20) Guilt (BBC)
Definitely winner of 'Best 2019 Show You've not Heard of'. In an era dominated by huge, expensive, lengthy epics with the world(s) at stake, this Scottish original drama of two brothers who hit and run on an elderly man and then things only get worse, is well worth a watch, especially for finally giving Mark Bonnar a starring role - four episodes in total but packed with story, bish bosh.
19) Titans (Netflix)
Poorly marketed in the trailer as 'Robin says a swear', this DC Comics show seemed destined to fall foul of the trait of thinking comics' adaptions need to be over the top violent and 'adult' to be taken seriously. Fortunately, Titans was more carefully plotted and well-considered than that and a very easy binge watch, taking enough from the comic series to be worthwhile but altering enough to stay interesting. It also did a good job of introducing the team over the course of the whole season rather than rushing things in the usual comic origin story formula.
18) Star Trek: Discovery (Netflix)
Following up a relatively well-received first season of a property beloved by rabid fans who can turn toxic on a miscast character or trait is tricky. Introducing a version of the most iconic of those characters is even bolder, along with another new captain. Discovery, although slumping a little early on, rights the ship and tells an intricate tale where you genuinely don't know what will happen next. And the culmination of the season also gives them much more freedom for where to boldly go next.
17) The Good Place (Netflix)
Reviewing tv by calendar year is always a bit tricky - mostly the series that air on mainstream channels air the back end of one season and then the first part of the next at either end of the year. Such is the case with The Good Place, so whether the final few episodes will cement its place in the top comedies of the decade or consign it to its very own Bad Place is still unclear. However, it still rattles through plot like no other series (even most dramas) and the characters have all found their voices - even if the central plot of Eleanor/Chidi still doesn't quite convince. And Ted Danson continues to impress and the behind the scenes podcast is a gem.
16) Grace and Frankie (Netflix)
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin continue to charm their way through one of the best feel-good shows airing at the moment. The main premise of the show, demonstrating that the elderly don't all act the same or should be treated the same, has been expanded and the rest of the cast given the time to develop, especially June Diane Raphael as Grace's daughter Brianna.
15) The Boys (Amazon Prime)
Okay, sometimes overly sweary and violent comic adaptations get it bang on. Although in some ways The Boys can't get away with what the comics' source material did (DC originally published it until the higher-ups got wind of what Garth Ennis was doing with his not-very-well-hidden-versions of the Justice League). There are still more than enough gross, shocking or hilarious (or all three) moments here - including the answer to the question 'what if a baby had super powers?' tat you never thought you needed to know. Also, Karl Urban deserves this!
14) The Loudest Voice (Sky Atlantic)
I put off watching this show for a while, like some others on the list, as good as they are you need to be in a particularly robust state of mind I think to view toxic predators running major corrupt media outlets. However, the story of Roger Ailes' rise and spectacular fall at Fox News was a tale of our times. Russell Crowe was incredible as the title character - so much so that eventually you completely forget it's him playing the role; Sienna Miller gets the rump of the prosthetics' budget by the looks of it though.
13) Stranger Things (Netflix)
There's nothing better than a great tv show becoming great again after a bit of a slump. Season three of Stranger Things recaptured the highs of its first season in spectacular form, upping the stakes and the scares and focusing on some of the under-used supporting cast rather than the 'stars' to a very successful degree. In particular the addition of Maya Hawke (Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke's daughter) who stole every one of her scenes and further developing the friendship between Eleven and Max rather than making them stereotypical love rivals or bitchy teens.
12) RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC)
A bit like the 2012 Olympics, could we actually pull off something that just doesn't seem in our wheelhouse? It was an emphatic yes (like the Olympics), admittedly helped by the recent dip in form of the US version. Thankfully, instead of trying to copy the glamorous / bitchy side of the mother show the producers were brave enough to let the UK traditions and tropes be given air. The Final Three may have been obvious from the start (and divisive in their final placings) but the UK season may have not only secured a place for a long running series here, but also give the US edition the shot in the arm it desperately needs. And the challenge to top 'that' Snatch Game.
11) Pose (BBC)
At first, the shift in focus away from the premiere season's elaborate plots around prep for the weekly balls and subsequent glam, was something to miss. But as the show developed it was obvious this move was intentional as the full impact of the AIDS crisis started to take centre stage. A funeral episode in the centre of the run, despite being a tad OTT in its storyline, was one of the most moving episodes of television this year and had me in buckets. Despite/because of all this, the finale trip up state was so refreshing and ended on an uplifting note. There's still no more important a show for highlighting transpeople's lives and rights - especially as so little seems to have actually changed.
10) Only Connect (BBC)
A bit unusual to have a long-running quiz show on a 'best of' list - but if the list is ultimately recommending what you should watch I don't see the problem! People have dismissed it as being as difficult as University Challenge but the good thing with Only Connect is that, once you start to grasp how the clues generally are structured you can at least get a few right. And even when you don't have a scooby, the questions are often at least admirably clever in their construction - whereas University Challenge leaves you feeling inadequate because you don't know your Latin and your classical music, you're at least as likely to get a question about Little Mix on Only Connect.
9) The Mick (Paramount)
Sadly now cancelled, even after one of the best runs of a comedy in the last few years. The Mick starred Kaitlin Olsen as Mickey, essentially a similar version of her 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' character. Irresponsible and forced to take care of her three nephews and nieces and then hilarity ensues. The Mick took the usual US tv comedy tropes and turned them on their heads - including casting actually likeable, odd-ball kids who grew in importance as the show progressed and they proved they could hold their own. See also Speechless for 'gone too soon US comedies when there's so much other dross on air'.8) Sharp Objects (Sky Atlantic)
Despite airing at the start of last year, very few shows stayed with me in terms of mood and tone as Sharp Objects. This was thanks mainly to Jean-Marc Vallee's incredible directing, ramping up his style from Big Little Lies - all quick cuts, flashbacks, and emotive scenery shots and then added stifling heat and sun of Missouri. Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson excelled in their roles and the troubled past of the lead family was as intriguing as the central murder mystery. No other show evoked their setting (despite me never being there) as Sharp Objects.
7) The OA (Netflix)
Yet another gone-before-their-time show, a victim of Netflix's new tendency to cancel rather than finish the tales their subscribers sign up to see. The OA is very definitely not to everyone's taste (hence the cancellation) but for a series that cared as much for traditional storytelling techniques as it did about episode length and when to place your titles (i.e. not at all) it was doing something unique in the tv stratosphere. Gone too soon - but at least it went out on one of the craziest endings to a tv show ever - which I'll obviously not spoil here - take a look for yourself!6) Mr Robot (Amazon Prime)
In a year with very high profile failures to land their endings (mentioning no dragons in particular) it was very heartening that Mr Robot, which started out in an equal flurry of hype and attention but then found the media gaze wandering elsewhere, managed to stick a very emotional and satisfying landing indeed. When a show can have you questioning absolutely everything that's going on (and in a very divisive way) but then have the skill to not only pull it back but explain itself so well, that's when you know the show runner knows what they're doing. We have to get more discerning when selecting which shows to go back and watch - it's good to know that some will be worth the investment.
5) Watchmen (Sky Atlantic)
Did we need a retelling/follow-up to DC's classic Watchmen story, one where the creators have made it clear they would sanction no follow-up? No we didn't. Was David Lindelof's Watchmen one of the best shows of the year. Yes, emphatically. Starting off on by featuring very few elements of the original story was an odd move, but then centring the history of race relations in the States, actually bringing a real-life tragedy to prominence (the Tulsa 'Black Wall Street' massacre). Regina King and Jean Smart were amazing in their respective roles and the way the story progresses, surprises and interlinks across its nine episodes (mirroring the number of panels per page of the comic can't be coincidental) is masterful. Lindelof, with this and The Leftovers now under his belt, has certainly banished any of the demons of Lost's finale.
4) Dark (Netflix)
If you're a confusing, subtitled-from-German, complex animal of a show, why not double-down with your second season? Dark did just that, requiring a high level of concentration, revisiting of previous episodes, using wiki/google through your fingers to remind yourself enough without spoiling what's to come. It's a very hard programme to discuss without giving away some of its wonderful secrets and twists, but trust me the investment is well worth it. Unlike other shows who make it up as they go along, there is a clear plan at work here - even the air date of this season was important to the mythology of the show. Definitely one to binge on before its final, third season.
3) Russian Doll (Netflix)
Fans of Orange is the New Black would already know how charismatic a presence Natasha Lyonne was and how you'd miss her for the stretches she wasn't featured in the large ensemble cast. So binge-watching Russian Doll requires no effort whatsoever, and actually helps navigate the Groundhog Day of the storyline. The central concept of the show doesn't get in the way of it being funny and genuinely watchable.And while the title of the show eventually becomes evident, it isn't laboured at all - and you'll also say 'cocker-roach' rather than cockroach from now on I'm afraid...Should she risk a second season? Well, as we'll get to, there are two schools of thought about that.
2) Succession (Sky Atlantic)
The 'little' show that could...and did. While HBO was throwing its weight behind Game of Thrones' final season publicity push, ultimately it was Succession that carried off all the plaudits. While its first season was very good, it didn't get so much attention immediately - but slowly, thanks to social media buzz and some very meme-worthy dialogue and scenes, attention became focused on The Murdochs in the Dynasty Universe. Season two focused down on each of its episodes as mini-plays where the family are gathered, sometimes tenuously so...and away we go. Like Mad Men before, its hard to root for any of these selfish, rich idiot creatures at first, but gradually, ever soon gradually, you suddenly find yourself cheering them on (although often against each other to be fair). My faves are the revelatory Matthew Macfadyen playing completely against what UK viewers are accustomed to in the wimpy, useless Tom - and the superbly caustic, yet sympathetic Kieran Caulkin and his bizarre relationship with Gerri. Succession, any other, ordinary year would easily be the best thing on tv, but this wasn't any ordinary year...
1) Fleabag (BBC)
Because we have Fleabag, we'll always have Fleabag. Taking the fourth wall and tearing that down again with the introduction of Andrew Scott's 'Hot Priest'. Starting with a shot of Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the loos, bloody nose: 'This is a love story'. Cut to the choppy guitar of the title screen. And it was a love story, but not just of the priest, of sisterly love and of learning to love yourself - and saying goodbye to us, the voyeur. So many great scenes, searingly funny lines, heartbreaking confessions and joyous triumphs.
It's a huge risk for a writer to cave and return to something they'd previously said they'd finished with - and here the contradiction of Fleabag is apparent. Season two wouldn't exist if PWB had decided to stop at season one, but, having seen season two wouldn't another season spoil possibly the most perfect final season of tv ever made? How could she top season two? Except she did top season one with two so she could do it again, couldn't she? In a way I hope we don't find out and this is the end of it. The perfect ending.
