1. Over The Garden Wall - Season 1 - January 2017 - ★★★★★
"Phenomenal. I highly recommend it. Probably the best western animated TV show I have seen since Avatar and due to how short it is, it doesn't have dead spots like Avatar does."
2. The Carrie Diaries - Season 1 - January 2017 - ★★☆☆☆
"I mean I actually enjoyed this in a way. I was bored one weekend and ended up watching it on Netflix. I enjoy semi-trashy high school shows with wit, but this didn't really pack enough wit in it to keep me watching into the second season.."
3. A Series of Unfortunate Events - Season 1 - January 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"I loved the books growing up and I appreciate the approach of the show... but it felt off in many ways. Or maybe the series doesn't translate well into TV due to the repetitive format of the books. I did enjoy it, especially Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf, but Mr. Poe felt way off as did Lemony Snicket's narration."
4. 30 Rock - Season 7 (Final) - January 2017 - ★★★★☆
"I love 30 Rock and its humor. Season 7, the final season is not its strongest, but I will never "not" enjoy the show. The finale is not as satisfying as say, the Scrubs finale, which dings it from getting full marks."
5. Black Mirror - Season 1 - February 2017 - ★★★★★
"This season is something else. It is comprised of only three episodes, each encompassing a new sci-fi aspect in an anthology format. I was absolutely mesmerized by all of it, the show makes it all seem so possible. The National Anthem is kind of gruesome, but that is what makes it great. 15 Million Merits is basically a work of art. The Entire History of You is passionate, scary, and heartbreaking."
6. Black Mirror - Season 2 - February 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"A significantly weaker season than the first, but interesting all the same. I would say White Bear grabbed me the most out of all of the episodes because it kept you in a constant state of confusion. White Christmas was the best episode overall, but was also terrifying in its own way."
7. The Mick - Season 1 - January to May 2017 - ★★★★☆
"Sweet Dee's spin-off is basically a network television It's Always Sunny lite that gets surprisingly dark... often. The humor is great. The cast has a good range with no weak links. I really have no problems with this show actually."
8. Riverdale - Season 1 - January to June 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"I officially finished the season finale of Riverdale about a month after I watched the rest of the show, I never felt super compelled to finish it for some reason. The show is a true "guilty pleasure" show in that every actor/actress is beautiful to a fault and it often takes itself too seriously for what its roots are. That may be my biggest problem with the show, as it really was at its best when it was Veronica whipping fast-paced quips at Archie and the gang in the front half of the show. I might continue watching it in Season 2, but I will have to be convinced to not leave it. This is either the lowest 3-star I could give or the highest 2-star."
9. The Office - Season 4-9 - March to April 2017 - ★★★★☆
"I have watched the first few seasons of The Office maybe two or three times but I always fell off the show at some point in the 4th season. My main problem with the show when I was younger is that I didn't like Michael Scott's brand of humor. Coming back to it and finishing the whole series, he definitely grew on me. The show stayed pretty strong even without him, but it became more inconsistent in tone and the revelation that the documentary crew actually had personalities and storylines felt a little unwarranted. I don't know what many other people think, but Dwight is the center of the show as he is the driving force of the comedy, whether it is being pranks directed at him by Jim or just his general uniqueness. I think most of the seasons come out to somewhere around a 3.5-4/5. It isn't as clever as 30 Rock or Park's and Rec, but it does feel more comfortable and familiar most of the time."
10. Schitt's Creek - Season 1 - March to April 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"This was a bit of a surprise as I wasn't expecting much when I ended up watching the pilot one night on Netflix, but it really is a very enjoyable fish-out-of-water tale. The family is kind of Bluth-lite and so is the comedy. Lots of eye candy for such a bumfuck town too."
11. Girl Boss - Season 1 - April 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"Girl Boss follows the recent trend of the main protagonist mostly being unlikable in one way or another. It is a show that has a strong take on feminism, which is pretty evident from the name, but it does it through the lens of someone who is abrasive and cutoff, which is a pretty unique take. Despite that, it manages to be pretty funny and at times poignant. I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I would watch more."
12. 13 Reasons Why - Season 1 - April to May 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"13 Reasons Why is a difficult show to pull off correctly and really was the type of show I should have hated outright. It ended up a strong tale of problems stemming from high school in a modern world. Many of the characters show real growth from start to end, which was nice, and none of the actors were noticeably bad (which is impressive for a show like this!). In fact, Clay and Hannah really impressed me by the end. That said the subject matter was heavy, especially in the last few episodes and learning of a Season 2 retroactively made the first season much worse. The show had bad pacing problems, with many of the middle episodes feeling... not pointless, but overwrought. I think it might have been better off being 10 Reasons Why."
13. Brockmire - Season 1 - March to May 2017 - ★★★★☆
"Really funny show! Frank Azaria's Jim Brockmire may be one of my new favorite characters. His rants and his way with words are on another level and he really sells the whole broadcaster persona and voice well. The show is just 8 episodes and doesn't overstay its welcome."
14. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Season 3 - May 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"I felt like this was the weakest season of Kimmy Schmidt. It didn't run with much purpose and while the dialogue and the one-liners were still on point the lack of drive to the show makes it feel less effective than 30 Rock was at its prime. This could be because there is no central purpose such as the workplace environment of 30 Rock, but I'm not really sure. Also, the whole college section of the season felt really off the mark to me. It went over the top in a really stupid and expected way on the "PC" culture, something I thought Tina Fey and the show would be better at."
15. Master of None - Season 2 - May 2017 - ★★★★☆
"Master of None is a show that shouldn't work. The acting is consistently off and most of the time the subject matter is a bit too on the nose. That said something just clicks for it. It has flashes of brilliance in direction, it explores topics that don't see a lot of light on TV, and the topics that are more common to the format tend to be more grounded or have a real, poignant things to say. I love the cinematography, the music, and the general atmosphere. You can tell this is Aziz's passion project."
16. Archer - Season 7 - June 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"Archer is like comfort food. I think the show is getting budget cuts as a lot of the animation looks even stiffer than normal and the humor/dialogue is getting a bit crusty and reused. That said it is still able to have those moments that make you laugh uncontrollably for a few minutes. Krieger in the Evil Kenivil costume karate chopping the air and making sound effects was maybe the funniest thing I've seen this year."
17. Flaked - Season 2 - June 2017 - ★★☆☆☆
"Flaked is a show I enjoyed despite it having really obvious flaws. It feels like a live-action BoJack Horseman lite show, which makes sense considering it stars Will Arnett. It doesn't quite hit though. There isn't much comedy, the drama is kind of bland, and the overarching themes it tries to reach for don't really land. That said I didn't really mind watching it because it was only a 6-episode run that I watched in one sitting."
18. Big Little Lies - Season 1 - May to June 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"Big Little Lies felt like the definition of a try-hard prestige television show. It is absolutely loaded with big name actors/actresses, it has a movie like quality to it in production, and it has beautiful cinematography and music. That said there isn't much substance to it. They try to play up the suspense by interweaving the past and present in the show and hinting towards a big event at the end of the season, but it all falls a little flat at the actual event. The overarching theme and pull of the show just felt a little shallow. I will totally watch more, but it is more of a guilty pleasure show than a heavy think piece that I think it was trying to be."
19. The Simpsons - Season 1 - June 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"I'm breaking The Simpsons out by season because I actually remembered to watch it fully in order and do a write up in between. Like most comedies/cartoons, The Simpsons is trying to find its stride in the first season and you can see glimpses of greatness and how the show has become a cultural staple over the last 30 years. I am interested to see how the show evolves season to season. Just a quick thing I noticed, the show typically centers around just one storyline with no side plots, but the main story can move to multiple phases and takes unusual turns more than most other shows due to the extra time they give the main story. I like this style."
20. Silicon Valley - Season 4 - April to June 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"It feels a little weird giving Silicon Valley a 3-star review because it has been consistently one of my favorite shows over the past few years. This season was a bit frustrating because it fell into the same trap plot-wise the show has been in for its whole run rather than evolving... while also being less hilarious along the way. Don't get me wrong, I still find it funny 80% of the time, but there is no big set piece or moment like previous seasons to really elevate it."
21. Black Mirror - Season 3 - May to June 2017 - ★★★★★
"Man, Black Mirror is so good. I was a bit down on Season 2, but it was not because the quality of the show was down I just wasn't as interested in the episode concepts. Season 3 is pretty much pure, bleak sci-fi concepts front to back with brilliant iterations on each idea. It even had a mostly happy episode in San Junipero! The production values are still there, the diverse cast, and the believable acting. The thing that really sets the show apart is how grounded it feels. Every episode it feels modern day seamlessly integrated with sci-fi concepts and it is backed by acting that doesn't go over the top."
22. Breaking Bad - Season 2 - July 2017 - ★★★★☆
"This is my confession about Breaking Bad. I have been blatantly lying to people about the show for almost 4 years now. I tried watching it many times, but couldn't get into it. I always stopped a few episodes into Season 2. The show was too stressful and wasn't that interesting on top of it to me. So I told everyone that would listen that it was an overrated show. That it wasn't good. That I had no idea what people saw in it. Yet here I am, finally finishing Season 2 and making it past the first few episodes of the season, which I still think is the weakest. I had to give it a 4-star instead of the 5-star the last part of the season deserves because of my struggle to make it through and continue watching, but now I'm hooked. The show isn't a visual tour-de-force, more recent shows have certainly upstaged it in that regard, and it does feel more clunky than something like Fargo. That seems to be by design, but I hope it continues to improve as I move forward."
23. Breaking Bad - Season 3 - July 2017 - ★★★★☆
"Upon further reflection. I think this is a great season of TV with a bit of a slowdown in the middle, which happens in a lot of shows. The important thing is that it started strong and ended really strong with a trio of fantastic episodes. I thought "Fly" was the weakest episode of the season by far though. I'm genuinely excited to see where it goes next as they leave at a very interesting cliffhanger."
24. Breaking Bad - Season 4 - July 2017 - ★★★★☆
"Breaking Bad continues to be a show I can't give a 5-star to. The highs of the show are great, but there is a lot of in between that is a bit of a slog to get through. The ending feels like it could have been a show finale, and it maybe could have if for some reason Breaking Bad wasn't insanely popular by the time this season aired."
25. Fresh Meat - Season 2 - August 2017 - ★★★☆☆
"A nice bit of British humor. I mostly used this show as a nice palette cleanser in between seasons of Breaking Bad. I enjoyed this season slightly more than the first season of the show. It never really takes itself to the next level but it is normally good background noise. It's on Netflix, so give an episode or two ago."
26. Breaking Bad - Season 5 - July - August 2017 - ★★★★★
"The final season of Breaking Bad was a bit liberating compared to the rest of the show. Without delving into spoilers, the show wraps up very nicely. The tension around Walt's family life breaks and finally feels actually relevant in the story resolving one of the biggest weaknesses of the show. Walt's character arc finally reaches a breaking (bad) point after a gradual build up over the past 4 seasons. He realizes his true motivations and passions and follows through with them in the final episode beautifully. That said I found that Jessie's arc has largely plateaued by Season 5, the one piece of growth was him fully losing faith in Walt. I think overall it is the strongest season even if I wish they managed to wrap it up in 13 episodes instead of 16. If my rating scale could be adjusted I would give it something like a 4.6/5."
27. Game of Thrones - Season 3 - July - August 2017 - ★★★★☆
"What a season. The show has basically devolved into an extended Hollywood blockbuster with increased episode budgets. Large set pieces dominate almost every episode, top notch CGI all over the place, and an unrivaled sense of scale for a TV show. It has lost a bit of the artiness and theme-based episodes that connected together with the majority of the episodes in prior seasons in order to push the plot at a MUCH faster pace. Anyone with a bit of knowledge of the books knows how ridiculous it is that an episode could feature one character being at the Wall and King's Landing within a few scenes of each other, but this was used as a matter of expediency to cut fat from the plot... something GRRM might have to learn for the books. The show remains inconsistent on acting and writing, in particular, I thought a lot of the scenes in Winterfell were sub-par at best. With all that said... how epic is this show??"
28. Atypical - Season 1 - September - ★★☆☆☆
"I'm doing this quite a few days after I actually finished the show so I've lost my main train of thought about the show. I thought the main drama of the show was serviceable to weak, but the subject was mildly interesting.
29. Bojack Horseman - Season 4 - September - ★★★★★
"My favorite Netflix series is back and it delivers again. There is no singular moment or episode that is as impactful as the high parts of Season 3, but Season 4 contains one of the most consistent and hopeful narratives the show has brought forth yet. I can not think of another show that captures the inner workings of human existence and psychology quite as well as Bojack can. It also retains the snappy wit and sight gags that will keep those who are paying attention laughing when they aren't looking deep into themselves in despair. My favorite episode was probably Episode 6, it hit pretty close to home."
30. American Vandal - Season 1 - September - ★★★★★
"I have been on a true crime kick for the past few months via Podcasts and in the past, I have been fully captivated by Serial, Making A Murderer, Paradise Lost, etc. I saw a trailer of this after finishing a movie on Netflix and instantly knew I had to watch it. If the trailer didn't sell me hard enough, the first episode pulled me in full with the absurdist take on the True Crime genre. This may prove to be the best high school drama show I watch all year or maybe even the best in the past few years. There are constant laughs to be had up front, but the backside of the show takes a deep cut into the effects that a documentary has on a community and its subjects. I highly, highly recommend it. I finished it within 24 hours of starting it because of how engrossed I was."
