2019's Top Ten Dramas

A few weeks ago, I posted my Top 50 shows of the decade, and I expected my top ten list of the year to follow soon after, but it turns out that Christmas and New Years falling in the middle of the week is extremely inconvenient for posting purposes.  It did not hurt that I was able to finish watching certain shows by waiting either.

A couple of important points to make before I get to the list.  There are about 500 shows out there, and I may not have seen your show.  I am pretty selective with what shows I watch, even though I watch a lot, and I hate to say it, but me happening to read one bad review at the wrong time could put me off that show forever.  So I'm sorry if your show didn't make the list, but if its any consolation, this is a stacked year for drama, to the point where a couple of no brainer shows at the beginning of this process did not end up making the final list.

#10 Stranger Things - Season 3 (Netflix)

If one were to attempt an objective top ten list, I don't think Stranger Things would have made my top ten.  But that's also not possible.  I ultimately included it over other shows - shows that are going to be in the honorable mention - because I tend to watch those other shows with significantly less investment than I do when I watch Stranger Things.  I'm not even necessarily criticizing those other shows, I just approach and watch those shows differently than I do Stranger Things.  Stranger Things is a more fun viewing experience for me.

#9 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Season 4 (CW)

I grade shows based purely by the episodes aired in this year, which makes it a bit confusing when dealing with network shows that air from fall to spring.  Crazy Ex only aired eight episodes in 2019 so I'm only grading the show by those eight episodes.  I'm not sure my ranking would change really - the show finished very strong with most of these episodes being great, but it did at least make it easier to keep it at the bottom of the list with fewer episodes.

#8 Lodge 49 - Season 2 (AMC)

Unfortunately, season 2 was its last season, unless the show gets picked up by another network, which is rather unlikely.  But this is a relaxed, confident show that provides laughs, mystery, and great acting.  The show is not in any hurry with its plot, but the plot provided is good anyway.  And Paul Giamatti makes a great recurring player in this season as well.  So if I can't convince you it's good, hopefully you like Paul Giamatti enough to watch the show.

#7 On Becoming a God in Central Florida - Season 1 (Showtime)

Watch this show.  Please.  The acting as a whole is really good, but Kirsten Dunst steals the show as the lead.  People who've taken the time to read this have probably seen her in Fargo already, but she remains underrated for now.  If you're wondering about the premise - because it leaves a lot to the imagination - it's primarily about a pyramid scheme in the 90s that suckers in people and well it ends up impacting Dunsts' character in an interesting way.

#6 Succession - Season 2 (HBO)

This list really is ridiculous for me.  With the exception of Stranger Things, I would have hoped to get the rest of this list in the top 5.  I'm being serious.  I think this list would be more to my expectations if I excluded miniseries/limited series, but I don't make a top 10 miniseries or limited series list.  I don't even watch five of those a year, and have gone years where I've watched none at all.  I recommend my entire list to anybody and I don't think I could say that about most years.

#5 Chernobyl - Limited Series (HBO)

The only thing this show has against it for a list like this is it's only five episodes.  If I had a complaint, and it's as minor as it gets, the episodes kind of blend together into a whole.  Which I imagine is the point of a miniseries, but a later entry makes much more defined episodes to great effect in my opinion.

#4 Jane the Virgin - Season 5 (CW)

One of the most consistent shows I've ever watched.  It made my top ten every single year I've made top tens, which I think coincide with the beginning of the show.  Unlike Crazy Ex, it benefits from having its entire season this year, as the premiere episode didn't air until March.  One of the rare shows where if you're not "in" by the pilot, the show probably isn't for you and if you are, again ridiculously consistent show, especially given the juggling of tones.

#3 Mr. Robot - Season 4 (FX)

Honest truth - I would never have guessed Mr. Robot would have made this list before the last season aired.  None of the first three seasons did - though the first season certainly deserved to, it just got lost in the shuffle - and I didn't see any reason to think my opinion of the show would change.  But this last season is maybe the best season of all, with a strong ending.

#2 Watchmen - Season 1 (HBO)

Oh man I bet you're really curious about #1, and.. you've already scrolled down.  You're no fun.  Watchmen was nearly perfect in this season and if I had a complaint, the ending was a little too neat.  It didn't seem like the type of show that would have such an ending, though I understand why it did.  It also made me instantly aware that this show was never planned for more than one season and that made me sad.

#1 When They See Us - Miniseries (Netflix)

For the first five years of my rankings, I have listed The Americans as my #1 show.  I unfortunately cannot include The Americans for another year as that show has ended.  And seeing as When They See Us is a miniseries, next year's #1 will be different again.  As for comments about this show, wow.  If you think you know the story about the *exonerated five* you aren't getting the full picture until you watch this series.  The first episode is one of the most frustrating and infuriating episodes of television I've ever watched.  The last episode had me crying like a baby.  Seriously, do yourself a favor and watch this show.  But it's not an easy watch.  It's a necessary one.  But not easy.

Honorable Mentions
Legion (FX) - I did think the third season was a massive improvement over the second, but the weirdness of this show keeps me from truly connecting to the characters.  It didn't help that the original main character is completely detached from reality.

The Deuce (HBO) - Another case where, for whatever reason, I never really got fully invested in this show.  It could have been the time-hopping, but I don't know.  Some truly excellent episodes, but not a great final episode.

Orange is the New Black (Netflix) - Here's a show that I originally wanted in my top ten, along with the above two, but it became clear very quickly that I just had no room for it.  Good ending, certainly better than I expected given Weeds.

Marvelous Ms. Maisel (Amazon Prime) - Again, it was basically a competition for the 10th spot for these shows along with Stranger Things and I just like Stranger Things more.  Because the top 9 weren't going to leave my list.

Arrow (CW) - Most years my honorable mentions were never intended to make my top ten, and I never did come particularly close to adding Arrow, but I do wish I could have somehow found a spot for it.

Mindhunter (Netflix) - Pretty disappointing second season, so I hope the third season can course correct and just forget about the son being a future serial killer.

Counterpart (Starz) - I like the second season more than the first and this season had truly one of my favorite episodes of the year, but only so much room here.

Mandalorian (Disney+) - This is a fun show, but I don't know that I'd like it great.  Short amount of episodes, about half of which were essentially standalone, so it didn't have a great case to make this list, but worthy of mentioning.  This is pretty much my typical honorable mention, a show I want to highlight but I never intend to make a top ten.

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.

2018 Top Ten Dramas

If you need an introduction to my top ten lists, here is comedy first.  I feel like a top ten list is fairly self-explanatory though and by no means is it necessary to read that first.

Drama seemingly had a weak year for the second year in a row.  I think it's weak only relative to my expectations and that in the past, I've had shows that I had watched for a few years that I sort of expected to make my list that did, such as Mad Men, Justified and Fargo.  The sort of show that I instantly know will make my list when I start this project.  Few of those shows were present in 2018 for me, which made compiling a top ten list feel weaker.  But honestly, I think this is just a misconception that I have for whatever reason.  Looking at my past years' lists, it's not like all ten shows would wipe out this year's shows.

The list is much different this year.  Alias Grace, The Leftovers, FEUD, Stranger Things, and Fargo did not air anything in 2018 and all made my list last year.  I chose not to watch Handmaid's Tale, which made my list, because the reviews for season two pretty much aligned with my fears about the season after watching the first, which I even said last year in my top ten post.  I watch a lot of shows so I have to be stingy when it comes to choosing what to watch.  And onto the list!

#10 DC's Legends of Tomorrow (CW)
Model Episode: "Here I Go Again"

Oh how far this show has come.  Never in a million years would I have dreamed this show would ever have a chance to make a top ten list back when this first aired.  I probably would find it hard to imagine the show even being better than the other CW superhero shows.  But it unquestionably the best of the bunch now.

Legends of Tomorrow is an absolutely ridiculous show and it sure knows it.  They have the "Why not?" approach to storytelling, to take something absurd and just put it in the episode because it'll be fun.  And it is!  The show has weathered cast changes throughout this process, but as long as Caity Lotz is still the center of the show, it can probably suffer a few more changes.  I picked "Here I Go Again" because I love Groundhog Day episodes.

#9 Haunting of Hill House
Model Episode: "The Bent-Neck Lady"

This show had a terrible ending and could have been higher if not for that.  But at the same time, that tells you about the first nine episodes, that I still have it on the top ten even with a bad ending.  I do not like horror stories.  I do not understand the want to watch something that will deliberately scare you.  However, I will watch horror movies if they are trying to accomplish something other than "scare the shit out of you."  My favorite horror movies are the meta ones, which should tell you something.

Haunting of Hill House justifies its horror gene in other ways than just trying to scare you, which makes its scares more effective.  The episode above is something that is going to stick with me, not necessarily because I was so freaked out by episode - though I was - but because just the idea of what happens in that episode is tragedy at its finest.  It also features child actors who look remarkably like the adult actors so the time shifting narrative is not nearly as jarring as it otherwise might be.

#8 Jane the Virgin (CW)
Model Episode: Chapter 77

Jane the Virgin, a telenovela that can change tones and genres every week, somehow has managed to remain consistent enough through its first four seasons to land on my top ten list every year I've written one.  Honestly, when I included on my list in its first season, I fully expected that to be the only year.  I sometimes will gives shows extra credit when they are new and original and do something different over an established show that might be a similar quality.  Nonetheless, Jane the Virgin has consistently been on the back half of this list.

There's really only so much I can say about this show at this point that I haven't already said three times.  I will say, if you see this show on this list and wonder if you'd like it, the show was pretty much good from the beginning.  If you don't like it right away, you probably never will.  So give it a few episodes, see what you think, and whatever you think is roughly how you'll respond to the show for the rest of its run.

#7 Homecoming (Amazon)
Model Episode: "Protocol"

If you had one complaint about Homecoming, it's that it peaks a little early.  There are ten episodes and it peaks a couple episodes before the last episode.  It's mainly a mystery show and the show does deliver on the questions it presents, but it ends up climaxing a couple episodes before its actual ending.  Homecoming started as a podcast - it was a fictional story told in podcast form.

Amazon or the television people at Amazon knew what type of show they had on their hands and went all-out on the casting and directing.  Sam Esmail, of Mr. Robot, directs every episode.  If you enjoy Mr. Robot and how it is filmed, you'll probably enjoy this.  There are Hitchock homages and while the show can sometimes be slow, Esmail leaves plenty of breadcrumbs for people who are into that.  Julia Roberts, Bobby Cannavale, Shea Whigman - even minor roles are played by Jeremy Allen Shrier of Shameless and Dermot Mulroney.  Stephan James, who I'd never seen in anything before, was nominated for a Golden Globe and it was well deserved.

#6 The Marvelous Ms. Maisel
Model Episode: "Vote for Kennedy, Vote for Kennedy"

I have not seen Gilmore Girls, the previous series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, but I know all about some of the complaints against the otherwise good series.  She has a blind spot to certain characters.  Her dialogue can be a bit too whimsy.  It's an otherwise beloved show and I think I know why based off my feelings towards The Marvelous Ms. Maisel.  Yes, she has a blind spot to a character (Joel) who should be nowhere near as prominent as he is and yes, the dialogue gets too whimsy.  But I also know why people put up with that when the show is this good.

It's a decision made for the betterment of the show, but the stand-up comedy element of this is.. pretty unrealistic.  I don't consider myself an expert on standup comedy history, but I'm fairly certain her jokes are about 20-30 years ahead of her time.  In 1959, standup comedians would have the same 10-15 minute set for multiple years and Midge ends up having a different set every episode.  Which again, is fine.  It's not like we want to hear her say the same thing every episode.  I also tend to think this show portrays standup comedy as much easier than it actually is because Midge very frequently goes on stage and just talks about what she did earlier that day without any sort of preparation for how she would deliver it.  And with the exception of a unplanned wedding set, the audience pretty much always loves her.  I think a little more struggle sprinkled in would go a long way with me personally.  Not the "someone is blackballing" her struggle, but the actual making people laugh part.

#5 The Deuce (HBO)
Model Episode: "We're All Beasts"

I left The Deuce off my list last year and for one main reason: it is somehow forgettably excellent.  The show is well done, there's no question about it.  David Simon and I assume everyone who followed him to make The Deuce are all so good at their jobs that this show tends to fall under my radar.  The Deuce is a perfect example of why it's very hard to make these lists.  It's somehow easy for me to forget about the show and what makes it great just a few months later.

Nonetheless, I made sure to put it on my list this year.  I remember specifically when I watched the second season that I noted to myself to put it on the list in case the same apparent amnesia fell over me when compiling the 2018 list.  It isn't higher because the same exact thing happened to me this year.  It is just not a show that sticks with me for very long and I have no idea why.  Though fair or not, the next two shows on my list were all watched in the past month, so I'm lying if I pretend that doesn't make a difference.  Which is unfortunate.  The Deuce might still be here if I had watched in the past month though, so it's no guarantee.

#4 Lodge 49 (AMC)
Model Episode: "Full Fathom Five"

Lodge 49 has an almost impossibly appealing tone.  I say it's impossible, because when I describe the tone, it probably doesn't sound that appealing.  Its tone is basically what I imagine SoCal personified to be, laidback and not in a rush to get anywhere.  The show has a mystery throughout the first season that is to be clear, interesting, but the show's tone makes it almost seem beside the point.  It's the journey that matters, not the destination.

See how much of an idiot I sound trying to sell that tone as a good thing?  But it unquestionably is, as two characters who lost their father - as in his body has not been found in a year and is suspected dead lost.  Never finding the body never gave them a sense of closure and that defines where the characters are at the beginning of the season.  They are lost, looking for direction, not sure where to go with their lives or what it can deliver.  Until Dud - yes Dud - finds Lodge 49.

#3 My Brilliant Friend (HBO)
Model Episode: "L'isola (The Island)"

My Brilliant Friend is an Italian-American production about two friends, told from the perspective of one of the friends.  Both are brilliant and very good at school, but end up taking different paths because of their home life.  Neither are rich, but one has a more supportive family.  Thus, My Brilliant Friend follows these two young girls from adolescent to their teenage years, reflecting on female friendship in 1950s Italy.

As you can imagine, this would hardly seem to be something that would appeal to me, a white mid-20s American male.  But it is very well told, in eight installments, and it passes through time so much, that it never feels boring.  The first episode is when the two girls are in 1st grade, the second in 4th, and then they skip to the teenage years.  The casting is impeccable, but between the foreign language and the pure amount of characters, it can sometimes be hard to follow who is who at certain points.  Because all the kids are played by different actors at two different ages.  But if you are able to watch foreign language films, I'd recommend this show.

#2 Better Call Saul (AMC)
Model Episode: "Winner"

Boy do I need to rewatch the entirety of this show before next season.  I sincerely hope I have time to do that.  In the past, Better Call Saul aired at the beginning of the year and by the time December rolled around, I had different shows more clear in my mind, which made it hard to include on a top ten list.  This year, the last episode aired in October, so it's a little clearer, but I still want to watch the entire show again.  I have watched every season right after it aired, but never rewatched any episodes.

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.

#1 The Americans (FX)
Model Episode: "START"

Thus The Americans, one of the greatest series to ever grace television, ends.  If I'm being honest, I probably shouldn't have put The Americans #1 last year.  It was clear they were setting up for the endgame, and while I enjoyed the season, it was mostly a set up season.  However, because I did, The Americans has been my #1 show for four straight years.  Even with said acknowledgement, The Americans WAS my favorite show all four years too so I can hardly say I made a mistake.

The Americans, as a series who is among the greats, had a very big hurdle to climb.  They needed a good ending.  A bad ending can destroy a series.  Just look at Dexter.  I'm happy to report The Americans has a great ending.  An ending appropriate to the type of show The Americans was.  I will recommend this show to anybody who listens, but I'm just happy that people who ignored me did not lead to it being prematurely cancelled.  Thank you FX.

Honorable Mentions

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - I still enjoy the show, but I feel like needing at least two original songs for every episode has caused a slight decline.  It was close to making this list however.

Legion - I hope that Noah Hawley goes back to making Fargo, because this show is just a little too weird and out-there for me.  I will still watch a season three if it airs.

Sharp Objects - I wanted to include this but I really didn't like the ending very much.

Castle Rock - Showed potential, but was kind of all over the place, quality-wise.  Hopeful a season two, if there is one, has more consistency

Maniac - Given the names behind it, I really expected this show to be better than it was.  Very weird show though.

This is Us - This show really is better than it has any right to be in my opinion.

2017's Top Ten TV Dramas

Welcome to my third annual top ten list where I cover both dramas and comedies in separate lists.  I split these up for a very good reason: I have absolutely no ability to distinguish quality between a comedy and a drama.  If you asked me to compare the fifth season of The Simpsons with the first season of The Sopranos, I would be utterly incapable of ranking them against each other.  It's like two different languages for me.  Plus, I tend to favor dramas whenever I do force myself to compare it and I just don't want to make a list with 15 of 20 shows being dramas.  The fact is that dramas have more stakes and more stakes mean I have more investment in what happens, and that leads me to deeming a certain show better.  I don't want to do that.

With that said, this is probably one of the first years where there would be a very real danger that I'd have more comedies than dramas in a top 20 list.  I can't be certain of course.  But I really struggled to create a top five for drama, partly because I just didn't feel passionate about five shows that were worthy of a top five ranking.  I'd go through the list and sort of mentally note "top five," "back half of top ten," and "potential top ten show."  For comedies, I legitimately had seven shows that I thought were worthy of a top five placement and for dramas, I ended up labeling a ton of shows as back half and not many in the top half.

Anyway, this is just an odd year to me at least.  A fair number of shows that appear on most end of year lists were shows that I thought were good, not great - or great, but with glaring flaws.  Some of those shows will make my list still.  I've introduced this long enough, and so I'll get on with the post.

#10 Jane the Virgin - CW
Seasons 3-4 (20 episodes)

Model Episode: "Chapter 61"

Jane the Virgin wins out on the #10 spot for essentially two reasons: the first is that it has more episodes than the other shows I was considering and maintained quality in those extra episodes.  You'd be surprised at how few episodes most of the seasons on this list have.  20 is by far the most of any show on this list.  The network drama is dead, that is except if it airs on the CW.  (With that said, this is the lone representative from that network and only one other show was seriously considered, but I do watch SEVEN shows from this network)

The second reason is that they handled a major death of a character in pretty much the best way possible.  It is a little annoying that this character had to die simply because that was always the plan, BUT they did one of the more fairly smart narrative choices I've seen.  They skipped ahead three years.  Long enough to where the pain was mostly gone, but they still dealt with the death in a smart way and found a way to seamlessly put it into the story.  The model episode above is one such example.  I also included that episode because it is deals with the grandmother being an illegal immigrant in a thoughtful way.

#9 Fargo - FX
Season 3 (10 episodes)

Model Episode: "The Law of Non Contradiction"

Two years ago, season 2 of Fargo found its way on my list.  It was the second best show on my list and really, it very easily could have been #1 on my list no problem.  2015's top ten dramas was an enormously and inconceivably stacked year.  There is absolutely no way that the third season of Fargo would have made that list.  The third season is a clear step down from the first two seasons in my opinion, but clearly it's still a very good show!

If I were to pinpoint my main two issues with this season, it would be the villain and the police chief.  Both were played by wonderful actors who were in no way at fault.  VM Varga, played brilliantly by David Thewlis, was an obnoxious villain in exactly the way the show intended.  But he was too omniscient and too brazen.  He knew everything and he would do everything in broad daylight.  It makes you wonder how the fuck the guy has never been caught.  He's not charming.  He's not fun to watch.  Basically, the way he acted was at odds with what happened.  If it was revealed that it was all a ruse, that this guy was no master criminal, it would have made a lot more sense to me.  And the police chief, as played by Shea Whigman, was the worst kind of plot device.  He literally only existed because if he didn't, Gloria Burgle (Carrie Coon) would have figured out the whole thing in two episodes.  So that's why it's all the way down to #9 for me.

#8 Stranger Things - Netflix
Season 2 (9 episodes)

Model Episode: "Chapter Six: The Spy"

Usually, when a season of television goes so off the rails as "Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister" does, it would cost the show a spot here.  I'm curious as to how I would rank this if it weren't for that episode to be honest.  But I decided to keep it in because I admired the ambition and I do think it was a genuine need on a character basis for Eleven to have.  The fact that it was largely not very good doesn't harm the show as much as it could have for those two reasons.

If I had to pretend that episode didn't exist - and for rewatch purposes I will - the second season is just as good as the first season.  I have a few little quibbles with the show like Dustin's stupidity driving the plot instead of it making sense and the probably realistic but still irritating behavior of the boys towards Max.  Overall though, it's thrilling.  It probably peaks in Chapter Six, which makes the random detour in Chapter 7 all the more blunt and unwelcome.  Still, I'm mostly along for the ride with this show and it's a pretty great ride.

#7 The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu
Season 1 (10 episodes)

Model Episode: "Late"

The Handmaid's Tale was a season of two halves.  The first half was legitimate "best show of 2017" quality.  The second half... would not be on this list at all.  Thus, a tough conundrum for myself seeing as most shows more or less remain consistent throughout seasons.  This season was somehow simultaneously great and makes me think a second season won't be very good.  Because - having not read the book - apparently the show struggled when it deviated from the book and it deviated from the book largely in the 2nd half of the first season.

But that's next season.  This season taught me that Alexis Bledel can act.  No joke there.  I didn't know she could before "Late" and now I at least know that she can with the right part.  (I haven't seen Gilmore Girls so my opinion is based off her appearances in Sin City and Mad Men).  Anyway the first half is fantastic.  If I could, I'd probably edit the first season down to six or so episodes and then just pretend it was a great miniseries.  Unfortunately the further expansion of the world building past what was in the book just left more questions than answers.

#6 FEUD: Bette and Joan - FX
Season 1 (8 episodes)

Model Episode: "And the Winner is...(The Oscars of 1963)"

I'm not sure that Feud would be on this list if it weren't for Susan Sarandon.  I haven't seen that many Bette Davis movies and I am not familiar with how she acted in real life so I'm not exactly qualified to say this, but she seems to embody the spirit of Davis near perfectly.  Jessica Lange isn't bad, but she's more or less competent.  Where I can't imagine Davis being played by anybody else, I can fairly easily see somehow else playing Joan Crawford just as effectively.  But I digress.

Anyway this is basically a classic feud, the perfect subject of what I imagine Ryan Murphy wants to do every season.  Two enemies who are more alike than different who nonetheless let the few differences between them consume them and transfer it into hate.  One big difference that is probably accurate but makes it very easy for me to take a side is that Crawford was more concerned about looking like a movie star and Davis was more concerned about the craft.  The show was also able to use the time period to examine the sexism that contributed to their feud.  And I can't forget about the wonderful work that Alfred Molina does as Robert Aldrich in this series.

#5 Legion - FX
Season 1 (8 Episodes)

Model Episode: "Chapter 5"

Calling Legion a comic book series - which it technically is - doesn't seem to do it justice.  I don't say this because comic book series aren't capable of greatness, but the differences between this and, say Arrow, are so great that they don't seem to belong in the same genre.  Legion is a commentary on mental illness disguised as an X-Men series.  It is an expert use of the unreliable narrator, which I think is a very difficult point of view to capture in a way that's not endlessly frustrating.  Our main character's mind is so unstable that we can't truly know what's real and what's not.

Like I said, that has the potential to be ridiculously frustrating, but it's all in the execution.  Legion is something that couldn't have existed effectively 10 years ago.  I've been watching Pushing Daisies, which aired on a major network and largely looked fake as shit.  This series has some of the best special effects ever seen on TV.  I can't imagine they have a large budget either.  I have to give special props for the performance of Aubrey Plaza in this season.  If you had any suspicions that her character on Parks and Rec was her not really acting, just watch this series and see her be amazing in it.  Dan Stevens, a true bore in Downton Abbey, is also genuinely amazing here.

#4 The Leftovers - HBO
Season 3 (8 episodes)

Model Episode: "It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World"

It feels a bit weird for me to include The Leftovers here.  I have typically been separated from the popular critical opinion on this show.  I almost don't know what to do with myself now that I don't have to explain why this critically beloved show is off my list.  I genuinely think a few things changed though.  This is an altogether weaker year than normal for me.  And The Leftovers cut the crap.  They stopped focusing on the Guilty Remnant, a huge burden for me from fully embracing the show.  Basically, in the first season there was the good parts of The Leftovers and the parts that I tolerated.  In the second season, there were more good parts and still parts that I tolerated.  There wasn't much that was just tolerated in the last season.

I still feel like I'm more down on this show than the people who love it, a weird thing to think since I placed it #4.  I've always absolutely loved the episodes that was from the perspective of a single character ever since the show started.  I believe the first ever one of those episodes featured Christopher Eccleston's character, Matt Jamison.  So it's only fitting that my model episode in the last season is also focused on him.  But in reality, most of the main characters get a comparable episode, even an unexpected one focused on a tertiary character, Kevin Garvey Sr.

#3 Alias Grace - CBC
Season 1 (6 episodes)

Model Episode: "Part 2"

Remember when I said that The Handmaid's Tale would stand a good chance of being near the top of my list if it was condensed into a 6 episode miniseries?  Well, here's an example done right.  Developed and written by former actor Sarah Polley - who seems to have stopped acting seven years ago at only 31-years-old despite being the lead in a fair number of movies, this series didn't have as much choice admittedly.  Watch the series and you'll understand why it's a miniseries.

It's a little difficult to explain the appeal of Alias Grace because I want to share as little as possible.  It's no spoiler that in the second episode, Alias Grace explores the difficulties of being a woman in the 19th century, even for a smart one who knows men are up to no good.  I mean that's essentially what the whole series is about for the most part, but this one has a harder punch.  The ending of the series is also bound to be at least a little divisive - at least for the people going in who haven't read the novel like myself.  Like I said though, I'm purposefully sharing as little as possible here so you can experience it like I did.

#2 Better Call Saul - AMC
Season 3 (10 episodes)

Model Episode: "Chicanery"

Better Call Saul remains two different prequels and thus almost like watching two different shows.  It works though because both characters are going through a moral deterioration.  Granted, I probably would have come up with a different title, because it makes it sound like it's only Saul Goodman's show.  It's also about Mike, the lovable cleaner for Gus Fring in Breaking Bad.  Both of their worlds are getting closer and closer throughout the third season.  I wonder if at any point, it will feel like the same show no matter whose perspective its from?

I obviously have no issue with the two different shows part of Better Call Saul since it is #2 on my list.  The main conflict - and most emotionally engaging - remains Chuck vs Jimmy.  And I think the series high occurs during "Chicanery" which is the courtroom episode of the third season.  I'll be interested to see how many more seasons this show has in it, but they appear to be more than halfway done based purely off how Jimmy has slowly progressed into Saul.

#1 The Americans - FX
Season 5 (13 episodes)

Model Episode: "Dyatkovo"

Sigh.  You know I really do want to put a different show here for once.  I'm starting to approach fanboy territory.  It's just I can't physically put another show here as long as The Americans remains at the top of its game.  This show is just on my wavelength at all times.  It didn't help that any show competing with The Americans for the #1 spot had less episodes.  I feel compelled to give shows that have a harder responsibility - making more excellent episodes and following through with it - more props than shows that "just" need to make eight excellent ones.  No worries though.  The Americans only has one more season in it and I actually really do hope that it keeps the #1 spot.

Here's a fun fact.  There have been two - TWO - shows that have been on my top ten for all 3 years of me doing this.  The Americans has been #1 all three years.  The other show?  Jane the Virgin somehow.  I'll feel some pressure to keep those streaks going for next year (I can't imagine The Americans not at least making an appearance even if it's not #1 again, but Jane the Virgin has its work cut out for it)

Honorable Mentions
Could Easily Be On This List

The Deuce - This show probably suffered most from not really having identifiable episodes to distinguish from each other.  In making this list, I looked at standout episodes to determine a peak and with the exception of a shocking ending to one of them, the whole show just kind of morphed together for me.

MINDHUNTER - Call it the weak pilot effect.  I was engaged in the pilot because of David Fincher's direction, but the show didn't really get interesting until episode two.  There was just a whole lot of exposition to go through in the pilot episode that probably could have been condensed.  Listen, my reasons for excluding these shows are flimsy as hell, but that's why they're on this section.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - It's sort of tough to grade a show like this against the rest of the shows since I'm only including 2017 episodes.  So I'm not actually grading a full season, but the end of one and the beginning of another.  You can see how that would be a negative towards landing on this list.

Just Didn't Have Enough Great Episodes

Big Little Lies - If I could pinpoint why this show didn't make my list, it's probably The Leftovers problem (pre-season 3 at least).  Parts of it REALLY worked and other parts weren't all that compelling.  Reese Witherspoon is very good in here, but her character just pales in comparison to the abuse storyline - well both abuse storylines.  And she's not a minor part of the show!

Mr Robot - I kind of feel bad that I left season one off my top ten back in 2015 because I was truly as into Mr Robot as every other big fan.  Then season two kind of left me cold.  I thought season three was in an improvement, but I'm just not as into this show as I once was.  This season weirdly peaks in the middle.

Game of Thrones - Oh boy.  The tight narrative plotting of George RR Martin is nonexistent in this latest season and I say this as someone who got through half of the first book and gave up.  I've never thought of Game of Thrones as a turn off your brain show, but it kind of is now.  You just can't think too hard about anything happening or it falls apart for me.  Certain individual one-on-one scenes still work as well as they always have and the battle scenes are amazing so it's got that going for it.

Other shows of note
These shows were never truly in consideration, but I feel they are good enough to be worth mentioning.

Sneaky Pete - Got a Justified hole in your heart?  Well here's a show that's not as good, but the names involved alone should sell you on it: Bryan Cranston, Margo Martindale, Graham Yost is the showrunner.

The Crown - This show's greatest weakness is ironically the reverence it has for the crown, thus making it incapable of ever truly criticizing the principal players or analyzing them too deeply.

The Girlfriend Experience - The creators did something truly interesting this year and that's having 7 episodes following one person and 7 episodes following another story.  It wasn't as good as the first season, but I admire the audacity.

That takes care of my top ten TV dramas for 2017.  I'm sure there's a show you like that I did not mention and the chances are either don't watch that show or I didn't get a chance to watch it in time.  For example - not that I think it would make my list - I am not caught up to Shameless at the moment so it wasn't considered.

The Americans "The Midges"

"Should we tell Paige about this?"

Well, I'll say that The Americans achieved just about the most natural exposition-delivering device I've ever seen on television.  In an obvious development between the relationship of Paige and her parents, Phillip and Elizabeth tell Paige an update on their latest mission.  Not only is it an important plot point, but boy did I need that update.  Sometimes these plots can be too dense for me to follow and having a literal newbie to this thing get it explained to her was helpful.  Granted, this is certainly not the first show or movie to have characters deliver exposition to a "new" character, but I don't think I've ever seen it done where it was, you know, a plot development and the natural next point in a relationship.

Paige can only handle so much though, at least right now.  I have absolutely no idea what the endgame plan is for Paige - she turns to Russia, she rejects her parents, she dies? - I feel like literally anything could happen at this point.  Her parents tell her this to distract her from Matthew with the theory being that she'll be so concerned with their mission, Matthew will seem unimportant.  Which is true and is what happened, but damn: Paige is going to be even more stressed out than before.  (Hypothetically, imagining what her parents are doing could stress her out more though than getting told what they are doing, even if they aren't strictly telling her the whole truth.)

They tell her for obvious reasons.  The potential problem, as Elizabeth and Phillip understand it, is literally life or death for Russians.  They don't need to pretend at all here.  They are genuinely trying to prevent a disaster from happening.  It's also the next logical step in gaining Paige's trust.  Share specific details about a mission after trying the whole "be as vague as possible" strategy.

Paige seems to be trusting her parents more too.  She employs the thumb trick when evading Matthew's question about what's wrong with her (with a helpful update on the progress of Stan and Laurie Holden's relationship - still going strong, Stan's crazy about her).  She finds it remarkably easy to lie, even though she feels gross doing it.  Like I said, this could go in about a million different directions and I'm honestly not sure in which direction that will land.

Phillip and Elizabeth get a lead from Gabriel to go to Oklahoma to further investigate the bugs.  I'm not entirely sure they made much progress.  The bug is a type of midge that destroys grain, but they found that out from Gabriel.  Randy, that poor, poor guy, said that it was a weed killer and that they shipped 400 eggs to a location we are not currently privy to.  But honestly, it's possible it's just a weed killer.  Then again, it was curious at how top secret the whole thing seemed to be, which would certainly indicate there's something to their worries.

We also find out more information about Alexei, the apparently main source of this season.  He unexpectedly left the country without telling his son or wife.  So he's probably a traitor to the USSR.  That's not a surprise in the slightest but it does help explain why neither his son or wife are happy with their move.  Once again, he talks shit on Russia again and Elizabeth manages to not immediately strangle him on the spot.

Unless I missed it before, we find more details about Tuan too.  He's from Vietnam so he is definitely very angry with the US for damaging his country.  He seems weirdly convinced that the US is definitely going to destroy the USSR, which I found odd.  You'd think he would think the US would lose given whose side he is on.  He has an extreme hatred of Alexei.  Honestly, I think it's about time to place bets on who kills Alexei between him and Elizabeth.  I'll take Elizabeth.

In Russia, Oleg is trying to avoid being a traitor in his country and it's unclear if he'll succumb, but for now he knows the Americans have something on him.  He missed his meeting with a secret agent, but they found him and placed a tape of him in his pocket that would probably not go over too well with his superiors.  At least it seemed like he was good at his job, sweet talking the grocery store manager into giving up her source for the good groceries.  She definitely seems like she's going to rat that person out.  Stay tuned for the extremely slow burn on: food corruption in Russia.

Lastly, Stan and Aderholt try with little success to talk to a man involved with the Amtorg Trading Corporation.  Wikipedia is not very clear on what the organization does, but it seems as if it was mostly dead during this part of the Cold War and became extinct when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1988.  So I have no idea how this is relevant.  Again, slow burn of The Americans happening here.

Notes

- We got a very quick flashback to Phillip's childhood.  Matthew Rhys did that thing where he just stares at a mirror and with his eyes alone you can tell what he's feeling.  Honestly it was a quick enough flashback that I'm not entirely sure what that scene was about except to point out how poor he was when growing up.  I expected flashbacks to be a recurring thing throughout the episode, but nope.  Just that two minute flashback.

- MARTHA IS ALIVE.  That is literally all we get.  She's shopping at the same place Oleg is.

- More slow incremental progress on Mischa coming to America - He needs to go from Yugoslavia to Austria and his mom's source has gone to prison, so he's dealing with an unknown here.  This guy seems perfectly willing to screw over Mischa.

- "You think it would be fair to put that burden on him?"  Man Elizabeth is good.  It's not that it would be wrong to tell him the truth, but THINK about how Matthew would feel?  As if Elizabeth gives even a single shit about Matthew.  I also thought Elizabeth gave some pretty bad advice to Paige about relationships, but I suppose it's not terrible advice in the spy business.

- Phillip somewhat agreed with Alexei about why Russia has such problems growing their own grain and Elizabeth responded with tenderness instead of lashing out.  Those two are in a good place right now.

- Ok I can't be the only one who laughed at that final line right?

Playlist
"Old Flame" - Alabama - 1981 country song that accompanied some good ole fashioned banging

"More Than This" - Roxy Music - 1982 pop song that accompanied some good ole fashioned murdering

The Americans "Pests"

"They used to have a Lincoln.  Now they have a Reagan"

Due to the nature of the Cold War, both the Russians and Americans are developing technology and toxins that would destroy the other side in unconventional ways.  Usually in a war, it's relatively simple: shoot the other guy.  Sure, it's more complicated than that and you still have to be creative in order to win, but you can be direct.  Here both sides had to get extremely creative in ways to destroy the enemy.

In 1984 - at least in this particular show, which is usually based off facts - it's now a war on food.  According to intel by the Russians delivered via Gabriel, the Americans are trying to infect food with a deadly pathogen.  Phillip and Elizabeth are both aghast at this revelation, because it was understood that there were unspoken rules in this cold war.  But if one side is willing to contaminate food - and let's face it the Russians are 100 percent also willing to do the same - then it leads nowhere good.

I confess: I really love Alexei Morozov.  I am as certain as one can be that he is going to die, probably at the hands of a seething Elizabeth, but for now, I'm glad he's alive.  He's got an infectious enthusiasm for all the options he has for food.  He probably loves America as much as the most patriotic Americans.  Anyway, this scene was kind of a rehash of last week's scene: he praises the food options, talks shit on Russia.  We do find out his son, Pasha, really misses living in Russia.  It's teenager talk, but he'd rather die there than live in America.

We also get a bit more backstory on Tuan, whose entirely family was murdered.  It usually takes me two or three times to understand everything going on, but basically I don't actually know where Tuan is from and whether his country was bombed by Russia or America.  Sorry.  He had an earlier scene where he explained "he's one of them" because "have you seen what communists did to my country?" which implies that it was Russians, but I don't really know why he'd be spying for them if that were the case.  Either way, there's his motivation.  He also calls Pasha weak and that he can get him to do anything he wants.  He's definitely a good addition to the cast.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth checks out a farm and sees... something.  She doesn't know either.  She breaks into a greenhouse and discovers crops as far as the eye can see.  She's browsing through and eventually finds herself by a collection of crops with bugs everywhere.  Literally everywhere.  I got itchy just watching that scene.  This seems to be proof enough that the Americans are tampering with the food.  Whatever rules the Cold War had before, the goalposts have moved.

The Americans are breaking the unstated rules in other ways too.  Stan and Oleg had a good rapport, understanding, and due to that, both were able to avoid a disaster.  Oleg has moved to his home country, investigating fraud among the very rich - no real news on that yet - but the FBI has taken this as a sign that they need to turn him as an agent.  This suddenly and dramatically lowered Oleg's odds of living past this decade.  Stan is pissed at this, and understandably so.  Oleg essentially just saved the fucking world and in return, he's going to get fucked.  They are going to use his humanity against him.

In other Stan news, the pathetic grade school pining last episode has morphed into a full blown relationship with at least one great date.  Due to the fact that the show talks about Stan's love life a ridiculous amount in these two episodes - like seriously who gives a fuck - and that she's played by Laurie Holden and, let's face it, she's out of his league - something tells me she's way more important than simple love interest would suggest.

The most obvious route to go is that she's an agent too, which would make sense.  It'd be weird if they didn't tell the Jennings this though.  But honestly, his dick already got him into hot water with Nina so that appears to be the way to make Stan vulnerable.  Then again, remember how that ended.  He ultimately chose his country.  The show reminds us here that Stan is a good agent too.  He notices that Paige is not happy.  He loves the relationship between Paige and Matthew, but he picks up on her general "off-ness."

You know who does not love the relationship between those two?  Phillip and Elizabeth.  They are fucking terrified of it in fact.  They have reason to worry.  Paige and Matthew have progressed to boob-touching.  I don't know if it's because the show has put me so effectively into Phillip and Elizabeth's shoes or what, but I do not feel comfortable watching those scenes.  The making out is painfully realistic - natural, but very awkward looking for two teenagers - and that goes a long way towards making me want to move the fuck on to the next scene.

All things considered, they are taking it pretty well.  The self-defense classes continue and they are going to start teaching her ways to not accidentally tell him things.  The rubbing of the thumb and index finger seems particularly helpful if you want to calm down.  Funny how that works.  I might actually do that the next time I'm stressed.  They apparently don't care if she has sex, which I find weird, but makes sense because of how they use sex for their job.  In all, I do think this was a lesser episode of The Americans - but that's still pretty good for most shows.

Notes

- I've never actually taken self-defense classes and the creators attention to detail is good enough that I trust this is actually a technique, but the casually swinging your arms and hitting that target does not seem useful to me.

- Also, I think in TV (and movies of course), sound effects are added after production - what you hear is not necessarily what you would actually hear if you watched the scene being filmed in the background - and the strength with which she was swinging her arms was considerably weaker than the noise that was supposedly coming from her hitting the target.  I don't know if I was the only one noticing that.

- IMDB informs me that Holden is in six episodes of this show.  She's probably a more important character than Stan's last girlfriend (who was also considerably out of his league.  Sorry Noah Emmerich)

- Interesting that this episode was written by the creators themselves.  Usually more important things happen when creators write an episode.  Oh well.  It was directed by Chris Long, his second straight episode of the season.

- I suspect the people who found the digging scene boring will not like this episode either.  Just a guess.

The Americans: "Amber Waves"

"Nothing scares those two." - Gabriel
"Everything scares those two." - Claudia

Welcome to the fifth season of The Americans, the greatest show currently on television.  The show wastes no time in the premiere episode of the penultimate season.  Here's a show completely unafraid to throw you into the proceedings with no context and little indication of what exactly this has to do with the show we love.  It trusts the viewers to put the pieces together.  That could lead to a slightly frustrating experience when first watching it, but believe me when you rewatch the show, you'll be grateful they didn't hold your hand.  Also I'm bringing back my episodic reviews of The Americans.  Obviously.

The fifth season starts with an unknown, later revealed to be Tuan Eckert.  He befriends a lonely Russian transfer student, who can barely speak English.  He clearly does not want to be there as being a Russian who can barely speak English in the middle of the Cold War is high on the list of undesirable places.  Pasha plays son to Elizabeth and Phillip in this episode.  For maximum confusion, he comes home to them and calls them mom and dad and to make matters weirder, both are wearing disguises.  Actually, it would have been weirder if they weren't.

It seems clear that they are targeting the Russian transfer student because of his father.  He hates the ever living shit out of Russia.  I actually thought Elizabeth would strangle him on the spot.  He also touts the beauty of being able to get food wherever you want in America.  This dude is not long for this world.  Anyway, he has something to do with agriculture.  Russia's farming in the post-credits scene does... not look good.  It looks like food within the Soviet Union would be an important plot point throughout this season.  The Jennings cultivating (sorry) a source that is connected with agriculture and Oleg investigating food corruption.

Speaking of Oleg, this episode is just an introduction to his new digs.  He decided to come home to comfort his mother, who has still not gotten over the death of her son.  He is living in Moscow, specifically Lubyanka, which is the headquarters of KGB.  His new boss seems nice.  His boss (whose name I did not get) will be primarily investigating popular people who use bribery, extortion and such to take control of food.  He believes it is the "chief threat against the Soviet Union."  So we'll guess we'll be getting an inside look at the self-destruction of the Soviet Union for the rest of the series that's mostly just been hinted at so far.

Paige does not appear to have improved her relationship with her parents whatsoever since she saw her mother kill a mugger in front of her.  She's having nightmares.  Elizabeth's solution is to teach her basic self-defense.  I'm not actually sure this will help her with her nightmares, but it's a good idea nonetheless given that they are spies.  Neither parent wants her to be with Matthew, but that does not appear to deter her much.

Speaking of which, there's a really weird dynamic going on between the Beeman family and the Jennings family.  Apparently, both Henry and Paige started eating with Stan on a semi-regular basis for dinner.  Stan also just comes over with beer later in the night to discuss how great it is that Matthew has Paige.  Stan is happy, because Matthew is happy and because he has a crush on a girl at the gym.  Stan has never seemed like a high school boy more than there with his "I met someone" actually meaning "I handed her a cup of water."

Lastly, Gabriel gives them a job and the show sure takes its time with this job.  It's a simple job, but it takes forever and is highly dangerous.  I guess no job is truly simple if it's really dangerous.  They figure out the location of William's body (from Gabriel) and dig it up.  It is dug really fucking far into the ground.  The show expresses this point by taking about 8 minutes for the digging scene alone, though I did not count.  They eventually get to him and CUT OFF A PIECE OF HIS SKIN.  Jesus.  Poor William.  He didn't want to give this disease to the Soviet Union because he knows what it can do, which is probably part of why he was willing to kill himself and yet it gets out anyway.

All is going well until, Hans falls into the hole and cuts his hand on William.  Hans was a minor character with no character development, but the actor portrayed with a naive innocence that made him sympathetic.  So I was sorry to see him go.  He somewhat stupidly was delighted at how it didn't hurt and didn't realize that he was going to need to die.  Like I said, the actor did a good job giving him a naive innocence that was obviously an intentional part of his character.  He sure went out like an idiot though.

Notes

- Mischa is on the way to America.  For an idea of how good The Americans are at this, there's a tense scene where he needs to get past airport security.  Despite the fact that he's obviously getting past it, I still felt tense.  Not to mention, as a person rooting for the Jennings to somehow get out of this and live happily ever after stop laughing at me, it's probably better if the son doesn't reach Phillip.

- Claudia and Gabriel are aware that Mischa is missing and think he might be visiting Philip.  They do not tell Philip this.  I'm sure this will go splendidly for all.

- There's a great shot when Oleg is with his mother.  The camera zooms in on a picture of his brother, but in the background is a mirror with Oleg and his mother talking right above it.  It's a good way of expressing that neither of them have put his death behind them.

-  The AV Club review of this mentions that the, well, mention of the Sarajevo Winter Olympics places this episode around February 1984.

- Any bets on how quickly the Russian father dies?  The Americans tends to zig when I expect it to zag, but I'd still find it hard to believe he makes it out of the season.

- I was promised more Henry.  I do not actually care if Henry is confined to one scene for the rest of the series.  But I was promised.

- "What's the right time?" - Elizabeth ponders to Phillip about when to go back to Russia. Yeah you guys are never stepping foot in that country again - I'm guessing.

- Paige is reading The New Hotel Hampshire by John Irving (1981), which appears to be a coming-of-age novel.  I haven't read this book, but sometimes shows like to make points about the show with quick shots of books or TV series reflecting the characters' reality.

- RIP Hans

Soundtrack

- "That's Good" - Devo

- There also appeared to be a Russian sung version of "America the Beautiful"

Top Ten Dramas in 2016

If you missed it, on Monday, I posted my top ten comedies of 2016 along with some strong honorable mentions.  I was honestly not truly expecting to add any show to this top ten between then and now.  Technically speaking, I hadn't made this top ten yet.  I had 11 shows in mind and I needed to cut it down to 10.  In the process, I was watching another show, thinking it would be a strong honorable mention at best.

Well, I entered today needing to watch the final three episodes of that show so I didn't write a single word.  I knew if this particular show would make my list, it would be on the bottom part of the list and I tend to want to write these in order.  So once again, I'm making this post after having cut it down to the wire.  By the time I post this, I will have finished my last top ten show just two hours before and I hadn't written a single word when I finished the finale of that show.  Luckily, the hard part of this post is watching tons of hours of television and not actually writing the post itself.

#10 The Girlfriend Experience (Season 1,  )
Model Episode: "Separation"

Without spoiling, the finale was an incredibly bold piece of television.  It's not bold for the reason you'd assume a finale would be bold either.  For one thing, it's been revealed that this show is an anthology show.  So nothing that would theoretically happen in a conventional finale would carry over into season two.  So it's not really the firework type of finale.  But it's off-putting and surprising and probably divisive as hell.

In fact, while I put The Girlfriend Experience here, I'd have to know your specific tastes to recommend it.  It almost seems anti-television.  It took me a few episodes to understand what it was doing.  In the process, it was beautifully shot.  Just absolutely gorgeous cinematography.  It's a part of the series' design, but this show was really cold.  The protagonist - she's not really a good person and the tone of the series mirrors her personality.  So for one thing, don't really go towards this show if you have an eye towards connecting with characters.  You'll feel for her at times - especially when the show takes sort of a thriller vibe - but you will probably not understand her all that well.  And as for the supporting characters, they don't get really get ANY characterization.  It's hard for me to explain the appeal of this show to be honest.

#9 Game of Thrones (Season 6; HBO)
Model Episode: "The Door"

I said this in my comedy top ten for a different show, and it applies here as well.  Game of Thrones isn't on this list because it improved significantly from season 5 to season 6.  (You could probably argue it declined, but I've never really looked at Game of Thrones all that critically so I'm not going to be the one to do that.)  It's on this list, because six of the ten shows I put in my top ten last year did not air a single episode in 2016.  How crazy is that?  Three of them ended, one of them was a miniseries, and the other two just couldn't get their season done in time for 2016.  (Which again led to some difficulty in the top half of my list)

I'm shortchanging Game of Thrones.  Honestly, it suffers from something that plagues a few series I consider: I mostly forget about it by the time this list rolls around.  I remember Game of Thrones by the big moments, but forget just about everything else.  The big moments are admittedly really great television.  I included "The Door" instead of "Battle of the Bastards" because that final scene hit me like a ton of bricks in a way very few shows have done.  A characters' death still being capable of doing that to me is a good sign for Game of Thrones.

#8 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Seasons 1-2; CW)
Model Episode: "When Will Josh and His Friend Leave Me Alone?"

Talk about an impossible show to compare to other shows.  This show basically ruins the concept of a top ten for me.  Because I don't know whether to call it a drama or a comedy, but it's an hour long so that's easy enough for me.  (For what it's worth, The Girlfriend Experience is a half hour, but that is clearly a drama)  If you're into musicals, watch this show for sure.  I'm not really into musicals, but the music is a key element of this show.  Each episode will usually have two musical numbers.  Here's the show's most expensive element from the second season premiere.  I don't think context will be needed to watch that one.  That is NOT from the episode I picked as the true musical number I would have picked would be a huge spoiler.

Anyway Rachel Bloom navigates a complicated character who has some serious issues.  Nobody else could play her.  I mean she's the creator of this series so it seems like she already had this character in her head before this ever became a show.  And if you want to have an idea of the type of humor Bloom has, just look at any of her Youtube videos, pre-Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.  The second season has somehow been an improvement over the already pretty great first season, with more of a reflection on the friendship between Rebbeca (Bloom) and Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin).  Their relationship centers the second season in much the same way that the love triange centered the first.  Watch this show because the ratings are LOOOOW and I don't really want it to get cancelled.  Thank you.

#7 Stranger Things (Season 1; Netflix)
Model Episode: "The Flea and the Acrobat"

Confession: I guessed on that episode.  I didn't really think of Stranger Things has having one particularly great episode because the whole show is too connected to think of it that way.  I'm sure one of the episodes is the standout.  I watched it six months ago though.  It mostly could have been any episode.  Besides, if you're watching Stranger Things, you're not skipping to the fifth episode for the model episode; you're watching all eight.

Strictly speaking, from a critical sense, this is probably too high.  But I had more fun watching it than I do watching most things.  David Harbour (Hopper) should have his career explode now.  Similarly, Millie Bobbie Brown will go on to have a great career as she does some very difficult things as Eleven.  I mentioned this in my review of Stranger Things, but the one disconnect between how most people who perceived Stranger Things and how I did was Winona Ryder's performance, which I didn't feel was all that great.  But that's mostly a minor thing.

#6 Jane the Virgin (Seasons 2-3)
Model Episode: "Chapter 51"

If you're wondering, I just picked the most recent episode of Jane the Virgin.  Jane watches Alfred Hitchcock movies to improve her writing, so the show takes breaks from reality at points in the episode and then shoots the show like Hitchcock is the director for short snippets.  It's a perfect encapsulation of the appeal of the show.  They do whatever the hell want.  There's also a strong telenovela storyline with Rafael trying to find details from his past, Jane feeling like she's lost a connection to religion, and Rogelio trying to find a baby mama.  It varies wildly in tone and it makes them seamlessly fit together.

If I was a betting man last year and I needed to bet on whether Jane the Virgin would be on this list this year, I would easily bet that it would not.  Not only does it repeat, but it's actually one spot higher than last year.  Sure, part of that is due to the mass exodus of most of the shows in front of it, but another part of it is that Jane the Virgin might just be the most consistent show on television, an amazing thing to say for a show that navigates as many storytelling devices as they do for 22 episodes!  Here's hoping it lands on this list next year and I'm not as sure that I would make the same bet.

#5 Rectify (Season 4; Sundance)
Model Episode: "Pineapples in Paris"

It's really too bad the show didn't begin season four as strong as it finished it.  The finale was naturally a bit too long, but given the circumstances, I certainly can forgive it for that.  Besides the inflated length, the final four episodes were some of the strongest Rectify episodes they've had.  If the first four had been as strong, Rectify would be making a strong case for a higher ranking (probably not #1 though)

But it speaks to the power of the show that I'm able to say something like that in an eight-episode season and still rank it #5.  I've said it many times, but Rectify is among the most emotionally devastating shows on television and it does so quietly. The things that make you teary-eyed in Rectify would usually not make you teary-eyed on normal shows, but Rectify is so well-written and so well-acted that it can blindside you with the simplest things, like someone getting a job or someone asking for a divorce.

#4 American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson (Season 1; FX)
Model Episode: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia"

Man this show really blew up when it aired, didn't it?  I'm sorry to inform you guys that season two will suck.  Of this I am certain.  Ryan Murphy had NOTHING to do with season except as a producer.  The guys who wrote this season?  They gone.  Murphy is back to writing for the second season in this anthology series.  Whether you're a fan of his or not, I can't really see how American Horror Story or Glee or Nip Tuck or any other show he's done in the past would fit into the tone that the first season of American Crime Story did.  So appreciate this season while you can.

Oh right I guess I should talk about this show.  Well I have it at #4 for a reason and most of that reason has to do with the acting, whether it be Sarah Paulsen as Marcia Clark (hence my pick for the model episode), Sterling K Brown as Christopher Darden, and Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran.  I mean damn all three of those people have a good case for winning an acting Emmy and I really couldn't argue with it about it.  John Travolta plays Robert Shapiro very weird, but it somehow works, and David Schwimmer manages to evade the character Ross in playing Robert Kardashian.  Cuba Gooding is a weak spot in an otherwise great ensemble, but this series focuses on the trial and OJ isn't a huge part of that so it's not an issue.

#3 Better Call Saul (Season 2; AMC)
Model Episode: "Klick"

More confession time: Better Call Saul got screwed over last year.  It probably should have been in my top ten somewhere.  Again, and I'll try to figure out a way around this next year, it is simply a matter of recency bias, or lack thereof in Better Call Saul's case.  Its season starts in January and ends in April and by December, so many other shows have entered my mind that the greatness that Better Call Saul hits escapes me.  I suffered that too this year.  I needed to look up the episode descriptions to remember how great this season was.  In this case, the disappearance of six of the shows from last year is a blessing.  Better Call Saul may very well have been forgotten if I wasn't forced to look harder for a top five.

However, I'm making it sound like the second season isn't better than the first and it clearly is.  So yes, I feel bad, but I don't feel too bad, because it should have been in the bottom half of the top ten and most of those shows end up interchangeable with how close in quality they are.  Jimmy is edging ever so closer to becoming Saul Goodman, but if that's what you're looking for, expect to wait longer.  The creators love Jimmy and want to delay his "transformation" for as long as possible.  They want to see more Jimmy and I can't say I blame them.

#2 OJ: Made in America (Miniseries; ESPN)
Model Episode: Episode 5

I really didn't want to have two OJ Simpson focused television shows on my list.  I watched the first two parts in June and kind of forget about it until December.  I was struggling with whether to watch it when considering my list.  I reasoned "It probably won't make my list anyway because I have no interest in having to OJ Simpson shows on here.  They'll be too alike."  Well obviously I decided to watch the whole thing.  I don't know what happened over the summer to get me to stop watching, but I'm glad I picked it back up.  Obviously.  It's #2 on this list.

I also quickly found that there was no way I could combine both OJ properties onto this list because they are entirely different entities.  They simply aren't the same.  This documentary is higher because of its scope.  It's way bigger than just the trial.  Also, we get a really great look into OJ Simpson, which American Crime Story didn't do at all.  That's why I felt I needed to separate the two series.  Because they aren't trying to accomplish the same things at all.  This documentary is a freaking masterpiece.

#1 The Americans (Season 4; FX)
Model Episode: "The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears"

Man Gabe really couldn't go with an easier episode title.  There's a simple reason that The Americans is higher than OJ: Made in America, which I called a freaking masterpiece just two sentences ago.  That reason is time and being scripted.  That's it.  I figured out that, in minutes, The Americans had more minutes in its season than the documentary had in its five parts.  I consider them on mostly equal footing, I just hold a wholly original creation slightly higher than a documentary, no matter how good.

So this will not be the year that The Americans is unseated.  I'm guessing it would not have been my #1 show in 2014, but I wasn't making these lists then.  For the sake of my enjoyment, I hope it never leaves the #1 spot.  I have nothing else to say except "WATCH THIS SHOW IF YOU AREN'T ALREADY GOOD GOD WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO CONVINCE YOU PEOPLE"

Honorable Mentions

Orange is the New Black - I held Orange is the New Black's fourth season in a similar vein as I did to Game of Thrones' sixth season.  I had a desperate want to include it on my list somewhere, but it became increasingly clear only one of them could make it.  I feel Game of Thrones is a tighter show.

iZombie - I also pretty desperately wanted this show on my list.  The aforementioned 11 shows I needed to cut into 10 shows included this show.  Then The Girlfriend Experience came into play and iZombie got lost in the shuffle.  It definitely suffers because for some reason, its newest season doesn't begin until 2017, which is highly unusual for a network drama.

Mr. Robot - Mr. Robot's first season would have made it on my top ten if it aired a year later.  But the second season wasn't quite as good - it was pretty much all set-up really - so I couldn't include it here.

Vikings - Vikings is a very daring show that I thought could make my list.  If the entire show was as compelling as any scene Travis Fimmel is in, it would make my list, but unfortunately the other aspects of the show aren't nearly as strong.

The Path - This really only gets an honorable mention because I want to call attention to a solid show produced by Hulu!  It probably isn't in my top 15 shows of the year, but it's a good watch about a cult.

The Crown - This series surprised me.  I really didn't expect to like it as much I did.  There really is just not room for it on my list unfortunately.

No I did not forget about this show

Westworld - Well there's always going to be one show where I disagree with the vast majority of people and/or critics.  Last year, it was The Leftovers.  This year, Westworld.  So this isn't a true honorable mention so much as an acknowledgement that somebody might complain about this show's omission.  I reviewed this show if you want my thoughts on it.