#25 Boardwalk Empire

The curse of being the show compared to The Sopranos.  I didn't see this show on many end of decade lists, so I was very surprised to find out that the entire show did in fact air this decade.  A highly underrated show, again this show had the misfortune of being directly compared to The Sopranos due to Terrance Winter, and while it is no Sopranos, it still is worth a place on this list.

#24 Broad City 

This is one of those shows were initially, the perception of this show of people whose TV tastes I trust was at odds with my perception.  Not to say I ever disliked this show, but they always seemed to grade it a little higher than I thought.  But the show seemed to only get better with each season, an opinion I'm not sure is shared by many, and didn't overstay its welcome.  In fact, I believe its last season will land on my top 10 this year, which again - aside from cancellations - doesn't happen that much.

#23 Jane the Virgin

Ah, a show with a title that is instantly off-putting - and to a certain extent the premise is too.  This sounds like a show you can write off - but you can't.  Sometimes, I warn that shows get off to slow starts and eventually find their way - that's the norm actually - but this show came out of the gate instantly great and in fact made my top 10 shows of the year every year since its inception.

#22 Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Talk about unlikely good shows - go back to the Roast of James Franco and lots of people make fun of Andy Samberg for this - which hadn't aired yet - becoming cancelled or bad soon.  And I didn't really blame them for thinking it to be honest.  Instead season seven is going to air in 2020 after a cancellation and subsequent pickup by NBC.  This has the consistency of a Bob's Burgers with better high points.

#21 Stranger Things

Part of me wonders if this should be higher, but then I remember that the solo Eleven story exists, which is easily the worst thing this show ever did.  A huge gamble and I admire the ambition, but man did that episode fall flat and halt that season's momentum.  Anyway, aside from that, the rest of the show is great.

#20 Barry

A hitman turned actor is a great premise that I can also see failing spectacularly.  But Bill Hader has long been a great actor in need of a vehicle for a starring role and Barry finally provides it.  And ronny/lilly is one of my favorite episodes of anything for a long time and completely unlike anything I've ever seen.

#19 Hannibal

I'm a little worried about recency bias for most of my list, but not this one, which I haven't seen in four years since it last aired.  But I remember loving this weird, well acted show that has been unlike anything I've ever seen.

#18 Review

It's here where I'll again knock a show for very few episodes, because this show is a masterpiece.  It's only three seasons with the third being only 3 episodes, and it's not immediately clear it's a masterpiece when you first watch it.  So I'm aware I'm probably raising expectations too high.  But hilarious and dark show.

#17 Better Call Saul

The spinoff of Breaking Bad ultimately has a chance to pass that show in quality, depending on how it ends.  But for now, it'll have to "settle" merely for being the 17th best show on my list.  It is a way better than show than it has any right to be.  Yes, the character of Saul Goodman always looked ripe for his own show, but it never seemed like it would be this good of one.

#16 Fleabag

It is a testament to how good this show is that I have it this high with just 12 episodes.  I cannot stress enough that the amount of episodes and the success rate of that amount is heavily factored into where shows ranked.  It just does not seem fair to rank a show with 50 good episodes below a show 20.  But as I said, this only has 12!

#15 Gravity Falls

As a show that was on Disney XD, which I'm not convinced is a real channel, I did not watch this when it first aired, but well after, on Hulu.  It's only two seasons and 40 episodes, but it has a central mystery behind the comedy that is compelling in its own right.  This is a classic mystery show that constantly teases and foreshadows and actually delivers on that promise, unlike... just about every other mystery show there is.

#14 Nathan for You

This is one of those shows that, I'm sure if you watched the first episode - maybe even the first season - you'd be truly mystified at this ranking.  And I don't necessarily blame you.  It's best episode by far is its movie length last episode - another thing that would mystify based off just watching the first episode.  But stick with the show and you'll find it more than just funny and entertaining.

#13 Justified

I truly do want this to be higher, but I can't really go any higher than this, since for most of its run, it never really vaulted into one of the best shows on television.  The exception is the Margo Martindale season 2, and Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins constantly kept things entertaining, but what sealed its place on this list was its strong final season as well.  Modern Western that I wholeheartedly recommend.

#12 Community 

The sheer consistency of this show for its first three seasons is nearly unmatched by any other comedy on this list - and the first 9 or so episodes of the first season are not included in this list since they aired in 2009.  But that barely harms the show since it didn't really hit its groove until the 2010s hit.  Unfortunately, there's the dreadful season 4 and season 6, but I hardly feel compelled to hold that against them.  Dan Harmon was fired, a lot of the behind the scenes people left with him and the show's momentum was killed.  They did recover to make a good season 5 at least.

#11 Bojack Horseman

I have not completed the most recent season, but I don't have to - the show's first five seasons speak for themselves.  I'm knocking it ever so slightly for keeping its characters in stasis - and they are far from the first show to do so - but it tends to tilt towards misery porn at times with watching its main character constantly screw his own life over.  It's still 11 so obviously I don't have a huge issue with that, but it's a small complaint.

#10 Veep

Even in its down years, the cast and the colorful language kept this entertaining.  And obviously, the show became nearly prescient with what's happened after it aired, making its parody of politics reality.  I will say - it doesn't hurt the show much - but in its middle years, the show's commitment to not reveal Selena's party hurt it a bit - in my opinion anyway.

#9 Rick & Morty 

If only I could put this on this list without the backdrop of its annoying fandom that surrounds it.  I think I got into Rick & Morty before I let the fandom impact my opinion of the show, but I pretty much don't blame people who don't watch it at this point.  Nonetheless, they are missing out as this is a very inventive, funny comedy.

#8 Rectify 

I am struggling to write passages for every show - I'm not sure why I did that - but especially so for shows like Rectify.  Rectify apparently last aired an episode in December of 2016, and while that was three years ago, it feels like five.  So my memory of this show is of a quiet, very well-acted, very well-written drama that I need to rewatch as soon as I can.

#7 Parks and Recreation

With the 2009 episodes cut off, you lose.... virtually nothing.  You lose Hunting Trip, which is a classic, but otherwise you get a very different show in the first six episodes and a show still finding its footing in the beginning of season 2.  And I wholeheartedly recommend you start watching at season 2, but it's not quite at its peak yet.  Rob Lowe and Adam Scott enter the picture in the back half of season 2 and then the show becomes a classic.

#6 Fargo

If only it weren't for season 3, which is definitely better than I remember it, but which was coming off the tails of one of the best seasons of television I've ever watched in season 2.  The show is this high almost entirely on the back of season 2, even though season 1 is quite good in its own right.  And like I said, season 3 isn't bad, it's just mostly unpleasant to watch, which I realize sounds like a different way of saying it was bad, but you'd understand if you watch the show.

#5 Atlanta

How good is this show?  Well it's ratings appear to be shit, though I do not know the context for FX shows, and it got renewed for a third season after the second season and a fourth season in August of 2019 very randomly.  It still hasn't aired the third season.  Between Donald Glover's music and movie career and Laketh Stanfield being in every movie lately, I feel like we're going to get season 4 in 2025.

#4 The Pacific

This is technically a miniseries and I obviously have no other miniseries on this list, even though I'm sure I could have included more.  Alias Grace comes to mind.  I strangely haven't seen Show Me a Hero, but that's a David Simon show so I'm sure that has an argument.  But I just had to include this show, which doesn't even seem like it aired this decade, but it did.  It is a much more difficult watch than Band of Brothers, but no less remarkable.  In fact, it's told in a more - ambitious? - way and with less audience hand-holding.

#3 Breaking Bad

I'm not the biggest fan of the final season, but seasons 3 and 4 are the most thrilling, fly by the seat of your pants television I have ever seen and probably will ever see.  This is sort of a "watch it one time" type of show and if you watch it more than once, watch it with someone else with fresh eyes.  I'm still afraid I'm putting it too high - not that many would argue - just because, as I said, not the biggest fan of season 5.  But even then, season 5 has Ozymandias so you know what, it belongs.

#2 The Good Place

It is entirely possible that this show will fuck up the ending, but that actually doesn't matter at all on this list.  I mean a show as geared up towards an ending as Good Place will retroactively make the rest of the show worse if they do it badly enough, but I don't think that's going to happen.  Truly one of my favorite shows of all time.

#1 The Americans

I mean come on.  If you guys ever ever read my TV stuff - literally ever - this is the least surprising #1 pick ever.  It was my #1 show every single year I made a top 10 list.  I'm going to have to make my first top ten list without The Americans in a couple weeks.  And I don't know what's replacing it.  So that'll be fun.  So watch The Americans I say enthusiastically and demandingly.

Honorable Mentions
Legends of Tomorrow - A truly entertaining show I recommend to anyone.  It probably should have made its way on my list.

Archer - Unfortunately, this show was great for about two years, and one of the better years was in 2009 so pretty easy omission here.

The Crown - It's a bit too boring, but it's very well made and has great acting.

The Knick - The Steven Soderbergh produced show benefits heavily from what I thought was a great ending in its two season run.

Black-ish - In terms of sitcoms with serious highs, this had a real shot, but there's a whole lot of episodes of this show that are skippable.

Wilfred - This show never had a real shot at this list, but I do want to give a shoutout to this weird ass show that I liked a lot!

This is Us - Yeah yeah this show is actually good and it's kind of annoying, but it does try to manipulate emotions too much.

Shameless - At this point, I think the not good seasons outweigh the good ones, and that's why it's not on here, but it had a good run for a while there.

Santa Clarita Diet - Dark comedy featuring Olyphant and Drew Barrymore that I can't recommend enough if you like dark comedy.

Orphan Black - Again, never a real shot, but watching Tatiana Maslany play 20 different characters is worth the price of admission.

Banshee - Very kickass show

Chernobyl - I forgot to mention this show when mentioning miniseries that probably could have made it.

On Becoming a God in Central Florida - I felt weird putting too many one season shows on this list unfortunately otherwise it did have a shot.

2017's Top Ten Comedies

I doubt that you have been on the edge of your seat awaiting my top ten, but this top ten is severely delayed.  I originally planned to post this two days after my top ten dramas, which was a little over a week ago.  Well I hadn't written a word when Thursday night rolled around because I forgot about it.  The weekend, New Years Eve, and New Years Day were all out for drinking reasons.  During New Years week, I felt under the weather most of the week, which ended up affecting me more than I thought as I found myself tired all the time.  But better late than never.

I mentioned in my previous post that the comedies may have arguably been better than the dramas.  I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I found myself having tougher cuts.  I found more shows were worthy of a top five and a top ten than there were spots to fill.  Most of the honorable mentions legitimately belong on this list, but I just didn't have room.

#10 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - FXX

Model Episode - "The Gang Turns Black"

There is no better testament to the quality of this list than It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia being the tenth show.   I promise you.  It got the tenth spot mostly because it would be weird if one of my favorite comedies of all time didn't make this list while having about the same quality as it usually has.  It's not a perfect measure, but I don't think the 12th season was appreciably worse than the 11th season, and the 11th season placed #4 last year.

Either you're in or you're out at this point.  It's been 12 seasons and until recently it was on Netflix for the past 5+ years.  It was not hard to figure out how to watch the show.  Most people reading this are probably internet savvy and have interacted with people who praise the show.  So if you've gone on this long without deciding to watch It's Always Sunny, well you're probably not ever going to watch it.  That's fine.  I think you're missing out, but I understand the time value of picking your shows.  For people who do watch it, I probably do not have to sell you on this ranking. 

#9 Vice Principals - HBO

Model Episode - "The Union of the Wizard and the Warrior"

Danny McBride and the writing team evidently filmed both the first and second seasons back-to-back before the first season ever aired.  They planned out a two season show, filmed it, and then the first season aired.  This was rather surprising to me when I learned that.  I watched season one and came away without much of an opinion on it.  I liked Walton Goggins hamming it up, but as for the show?  It was fine.  The second season was like a show responding to a mild response to the first season and improving mightily.  But... the show wrote and filmed season two before there was even a response to the first season.  Like I said, I was surprised when I found that out.

There's much more emotional grounding in the wackiness that occurs this season.  They delve deeper into Gamby's psyche and Goggins is able to provide some shading to Lee Russell as well.  Plus, they got a classic whodunit, which provides a central mystery to the second season.  This is just a well done dark comedy.  I also enjoyed the focus on character - as outlandish as the two main characters can be - showing the two main characters respond differently to adversity.  I'm not going to spoil, but I'll just say that on a character level, it was pretty great where they took the characters.  In hindsight, it's clear that season one was part one of the story - and setup isn't as interesting as when the action happens (and you get action aplenty in the final two episodes of this season)

#8 Master of None - Netflix
Model Episode - "Thanksgiving"

A tough show to place on a list such as this because of its inconsistency.  On the one hand, episodes like "Thanksgiving" were among the best any television had to offer, providing a completely unique and engaging story that you can't see anywhere else.  On the other hand, boy did a lot of this season just not work.  Francesca is not a well-rounded character whatsoever.  There's more chemistry in the first episode with Dev and his failed love connection than there is between Dev and Francesca.  It really drives a lot of the season down.  Dev getting a job as a food host also mostly didn't work that well.

But when they had a fantastic episode, it was among the best there was in 2017.  When I'm looking at shows and what to place on this list, I tend to focus on peak more than overall consistency.  That's why Master of None's second season made this list despite probably being worse than a few shows not on the list.  Because it had a much, much greater peak than a B+ level show usually does.

#7 The Good Place - NBC
Model Episode - "Dance Dance Resolution"

This was not as tough to rationalize as Master of None, as The Good Place had arguably zero weak episodes in 2017.  Keep in mind that I'm grading only episodes that aired in 2017, so we got the thrilling conclusion of season one and the batshit insanity of what happened at the beginning of season two.  There was a few episodes there in a row where I wonder "how in the fuck will they keep this up" and they kept answering that question with great episodes.  It's slowed down a bit since then, but I have complete faith in Michael Schur and the writing team to surprise us again at some point.

I'm going to make this one shorter just because I'm avoiding spoilers since this is a show particularly prone to spoiler ruining fun so I can't exactly specifically explain plot points I loved.

#6 American Vandal - Netflix
Model Episode - "A Limp Alibi"

I spent the first episode too confused as to how it was so good to appreciate what I was watching, so the second episode "A Limp Alibi" is really when I fell in love with this improbably fantastic show.  There's no reason this show should be as good as it is, and it certainly falls squarely under the "I'm really doubting that can even come close to matching this in the second season."  But wow.  I'm going to avoid talking in detail for two reasons mainly.  The first is that it's fucking impossible to try and explain how this show is good in a way that doesn't make you sound insane.  The second and much more minor reason is spoilers.

So go watch the show and find out who drew the dicks and yes that is an example of how I sound insane when I say it is good.

#5 Review - Comedy Central
Model Episode - "Co Host, Ass Slap, Forgiveness, Helen Keller"

This is all the way down to #5 for a very simple reason.  It aired three episodes.  This is the highest I could reasonably justify putting it.  This is a stacked year for comedy.  While all three Review episodes were straight A quality, nearly every comedy on this list did manage to make three A quality episodes.  I'm giving Review extra points for making EVERY episode a straight A and telling a perfect conclusion to a show that did not appear to need a third season.  I mean I wanted a conclusion, but it wasn't strictly necessary.

Forrest MacNeil is a delusional host of a meaningless program that he has convinced is more important than it is.  In fact, it's his whole life.  You really need to watch the first two seasons in order to understand that, but Comedy Central is next to FX in making their programs inaccessible without paying for it, which... fair enough, but in the golden age of streaming TV, people just are just going to skip the show instead of pay for it.  I was just going to recommend watching it on Hulu except it appears that is no longer the case.  Ugh I'm sorry for those who didn't get to watch it.

#4 Bojack Horseman - Netflix
Model Episode - "Time's Arrow"

One thing I really appreciate about Bojack Horseman for the purposes of this list is that it's really great episodes - and really great episodes are an essential part of how I form this list - are really obvious when looking at the episodes because they all seem to knock you on your ass.  "Time's Arrow" in particular - I just can't imagine anyone not being hit hard by that episode.  This is mostly a comedy, but then there's episodes like this where you have a greater than average chance of cutting onions while watching the episode.  If you were affected by the penultimate episode of season three - I won't spoil, but if you watch it, you should know the event I'm talking about - well I was hit much harder by the penultimate episode of season four.  Goddam.

Anyway, Bojack Horseman is another example of a show that really shouldn't work as well as it does when you look at it on paper.  But it straddles dark comedy, silly comedy, pun comedy, and unbearable sadness and depression really well.  This obviously could only exist in cartoon form and I kind of appreciate that.

#3 Broad City - Comedy Central
Model Episode - "Witches"

In reality, I could have picked five different episodes.  There's a great episode about their origin story, which is the first episode of the season.  They conclude it with a celebration of their friendship which gives Broad City nice bookend episodes.  There's also an episode where "Ilana can't orgasm in Trump's America" is a literally accurate headline for what the episode is about.  I mean if you read that headline and you're not in, don't watch Broad City because it's not for you.

For whatever reason this was my favorite season of Broad City.  I'm not sure I can tell you it was the best, although I am literally telling you it was the best in my opinion.  I just have not quite been in tune with Broad City fans in the past so I'm not sure if that's the popular consensus.  But I really loved this season.

#2 Rick and Morty - Adult Swim
Model Episode - "Pickle Rick"

Much like Broad City, I could have picked any number of episodes, but I have to give it to the episode where the creators make its main character a pickle for nearly the entire episode.  It's an insane episode and probably not the best of the season, but I admire the audacity too much not to put it in my model episode.

There are two responses to my ranking, which are probably "Ugh why does everyone love this show" and "Ugh why is it not #1?" and I'm not sure there's many who are in between those reactions.  I slightly am, although it is worth pointing out that the vast majority of the latter response, statistically speaking, do not watch the #1 show.  Which brings me to....

#1 Nathan for You - Comedy Central
Model Episode - Finding Frances

With most model episodes, I intend to give you a portrait of what makes that show great.  It's also usually the best episode of the season, although not in all cases.  "Finding Frances" is why this show is on this list.  This season is seven episodes long, but the seventh is "Finding Frances," and it's the length of a feature length film, which is fucking incredible if you've ever seen this show.  It's not easy to imagine this show as a feature length film.  Until you've seen Finding Frances.

Once again, Nathan Felder is somehow able to use real people's responses to his deadpan suggestions and create a narrative of a lonely person at the center of it.  How in the fuck he does that, I will never know?  But Nathan Felder is genuinely a character in this show.  An awkward, sympathetic, hopelessly lonely character who just wants to make friends and find love.  If this show sounds improbably more profound than a docu-reality series should be, well you're right.  It doesn't make sense.  That's why it's the number one show for me.

Honorable Mentions
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - This was my 11th show.  Ultimately, B99 has a few too many forgettable episodes to place on this list and not quite enough "peak" but that's not a knock on the show.  By my ridiculous standards, it's nearly impossible for a network comedy to fall on this list.

You're the Worst - This sure fell from grace.  I didn't think the 4th season was bad, but it was a definite downgrade from seasons past.  Part of the drop has to do with the amazingness of the shows around it, but it played its part in it for sure.

Silicon Valley - I'm in a perpetuating cycle with Silicon Valley at this point.  I didn't place it in my top ten the first year, and I'm not really finding the show topping it self so I find it hard to justify placing it in a top ten.  Either way, it was going to be impossible for Silicon Valley to find it this year.  But I will give it a shout out because it's the best show that's never made my top ten.

Insecure - I definitely think this show suffered from not having as clear of a narrative structure as the first season, but most importantly, its down here because everything else raised their standard around it.

Glow - Ultimately, this was felled by the fact that I only really considered two episodes of this "really great" and those were the wrestling episodes.  If I could have put it in the top ten, I would have, I just couldn't justify it to myself over these other shows.

Catastrophe - Going over the honorable mentions just makes me realize what a fucking impossible task this was.  I fully intended to include this in my top ten at some point, but look at these shows!  Plus, there's only six episodes and I kind of penalized it for that.

Veep - I finally caught up to Veep!  And it probably put in its worst season yet.  Go figure.

Sorry for typos and poorly written sentences.  I wrote the majority of this rushed and will go over it after I post it to fix mistakes, but you first time readers get my ALL of my mistakes right off the bat.  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

2015 Top Ten Comedies

** If you read my top ten dramas post, you can safely skip these introductory paragraphs.  It's pretty much the same thing I said then.  If you haven't read it, go ahead and click on this link.

I made the foolish decision to make an end-of-the-year top ten list.  Most top ten lists come out before Christmas, but there was just no time for me to watch what I felt I needed to watch in order to come up with the best possible list.  Given that the holidays provide loads of opportunity of free time, it was also more convenient.  I don't regret that decision either.  The comedy list would have looked a hell of a lot different.

For my order, I decided to list them backwards from 10 to 1 and then afterwards list the honorable mentions.  I feel by abstaining from listing the honorable mentions until afterwards, you might actually have some doubt as to what will come towards the top.  Also, I don't want to list your favorite show in the honorable mention, you'll get mad and then not read the rest of the post.

Both lists are what I think are the best, but I will admit a certain element of how much I enjoy the show comes into play.  By that I mean, there are a few shows that could technically be described as better than some in the top ten, but whenever I put them in there, it just felt wrong.  It felt like I was putting it in there only because I felt it was supposed to be in there and not because I thought it was one of my top ten shows of the year.

Anyway my opinions are my own and there's really no need to be offended that I didn't include your favorite show.  There's a decent chance I don't even watch it too.  I'm fairly certain Bob's Burgers most recent year would be strongly considered for comedy, but I'm just not caught up to the show and it was not possible for me to do so.  I've wasted enough words introducing this list so let's just get on with it.

*I only count episodes that air in 2015.  Most of the shows in this list have the entire season air in 2015, but for shows like The Flash that still follow the traditional network television format, 2015 covers one half of two different seasons.  To stay on that example, I'm not technically counting the first nine episodes of the first season of The Flash.

#10 Another Period - Comedy Central (Season 1)
I factored in originality a lot in my picks for both comedies and dramas.  If I felt the show was drastically different than other shows I've seen in 2015 or even ever before, I would probably put it ahead of other shows that perhaps might be considered better.  That is the case with Another Period.  It is a show that is essentially a parody of two things that are very mock-worthy, Downton Abbey and reality television.  It's an odd mix, but it works for this show.  This show evidently came about because someone - presumably Natasha Leggero or Riki Lindhome - thought "What if entitled rich people back in the early 1900s had reality television?"

And... it's probably not a lot different from what Another Period presents, as cartoonish as it tends to get.  We are talking about the reality television here.  Take the stereotypes of that era and the people inhabiting that era and then, because it's reality television, take the craziest of that stereotype and have those people play up their actions for the camera?  Yeah it's not hard to envision at all.

Anyway, I've never seen Leggero in anything except the Comedy Central roasts - and honestly she wasn't that great - but she seems perfectly suited for the tone of this show.  Similarly, I've never seen Lindhome in anything, but I kind of want to watch Garfunkel and Oates.  Jason Ritter is apparently hilarious in anything he appears in, because between this and Drunk History, that dude can make me laugh.  Also Paget Brewster is constantly trying to sound dignified while being high on morphine.  Unfortunately, the show loses Artemis Pebdani after the pilot and her replacement is but a shell of her.

Model Episode - "Switcheroo Day" (S1 E7)

This episode has a pretty sitcom plot actually with two of the servant characters being able to act like they are in the upper class.  One takes the role and pretty much doesn't change (arguing against the lower class funny enough), and the other takes the role and relishes it (by cruelly tormenting the servants).  Also Lillian orchestrates her own kidnapping because that's just the type of person she is.

#9 Bojack Horseman - Netflix (Season 2)

Bojack Horseman comes at a bit of a disadvantage for me in that I watched it directly after a show that dealt with similar issues and it just completely pales in comparison for me.  Needless to say that show will be showing up later in this post.  Nonetheless, Bojack Horseman is a show that deals with a character deep in depression.  Another character isn't sure how to add meaning to her life.  These issues are dealt with seriously and before servicing laughs.

But these issues do not come at the expense of laughs.  It's still a funny show, and at times very silly.  It really likes to make animal-related jokes and Vincent Adultman is still a character so you know it's not all serious, all-the-time.  But the voice actors bring their A game to this show.  Hell, Allison Brie seems to voice characters I only learn she voices later (Vincent Adultman???) and the somewhat famous guest stars always seem to go unrecognized by me during the episode.

Model Episode "Escape from LA" (S2 E11)

I'm curious, when picking the model episode, whether I should pick a show that best represents whatever show I'm talking about or pick the best episode.  I've been picking the best episode so far, and usually the best episodes of a show are the ones that diverge from their typical episode.  Thus, "Escape from LA" is certainly not your usual Bojack Horseman as Bojack gets to see what living like a (relatively) normal family life only for him to fuck things up in the most horrific way imaginable.  Well I'm sure I could think of something more horrific, but you get my point.

#8 Parks and Recreation - NBC (Season 7)

Parks and Recreation is one of those shows that honestly would have found its way on this list one way or the other almost regardless of quality.  I *know* that seasons 4-6 weren't as good as its prime, but I also know I enjoyed those seasons way more than most comedies.  So I have basically no way of being objective about the quality of Parks and Recreation.  But I actually think season seven was pretty good.  This will sound weird - because it's only two spots - but if I just wanted it in for the sake of it being on this list, it would be 10th.  (The implication being that it would not actually be my 10th best pick were I not insistent on having it on here.)

I think I said it on my top ten drama post, but for shows that aired and finished early in the year, I tend to have trouble remembering specifics of the season.  So I tend to lean more on the great episodes to help guide me.  I know Parks and Recreation began the season with Ron and Leslie at odds and I know that the show would never, ever end with them at odds because that's just not the type of show it is.  But the show did two interesting things with this concept.  First off, given their very natures, it actually seems very inevitable that they would eventually both be stubborn enough to fight over a small issue and not resolve their differences.  I'd say the only reason that it didn't happen before season seven is because the writers didn't really want a multi-episode conflict between two main characters.  While I have no doubt it would have made for some good television, Parks and Rec just isn't the show that's going to have its two characters have a season-long conflict against each other.  Secondly, the way the show handled their eventual reconciliation was one of their greatest episodes.

Model Episode - "Leslie and Ron" (S7 E4)

Like I said above, I think this is one of their greatest episodes.  They took advantage of the time jump by having Leslie and Ron have a previous fight that festered and continued for at least a year.  Both got to see what life was without the other and neither liked it all that much, especially Ron.  It's not hard to see why Leslie likes Ron - she's naturally inclusive of other people and fiercely loyal.  But Ron has always been a mystery.  So to have this fight be the result of Ron essentially feeling abandoned and then both of them being too stubborn to admit wrong is a good piece of writing.

#7 Broad City - Comedy Central (Season 2)

When Broad City writers run out of ideas - when they don't know how to fill the next episode - they have one of the most reliable formulas to turn to: just have Abbi and Ilana shoot the shit and talk about whatever the hell those two want to talk about in that episode.  Seriously, there's no way this show can fail when those two are doing their thing.  Add in about 3-5 minutes of Hannibal Buress - they've deployed him basically perfectly, always keeping us wanting more of him - and Broad City is good to go.

You know what I wish Broad City would do though?  Get rid of Bevers.  That actor is way too successful at making him a lazy, poaching boyfriend.  He sucks the life out of scenes for me.  There's also basically one joke here - a joke worthy of a one-episode appearance, not a recurring character.  The other supporting characters?  Paul Downs has done great work as Trey, making him more interesting and funnier this season.  Arturo Castro as Jaime is used even more sparingly than Buress, but he's also welcome to stay on this show for as long as it airs.  Lastly, everything involved with developing Jeremy into a more complex character was just amazing writing.  Speaking of which...

Model Episode - "Knockoffs" (S2 E4)

It's a tough pick for me between this and "Coat Check."  One the one hand, you have Kelly Ripa having a secret crazy side.  You also have Ilana find out she is in love with herself (duh).  But on the other hand, you have "pegging" and Susie Essman as Ilana's mother (perfect casting).  Ultimately I'm going with Knockoffs because, while funny, the Ripa story has been done before (Wayne Brady on The Chappelle Show) and I don't think I've ever seen an episode of television deal with pegging.

#6 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - FX (Season 10)

Can I just say that I probably suffer the same symptom about this show as I do with Parks and Recreation?  This is up there for my favorite comedies of all time.  The show is also as strong as its ever been in its tenth season.  There are a couple classics here, episodes that would rank among the show's very best.  The show has also so mastered its formula that it's middle-of-the-road episodes are more entertaining than most comedies out there.

While I definitely think It's Always Sunny belongs below the upcoming five spots for reasons I'll explain above, the decision whether to rank It's Always Sunny or Broad City higher was among my tougher decisions.  One spot doesn't really matter, but I could have gone either way.  Ultimately, I went with It's Always Sunny, because I just enjoy the show more.  I enjoy watching the show more than any other comedy.  Among the shows above this, a couple mine comedy from cringe-worthy situations which, while funny and often brilliant, aren't exactly enjoyable to watch.  Another couple shows develop comedy through characters' pain.  Neither of those things are problems with It's Always Sunny.  I can enjoy it guilt-free without feeling bad for the characters and since the characters have no shame, there's very little cringe comedy here.

Model Episode - "Charlie Work" (S10 E4)

Here's another show with two really tough picks for me.  It was between this and "The Gang Misses the Boat."  I went with "Charlie Work" because it's a drastic change from anything they've done before, while "The Gang Misses the Boat" is a different variation of a theme they've been doing for years (albeit with an ending they've certainly never done before).  This is essentially the show's version of the movie Birdman, even though apparently this was written and filmed well before that movie was in theaters (which is shocking really since it's so eerily similar between having "one shot" and the drums)

#5 Master of None - Netflix (Season 1)

Master of None is a good example of a show that would probably be lower, but I value originality in picking my spots.  The concept of the show itself isn't that original - a comedian who finds dating life hard - but in its perspective.  The show dealt with "Indians on TV" and how they were portrayed.  It dealt with immigrant parents who moved to America for a better life.  They also had a great episode about how men will leap to other men's defense even if you're a guy like Aziz Ansari on Master of None.

Even in the well-worn familiar territory of a couple dating, Master of None changed it up.  They have their first date over the whole episode in Nashville.  We experience their relationships over months through only their mornings.  The way they first met each other was also fairly atypical of a relationship that's supposed to last a year.  This show is a good example of how diversity can make a television premise that's been done to death (Seinfeld and Louie for one) seem original because it's being told from a new perspective.

Model Episode - "Indians on TV" (S1 E4)

I could have went several different ways with this pick, but I've seen relationship issues tackled before while I haven't seen this addressed on a television episode.  (Aziz has probably dealt with this in his standup, but HOT TAKE I don't think his stand-up is that great - which to be fair, I seem to only really like three or four stand-up acts)  I would really like to watch this episode RIGHT NOW, but I simply don't have time.

#4 Rick and Morty - Adult Swim (Season 2)

Let's get this out of the way.  "Get Schwifty" is terrible.  I don't really mean the episode, but holy shit that song sucks.  I have no idea how the same show that did "Goodbye Moonmen" made... whatever the hell that was.  Is it a commentary on how shitty pop music is?  I don't care, that song sucked.  The rest of the season was pretty fantastic.

This season seem to deal with Rick having more humanity due his growing connection with his grandchildren.  While Rick is becoming a better person (relatively speaking I guess - he does still tell both of his grandchildren "fuck you" in the finale after all), Morty is starting to get a bit darker.  Meanwhile, Summer gets more involved and Beth gets further development as a daughter terrified her father will leave her again.  And Jerry... is still Jerry.

Besides "Get Schwifty" it seems like every episode is at the very least very hilarious.  They have an inferior sequel to "Rixty Minutes" and as much as I enjoy "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez," they are dealing with material already explored.  But the rest are episodes of television that I would say must be watched.  (At that point, might as well just watch the rest of the series though.)

Model Episode - "The Wedding Squanchers" (S2 E10)

Of course I have to pick this episode.  Rick & Morty, before this episode, didn't really work for me in terms of emotional attachment.  It felt like The Simpsons/Futurama strategy; ignore really trying the emotional aspect until the last minute.  However, man does this episode land like a gut punch.  It finally emotionally affects me on this episode.  "Total Rickall" was also a classic.

#3 Nathan for You - Comedy Central (Season 3)

I really though this series would have a limited shelf life on being great television due to its very premise.  There's only so many places you can seemingly go.  After watching season two, I was actually kind of bummed, because I thought season three wouldn't be as good and I wanted Nathan for You to be represented on this list.  But I know nothing and this might have been even better than the second season.

In this season, Nathan challenges Best Buy's price match policy, creates a fitness regime where you move boxes, create a fake play so that people can smoke in a bar, and impersonate someone else so that they can be considered a hero.  All of these episodes have hilarious, natural twists that only a show like this could produce because he's dealing with real people's reactions.  The fitness regime spokesman turns out to be an expert liar - like he's willing to lie about anything and everything - and of course Nathan takes to being another person well by being able to connect better with people.

Nathan the character is a brilliant creation.  He's just a guy with poor social skills who wants a friend.  In this season, he's able to make a friend - a guy with hilariously flexible boundaries.  (I'm curious about that guy now that he's seen the show, although if that episode is any indication, he'll just take it in stride.  More likely, the show has told him what's what by now, but a man can dream.)  Oh my god this season also features porn actors loudly having sex near a small child in a soundproof fake spaceship.  How exactly is he allowed to do that?  This might be too low of a ranking the more segments that I remember that he did.

Model Episode - "Smoker's Allowed" (S3 E5)

There are a few options here, namely his stunt in "The Hero," his way to get workers to work for free by making it a fitness craze in "The Movement" or even his antics to get Best Buy to sell a rival store TVs for $1, but ultimately I have to go with "Smoker's Allowed."  More than others, this just seemed like they had an idea for one segment, the people reacted unexpectedly, and they ran with it.  They not only ran with it, they took it to absurd levels.

#2 You're the Worst - FX (Season 2)

This might be a bit aggressive.  This show takes their characters' emotions and puts it first and foremost.  It's more important than comedy.  However, a lot of times, the comedy is used in order to highlight characters' emotions.  It doesn't necessarily need to be one or the other.  For instance, and this is more prominent in season one, Edgar frequently displays symptoms of PSTD, but he does so in a way that is usually very funny.

The reason it's this high though is because of Aya Cash's performance and the way the show treats mental illness.  I mentioned above that Bojack Horseman paled in comparison to a show above and that show is You're the Worst.  Both tackle the same issues roughly speaking, but You're the Worst is so much better at it and it's not even like that's a weakness of Bojack Horseman.  It's a strength.  But that just speaks to the ability of the You're the Worst writers.

One, shall we say, weakness of this show is that it treats Kether Donohue oddly.  Like, we're just supposed to pretend she's a fat girl or something and not ridiculously attractive.  She's not miscast.  But I tend to think they had a different vision of the role at the beginning, liked her so much that they cast her, and then pretended as if nothing had changed.  I might be alone on this.  In any case, this show is well cast.  Chris Geere and Cash have great chemistry - obviously a very necessary component of making a show around one specific relationship.  Both excel at the serious, the emotional, and the comedic aspects of their character that are necessary for the show.  They also have a few very reliably funny side characters like the rappers and their fake turned real beef, Lindsay's ex Paul, and Vernon (who's way funnier and more complex than he has any right to be)

Model Episode - "LCD Soundsystem" (S2 E9)

Like pretty much all of the comedies towards the top, there were some strong contenders for this part.  "There is Currently Not a Problem" features Gretchen's breakdown and is probably Aya Cash's Emmy submission.  The finale "The Heat is a Dumb Dumb" also ends the season on a positive note, although this still involves Gretchen trying to hook up with Jimmy's almost-fling.  But ultimately I went with "LCD Soundsystem" because Gretchen lives vicariously through a neighboring couple and temporarily is able to convince herself of happiness based off their relationship.  Of course, this relationship isn't as great as it seems and Gretchen takes it pretty hard.

#1 Review - Comedy Central (Season 2)

Here's another Comedy Central show whose very premise seems very limited to creating amazing television.  It was hard to imagine how they could follow season one, but they managed to even outdo that season.  Forrest McNeil at this point has convinced himself that Review is this extremely important public service that he's doing.  He's got to believe that Review is "very important work."  Of course it's just a TV show where people get to watch a man continually humiliate and hurt himself.

Review presents a man who consistently lets the show ruin his life and is unable to see that.  Even when he becomes aware of the absurd number of injuries he suffers, he blames everyone but himself.  Granted, the producer Grant is one evil, manipulative son of bitch, but it's not as clear how much he's manipulating things behind the camera.  In this season, Forrest cycles through three girlfriends over the course of four episodes, one due to blackmail, one due to trying to have sex with her on a plane, and one because she took over the cult he started.  (Ah writing episode descriptions of this would be fun.)  He also gets shot with a gun, he gets shot with an arrow, he burns a house down, and he voluntarily gets buried alive.

Meanwhile as part of the deal for coming back on the show, Forrest gets two vetoes this year.  Needless to say if you've ever seen this show, but he of course uses both of his vetoes only for the worst possible request comes into play.  Seeing as this show IS his life, he feels compelled to actually take that action.  The cruel part of watching Review is that we want him to figure out that it's just a show, but we also want to watch him hurt himself and ruin his life, because it is endlessly hilarious and at times heartbreaking.

Model Episode - "Happiness, Pillow Fight, Imaginary Friend"

The imaginary friend segment is by far one of the most brilliant things the show's ever done.  And that's saying something.  I'm tempted to go with "Conspiracy Theory" because watching Forrest try to figure out the conspiracy of him continuously do tasks that end with him harming himself is thrilling.  But ultimately, the conclusion of "imaginary friend" - which I won't reveal - is somehow both insane and plausible in this world while also being devastating to watch.

Honorable Mentions

Traditional Network Sitcoms
Network television gets a deservedly bad rap.  However, it still has a few comedy programs worth watching while I'll make the hot take that you can safely just ignore any hourlong drama on network television with no problems.  The best of these is Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  It actually hurts me to not have it be put on this list.  Blackish is pretty hilarious despite the fact that ABC doesn't know how to title its goddamn shows.  (RIP Trophy Wife)  Similarly, Fresh off the Boat is mostly worth watching for the parents, played by Constance Wu and Randall Park.

Sketch Comedy
This gets its own section because I think by sketch comedy's design, it'd be hard for me to include it on a top ten list.  I tend to gravitate towards shows that have a heart, an underlying season-long narrative, or character progression (or all of them.)  Sketch comedies... don't really have this.  So Key & Peele deserves to be mentioned.  For Inside Amy Schumer, if I could isolate all her top sketches, it would make my list.  "12 Men Inside Amy Schumer" is one of the best comedy episodes of television I watched this year.  Unfortunately, I'm not doing that.  The problem is that she seems to have a pacing problem with her sketches - she has far too many either one-joke sketches or predictable sketches that just run at least a minute longer than they should.  But when a sketch is good, it's really  good like the Friday Night Lights parody focused on rape.

Other Comedies
It's a little unfair I never really considered Silicon Valley.  I don't know, this takes the place of Better Call Saul for the comedy post in that I can't really articulate why this show was always an honorable mention and never really considered for my top ten.  Archer's sixth season was going to be in my top ten, but once I watched most of the Comedy Centrals hows on Hulu, it was pretty clear that it wasn't possible.  Nonetheless Archer does have a rebound from its admirable, but failed Archer Vice experiment.  Lastly, two comedies that very possibly would have found a way on this list had I actually seen them are Community and Bob's Burgers.  In both instances, I'm a couple seasons behind and I'm pretty adamant about watching things in order.

Thanks for reading and tell me what you think.