2019's Top Ten Comedies

On Monday, I posted my Top 10 Dramas of the year.  Today I will be focusing on the top ten comedies.  And I'll again post my Top 50 shows of the decade, posted in early December.  Don't have much time, so I'll quickly get to the post and repost my introductory disclaimer if you're upset about the picks.

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 comedy, 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 Silicon Valley - Season S6 (HBO)

Apologies to the honorable mention shows, which could have easily made their way on this list.  Ultimately, the tiebreaker is that Silicon Valley has never made my top ten and it should make it at least once.  And this was the final season, a season that I think was very good and an improvement over the last few seasons.  With a shortened episode count, they had less "filler" episodes than usual, which has always been my main issue with the show.

#9 The Tick - Season 2 (Amazon Prime)

Another show whose final season just aired, though The Tick's wasn't exactly by choice.  Hard to feel too bad though - the creator was the original comic book creator of The Tick, which then got turned into an animated series for three years, and then a very short run on Fox back in early 2001, and he got a third try at it.  I've seen all three versions - not read the comic book - and this one is by far the attempting to be the closest to reality and I obviously recommend it.


#8 Sex Education - Season 1 (Netflix)

I'm going to forgo trying to describe this series and sell you on its premise and simply tell you that Gillian Anderson plays a sex therapist, too sharing mom and I think that should pretty much sell you on watching the show, shouldn't it?  Also features someone who looks suspiciously like Margot Robbie's little sister.  Anyway, good show.

#7 Bojack Horseman - Season 6 (Netflix)

Yeah Netflix is running the comedy game right now.  As part one of a two part season, it's getting kind of shortchanged for a list such as this - less episodes and less cohesiveness than watching the season as a whole I imagine.  But I like the direction that the show seems to be taking so far, and will be watching the final eight episodes of the show when it comes out.

#6 You're the Worst - Season 5 (FX)

Yet another show whose final season aired in 2019 - if Sex Education's second season hadn't already been made, I'd think it was cancelled based off this - this was yet again a strong final season.  Television hasn't exactly been known for good final seasons, but that trend seems to be changing?  This wouldn't be here if I didn't like how it ended, so feel free to binge this show knowing it ends well.

#5 Tuca & Bertie - Season 1 (Netflix)

If there's one complaint I'll make about this show is that the first and second episodes aren't exactly the best.  The show becomes something great and I'll even give credit that the first two episodes lull you into thinking this show is something it's not - it's from writers of Bojack Horseman for a reason is all I'll say - but I can kind of see why it didn't get viewership numbers to get renewed.

#4 Russian Doll - Season 1 (Netflix)

A Groundhog Day style story told in eight installments, it actually benefits from being an episodic story rather than either in a movie or a one-off of a genre show.  I have no idea how they're going to do a season two to be perfectly honest, but I'm not going to write off any show with an obvious one season premise after American Vandal pulled a great season two out of their ass.

#3 Fleabag - Season 2 (BBC)

Well, you've probably heard all about this show at this point.  I think this is an improvement over the first season - which I won't make you look but made my #9 comedy of 2016 - but the whole and very short-lived show is worth watching.  The season focuses on Pheobe Waller-Bridge's flirtation with "hot priest" (played by Andrew Scott) and of course her relationship with her family.  And would you believe it, this show's final season was this year too!

#2 Barry - Season 2 (HBO)

I cannot give enough praise to a specific, standout episode during this season called "ronny/lilly."  I've truly never seen an episode like this and it's a treat.  It's written, directed, and starring Bill Hader, and I'm not even worried I'm overselling this it's that good.  What I am worried is that I'm giving short shaft to the rest of the season, which perhaps didn't reach the heights of that episode, but just about no other show did either so can't fault it for that.

#1 The Good Place - Season 4 (NBC)

Yeah another final season here, although there are a few more episodes left until the season is over.  I'm a little surprised this is my first #1 posting for The Good Place, but it surprisingly is.  Anyway, it's one of my favorite comedies ever, even if it wouldn't be on my funniest.  I only partially watch it for the laughs, the other part is some good ole existential thinking and philosophical debates.  I can't believe this show works as well as it does.

Honorable Mentions

GLOW - The drop from #2 to honorable mention is probably over exaggerating the drop off, but this was a genuinely uneven season and I'm less sure the writers know what they want to do after they blew up the status quo at the end of season two.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Black-ish - Two shows keeping the network sitcom alive deep into their runs.  I like B99 more, but I had basically the same thing to say about both.

Archer - In what could be a final season - but looks like Adam Reed's final season at the least - it would have fit in well with this list.

Bob's Burgers - Remaining as consistent of a show as it's ever been, this show is comfort food in the best way.

It's Always Sunny - I would have liked this to make my list, seeing as it's one of my favorite comedies ever, but couldn't find a way to squeeze it in even though it had a good season.

Rick & Morty - I'm as shocked as you this isn't on my list, but I'm only working with five episodes, two of which were not very good, so not particularly hard to leave off the list.

Better Things - This show is not really made for me, so it's probably not a surprise it's off my list, but I just can't find a way to include it in a top ten.

Veep - While comedy isn't as strong as the drama field, there seem to be a million comedies I would have been cool putting at the back end of my list.  Yet another final season that I ultimately couldn't squeeze onto the list.

Catastrophe - I like Catastrophe, but it is a six episode a season show with the urgency of a 24 episode a season show, so it's easy to forget about.

Documentary Now! - Only one more show, it's actually ridiculous how many shows I want to at least mention here.

Dear White People - I watched a few shows with incredibly strong second seasons with a third season that isn't as good, and this is another one of those shows.

2017's Top Ten Comedies

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

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

#10 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - FXX

Model Episode - "The Gang Turns Black"

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

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

#9 Vice Principals - HBO

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

2015 Top Ten Comedies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Model Episode - "Switcheroo Day" (S1 E7)

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

#9 Bojack Horseman - Netflix (Season 2)

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

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

Model Episode "Escape from LA" (S2 E11)

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

#8 Parks and Recreation - NBC (Season 7)

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

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

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

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

#7 Broad City - Comedy Central (Season 2)

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

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

Model Episode - "Knockoffs" (S2 E4)

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

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

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

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

Model Episode - "Charlie Work" (S10 E4)

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

#5 Master of None - Netflix (Season 1)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Model Episode - "LCD Soundsystem" (S2 E9)

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

#1 Review - Comedy Central (Season 2)

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mentions

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

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

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

Thanks for reading and tell me what you think.

2015 Top Ten Dramas

I made the foolish decision to make an end-of-the-year top ten list.  Most top ten lists come out before Christmas, but there was just no time for me to watch what I felt I needed to watch in order to come up with the best possible list.  Given that the holidays provide loads of opportunity of free time, it was also more convenient.  I don't regret that decision either.  The list today, the top ten drama, could have been ably made without the extra time, although a couple shows are in the top ten that I just watched in December.  The comedy list on the other hand would have looked a hell of a lot different.

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

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

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

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

#10 The Flash - CW (Season 1-2)

I consider this show's placement on the list to be an upset.  I hadn't planned on putting this on my top ten.  I wanted to put it in my top ten, but then I went through the list of shows that I was considering and I didn't seem to have any room for it.  The more I thought about it though, the more I realized it had to be on the list.

The Flash is unlike just about every other recent superhero show or movie in that it purposefully goes for a lighter tone acknowledging that being a superhero would be pretty fucking awesome, especially one who runs at lightning speed.  It's a show well aware of its origins and it embraces those origins.  It has the cheesy, pun-related and comic book dialogue while also retaining an emotional core thanks to a strong cast led by Grant Gustin and Jesse L. Martin.  Plus, it appeals to both comic book fans and people who have never read a comic book in their life (like me).  I've seen enough comments and read enough reviews to know you might actually enjoy this more if you're into the comics, because the creators are well-versed in its history.  But seeing as this is number ten on my list, it obviously appeals strongly to novices in comics too.

There are reasons to watch The Flash and then there is THE REASON to watch The Flash.  That reason is Tom Cavanaugh.  Words can't adequately describe just how good of a performance he gives, specifically in the first season.  He's Barry's mentor and he seems sincere in his intentions, but he also has hidden motives and is clearly not totally on Barry's side.  He's able to play these seemingly contradictory points to near perfection.

Model Episode: "Fast Enough" (S1 E23)

So far the best episode of the show was the season one finale.  One of the joys of The Flash's first season was that it was able to seamlessly blend its monster of the week and its season long narratives.  It all culminates in, frankly, a batshit insane finale.

#9 - Making a Murderer - Netflix 

Given that this was released two weeks ago and I've seen nothing like the cultural impact that The Jinx did when that aired, most of you probably haven't watched this.  (Edit: Well, when I wrote that, it was a true statement.  It's seemingly blown up recently though.)  Well, I'm going to need to take this opportunity to say that you should.  It is very hard for me to put a documentary series on this list - The Jinx wasn't anywhere close to making it - and yet I can't deny that this belongs here.  The show is about Steven Avery, a man wrongfully convicted back in 1985 of sexual assault.  He later gets released and well... find out the rest of the story by watching the documentary.  If you think that was a spoiler, he gets released by the end of the pilot episode and it was also apparently a very famous case.

The Manitowoc County police department is clearly corrupt, BUT this series does show certain things even honest cops might do that terrify the shit out of me.  Like when interviewing potential witnesses, accidentally give them crucial information that they otherwise would not know.  Although if you've seen this series, what I'm referencing is nothing short of despicable.

Model Episode: "Indefensible" (S1 E4)

It's hard to pick a specific episode, but I believe this episode had the biggest impact on me.  It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to watch, mostly because it really happened.  Again, I don't want to spoil, but I'm just getting angry thinking about it.  If you watched it, I'm talking about what happened to Branden Dassey and his appointed lawyer.

#8 - Sense8 - Netflix (Season 1)

This show is responsible for one of my favorite scenes of the year, when the group of sensates all sing along to "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes.  I don't think my feelings towards that scene can be replicated because I tried to watch it on Youtube and it's just not the same as that first time.  That was the moment I fell in love with the show.  Sense8 is about eight different characters around the world of different ethnicities, sexual orientations, and genders.  They are able to communicate with each other gradually, through their special abilities.

There's something so different about this show.  It's full of the celebration of human life, of the differences in human beings and how we should celebrate those differences.  It's a show with eight characters that couldn't be more different using their differences to overcome the threat to their lives.  It could be characterized as slow and the characters themselves could be characterized as cliches.  To an extent, they do start out that way.  I'm starting to come around to the idea that being a cliche isn't necessarily a bad thing by itself as long as you develop the characters.  Also you could argue it's necessary with such an ambitious idea to familiarize the audience with the characters as soon as possible by creating known character staples.

The cast is quite good despite being full of relative unknowns (full disclaimer: the foreign actors might be well-known elsewhere, but I'm pretty good with actor's names and I've never heard of any of the eight principal characters so I feel comfortable saying they aren't well-known in the US).  Anyway, none of them are weak links.  If there is a standout actor, I'd have to give it to Miguel Ángel Silvestre, who plays Lito.  For the entirety of the show, his story is pretty much completely unrelated to anything else happening and due to him (and Alfonso Herrera and Eréndira Ibarra) it's arguably one of the most compelling.  And Doona Bae, who plays Sun, is also pretty good by virtue of playing my favorite character.

Model Episode - "What's Going On?" (S1 E4)

There's really no way for me to pick any other episode.  This is an episode that takes full advantage of its premise by having every character sing along to a... well it's not a very well-respected song critically speaking.  (I don't mind it, though I was literally one-year-old when it was popular and I have a feeling it being overplayed is a huge factor in why it's disliked among certain circles).  I also rarely can point to one specific episode that makes me love a show and how can I resist picking the episode of Sense8 where everything clicked.

#7 - Jane the Virgin - CW (Season 1-2)

It says a lot that two CW shows made my top ten list.  Seriously, when did the CW become so good?  (Also, I'm sorry iZombie fans, but this won't make my list and it's entirely due to the fact that, hey some really good shows needed to be left off this list).  Jane the Virgin distinguishes itself from other shows I watch because it is entirely different from every other show I watch.  It juggles different tones constantly between being a melodramatic telenovela, a multigenerational family drama, a romantic love triangle, a crime mystery (easily the weakest part, but hey you need to keep Michael involved), and I'm probably missing something else.

I'm not going to write a review of this show anywhere else so I need to say it here. One pet peeve of mine about this show is Jane's writing career.  In order to keep the show somewhat in reality, the writers clearly intend for some things to be realistic, like the familial bond, and some things that could come out of a telenovela.  I get the impression, and I could be totally wrong here, that her writing career is supposed to be at least semi-realistic.  I don't know what it is, whether it's my jealousy at how easily she's able to go back to school post-graduation (I would love to take the graduate program she did, but due to the price and lack of foreseeable income it would generate, I can't) or the fact that the show isn't all that convincing in portraying her as this great writer she's supposed to be, but it just rings false to me.

Anyway, I just had to share that.  I have to give credit to the show for creating a love triangle where both men seem like actual competition instead of the usual love triangle where it's pretty obvious which one is the better option.  (For what it's worth, due to the fact that Rafael's strengths are mostly pretty face and rich, I'm #TeamMichael)  Gina Rodriguez is perfectly cast, able to change her performance for whatever the tone of the scene requires.  Yael Grobglas's performance is so good that the writers know that no matter how bad her actions are, the audience will sympathize with her character.  Lastly, Jaime Camil takes an over-the-top telenovela star whose performance fits that characterization and makes him a character... somehow.  It's great.

Model Episode - "Chapter 28" (S2 E6)

Since I watched the first season in literally less than a week, it was kind of hard to pick a standout episode.  But ultimately I went with an episode that proved the writers were unafraid to try new things.  This episode occurs over three months, a pretty drastic change from its usual format.  I also could have chosen the episode when the "bromance" between Rogelio and Michael starts or the season one finale, which is probably a better representation of everything that makes Jane the Virgin great.

#6 Mad Men - AMC (Season 7 Part Two)

The first four shows on this list represent shows in their first season, so its fitting that I break the trend here with a show in its very last season.  There's not really anything new I can add that hasn't already been written about Mad Men.  Not many shows could have nearly every episode put an end to a character's journey.  Essentially, each episode seemed to have an episode where if if they were the main character, that episode would function as their de factor series finale.  They may have appeared in later episodes, but they did have a specific episode end their character journey.

I don't find anything particularly unique about Mad Men's final season (part two) compared to its previous seasons.  Obviously, given its placement on this list, that isn't a complaint.  I just mean to compliment the virtues of Mad Men's final season (part two), I might as well be complimenting what makes Mad Men, Mad Men.  While I hold the first four seasons higher than the following three - including the final season - what is "average" Mad Men is quite a bit better than everything else on television.

Plus, I think Mad Men stuck the landing for the finale.  I consider the journey more important than the conclusion (which is why I think Lost is still a great show), but I've found instances of picking this list where the finale factored a lot more into my thinking than I thought they would.  It ties everything together.  Hell - and this will probably sound blasphemous to some - it's significantly lowered my opinion of Breaking Bad (at least in terms of best shows ever).  So, thank you Mad Men, for ending the show on a good note.

Model Episode - "Person to Person" (S7 E14)

Well, it'd be really weird if this wasn't my pick after my whole last paragraph said how great it was that Mad Men ended the show on a good note, wouldn't it?  Anyway, I've always found it hard to tell apart Mad Men episodes from each other except for the select few that seem to end up on the "Best Mad Men Episodes" list.

#5 - Rectify - Sundance (Season 3)

I'm going to guess most people have either never seen this or if they did, thought it was too slow.  It's also only six episodes.  How do judge a show that only has the burden of making six episodes over a show that has to make 22 episodes?  Well, there are two ways I'm justifying this ranking.  First thing is first, not many shows have truly great episodes.  I mean you really enjoy a season and usually there's one or two episodes that you can pick out later when you make your "Best Episodes" list in your head.  But most of the time, you enjoy the show for its status quo.

Part of my rankings honestly were looking at the episode titles, reading about them if necessary, and then seeing how many episodes I instantly remember loving.  The whole episode comes into my mind and I want to go back and see that episode.  Mad Men hurt itself because I know a Mad Men episode that blows my mind and none in season seven really did it.  It probably set too high of a standard.  As for the Rectify, I have no problem in saying that there were more very good episodes in this six-episode season than most shows.  In fact, I had this ranked higher, but realized I couldn't simply make the argument that it was true for any of the shows above it.

Rectify is responsible for possibly my pick for the greatest scene of the year.  I would link it to you if I could find a link.  A drunk, depressed Teddy confesses to his nephew about something he did when he was younger.  Clayne Crawford is just spectacular in this scene.  It's one of those scenes where everytime I think of it, I just feel horrible at how often this likely happens.  Great piece of writing.  Great acting.

Model Episode - "Thrill Ride" (S3 E2)

This episode obviously contains the aforementioned scene I was talking about above.  As Brandon Nowalk of the AV Club says "This episode does for Teddy what Rectify does for Daniel."  We see things from his perspective and through other people.


#4 - Justified - FX (Season 6)

Full disclosure: Justified's last episode aired in early April so it's pretty hard for me to specifically remember some of this season.  If you're wondering why it's as high as #4, well I had the same problem with similar shows that ended so early in the year.  I'll have the same problem with some of the upcoming shows as well.  But I did read the episode descriptions for this season, and it brought me back the feelings I had for this season.

Remember that thing I said about how the ending was more important than I thought?  Justified's final season is a prime example of that.  Hearing the names Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins alone should probably be the end of my argument, but this season also featured Mary Steenburgen, Sam Elliot, and Garrett Dillahunt.  There's also the return of Kaityln Dever as Loretta from season two (the series' best season), the always reliable Patton Oswalt, the hilarious Jere Burns (this show is funnier than quite a few comedies actually), and Mykelti Williamson.  The only person missing from the Justified All-Stars is Margo Martindale.  And that was never going to happen.

Justified's sixth season is a season of master plotting.  Sometime in the middle of the season, the plot ramped up to where it seemed like anyone (except for Raylan or Boyd) could die and each successive episode somehow kept the tension as high as could be.  It was to the point where it was the eighth episode and hard to imagine how they could keep up the pace they were at - it really seemed like they'd need to either stall or have the last few episodes be quiet reflection with most of the characters dead or in jail.  And yet, they managed to believably keep the action and tension high into the finale.

Model Episode - "Fugitive Number One"(S6 E11)

Really, you could probably put any of the last few episodes of the season here and not be wrong.  This one stands out to me at least because of two death scenes that are brutal to watch.  For fear that not everyone reading has seen this series - and because I think everyone reading should watch this series - I'll not spoil the deaths, but both scenes just add to this sense of impending doom.  Both were also pretty heartbreaking to me, though none of the characters were "good" people.

#3 - Hannibal - NBC (Season 3)

Rectify made the top five based off its writing, for the most part.  Justified made the top five for its dialogue, pacing, and plotting.  Hannibal makes this list based off its directing mostly.  Put it this way: this director of this movie directed five episodes and the cinematographer of Pan's Labyrinth directed three episodes.  Directors come in and experiment with things to see how they can make use of a presumably small budget.  I think I read a quote from Bryan Fuller telling directors to make it like a pretentious art film.  (He was probably joking)  I can see how the directors followed that, but it's also underselling how good the show was.

Hannibal was perhaps worried about cancellation so the back end of the season dealt with the television show's interpretation of The Great Red Dragon.  Honestly, that's most of what I remember about the season.  Richard Armitage being effectively creepy and strangely sympathetic.  He gives a performance worthy of the character of Francis Dolarhyde.  The show also improves by giving a greater role to Gillian Anderson - always a good move - and making Alana Bloom a much more active and more interesting character.

Hannibal is essentially talented directors with free reign with the writing of Bryan Fuller brought to life by fantastic acting from the regulars to the supporting players.  Hugh Dancy, Laurence Fishburne and Mads Mikkelson - which is the definitive Hannibal Lecter performance for me anyway - all are as reliable as they've always been. Then good luck picking the best supporting actor of this group: Rutina Wesley as Francis' blind love interest, Nina Ariande as Will's wife, Katherine Isabelle as Margot Verger, or any of the actors I've mentioned above.  Seriously, all of them are making me run out of adjectives to describe them.

Model Episode - "Digestivo" (S3 E7)

I'm going to choose the bridge between the two halves of the season.  The first is focused on Will finding Hannibal and the second on the Red Dragon.  Both are good, but here is where we get exposed to an episode of Mason Verger (I didn't give Joe Anderson enough credit for Verger, but I sadly prefer season two's Michael Pitt).  At the end of the episode, the show reframes Hannibal's capture by law by having him give up to spite Will instead of actually being caught.  It fits in perfectly with the show.

#2 - Fargo - FX (Season 2)

I find Fargo and Justified pretty similar in terms of why and how they're good.  They both have unusually excellent plotting that lets the tension stay high.  Both shows make it seem like characters would have to die before the finale, manage to prolong it to the end of the season, and not make it seem like they stalled or faltered along the way.  Both have excellent dialogue that allows it to go slower than you might otherwise expect.  And both have quite the cast to boast with some of the best performances coming from the people you wouldn't expect.

If season one of Fargo was the Billy Bob Thornton showcase, season two is the Bokeem Woodbine showcase.  And the Kirsten Dunst showcase.  And though he wasn't in the whole season, the Nick Offerman showcase.  (Seriously, he was amazing in his drunken state trying to convince Bear Gerhardt to back away from the police station.  There's also Patrick Wilson, Jean Smart, Jesse Plemons, Ted Danson, and the list goes on.  Zahn McClarnon as Hanzee turned out to be a much better character than he initially seemed.

Model Episode "The Castle"

Here's another show where I don't really think you can necessarily go wrong with any answer.  This is the episode where everything turns to shit.  Basically, this is the episode where Hanzee turns on the Gerhardt family, the police are ambushed at motel, Ed and Peggy end the episode running away ("It's just a flyer saucer, Ed. We got to go."), and Betsy falls ill at home.  Again, I don't necessarily know if this is the best episode, but this is definitely the episode where the most seems to happen and that's as good of a choice as any really.  Nearly any episode would apply.

#1 - The Americans - FX (Season 3)

Come on, did you really expect any different - at least for those who follow me on Twitter?  This had to be the choice.  Fargo was a strong contender for #1, but ultimately I was pretty sure that it was mostly due to the fact that it was the series I JUST saw.  I'm a little worried it's too high still.  But The Americans third season was perhaps their best season to date.  (Season two's ending kind of breaks down the more you think about it and season one wasn't as great as either at keeping the story momentum.)

Due to both the viewership and the fact that - outside of people who I've met through the internet - nobody I know has ever watched this show (that I'm aware of at least), I'm not going to go into too much detail about what makes this season great.  The two protagonists, Phillip and Elizabeth, face a dilemma put upon by the Soviet government.  (If you aren't aware of the premise, Phillip and Elizabeth are married undercover Soviet spies living in America who speak perfect English)  One of the characters has no intention of following through on their orders while the other encourages it. Basically, this show excels at identifying perhaps the most important element of marriage - trust - and then making both skillful liars and spies, obviously making trust extremely difficult.

This season also really hammers down the toll that killing and lying and the things required of an undercover spy would have on a normal person.  We FEEL what the characters are feeling.  The show has built up two seasons worth of sympathy to the point where we root for them over the Americans.  This season features a dead body being put inside a suitcase, the most painful and intimate tooth extraction you'll ever see, and many deaths.  Oh and this season also features the dad needing to seduce a girl his daughter's age and it's actually worse than it sounds when you know why specifically he struggles with this.

Model Episode - "Stingers" - (S3 E10)

Wow it's going to be impossible to say why this is the episode without spoiling.  For people who've seen the show though, it's the episode where the primary conflict of the whole season - the conflict that it appeared would last at least to the final episode - is revealed in this episode.  The writing in this episode exceeds even the usual Americans episode as the characters behave as realistic as I can imagine in a situation nobody has surely ever experienced.

Honorable Mentions

Shows once in my top ten
The Leftovers - I would have felt dishonest if it were in my top ten.  I just don't really connect with this show as most seem to do.  I don't want to levy this criticism towards it, but I can't think of a better word: it's just a little too pretentious for me.  I don't think this is true of everyone in the sense that I don't necessarily think other people will find it pretentious.  I just find frequently watching the show that I'm not buying the events are as important as they show is trying to convey.

Looking - I really did want to include this in my top ten, but then I watched Sense8 and then I watched Making a Murderer and it just became impossible to include it on my list.  I don't think I'll get many complaints about this one though.

The Knick - I wasn't really planning on putting it on the list, but then the ending of the second season was about as good a conclusion as you can hope for to any series.  So then it made it's way on, only to again be knocked off by my recent watches.  Anyway, if I had to pick a reason why this isn't on the list, it's probably that I don't find the writing that great.  This show is being considered almost solely due to the director, the setting and the acting.  Sometimes the writing is great, specifically the season two finale, but most of the time it's only average.

The Rest
I enjoyed the third season of Banshee and it had a few of the best action sequences of the year.  I really liked the first season of Better Call Saul, but if I'm being honest it was never seriously considered.  I can't really say why either.  It's just one of those things when I was making the list and highlighting certain shows, and this pretty much immediately was highlighted as an honorable mention show.  The same is said for Game of Thrones fifth season.  I've always thought of this as a good (with occasionally amazing episodes), not great show.  Nothing changed in the fifth season.  iZombie, despite its awful name, is a Rob Thomas show and he's got a pretty good track record.  This is a much better show than you think it is.  Jessica Jones was brought down by mostly one episode, an episode with narrative shortcuts and contrivances.  In fact, I think it's probably the worst episode of any of the shows mentioned on this post. (Edit: I forgot to mention Mr. Robot as another show that is on honorable mention.)

That is my list.  Tell me what you think.