All right people, we finally made it to page 2! Let's keep it going!

I don't have time to justify all my picks, but these are probably my Top 10.

1. Better Call Saul;
2. Game of Thrones;
3. Halt and Catch Fire;
4. Bates Motel;
5. The People vs OJ Simpson;
6. The Americans;
7. Silicon Valley;
8. Stranger Things;
9. Vikings;
10. Narcos;

Fail of the Year:
Westworld; Such wasted potential with a contrived and confusing storyline, and very unrelatable characters.

I know someone made a thread about the critics top 10s for 2016 - does anyone have a link to that? I'm just trying to get an idea of what the big things that came out where (particularly from before the new season).

firehawk12 said:

I know someone made a thread about the critics top 10s for 2016 - does anyone have a link to that? I'm just trying to get an idea of what the big things that came out where (particularly from before the new season).

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Is this the one you're thinking of?
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1323670

Grizzlyjin said:

Is this the one you're thinking of?
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1323670

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That's it, thanks!

Hitflix used to basically take all the critics votes and make a super list, but i guess no one did that this year.

firehawk12 said:

That's it, thanks!

Hitflix used to basically take all the critics votes and make a super list, but i guess no one did that this year.

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I don't know what happened to Hitfix recently, but I don't like it.

LotusHD said:

I don't know what happened to Hitfix recently, but I don't like it.

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Fully absorbed into Uproxx.

LotusHD said:

I don't know what happened to Hitfix recently, but I don't like it.

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I assume they got bought out, which is why Feinberg bailed earlier in the year.
Although Sepinwall still managed to do the critics list: http://uproxx.com/sepinwall/tv-critics-poll-2016-critics/

----

My prelim top ten.

1. Atlanta
2. Stranger Things
3. OJ Made in America (I'd cheat and put American Crime Story here as well, but if I had to choose, the doc was more compelling to me than the docudrama).
4. Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories
5. The Family Law
6. Black Mirror
7.Boy Meets Girl
8. Detectorists
9. The Get Down
10. Longmire

1. Rectify
2. Better Call Saul
3. The Americans
4. You're the Worst
5. Silicon Valley
6. Vice Principals
7. Penny Dreadful
8. Baskets
9. Quarry
10. Mr. Robot

Honorable Mentions:
11. Stranger Things
12. Westworld

Ash vs. Evil Dead - Atlanta - The Night Of - Preacher - Veep

Other shows I enjoyed:
11.22.63 - The Affair - Archer - Bloodline - Daredevil - Game of Thrones - House of Cards - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Man Seeking Woman - The Night Manager - The Path

Fail of the Year
1. The Walking Dead: This show has its rare moments but is mostly comprised of shallow, recycled drama with dull characters. I lost interest after season 3 but kept watching just to see where it was going. Sadly, it took me another three seasons to accept that TWD was going nowhere. Out of morbid curiosity I watched the scene from this season's premiere that resolves last season's low-effort cliffhanger. What was seemingly intended to be 'shocking' and 'tragic' only made me laugh at how shamelessly sadistic this show is.

2. The Arrowverse: Season 3 of The Flash is a noticeable decline from last season, marred by muddled timelines and boring, clumsy drama. On the other hand Arrow has improved from s4 to s5 but still gives the impression the creative minds have exhausted any interesting arcs for the characters. It’s hard to care about anything that happens in the Arrowverse because dead characters can return and timelines can be altered. I gave Legends of Tomorrow a try in its first season, and I haven't bothered with Supergirl since I'll likely part ways with the Arrowverse after this season. CW, you have failed this viewer!

3. The X-Files: While the middle episodes were fun (entire season was worth it alone for the Were Monster episode), the tenth season's bookends were pretty bad. They felt lazy and uninspired, resorting to the familiar mythology cycle that made Duchovny look like he was falling asleep while saying a variation of, "But Scully, what if everything we thought we knew was wrong!?" for the hundredth time in the series. The finale would have had won the award for worst attempt at a cliffhanger this year if not for The Walking Dead.

1. Atlanta; Amazing blend of the realistic, the absurd, and the outright fantastic. Just a special show all around
2. Game of Thrones S6; Spectacle and pay off like no other. They had alot to prove without the books' guidance and I think they have done a good job so far. Hope they stick the landing over the next few seasons
3. Bojack Horseman S3; Another great season from Bojack, this show is one of the all time greats, nuff said
4. Westworld; Awesome performance from Anthony Hopkins of course and the rest of the cast was pretty good as well. Really the first great 'videogame' tv/movie narrative. Raises alot of questions without easy answers.
5. Dirk Gently; Inventive take on Douglas Adams' character with some amazing world building. With all the crazy shit that already went down in S1, can't wait to see where the show takes us next.
6. The Get Down; Great show but I'm a sucker for Baz. Has an energy, freshness and vibrancy that very few shows have and an awesome mythological view of NY past. Dips a bit in the middle but ends strong, can't wait for the second half of the show to release
7. The Crown; A very interesting look at a position most would call ceremonial. Really strong storylines throughout and great acting from the leads
8. Silicon Valley; honestly the quality of the show is still great, I mean really great, but its starting to lose its freshness. Hoping for something new from next season
9. Mr Robot; to be honest im not sure how exactly i completely feel about this season yet but I definitely tuned in every week for my next dose of this unique voice
10. Stranger Things; Nostalgia bomb for 80s/90s kids. Didn't really do anything new but really enjoyed the characters and style (and usually I hate kid actors)

Honorable Mentions/Fails of the Year:
Punisher Season 0 and the Tale of Cottonmouth; aka Marvel cut your Netflix episode orders in half
The Night Manager; fire everyone in charge of Bond and hire these guys

Looking back its awesome to remember so many great new shows, probably a ton of great stuff I missed this year as well. We are truly living in peak TV

1 Game of Thrones The king is back. All hail the king.
2 Black Sails As it sails into its final season it delivered a stunning season 3. No show does season finales as well as Black Sails.
3 The Expanse Good Sci Fi on SyFy, what madness is this ?
4 Supergirl Big thanks to CW for giving this show a chance to shine.
5 Westworld It's so huge in scope that you start each episode as if it's the first.
6 The Crown Amazing production values and acting. Weirdly enough I enjoyed the secondary characters way more then the main ones. I'd watch a whole show with nothing but Margaret, Lascalles and Edward.
7 iZombie Fun as hell and for once they don't let all the secrets all the characters have choke the stories but drive them.
8 Line of Duty Gritty UK cop drama about bad cops and the cops who catch them. Towards the end the tension is cranked up to incredible levels for a ridiculous(ly awesome) climax.
9 Travelers A last minute surprise, it's not just the 1000th Canadian sci fi show but takes its premise and its characters far beyond what you'd expect.
10 Planet Earth Breathtaking and at time more exciting then anything writers and actors could produce.

RatskyWatsky said:

All right people, we finally made it to page 2! Let's keep it going!

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*starts sweating*

I gotta change my answers! I thought I could live with excluding Lady Dynamite but I can't. Eugh

My order is pretty arbitrary. Honestly I watch/watched over 70 currently running series and it's really hard to choose the ten strongest. The second ten after these would be just as strong.

1. Black Sails
2. Rectify
3. American Crime Story
4. Atlanta
5. Quarry
6. Lady Dynamite
7. Love
8. Better Call Saul
9. The Americans
10. Gomorra

Fail of the year:
Search Party: I just want to be the one person who says they hate this, cause I do. I watched three episodes and I can't see how it was so highly regarded.

I don't watch too much TV these days sadly but from what I have seen:

1) better call Saul
2) Atlanta
3) rectify
4) this is us
5) stranger things
6) master of none

I hold all of these shows in high regard, with BCS representing the high water mark for modern TV.

I feel like I haven't watched enough to have a great or interesting list but...

The Americans
Better Call Saul
Fleabag
Orange is the New Black
ACS: The People vs OJ Simpson
The Crown
Lady Dynamite
Full Frontal w/ Samantha Bee
Last Week Tonight w/ John Oliver
Jane the Virgin


And in the "ugh..." category:
The Circus - I loved the gossipy nature of Game Change and thought it would be an interesting addition to election coverage. But the Game Change authors were so obnoxious to listen to and I felt it added little real insight into the candidates or the election (that went above and beyond the usual election coverage).

The Good Wife - I don't think the final season is terrible but it was aimless, it sidelined great major characters, gave one interesting new character very little to do, and shoe-horned in a fairly boring new romantic interest. AND THAT KALINDA/ALICIA SCENE, WTF?

The X-Files "event series" - I was a huge X-phile (lol, that term) back in the day but the Chris Carter episodes were such a fucking mess. And as much as I loved the Darin Morgan episode, it did not make up for the other episodes.

The lack of Bojack in this thread can only be described as distressing

ImpracticalPassword said:

I feel like I haven't watched enough to have a great or interesting list but...

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Rank your list, please!

OniBarubary said:

The lack of posts in this thread can only be described as distressing

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Fixed.

Still need to catch up on quite a few shows but lets go with this for 2016:

1. Westworld
2. Stranger Things
3. Game of Thrones
4. Person of Interest
5. The 100
6. Supernatural
7. iZombie
8. Luke Cage
9. Penny Dreadful
10. Arrow

I still need to finish The Path before I finalize my list. Not too much love for Hulu shows I see.

1- American Crime Story: People vs OJ. Didn't know the whole story (Italy here) and it was interesting to watch the show as a social and media commentary of the '90s. Blown away by Vance ("CHOOSE A SIDE", glorious) whom I thought to be an absolute noob actor after watching Law and Order Criminal Intent for years, and Cochrane persona himself who I didn't know much about. Cuba wouldn't have been my guy of choice for this job, but then again he was great too.
I dug the stabs at the Kardashians but I have found them to be a bit in poor taste, and Kardashian himself depicted in a way that was really insulting ("he is THE JUICE!").

2- Girls. This show is a drug for me and it breaks my heart to see it go away in 2017.

3- Love. Thought absolute nothing of it first time I watched it, then it slowly crept up on me how it's an almost play by play of a relationship I had ten years ago, in my thirties. I think I was sort of disappointed in not finding it as funny as other Appatow stuff. Then it hit me.
Dying for a second season.

4- The Night of. Loved it from start to finish. Only thing I would have changed was the last episode, 5- Girlfriend Experience. Loved the movie, Seimetz is a great writer as usual (people should check out her mumblecore stuff) and really really great lead.
Kind of fed up with Sparks: he is great but he's EVERYWHERE. Kind of like Mendelsohn.
A notch above the original movie, for me.

edit: FORGOT. Saw
6- Easy on Netflix and I thought it was really good. Surprised to see such a wide array of topics tackled with such authenticity with an 8 episode per season, 30 minutes per episode show.

Fail of the year
Walking Dead. After season 3 I started to watch the show on and off. Was about to keep up with season 5 and 6 until a saw the pilot with Negan...
I don't think anything can describe jumping the shark and failing miserably like this show has done. Fail of the CENTURY.
Watching this show turning from a show about characters to a show about cliffhangers and cheap shots was heartbraking. AMC really need to get their shit together: I'm so glad they didn't get ruin Mad Men finale with that awful split season idea. Hopefully Wiener is going to drop them.

1. Stranger Things
2. Black Mirror
3. Game of Thrones
4. Planet Earth 2
5. Mr. Robot
6. Walking Dead

Long time reader, long time not-submitting-list guy. After skipping two years, I’ve finally kept my promise. Sorry it took so long, Ratsky.

1. Atlanta (FX) ; One word to describe this show is trippy, and it’s the good kind of trippy. It has a bunch of bizarrely funny plots, themes and characters that all somehow seem to make perfect sense in their world. But it also doesn’t shy away from highlighting serious topics such as class and race relations, without being preachy mess. Favorite episode: “B.A.N.” (S01E07)
   
2. Black Mirror–Season 3 (Netflix); Charlie Booker’s collection of tech terrors are more effective than most horror/thriller movies released these days. It’s not all doom and gloom though, there is some positivity to be found this season; such as the brilliant “San Janipero”. Caution though, like the previous seasons of Black Mirror, don’t consume all the episodes in one day—because it will emotionally wreck you. Favorite episodes: “San Janipero” and “Shut Up and Dance”
   
3. iZOMBiE–Season 2 (CW); The second season is a good step up for the show, it finds its groove and adds more on top of it. The relationship drama can get a little hokey at times, but the main draw (much like the first season) is the fantastic banter between the characters and, of course, the dark humor. Favorite episode: “The Hurst Stalker” (S02E08)
   
4. The Americans–Season 4 (FX) ; I’m hard pressed to remember any show that has been so constantly good as The Americans. But the best praise I can give this show is that it refuses to go for cheap thrills—aka raising the stakes— logic that plagues a lot of these types of shows. It’s a slow burn and that is a really good thing. Favorite episode: “The Day After” (S04E09)
   
5. Rectify–Season 4 (SundanceTV) ; It’s hard to pitch this show without sounding pretentious, so I won’t. It’s is a very unique show that might not be everybody cup of tea—and that is fine. You might not get definite answers and that is not the point, but you will see a series that makes good use of the TV medium to show a compelling journey. Favorite episode: “A House Divided” (S04E01)
   
6. Halt and Catch Fire–Season 3 (AMC) ; The little show that could. While some of the developments in season 3 were questionable, the season was strong and I would have been happy if the series ended that way. It would be a shame to dole out the big plot points, because it has been such a surprisingly big journey for this little show. Watch it. Favorite episode: “NeXT” (S03E10)
   
7. Quarry (Cinemax) ; This show was the most surprising thing to come out this year. While the show is based on pulpy novels, the show never making fun of the setting or the characters—it’s well grounded. On top of that the acting, directing and cinematography are all top notch and way better then it ought to be for this kind of project. Favorite episode: “Figure Four” (S01E02)
   
8. Game Of Thrones–Season 6 (HBO); The latest season is not perfect, especially the first half feeling like it was more filler then anything. When does go over that threshold, it shines. It is hard to write anything on why it becomes so good, because that means I have to spoil things like [redacted], [redacted] and [redacted]. If you stuck with the show—with all the highs and especially very low lows—the pay-off this season was good. Favorite episode: “Battle of the Bastards” (S06E09)
   
9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine–Season 4 (Fox) ; This show is comfort food for me, I like it even though I know there is sometimes a quality dip. I cannot live in a world without Captain Holt, there I said it. Confessions aside, the cast of characters are so well developed that you can forgive the blemishes that sometimes crop up on this show. It’s good, dammit. Favorite episode: “All of ‘em”
   
10. War and Peace (BBC) ; Good god, did they spend a lot of money on this miniseries— A-list actors, lavish sets, beautiful cinematography and a huge orchestral score. Oh, and it’s pretty decent overall. Paul Dano really steals the show here, and you’ll miss him when he isn’t on screen. Favorite episode: “Episode 1.2”

My list can be a little surprising. Here goes.

1. Game of Thrones - S6 (HBO)



In my opinion, this is the best Game of Thrones season. The story picks up an incredible pace. The characters evolve and of course, the turns do come at breakneck speeds. The North storyline is finally the most interesting (at least for me!). The production set pieces are better than some of the best Hollywood films. This show is still the Undefeated Reigning King of TV.

2. MARS (NatGeo).



The more I think about it, the more I love this show. It's the first show in God knows how long that made me actually ponder things. It is definitely flawed in some aspects, but it's flaws are not enough to drown it. In fact, it's my favorite show of the year. It has surprisingly good acting, good, well thought out plot and characters who are relatable. One of the flaws is that the show needed more characterization. Having monologues to a video cam didn't work for me. Some Hollywood-ish aspects regarding tension building also were flawed. The juxtaposition of 2016's commentary about Tesla, SpaceX, etc and identifying humanity's quest for finding new worlds works well. By the end of the show you might be asking yourself the craziest question ever:
3. The Night Of (HBO)



The Night Of is must watch TV. Stellar acting, characters and production values you expect from HBO. Its a slow burner crime drama with a whodunnit theme as its arc. The show imo loses some of its steam by the end. Characters dtart making senseless decisions. But


4. The Walking dead - S7 Part 1(amc)



Ok, the season premiere is the greatest shit I've watched on cable television. I mean goddamn. It was unrelenting. Exhausting. Soul crushing. It's only natural that the rest of the season doesn't live up to the crazy of the premiere. Negan is a great villain and the other characters introduced are intriguing. But I fear the show is showing some of its weaknesses more and more especially when it comes to people making dumb choices. The Daryl arc was a nice change of pace. I'd like to see more of usual heroes being put in unfamiliar situations. Cant wait for Part 2.

5. American Crime Story: The People vs OJ



I think the show is great with some amazing acting. I dont know if it was the fact that we already knew about the events or what, but the show is not my #1. Still a great court drama though, with a career defining performance from the key cast.

Dud of the year:

Westworld (HBO)



This show has all the great HBO stuff: drama, characters, acting and production. But felt like the show was a giant, 10 week blueballs session. All that good stuff didnt move the needle for me. The overarching story did nothing for me. The show is johnny come lately on a lot of questions regarding sentience that have been answered already by a million other shows and movies. There are some serious, crazy leaps of faith you need to take here. Those leaps unfortunately were too wide for me. But there is some seriously good acting here. Unfortunately, it cant save the show from it's plodding, confused mess. By the end I wanted all the hours I spent on this show back. Could have finished my PS4 backlog.

1. Game of Thrones ; Almost every episode was perfect. The right amount of tension, the right amount of joy and of course the right amount of heartbreak.

2. Stranger Things ; One of the most surprising shows of the year. Not only does it successfully mimic the great family movies of the 80s, but surpasses it.

3. Westworld ; Even though almost every twist was spoiled, it was still an highly entertaining show. There were some hilarious CW level plot points and character work, but the rest of the show made up for it.

4. Better Call Saul ; I wanted more of Breaking Bad early season of solving problems with fun solutions, but sadly that's not what this show wants to be. But amazing characters and emotional journeys still make this a must watch show.

5. Preacher ; One of the craziest finales ever. Gonna stick around for this batshit insane adventure.

6. The Expanse ; Another big surprise of 2016, I loved this show a lot more than i thought I would. It's no Game of Thrones in space, but it's still a damn good show.

7. House of Cards ; Still not as good as the early seasons, but much much better than the crap we got last year.

Fail of the year

1. The Walking Dead ; This was the year to finally get me to stop watching The Walking Dead. I don't think i'll be coming back, it was a good run while it lasted.

TheOddOne said:

Long time reader, long time not-submitting-list guy. After skipping two years, I’ve finally kept my promise. Sorry it took so long, Ratsky.

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!!!!

1. Black Sails ; I fucking love pirates and this delivers pirates in droves. Great acting, setting, visuals, action, everything. Every season has built upon the previous, final season starts in a few weeks.

2. Stranger Things ; simple story really well done. 99% of the time child actors are annoying or just terribly written, the two brothers did a bang up job along with the kid actors.

3. Westworld ; while flawed in many ways it was just a fascinating idea done justice and sparked the kind of online conversation I haven't seen since Lost. I hope season 2 gets to new heights and doesn't fall down, I suspect if later seasons are not that good season 1 will be forgotten.

4. The Expanse ; Game of Thrones in space. Not really, but its rich, varied, interesting, and thoughtful which we really haven't seen for SciFi seen BSG.

5. Planet Earth II ; only watched 4 episodes so far but its stunning. I can't wait for the 4k UHD discs or streaming, 1080p isn't enough!

6. Atlanta ; not sure I'd rate it great yet until we get another season or two but it was funny, poignant, different, and interesting to watch.

7. Game of Thrones ; I honestly expected this season to be terrible after last seasons snoozefest but they managed to make it work with only 1-2 mediocre episodes and a lot of REALLY good ones. We're in uncharted territory now, boys.

I thought a few shows had their latest seasons not as good as previous seasons: Mr. Robot, Better Call Saul, Silicon Valley, Brooklyn 99, South Park, and Veep so didn't feel like they belonged.

1. Game of Thrones ; Season 5 was mixed and the series low point but season 6 is the very best so far. Every episode was a pleasure.

2. Stranger Things ; I loved this. The wife and I binged this in two nights (on purpose as not to burn through the goodness in one go). The whole cast was great but Winona Ryder was at the top of her game.

3. Black Mirror ; I was stunned at four of the six total episodes. Incredibly dark, wicked & (in one case) strangely uplifting. Lots of fun.

4. The Affair ;

5. Silicon Valley ;

6. Narcos ;

7. Westworld ; When this was good it was really, really good. But it had okayish stretches now and then intertwined.

8. House of Cards ;

9. Mr. Robot ;

10. The Night Of ;

1. Atlanta
2. Game Of Thrones
3. The Americans
4. American Crime Story: The People vs OJ
5. Bojack Horseman
6. Narcos
7. Better Call Saul
8. Search Party
9. Stranger Things
10. Lady Dynamite

Honorable Mentions: Broad City, Love, Mr. Robot

caliph95 first ever list on neogaf

Most of the list is of random order but i don't care

1. The Americans
2. Better Call Saul
3. American Crime Story: The People vs OJ I didn't think i will love this show as much as i do
4. Bojack Horseman
5. Person of Interest : It's a shame that this doesn't get enough mentions
6. Izombie : the perfect comfort tv show and somewhat of successor of Pushing daisies just more procedural
7. Atlanta
8. Steven Universe (probably the only one who is going to post this)
9. Silicon valley
10. Veep

Honorable Mentions: Fleabag, i guess Westworld, Search Party, The Good Place, Red Oaks, Adam ruins Everything, Black-ish, Jane the Virgin, Rectify

Good thing about a thread like this i can find stuff to binge. I going to keep coming back to edit to better organize because i realize i watched too much stuff this year.

Top 10
1. The Americans ; Keeps going from strength to strength.
2. Louis Theroux: Drinking to Oblivion ; A gut-wrenching look at alcohol addiction.
3. The Night Of ; Captivating from start to finish. Great titles, also.
4. Mr Robot ; Creative, surreal, and at all times told with total confidence in its direction.
5. The OA ; Some of the best acting you'll find on TV.
6. Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle ; It will be sorely missed.
7. Bojack Horseman ; A better drama than most dramas, and a better comedy than most comedies.
8. Veep ; It really hit its stride this year.
9. Halt & Catch Fire ; I can't get enough of it..
10. Peaky Blinders ; Still one of the most effortlessly cool shows going. You'd never have guessed a show set in Birmingham could make that claim.

Notable mentions
Louis Theroux: Savile, Catastrophe, Silicon Valley, Transparent, The Night Manager, American Crime Story, Narcos, Stranger Things

Things I didn't watch, but probably would have enjoyed
Togetherness, Atlanta, Master of None, Black Mirror, Comedy Bang Bang, Deutschland 83, Happy Valley, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Lady Dynamite, Search Party, One Mississippi, Dirk Gently, Love, Flaked, The Young Pope

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Fail of the Year
1. Westworld ; A totally wasted premise and cast. What few shreds of interest it has in the early episodes only unravel further into abject boredom as the series progresses.

2. The X Files ; The whole attraction to me in reviving the X Files was to see benefit from contemporary TV standards in format, writing and cinematography. Instead, they made 6 episodes that, barring the occasional Uber reference, could have been part of the original run - and mostly sub-par episodes at that.

3. House of Cards ; It really should have ended with the winning of the presidency. It’s been downhill since then, but this year was an especially hard slog to get through.

1. Person of Interest ;
2. The Americans ;
3. Game of Thrones ;
4. Westworld ;
5. Stranger Things ;
6. Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D ;
7. Limitless ;
8. iZombie ;
9. Daredevil ;
10. 11.22.63 ;

fail:
1. The Good Wife ;
2. the OA ;
3. Top Gear ;

Honorable mentions of good shows that i enjoy: the whole Arrowverse, The 100, both OJ series, Silicon Valley, Supernatural, New Girl
List of shame of shows that i should watch and would probably would be nominated: Vikings, Black Mirror, Mr Robot S2, Better Call Saul, Black Sails, The Expanse, Veep

Only one week left of voting! Get your votes in people!

Top Ten Shows of 2016 (according to Sober)


1. Person of Interest ;

There's something to be said about a show that finds itself on its last legs earlier than expected, but comes away at the end being much stronger for it. There isn't much left in the repertoire of Person of Interest that really needs to be expanded upon after you watch the finale. The final season brings the entire series full circle in nearly every single aspect in what is probably an extremely action-packed, yet also reflective and introspective episode. It almost feels like it would be something planned much further ahead, but ended up coming together almost at a moment's notice. I wrote extensively about the final season of the show so there isn't much left for me to say than to celebrate it one more time.

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2. The Americans ;

One of the more exciting things about The Americans is that it continues to intensify year after year. The show always finds new ways to elicit the different senses of dread, despair, and anxiety. And it knows exactly how much of it to apply without going into excess. This season also marked a year where Holly Taylor definitely came to prominence for her portrayal of Paige Jennings, who finally learned about her parents' secret identities and dealt with being thrown into the world of espionage.

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3. American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson ;

As someone who grew up but was not entirely aware of the whole debacle besides pop-culture snippets, the dramatic re-enactment of the trial of O.J. Simpson and the personalities surrounding it proved an enlightening experience about race relations, the role of 24-hour news networks, celebrity culture, and more - not only as a period piece, but as an interesting reflection of America in the present. Many facets, personalities, and events might have been exaggerated for dramatic effect, but sometimes a browsing of fact check articles would prove otherwise; sometimes life did imitate art. The miniseries deftly weaved aspects of the trial into a fantastic episodic format that makes it an interesting examination of one of the stranger events in American history. I did not get the opportunity to watch the documentary that aired the same year, but either way, the dramatic re-enactment is a fantastic, and well crafted show everyone should experience.

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4. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ;

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend continues to delight and amaze while also providing viewers with an interesting and nuanced look at romance, friendships, obsessions, and other, less addressed topics in the mental health realm. Many times I find myself realizing that either myself or people I know have been party to similar behaviours; much of the show is focused on the antics, poorly-laden plans, and the resulting embarrassing disasters of Rebecca Bunch, and the show always does its best to empathize with her while at the same time maintaining complete self-awareness of what she's done. Or how she's dragged other people along for the ride. And that the show does it so well while being a musical is definitely a delight.

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5. Better Call Saul ;

There's not a lot to say about Better Call Saul except that it continues its trajectory as one of the more entertaining shows of the year. For a show that acts as part prequel, and part spinoff of Breaking Bad, there already aren't that high stakes for the show's two leads, Jimmy or Mike, considering where their fates lie in the setting's mythology. But what this show offers is an interesting character study of people who are willing to skirt the legal, moral, or ethical boundaries because it is in their best interest to do. Although on paper, Better Call Saul looks like it's charted territory, every time it returns to the screen it proves me wrong by showing us there's more to its characters.

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6. Westworld ;

Westworld is the continuation of Jonathan Nolan's ideas cultivated and explored upon in his television series Person of Interest. Although artificial intelligence is also at the heart of Westworld, much of it also leans on themes of identity and self, what it means to take control of one's destiny, and the power dynamics servitude and slavery. Westworld provides an extremely intricate story that, over time, reveals more nuance, complication and a rich backstory underneath, especially as it is crafted with a series of unreliable narrators. This is definitely one show worth rewatching when you've gotten the basic plot down, if only to see how all the pieces were planned to fall into place in front of your eyes over the course of the season.

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7. 12 Monkeys ;

Although 2016 declared outright that time travel was 'in' now as a storytelling device/plot dispenser, 12 Monkeys returns in its sophomore season and shows that time travel stories can be more than that, and knows that its strength lies in its characters. The show takes big chances likewise with their mythology and eventually they pay off because much of it still plays a central role with their characters, rather than leaving it to be background dressing to be taken for granted.

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8. Colony ;

Colony takes all the best parts of a family drama and a sci-fi show and sets it in a world reminiscent of Vichy France, but set in modern day Los Angeles. The two leads played by Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies are a married couple at odds with how best to deal how the alien occupation affects their family. In fact, much of the show is about people at odds and is sometimes less about a story about humans dealing with aliens and more about what people will do to survive when an invading force occupies your homeland (or home planet, in this case), whether they be resistance fighters doing their best to keep the fight alive, or collaborators who believe it's best to keep some semblance of order in a new world.

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9. Killjoys ;

Killjoys is a lesser-known, Canadian produced, sci-fi show (and the budget shows). But what it lacks in the occasional spectacle, it makes up with plenty of style (budget allowing) and plenty of substance. For any fans of fun sci-fi, I would heartily recommend something like Killjoys. It has all the hallmarks of a light-hearted adventure, plenty of chemistry amongst the cast, and interesting stories and locales that are backed by a strong calibre of writing in its characters, dialogue, and mythology. If the simple phrase, "Space bounty hunters go on adventures" piques your interest, then you owe it to yourself to watch Killjoys.

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10. The Last Ship ;

Even though summer television is no longer the sparse wasteland between major television seasons these days, The Last Ship stands out in a glut of shows that now airs over the summer months. Although it's marketed as a Michael Bay produced show and oozes a considerable amount of hoo-rah-rah about the US Navy (to the point of it being effectively advertising/indirect recruiting), this is one of those shows that captured my attention because beneath all that, there is a (if not smart) fairly considered tone to a show that's about a lone US warship and its crew taking on whatever the post-apocalyptic world has to throw at it. A lot of the third season is ambitious and sprawling in a global sense. Inbetween away teams engaged in rolling firefights or warships trading missiles and hiding from radar pulses, the show's thrilling globe-hopping adventures are mixed with a political thriller that exists in a post-post-apocalyptic world.

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Runners-up: (in no particular order)
The Good Place
Game of Thrones
Superstore
Black Mirror
Galavant
This is Us
Planet Earth II
Lucifer
iZombie

The Firefly Award for 2016:
Limitless

Another year, another one-season show that executed pitch perfectly, and then was snuffed out. The circumstances surrounding why Limitless was cancelled always bring me into a malaise. Although I had my reservations about the show initially, it proved time and time again that a show should deserve to impress itself upon a viewer. It's cancellation was probably also the collision of many factors that worked against it that sealed its fate. A CBS procedural based off a movie, staring a fairly young lead that made good use of pop culture references, and oozed a unique style but had substance to boot. I distinctly recognize this show also hooked onto many others who would normally be turned away by similar procedural fare, and it still remains a shame the show was not allowed to continue. Limitless was in another long line of procedural-style shows that proved (and still prove) the form is not some dead dinosaur left to the wayside as serialized cable television makes its progress, but that they could adapt and be as engaging as any prestige drama.

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_______


Fails of the year:

!!! SPOILERS! BUT WHO CARES? !!!

Fail-nale #1: Penny Dreadful series finale

So Vanessa Ives decides to give herself to Dracula because he's been searching for her in every one of her lives. Okay, maybe she has a plan to destroy him after he lets her in, right? Actually... no, she doesn't. But her ward-cum-boyfriend and all-around hunk/werewolf Ethan Chandler returns to London to save her from Dracula... right? Ummm, wrong again. Vanessa, who was arguably the central figure of the series (in star power and the show's own mythology) decides to call it a day and asks Ethan to shoot her dead. At least the heroes defeat Dracula and save the day right? No, he just slips away after everyone teams up after being apart for an entire season and beats up a bunch of thralls (aka little bitches and not real vampires). And then everyone has a sad funeral for Vanessa at the end and Caliban is extra sad because he had to attend two funerals that morning (the other for his dying son who he just reunited with after remembering who he was before he was put together by Victor Frankenstein). Why did this surprise finale happen? I guess creator John Logan just wanted to be done with the show, or something. To quote Krusty the Clown, "What the hell was that?"

If the show didn't ooze so much style, this finale would've singlehandedly ruined the entire series as a whole. In some ways, it still definitely does.

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Fail-nale #2: Sleepy Hollow season 3 finale

Okay, so you've come off a fairly mediocre and poorly received second season because you decided to focus less on what made your show popular (the dynamic between Ichabod Crane and Abbie Mills) and focused more on the boring mythology your show makes up as it goes along through a boring and poorly written dynamic between a separated husband and wife (Ichabod and Katrina) and their son-turned-horseman of the apocalypse. Okay, so now you know what went wrong and you can fix it right? So you remembered that you really only had the one white guy only because he time travelled as product of occult magic and that your headlining villain is a woman and your lead heroes include two black women? Sounds like a slam dunk right? Oh wait, are we at the finale where you killed off the actual female lead because you've been dicking her around and focusing less on her even though that's what made the show popular to its fans and said actor wanted out? Oh, so it's been renewed for another season and it's now all about the male lead now probably because you didn't want to pay your female lead so you've gone looking for a new one, right?

I can't believe I want to watch the upcoming season.

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Fail #3: unREAL season 2

Honestly, I don't even know where to begin. It would be easier to just forget about the show but the second season at times almost felt like a parody of the strengths of what everyone liked about season 1 and doubling down on what everyone hated. Now, there was really dramatically less time spent on the suitor and contestants because the crew behind the scenes had to enact their favourite soap opera plot lines. Or the fact that it's a plot point that everyone is pitched against each other in an attempt to make a reality TV show which actually sounds completely insane and actually unbelievable. Or that the show tries to tackle things like racism and sexism with mostly just shock factor and does not really genuinely engage in that subject matter. Or maybe it was the finale in which Quinn basically orchestrates a double murder and that they'll probably gloss over it at the start of season 3 even though the "accident" is probably the most incredibly shady thing ever?

But hey, a female suitor this time around will totally fix things, right?

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Just saw BoJack s3 up until fish out of water and immediately had to add it to my list. wow. good thing editing is permitted.

Phew, done. I really should compile this list and write the summaries throughout the year. There's a bit of a gap in my preferences between 1-5 and 6-9 and I couldn't even think of a number 10 but oh well.

1. Westworld ; I binged through Westworld over Christmas, having thankfully avoided all the spoilers and speculation while it was on TV, and thought it was incredible. Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton and Anthony Hopkins are amazing. But my favourite part of the show is it's a real mystery, with clues that lead to a natural conclusion, not a fake mystery with a hundred red herrings and a solution that comes out nowhere. That may make it less of a surprise overall but what it does make for is a far, FAR better story.

2. Person of Interest ; A fantastic ending to a fantastic series. PoI will probably go down as one of my favourite series ever because it never got too comfortable with itself, they continually changed things up when they needed to and it all worked perfectly. I think the only time it did kinda stumble was when Sarah Shahi's pregnancy came out of nowhere but even then, they did an admirable job recovering from it.

3. Game of Thrones ; From the worst season last year to maybe the best season this year, what an incredible turn around. So much shit went down this season it made all the waiting in the last couple of seasons worth it.

4. Stranger Things ; I went in blind a month or two after the initial hype had died down and loved it. They nailed the 80s time period and the Stephen King-like weird and creepy story. Winona Ryder was brilliant and somehow they managed to find a bunch of fantastic child actors.

5. Orphan Black ; I think this season received a lot of complaints on GAF but it's favourite since the first season.

6. Supergirl ; Probably my biggest surprise of the year. I wasn't even going to bother watching it any more but I gave the second season a shot and they shocked me by fixing most of the complaints I had with the first season. There's no more tip-toeing around Superman and his main villains, the god awful Jimmy/Supergirl romance was dropped, they put a lot more time into developing the supporting cast and the villains are a huge improvement.

7. Daredevil ; Almost as good as the first season but god, Marvel TV really need to figure out how to pace their Netflix series properly. I get burned out around 8-10 episodes in every single time.

8. Last Week Tonight ; Not as good as its previous seasons for me but that's partially because of the shitstorm that was happening in the background. Still a good show, funny when it has to be but most importantly, very informative.

9. Class ; In a year with no Doctor Who (sans Christmas Special), I thought it was a lot of fun. Poor finale though.

Fail of the Year
1. CNN ; I'm admittedly not American but I saw enough to know they fucked up enormously by normalising the Neo Nazi messages that were coming out of Trump's camp, balancing Trump's bullshit with a bullshit email scandal and all in an attempt to appear neutral and look for ratings. It's pathetic.

2. The 100 ; After a pretty good second season, I was really looking forward to seeing if they could continue to improve. LOL no. What a disaster of a season. They rushed through what seemed like 2 seasons worth of material, making everything feel under-cooked. They completely ruined a number of perfectly good characters, then shrugged off the horrible things they did as if redeeming those characters was as simple as flipping a switch. They heavily pandered to the LGBTQ community and then gave them the middle finger by remaking that shitty death scene in Buffy. Oh yeah, and the season ends in the fucking Matrix with some hilariously bad fight scenes. Garbage.

2016 was a really really strong year for TV shows. As someone who loves monster, demon, horror themed stuff 2016 had plenty of that to offer. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but maybe I pick shitty pictures so I decided to add a YouTube link to a trailer for each of these shows at the end of my ramblings.


1. 11.22.63

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This show gets a spot on my list if for nothing else then because it actually finishes the story it sets out to tell. They very easily could have made this show multiple seasons long if they wanted to but instead they decide to tell their story, conclude it, and put a nice bow on it. That is pretty damn great, especially when the source material is so open to the possibility of stretching itself out indefinitely. Time travel alternate history stuff is always interesting, and the set designs and actors are all top notch. With the recent election the thought of alternate histories and what ifs is as interesting as ever. That said, while 11.22.63 starts off with the premise of trying to stop the assassination of JFK, it quickly transforms into a love story which could have easily ruined the show but Sarah Gadon is so damn charming as Sadie that it is impossible to get mad. The limited series format is really kind to Stephen King's material and I hope we get to see more adaptations from showrunner Bridget Carpenter. Trailer link.

2. Freakish

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The best way I can think to describe this show is Dawn of the Dead meets Degrassi. It is a high school drama with zombies, with a group of kids being stuck in a school after an chemical plant explosion creates zombies. What really made the show entertaining for me was the acting. It is a cheesy goofy plot played earnestly by everyone with the exception of Chad Coleman who plays the lone adult. Coleman clearly realizes it is schlock and hams it up but everyone else plays things pretty straight which makes it much more entertaining. It is a stupid plot with characters that make stupid decisions and the show is filled with more than a few plot holes but the characters all being dumb high school kids really allows that stuff to slide more than it does with any other show. The brief 20-something minute run time of each episode combined with the 10 episode overall season make the show come and go before it outstays its welcome and left me eagerly wanting another season. Trailer link.

3. Stranger Things

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It is like an amalgamation of Twin Peaks, Silent Hill, and the Goonies. A show in which pretty much every scene is drawing inspiration from something else but it is all executed so perfectly that I can't complain. Whether you understand the references or not is irrelevant to the actual enjoyment of the story which unfolds at a nice pace with its tight 8 episodes. A great professor of mine once said "if you were really smart you would figure out how to say what you want to with smaller words that anyone can understand." This show feels like the embodiment of that. It is an appropriate for all ages horror mystery thriller that doesn't feel dumbed down for kids or like it is filled with dialogue and themes that are only there to be understood by adults. I have seen some complaints about the high school stuff but I loved all that too. Then again, I am also the person that enjoyed all the high school drama in Twin Peaks too, so your enjoyment may vary. Trailer link.

4. Haters Back Off!

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"Comedies" about shitty people being miserable have always been hard for me to get into. It is the reason stuff like Louie and Bojack Horseman never really clicked with me. Haters does a good job of being a comedy first and foremost, with the main character being completely oblivious to how shitty she is. The best comparison I can come up with is Napoleon Dynamite without any of the awkwardness. The show goes for comedy 95% of the time so that when it turns serious it really has an impact and hits you in the feels, making you reflect on the season as a whole. Trailer link.

5. Outcast

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A lot of people have gone sour on The Walking Dead but I still love it. When I heard that another Kirkman property was getting a show I knew I had to check it out. Instead of post-apocalypse zombies here we have demons and exorcisms. The pilot is hands down the greatest single episode of television I saw this year. A perfectly paced self contained episode that immediately sells you on the concept of the show. The season never again matches the highs of that first episode but it is still really damn good. It is like a more serious version of Crazyhead. Trailer link.

6. American Horror Story: Roanoke

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American Horror Story had a really good first season and an absolutely incredible second season, and then the show sort of stumbled and hasn't really found its footing until now. This finally feels like the successor to seasons 1 and 2. The show has so many twists and turns that it is impossible to go into any details without spoiling it but sufficient to say that it goes some pretty interesting places. Shoutout to Cuba Gooding Jr., he was a fantastic addition to the cast this year and I hope he comes back for future seasons. I strongly encourage anyone who was turned off from the show after Freakshow or Coven to give this season a shot. They throw so much shit at the wall and surprisingly, all of it really felt like it stuck (except for the hillbilly plot, that shit was a drag). Trailer link.

7. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

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This show has gone from side dish to the main course. Agents of SHIELD is currently the best thing coming out of the MCU. I care more about what happens to Fitz or Daisy than I do about Captain America and his terrorist friends. This show never drags its feet and quickly moves through story lines that other shows would stretch to an entire season. The addition of Robbie Reyes (Ghost Rider) to this season has been fantastic and he surprisingly fit right in with the rest of the cast. Would it be too much to ask for six seasons and a movie? Trailer link.

8. The Walking Dead

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The Walking Dead has had its ups and downs for a while now but this stretch of episodes since the crew got to Alexandria has just been nonstop fantastic. This year's batch of episodes has been no different. Outside of a very very very bullshit cliffhanger the show has consistently delivered fantastic episodes. It was great seeing Rick's group be the king shits for a while but putting them back in the underdog position with Negan's introduction has breathed some new life into the show. Trailer link.

9. Daredevil

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Season 2 really did feel like two separate and distinct shows. This isn't a bad thing in and of itself but the difference in quality between the Punisher and Elektra plots is just so big it really makes the show feel incredibly uneven. The Daredevil/Punisher stuff was top tier TV, while the Elektra/ninja stuff was just incredibly poorly explained. The scenes between Bernthal and D'Onofrio really highlight how those two are just in a completely different league from the rest of the actors on the show. Anyway, the Punisher stuff is great enough to put it on this list, but ninja bullshit holds it down at the number nine spot. Trailer link.

10. Crazyhead

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This show is a comedy version Outcast. It is a goofy lighthearted comedy about two demon hunting ladies. I really don't know what else to say about it. It is really brief at only six episodes so there isn't really any reason for those of you with a Netflix account not to at least check it out. Trailer link.



1. Arrowverse

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This was the year it finally got to be too much. Early in the year as I was scrambling each week to stay caught up with all the shows it became clear how nothing was happening in any of these shows. It was seriously like they were running in place. I couldn't take it anymore and so I just dropped all of them and my life has been much better ever since.

2. The Walking Dead Season 6 Cliffhanger

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Yes, I just placed this show as one of my favorites of the year. That said, it does not excuse that bullshit they pulled with the cliffhanger at the end of season 6. It was some real bullshit that took away from the reveal and for what? It seems like all they did was managed to piss a bunch of people off. This is a problem that really only exists for the people watching live as anyone in the future who binges the show will be able to immediately jump to the next episode. Making people wait months to find out who bites it was bullshit.

3. 2016 Election Coverage

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They all got played liked damn fiddles.

1. Planet Earth 2
2. Stranger Things
3. The Young Pope
4. The Night Manager
5. Game of Thrones
6. Westworld
7. The Night of
8. Line of Duty
9. Midnight Diner
10. War and Peace

1. Game of Thrones: What a comeback after season 5. Best series of the show yet.

2. Black Sails: With every series Black Sails ups its game, only just beat out the top spot by GoT. If series four improves on the series again its gonna be hard to beat as this years best show.

3. Westworld: Sold first season, with a all round amazing cast. I loved that every episode unraveled a little bit more of the mysteries going on.

4. House of Cards: Similar to GoT in that it came back stronger than ever after a weak season. Damn was the ending good.

5. The Man in the High Castle: What an amazing world the creators have made, season 2 improves upon season 1 in every way and I can't wait to see what happens next.

6. Stranger Things: I honestly didn't expect to love this show as much as I did. Excellent casting picks for the children. Enjoyed every minute of it.

7. Planet Earth 2: BBC and David Attenborough have done it again, stunning shot after stunning shot. Incredible documentary that everyone should watch.

8. Mr. Robot: Despite the drop in quality from series 1 it was still one of my favourite shows of the year.

9. Vikings: The transition the show has taken has helped it to stay fresh, moving from its focus from purely Ragnar to be about his sons was a great idea.

10. Designated Survivor: Its 24 but Kiefer is in the White House, what's not to like?

Fail of the year:
1. Top Gear (Chris Evans)

1. Westworld - I love when a show makes people talk about it. Gave me Lost-period vibe.
2. Stranger Things - Surprise of the year. I love the 80s, 'nuff said.
3. Person of interest - One of the best series of the last decade, good finale.
4. Better Call Saul - Saul is just an awesome character, can't stop watching.
5. Silicon Valley - These guys are amazing, a little stepback from Season 1 and 2 but still great.
6. Game of Thrones - I don't know what to say about GoT anymore.
7. Orange is the new black - A big step up from season 3, can't wait for next season.
8. iZombie - I'm really happy this show is getting a lot of nomination her, a show about zombie wich is not boring as hell.
9. Daredevil - Too much too soon, I got burned after the first 5-6 episodes.
10. Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life - Ok it wasn't that great but as a fan I was still very happy to get back to Stars Hollow.

Runner ups:

x- Love
x- Luke Cage
x- Agents of SHIELD
x- Preacher
x- Narcos

Fail of the year:

1-Sleepy Hollow - I'm still in shock we're going to see another season of this crap.
2-The Walking Dead - I was so hyped for Negan and...boring as ever.
3-Fear the Walking Dead - It take me 4 hour to watch and episode because I fall asleep every 10 minutes.

1. Black Mirror ; I've been looking forward to the third season of Black Mirror for YEARS. The season blew me away, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
2. Stranger Things ; I'm a sucker for 80's nostalgia, and this one hit me hard.
3. Westworld ; Loved the twists and turns throughout the series. This was one of the best of the year.
4. Vice Principals ; I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. Danny McBride and Walton Goggins were incredible together.
5. Game of Thrones ; Just a fantastic season with some explosive scenes.
6. Bojack Horseman ; Probably one of my favorite episodes of an animated series ever -- the underwater episode where there is almost no dialog. Great season.
7. Silicon Valley ; I just love this show.
8. The Night Of ; What a great mini-series. I wish we had more finality to it, but it was very good nonetheless.
9. House of Cards ; Another great season of a great show.
10. American Horror Story ; I stopped watching AHS for a couple of seasons during the carnival season (got sick of Jessica Lange). This was a return to form for the series.

T-minus 4 days until voting ends!

Making this list has shown me there's too much good TV out there. Even after listing everything, there are a ton of shows that I haven't even watched yet. Sad!

1. Westworld

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It was a difficult choice between this and number two as both were equally great, and both firmly cemented the base for new franchises. After watching the first episode of this, I really wasn't sure what to think. Honestly, I almost dropped it. Thankfully, I didn't, and it's by far the most compelling new show on traditional TV.

2. Stranger Things

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Netflix's first mega-hit since Daredevil. After seeing the first trailer, I was excited, but I had no idea how good the show was actually going to be. It manages so many references to my childhood without getting lost in them or using them as a crutch. Instead they tell a great story that made it impossible not to binge.

3. Game of Thrones

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You know it was a good year when one of the greatest TV shows of all time comes in at number 3. Some amazing moments this season that I will not spoil, but will say that somehow the writers are able to leave almost every episode with a jaw dropping moment without it feeling trite. Both looking forward to and not looking forward to the end.

4. Atlanta

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I went into this show expecting Troy and got something way better. It's the funniest real show on TV. Real issues and life is expertly mixed with low key jokes that caused me to laugh so hard I cried. Particular highlights for me were Montague, the invisible car, and lemon pepper wings WET. Donald Glover is gifted.

5. Ash vs. Evil Dead

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It's still amazing to me how well this translates to TV. Each episode is able to combine the silly/gross that made the movies great along with perfect comedy and tension.

6. Baskets

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Zach Galifianakis seemed like he'd be remembered for Alan and Between Two Ferns. From out of nowhere came Baskets and Louie Anderson playing a woman. Baskets had me rolling in a totally different way comedically than the previous two.

7. Bojack Horseman

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To call Bojack Horseman an animated comedy would be doing it a huge disservice. The animal jokes and Todd's dumb ideas were ratcheted up this season, but so was the somber-depressing nature of the show. Oddly enough, it reminds me of Breaking Bad in that I don't know if I want to see Bojack succeed or fail. Either way, it's one of the best shows on Netflix.

8. Mr. Robot

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While the first season was an out of nowhere surprise hit, the second season is more of a deeper dive into Elliot's . This season is a little less tightly packaged than the first, but also contains my favorite episode of the series (pictured above).

9. All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals

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I debated long and hard about this #9 spot. #10 was set from the beginning, but this one came down to a few shows. In the end, I couldn't pass up the amazing job that NFL Films and Amazon did with this show. Having watched Hard Knocks for years, this showed what the next level of NFL documentary can be. I have absolutely zero interest in the Cardinals, yet this show was so compelling that I finished it in a week.

10. Travelers

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Netflix absolutely blindsided me with this show. This is the first show to come out of another country other than the UK as a 'Netflix Original' that has gripped me. The first two to three episodes felt like a SyFy original, but the further it goes, the more interesting the story and the more the characters grew. One episode to finish tonight, but it's already cemented the #10 spot.

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Shows that might've made this list if I'd watched/finished them

Black Mirror (s3), The Crown, Man in the High Castle (s2), Narcos (s2), Bates Motel (s4), Happy Valley (s2), O.J. Made in America, The People v. O.J. Simpson

Honorable Mentions

Luke Cage, Better Call Saul, Rick and Morty, The Get Down, Mad Dogs, Marvel: Agents of SHIELD, Silicon Valley

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Fail of the Year

1. The Great Indoors. What an absolute abomination, even by CBS standards.

2. Arrowverse. Gotta agree with everyone else on here. The last season (finishing May '16) of Arrow was possibly the worst TV I've ever subjected myself to. Flashpoint has been awful. Legends of Tomorrow has taken a step back in quality, as if that's possible.

3. Flaked. I can still feel the pretentiousness.

Will update by Saturday:

1. Black Mirror
2. Stranger Things
3. Adam Ruins Everything
4. Love
5. Orange is the New Black
6. Steven Universe
7. Veep
8. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
9. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
10. Atlanta

Fail of the year:

1. 2016 US Election Coverage: Between empty podiums, terrible pundits, not enough focus on the issues and pushing the horse race narrative, the television news networks showed how awful they truly are covering the news.
2. South Park; After a memorable and well planned serial season in 2015 Matt and Trey fell on their faces when the 2016 presidential election did not turn out how they expected.

Two days left! Vote vote vote!

1. Rectify
Another one of the truly great shows left us this year. I'll miss Rectify for its contemplative look at contemporary America, I'll miss its characters, I'll miss the writing, I'll miss the directing, I'll miss just about everything about it.

2. Le Bureau des Légendes (The Bureau)
This one is the surprise of the year for me, I thought it be a nice French Homeland clone but it is so much more. It's the spiritual successor to Rubicon, and that is not a thing I say lightly. Tense, complex, well acted (Mathieu Kassovitz <3), and well written. This is one of the absolute best spy series.

3. Line of Duty
Jed Mercurio keeps being one of the most consistently great writers in TV, and Line of Duty is still the most tense show you can find on TV. I
t can take what in any other show would be something mundane and trivial and build it to the most gripping psychological thriller you've ever seen.

4. The Young Pope
The first TV effort by Paolo Sorrentino and what an effort that is. Not only is Jude Law putting on the performance of his lifetime, Diane Keaton makes sure to steal some scenes, and that is in addition to the direction and cinematography which is, unsurprisingly, stellar. Oh, and that opening scene is probably the best opening of the year.

5. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
It's funnier than John Oliver.

6. Please Like Me
Witty, warm, well written, and oh god I'm out of things that start with "w". But please like this show, it's one of the best comedies out there.

7. The Night Manager
Sure it is a touch glossy, but what gloss it provides. Terrific actors (Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, and Hugh Laurie), great direction (courtesy of Susanne Bier) and the best production values of any show this year bar GoT. A fast paced spy thriller which (deservedly) puts Hiddleston as the frontrunner for the next Bond, though if we could give that part to Olivia Colman that would be swell.

8. The Great British Bake Off
This is the best show about cakes ever. I still don't get how this show is as engrossing as it is, but I'm glad that it is. I described it last year as TV zen, and that still is the best word for it. A calm, warm, welcoming place and if there was any year that needed such a place it was this one.
Please don't fuck this one up channel 4, we need this show.

9. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Any show that puts a stupid smile on my face and keeps it there has earned its position on this list. And boy does this show manage to do just that.

(It also puts the theme show in my head everytime I think about it.)

10. Gentlemen & Gangsters
Oh, how I wished I could place you higher. From one of my absolute favourite directors working in TV, with a script from a member of the Swedish Academy. It does so many things right; the soundtrack is fantastic, you don't get these production values in Swedish TV often, and it's terrificly directed with excellent cinematography. But it doesn't come together perfectly. It's still damn good though.


Best show I binged after it got added to Netflix:
The Good Wife

Best (presumably) show I didn't watch because holy fuck The Good Wife has 156 episodes:
National Treasure

Fail of the year:
The American electoral coverage

1. Person of Interest
2. Gravity Falls
3. iZombie
4. Stranger Things
5. Westworld
6. Steven Universe
7. Mr Robot
8. The Expanse
9. Game of Thrones
10. Agents of Shield

1. The Americans
2. Game of Thrones
3. American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson
4. Mr. Robot
5. Person of Interest
6. Westworld
7. Better Call Saul
8. Ash vs. Evil Dead
9. Narcos
10. Daredevil

Fail of the Year - Vinyl. How i managed to suffer through this complete wreck of a show i will never know.

All in all it was a great year for tv shows, with old favourites putting up some of their strongest seasons yet and new ones showing the undeniable vitality of the medium. Here's hoping for another great year for tv entertainment!

1. Person of Interest
2. Westworld
3. Game of Thrones
4. The 100
5. Daredevil
6. 11.22.93
7. Stranger Things
8. Orphan Black
9. How to get away with Murder
10. Designated Survivor

Fail of the Year
1. Mr. Robot
2. Luke Cage
3. The Walking Dead

1. Rectify
2. Atlanta
3. The Get Down
4. The Americans
5. The Crown
6. Better Call Saul
7. Stranger Things
8. The Night Manager
9. The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses
10. Nobel

Lots of good TV this year.

Honorable Mentions
Wallander, The Break (La trêve), Gomorrah, Narcos, Marcella, London Spy, Lady Dynamite.

Best of the Year

1. The Americans; This show is consistently so good and so under-watched. It seems to get better every year, delicately balancing an interesting family drama with cold war era espionage
2. Better Call Saul; This Breaking Bad spin-off continues to be absolutely hilarious while simultaneously giving us small hits of what we all loved about the mothership show
3. Black Sails; The best genre TV show on the air right now. Game of Thrones gets all the buzz but with a much more condensed cast and focused plot, plus unparalleled set and special effects work, it's hard to beat this swashbuckling Pirate drama. I mean they built real ships and simulate real storms, that's crazy! Season 3 was the best yet and it's a shame the soon to air Season 4 will be its last.
4. Person of Interest; What a terrific "procedural" network show that was criminally underrated. It came to its end this year and while a bit more rushed than I would have liked, it really delivered on a satisfying conclusion.
5. Stranger Things; It's rare to get a hint of that old Spielbergian magic but Stranger Things delivers. Very unique in the television landscape and subverts all sorts of expectations for genuine twists.
6. Westworld; Ultimately not as good as everyone hoped but it still makes the list. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy only write well and that fantastic script work combined with great performances really make Westworld shine even if the overall plot is a bit muddled.
7. Atlanta; So interestingly unique. Donald Glove is a national treasure. Been a big fan of his since "Bro Rape" back when he was part of Derrick Comedy and have greatly enjoyed seeing his career flourish. It's amazing how he can produce, star, write, and occasionally direct this show simultaneously and have it all come out so great.
8. Vice Principals; Fantastic oddball comedy that also finds a way to have a lot of heart. Walton Goggins is the standout, as he often is whenever he appears in a show, but the whole production shines.
9. Ash Vs Evil Dead; After a middling first season, this year really delivered on the promise of an Evil Dead television show. Perfectly capturing the essence of the original trilogy of films, this show is full of pulpy goodness and humour.
10. The Flash; The Flash consistently seems to be the best of the bunch of a growing amount of superhero television. Not afraid to have fun, be campy, and true to its roots, The Flash revels in being about its main character and his friends and isn't afraid to toss a giant CG Shark man at them. A true bright spot in a genre that is growing increasingly dour and "gritty".

Fail Of The Year

1. The Night Of; Started so promising and then completely shit the bed. I was really digging it in the first few episodes too.
2. Penny Dreadful; Great little series that suddenly and sloppily came to a conclusion when there was clearly so much story left to tell