My 20 Favorite Television Shows of 2017

It's that time of year again.  You know the drill by now, so say it with me folks: There's Too Much TV.  In an effort to spread the wealth a little bit more when it came to my media consumption, last year I made a conscious decision to not play the Peak TV game and try to watch less new TV.  I've continued that effort in 2017, watching a total of 100 shows in full, which is still a ton, but less than the 115 I watched in 2016 and the 125 in 2015.  I've gotten more ruthless about quitting shows that don't move the meter for me, and I felt less inclined to watch a show I don't like simply because TV Twitter loves it.  So if you're feeling imprisoned by the Too Much TV era, I recommend watching less.  It's very freeing!

The one issue that became a bigger deal in 2017 was the glut of streaming shows.  Everyone has joked about it in the past, but this year it really did seem like there was a new Netflix show premiering every Friday.  On top of that, there's all the content coming out on Hulu, Amazon, Crackle, and whatever new streaming network decides to sprout up -- it all amounts to alot of shows having their entire seasons dropped in an instant.  I can handle tons of weekly shows, but that streaming dump model doesn't work well for me, a person who can't really binge a whole season of a show in one sitting.

For that reason, this was the first year where there were a handful of shows that I just wasn't able to get to in time to be considered for this list, and they were all from streaming services.  That's what happens when these services populate like rabbits and you let their content pile up until the end of the year.  Even without those few shows being eligible, there's a wonderful array of television on display in the list below.  2017 proved once again that TV is the best subcategory of pop culture.

The rules: Shows are considered for this list based on the episodes they aired in 2017.  This is a pretty plain and simple rule for cable dramas, where full seasons usually air within a single calendar year.  However, it gets slightly messy when considering network shows, which usually air the first half of their season in the fall and the second half starting January of the next year.  So something like, say, The Good Place would be judged based on the second half of its first season (which aired at the beginning of the year) and the first half of its second season (which started in the fall of this year).  As for what constitutes a TV show, anything that airs on, you know, a TV station counts.  But shows that air exclusively on streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon count too.  Last year I made the note that YouTube webseries didn't count, but with the growing popularity of YouTube Red, that distinction can't hold.  But don't expect any YouTube Red shows on here, because I didn't watch any of them.

Honorable Mentions (25-21)
Season two of Search Party (TBS) continued to deepen its hyper-specific characters, while also being the best plotted comedy on television.  Some people had complaints about its rushed storytelling, but it was just thrilling to see Game of Thrones (HBO) continue its breakneck race towards the finish line after so many years of stalling.  Dear White People (Netflix) stretched out the story of the movie it's based on, and made it way better and more interesting in the process.  After being the best show that never made this list for years, Jane the Virgin (CW) had a 2017 so strong that it finally got the extra push.  Though it may be privilege porn, Master of None (Netflix) also featured a lovely romantic arc and some stunning standalone episodes in its second season.

20. Insecure (HBO)

Remember when comedies used to be funny?  Thankfully, Insecure does.  Issa Rae's HBO brainchild was laugh-out-loud funny from the start, boasting some of the most natural and lived-in banter on television, but its second season elevated the show's game on every level.  With all the debut kinks worked out, this year was a well-oiled machine, filled with more hilarious lines of dialogue in five minutes than most shows have in five episodes.  But it also grew more confident and ambitious in its storytelling, playing with structure while also expanding to show the world from the perspective of its great bench of supporting players.  The show also looks and sounds fantastic, paying more attention to its soundtrack and cinematography than most other comedies do.  In the golden age of the Comedy?^TM, Insecure proves that you don't have to sacrifice laughs for aesthetics.

Highlight episodes

1. Hella Perspective (Season 2 Episode 8)

2. Hella LA (Season 2 Episode 4)

3. Hella Blows (Season 2 Episode 6)

19. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has always been an insane tonal highwire act.  It throws comedy, drama, musicals, and mental health issues into a blender and the mixture goes down far smoother than anyone could ever imagine.  For two years it did so without ever faltering, even weathering the departure of Santino Fontana from the cast.  But in season three, it pushed things to further extremes on each end of the spectrum.  The first half got sillier than usual, as it riffed on campy movies like Cruel Intentions to tell the arc of Rebecca trying to enact revenge on Josh for leaving her at the altar.  But that was just to lull the viewer into a sense of security in order to maximize the punch of the recent string of episodes, which featured some of the bleakest material the show has ever attempted.  And all the while, it still managed to feel like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.  If you're not watching, you're missing out on the best examination of mental illness on television.

Highlight episodes

1. I Never Want to See Josh Again. (Season 3 Episode 5)

2. Josh's Ex-Girlfriend is Crazy. (Season 3 Episode 4)

3. Will Scarsdale Like Josh's Shayna Punim? (Season 2 Episode 10)

18. I Love Dick (Amazon)

More and more, with the never-ending increase of television programming to choose from, the shows that make an impression are the ones that feel different from anything else that's on.  That's the case with I Love Dick, Amazon's oddity about the art and academic world in Marfa, Texas.  The show bears some stylistic similarities with Transparent -- Jill Soloway is also an executive producer on I Love Dick and directs a few episodes -- but otherwise, it stands alone.  Its musings on sexuality, feminism, and obsession can sometimes be inscrutable, and not every storytelling beat works, but there's not a single moment of the show that isn't utterly transfixing.  There's a sense of freedom and experimentation that allows for the show to pull off "A Short History of Weird Girls," one of the most original and fascinating episodes of the year.  Different isn't always good, but I Love Dick shows how forging a new path can often lead to thrilling places.

Highlight episode
1. A Short History of Weird Girls (Season 1 Episode 5)
2. Cowboys and Nomads (Season 1 Episode 8)
3. This Is Not a Love Letter (Season 1 Episode 6)

17. Degrassi: Next Class (Netflix)

We're four seasons into Netflix's co-produced soft reboot of everyone's favorite Canadian teen drama, and it no longer has to prove itself.  In the first few seasons, the praise for Degrassi: Next Class had a tenor of "no, it really is good!", but none of that is needed anymore.  There's no need to apologize for loving the most entertaining show on television, one that is in full command of its tone and willing to roll with its occasional silliness.  It's also just a great slice-of-life show, examining social issues and teen culture through a soapy lens.  And in true Canadian fashion, Next Class is ultimately a warm and optimistic show about people who generally mean well, but conflict due to their own insecurities or differences in perspective.  This year, it went to new places as well, sending off a graduating class for the first time and managing it with poise.  Next Class will be entering a new phase, but it'll surely be delightful no matter what.

Highlight episodes
1. #HugeIfTrue (Season 3 Episode 5)
2. #KThxBye (Season 4 Episode 10)
3. #GetMoney (Season 4 Episode 2)

16. Mindhunter (Netflix)

David Fincher is one of the best directors working today, but as we learned from House of Cards, his attachment to a TV show doesn't automatically signify quality.  So Mindhunter, where Fincher serves as an executive producer and directs almost half of the first season's episodes, didn't have that much buzz going into it before the premiere.  Thankfully, it is a show worth talking about, partially because of the style Fincher imparts on it.  But it's also got some great writing, turning methodical conversational scenes into riveting, high tension cat-and-mouse drama.  The serial killer show is one of most hoary formats in all of television, but Mindhunter finds a refreshing take on the genre.

Highlight episodes
1. Episode 8
2. Episode 7
3. Episode 9

15. The Expanse (Syfy)

The space opera has been a dead genre post-Battlestar Galactica, and it started to feel like the world would never get anything that would carry the torch.  At last, The Expanse has come to take up the mantle.  There may have been doubts in the first season, which was good but clearly still trying to establish its dense world, but that completely faded away in its vastly superior second season.  Part BSG and part Game of Thrones, The Expanse aims to deliver game-changing moments at a nonstop clip, shaking things up in its intricate political web.  And it succeeded wildly this year, raising the stakes in the coming war between Earth, Mars, and possible outside forces.  The plotting can sometimes be labyrinthine, but season two helped its complexities go down easy by pairing it with moments of pure wonder and excitement.  This feels like the kind of show that would be huge if more people knew about it.

Highlight episodes
1. Caliban's War (Season 2 Episode 13)
2. Home (Season 2 Episode 5)
3. Paradigm Shift (Season 2 Episode 6)

14. The Bold Type (Freeform)

A few months ago on Twitter, Kayley Hyde described the appeal of The Bold Type better than I ever could in a tweet thread: "My favorite thing about The Bold Type is how it depicts female friendships with such mutual care & respect.  So often TV shows try to pit women against one another, or use lack of listening/respecting one another to lead to petty conflict."  Freeform's new show about three best friends working together at a Vogue-like magazine in New York was the biggest surprise of the year, far exceeding the expectations set by pre-premiere promos that made it look like an obnoxious Sex and the City for the millennial set.  What we got instead was a terrific show that featured the best relationship on television in the form of its central trio, all while involving them in intelligent modern stories about navigating the workplace as a young woman.  The Bold Type may seem like a frothy show, but there's more to it than meets the eye.

Highlight episodes
1. Three Girls in a Tub (Season 1 Episode 7)
2. No Feminism In the Champagne Room (Season 1 Episode 5)
3. Carry the Weight (Season 1 Episode 10)

13. Better Call Saul (AMC)

Better Call Saul was always a show I appreciated more than I actually loved.  It's clear to anyone that on a purely mathematical level, it's superb television.  The direction and cinematography are exquisite, the arcs are as precisely constructed as a Swiss watch, individual episodes are deliberately paced but well-structured, and the entire cast is constantly adding new contenders for their Emmy reel.  And yet it could never get the blood pumping the way its predecessor/chronological sequel Breaking Bad could.  Season three was the show's best season yet, an absorbing arc that elegantly expanded the larger crime narrative while also tightening its grip on the workaday downslide of Jimmy McGill into Saul Goodman.  At last, Better Call Saul has become something to appreciate and love.

Highlight episodes
1. Chicanery (Season 3 Episode 5)
2. Lantern (Season 3 Episode 10)
3. Sunk Costs (Season 3 Episode 3)

12. The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)

With a steady decrease in Netflix's backlog of beloved shows from the past, Hulu has been the go-to streaming app for TV lovers and historians for a while now.  But they had yet to have a piece of original content that dominated the cultural conversation the way Netflix has with shows like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Stranger Things.  That all changed this year with The Handmaid's Tale, their adaptation of Margaret Atwood's seminal dystopian novel.  With its story of authoritarian male power and the control of women's bodies, the show hit a nerve in a political climate where it feels like the world of Gilead isn't that far off.  But it's also a gripping series on its own, thanks to a ferocious performance by Elisabeth Moss and consistently gorgeous direction.  It's one of the rare modern shows that understands the power of the individual episode, delivering distinct installments with their own themes, symbols, and mini-arcs.  The streaming landscape has become so cluttered, but Handmaid's is special enough to stand out in the crowd.

Highlight episodes
1. Late (Season 1 Episode 3)
2. Offred (Season 1 Episode 1)
3. The Bridge (Season 1 Episode 9)

11. Nathan For You (Comedy Central)

One would think that Nathan For You would have lost the ability to surprise by now.  Part comedy, part business makeover reality show, all insanity; the show had consistently reached new heights for three seasons, as it chased brilliant bits down bizarre rabbit holes.  For a second, it seemed like season four of the show was the beginning of the luster finally dulling a bit.  There were still ingenious concepts, like Nathan inventing a bizarre scenario that could happen to him just so he could have an interesting story to tell on late night talk shows, and gutbusting episodes like "Shipping Logistics Company."  But the seams showed alot more in episodes, with bits either stopping before finding any gold or being pushed too hard to keep things going.  Then the finale came and blew everything else away.  "Finding Frances" was one of the wildest episodes on television, one that needs to be seen to be believed.  Even in its weakest season, it was able to deliver something that hilarious, endearing, and brain-bending.

Highlight episodes
1. Finding Frances (Season 4 Episode 8)
2. Shipping Logistics Company (Season 4 Episode 6)
3. Nathan For You: A Celebration (Season 4 Episode 0)

10. The Girlfriend Experience (Starz)

Filmmakers Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz already blew past expectations with the first season of The Girlfriend Experience which, in telling an elliptical story that kept its cards close to its chest, felt more like a European art film than a television show.  Season two proved that they still had some surprises up their sleeves, embarking on something that's never been done before: they split up to tell two completely separate stories within the same season.  Kerrigan's story, "Erica & Anna," stylistically kept things within the same realm as the clinical first season, just flipping the story to contrast with the ideas of its predecessor.  Seimetz's "Bria" story, on the other hand, embarked on a completely different path, with a more fractured narrative that employed many disorienting filmmaking techniques.  Both stories were great, and it was fascinating watching them reflect each other week to week, as they both ruminated on themes of sex, power, and the ways they intertwine.  Eventually, Kerrigan and Seimetz want to hand the series off to other writers and directors, but they've been doing such daring things with it that it's hard to imagine anyone living up to it.

Highlight episodes

1. Relapse (Bria: Episode 7)

2. Donors (Erica & Anna: Episode 4)

3. Moral Inventory (Bria: Episode 4)

9. Big Little Lies (HBO)

Nobody would have faulted you for assuming that Big Little Lies was formed by an algorithm designed to win a show the most awards possible.  Get a bunch of movie stars like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, film them in gorgeous locales, and wrap it up in an enticing murder mystery?  The quality wouldn't even matter, the shiny trophies would come automatically.  And it did end up winning a ton of awards, but they are all completely deserved.  Buried underneath the glossy surface is a moving look at the lives of complex women, their inner pains, desires, flaws, and ultimate power.  The mystery and emotional arcs all come to a head in the show's powerful finale, which stands as one of the best episodes of the year.  Sometimes awards bait isn't such a bad idea after all.

Highlight episodes
1. You Get What You Need (Season 1 Episode 7)
2. Living the Dream (Season 1 Episode 3)
3. Burning Love (Season 1 Episode 6)

8. The Deuce (HBO)

Watching something created by David Simon -- previously known for The Wire, Treme, Generation Kill -- feels less like watching a TV show and more like eavesdropping.  He and co-creator George Pelecanos pulled off the same trick with The Deuce, which transports the audience right into 1970s New York around the birth of the porn industry in the area.  With the street-level verisimilitude Simon is known for, the show breathes life into everyone it touches, from the pimps, to the hookers, to the beat cops, to the bartenders at everyone's local haunts.  With an unparalleled richness and tactile sense, The Deuce proves that extreme world-building need not only be reserved for genre television.

Highlight episodes
1. My Name is Ruby (Season 1 Episode 8)
2. Why Me? (Season 1 Episode 6)
3. What Kind of Bad? (Season 1 Episode 5)

7. Alias Grace (Netflix)

2017 was the year of the Margaret Atwood adaptation.  While everyone was paying attention to the buzzier Handmaid's Tale, thanks to a bigger marketing push and a political landscape that made the premise surprisingly relevant, Alias Grace quietly flew under the radar a few months afterward.  Writer Sarah Polley (Away From Her, Stories We Tell) and director Mary Harron (American Psycho) spin a spellbinding yarn about identity, truth, and the crushing weight of the patriarchy over six bracing episodes.  And as the titular Grace, Sarah Gadon helps sculpt one of the most fascinating characters of the year.  It's a shame that this wasn't more popular, because it was more subtle, complex, and ultimately better than The Handmaid's Tale.  But it's not a competition, we're lucky to have two excellent Atwood adaptations when we need them the most.

Highlight episodes
1. Part 6
2. Part 2
3. Part 4

6. The Americans (FX)

What happens when what's already the most interior show on television has its most interior season yet?  Well, what you get is season five of FX's Cold War spy drama and examination of the nuclear family, The Americans.  At the time of its airing, the show's penultimate season was met with a great deal of handwringing, as many critics and fans got impatient with its glacial pace so close to the finish line and its constant use of downshifting anti-climaxes.  But now that we're further away from the finale, season five feels like the standard Americans excellence.  It was a more deliberate and incident-light season, sure, but that allowed for the writers to linger in the spaces where the show shines.  This year particularly seemed populated with hushed, simmering two-person scenes, and episodes that really took the time to chew on themes of family and self-preservation.  It may not be clear how this all fits into the grand puzzle of the show, but they've earned enough trust to do something like this.

Highlight episodes
1. Dyatkovo (Season 5 Episode 11)
2. Crossbreed (Season 5 Episode 6)
3. Darkroom (Season 5 Episode 10)

5. The Magicians (Syfy)

In the second season of Syfy's adaptation of Lev Grossman's popular "Harry Potter meets Narnia meets the crushing weight of adulthood" fantasy book series, the show really took flight.  Free from the shackles of setup and adaptation struggles, The Magicians had all of its pieces in place to go wild with the story.  And go wild it did.  This season was full of juicy narrative turns, taking its story to corners with deep, lasting consequences.  But most of all, it remembered to have fun along the way.  The Magicians is an absolute blast, exhibiting a complete mastery of its ensemble as it tested out a myriad of permutations of character pairings and watched as they bounced off of each other.  Every character on the show is distinct and fully-realized, all with their fair share of history and conflicts with one another.  The level of confidence in its character dynamics is almost Buffy-esque, and that's a comparison that doesn't come lightly.

Highlight episodes
1. Plan B (Season 2 Episode 7)
2. Divine Elimination (Season 2 Episode 3)
3. Cheat Day (Season 2 Episode 5)

4. Better Things (FX)

I started doing something a few years ago to help me make these lists, where I grade every episode of television I watched in the year.  FX's second season of Better Things was the show that ended up having the second-most A episodes (only behind the number one show on this list), even more than shows that aired twice as many episodes this year.  It's not an exact science, but it speaks to the show's ability to completely knock it out of the park in a given week.  It's made in a style that lends itself well to that too -- like Louie, the show from one of its main creative forces, Louis CK, each of its episodes have a vignette-like feel to them, allowing for greater risks to be taken with style and format.  But Better Things is a different beast from Louie; it's more soulful, ragged, and distinctly from a woman's perspective.  So people shouldn't worry about CK stepping away from the show due to recent sexual harassment allegations.  This is Pamela Adlon's vision, and it's a special one.

Highlight episodes
1. Graduation (Season 2 Episode 10)
2. Eulogy (Season 2 Episode 6)
3. Sick (Season 2 Episode 4)

3. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

When people talk about the canon of legendary TV creators, it's a pretty male-dominated conversation.  It's time for Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of Gilmore Girls and Bunheads, to be included with the likes of David Chase, Steven Bochco, and David Simon.  She's back for another round with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the latest vehicle in which she's able to display her unmistakable gifts as a writer and director.  What happens when the dreams that you had for your life are crushed?  That's the question the show asks for its titular protagonist, and like Bunheads before it, the answer is to chase another dream.  And so begins the quest of Midge Maisel (a revelatory Rachel Brosnahan) to pursue a career in comedy after her husband spontaneously decides to leave her one night.  The praise for Sherman-Palladino often centers around her dialogue, and this series certainly has some delightfully clever and rhythmic patter, but people often overlook her emotional grounding.  Maisel never forgets the pain rooted in its premise, as it digs into this woman in crisis sorting through the mess of her life and attempting to find solid ground.  And just as Midge eventually does, Amy Sherman-Palladino has proven that she deserves a spot among the boys.

Highlight episodes
1. Mrs. X at the Gaslight (Season 1 Episode 6)
2. Thank You and Good Night (Season 1 Episode 8)
3. Put That On Your Plate! (Season 1 Episode 7)

2. Halt and Catch Fire (AMC)

Halt and Catch Fire may go down as one of TV's biggest miracles.  Who could have possibly imagined in season one that this would grow to be the greatest empathy generator on television?  But everyone, from the show's writing staff to its talented ensemble, put in the work to make it what it ultimately became.  They dug the foundation, built up these deeply flawed but equally humane characters, and tangled them in the lattice work of complicated emotional arcs.  And it all paid off in this final season, a year that spread its aches and joys in all directions.  Halt may be over, but its power still lingers.  May these characters forever strive to be better, to find meaning in life via their work and the connections they formed along the way.  May we all.

Highlight episodes
1. Goodwill (Season 4 Episode 8)
2. Ten of Swords (Season 4 Episode 10)
3. Who Needs a Guy (Season 4 Episode 7)

1. Twin Peaks: The Return (Showtime)

I made it my mission this year to not write a single word about Twin Peaks: The Return on the internet.  Part of that was driven by the desire to retain the show's power and mystery, to not simplify it with half-baked theories and premature analysis.  But mostly it was because how could anybody possibly process what was placed in front of us?  In the 26 years since Twin Peaks first ended, David Lynch's work became weirder and more haunted, and The Return felt like the ultimate culmination of his evolution.  For 18 weeks, the world was a captive audience to a journey that ambled in zigzags and curlicues, but was hilarious, frightening, exciting, and devastating every step of the way.  It may not have been the coffee and cherry pie nostalgia trip that some were hoping for, but what ended up being delivered was a once in a lifetime experience.  This was not just the number one show of the year, but also one of the very best of the decade so far.

Highlight episodes
1. Part 8
2. Part 17
3. Part 16


Well, that wraps things up for my best shows of 2017 list.  I love reading other lists, so feel free to share yours in the comments.  Or if you want to share your thoughts on my list, then you can do that too!  To see a complete inventory of all the TV I watched this year (with even more rankings), you can find it HERE.

Previous lists
2016
2015
2014
2013