Welp, 2020 was… a year. Just going to leave it at that. As with any year though, new shows debuted, old favorites bid adieu, and as always TV provided a much needed escape from reality. And while I did add a handful of new series to my watchlist, I probably spent more time than I’d intended rewatching my old standbys as a form of “comfort food.” With that said, the below picks are based on my TV intake* for 2020 and therefore completely arbitrary.
*Sorry from some of the more glaring blindspots, but not sorry for including NBC’s Blindspot.
Best (Favorite) Show: Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem
The below tweet is why I started watching Motherland: Fort Salem, and pretty well summaries what you need to know about the show.
Not sure what else to say besides I’ve fallen hard for this series, which debuted during the early days of the lockdown. When many other series were ending their seasons early and going outdoors was greatly frowned upon, this show provided a much needed diversion and something to look forward to on a weekly basis. I really enjoy it’s universe, the characters, their relationships, the music, etc. The latter of which I loved so much I wrote a post earlier this year about the Motherland: Fort Salem score and use of sound.
Best New Show: Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit
While I wasn’t suddenly motivated to start playing chess, I did dig The Queen’s Gambit. The acting was superb, as was the costumes and the cinematography. And at just 7 episodes the pacing was on point. Gotta appreciate a good miniseries. Long-form storytelling is cool and all, but so is telling a succinct story and this is a hell of a good one.
Best Show for 2020: Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso & The CW’s Stargirl
I already wrote about why The CW’s Stargirl was a welcomed new series in 2020 and I’m certainly not the first to praise Ted Lasso for it’s feel good vibes (Buzzfeed, The Ringer, and Decider are just a few examples of outlets with nice things to say), but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include it here too.
If you haven’t checked it out because you don’t want to pay for one more streaming service, I can’t fault you for that. But if you happen to have Apple TV+, seriously give Ted Lasso a chance. Like the many sports stories that have come before it, Ted Lasso is familiar in a fun and comforting way. It’s an underdog story with a lot of heart and humor. Plus, it’s already been renewed for a 2nd and 3rd season so there’s plenty more positivity and football jokes to come!
Best Series Finale: NBC’s Blindspot
This year I said goodbye to a handful of shows including Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The 100, The Good Place, and Blindspot – all shows I’d invested several years in watching. And for the most part all ended on good terms*, but in my opinion the most satisfying swan song belonged to Blindspot. I already wrote about why I thought the final season would be it’s best yet and that pretty much all panned out. And I know some audience members were less than pleased with the ambiguous ending, but I thought it was fitting.
*Except The 100, just not going to talk about that one.
Runner Up: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
I watched this show from the very beginning, for 7 seasons 136 episodes, and while there were some highs and lows, it stuck the landing. Not only was the seventh season a much needed return to form, but it made great use of the time travel concept, tied into the much-missed Agent Carter in the best way possible, and gave FitzSimmons the happy ending we’ve all been rooting for.
Additionally, the Live with Lil YouTube watchalongs have been an excellent way to stay connected to the show while also getting some seriously exclusive behind the scenes stories.
Best Show More People Should Be Watching: Starz’s Hightown
Personally I’m a little over TV shows that kick off with the discovery of a dead body, but I’ve been a fan of Monica Raymund since Lie to Me so I was interested in checking out her new series and boy does Hightown hit. This is one of those shows that’s fully actualized within the pilot. The characters are multidimensional, the setting is distinct, and the storyline avoids many of the predictable pitfalls that are common among murder mysteries. And it’s been renewed for a second season so I recommend checking it out and catching up before the new season drops.
Best Show That Was Cancelled: Netflix’s GLOW
I really LOVE GLOW, so this cancellation still hurts, a lot. Initially renewed for a fourth and final season, Netflix reversed its decision on account of the difficulties of resuming filming amid a pandemic. To add salt to the wound, GLOW had even started to film it’s final season and had an episode in the can, which will never see the light of day. Plus, there was apparently much more to come for the supporting cast, which had wrote a letter to the executive producers during the hiatus to voice their concerns about how their characters were perpetuating racial stereotypes with the hopes of enacting change. It would have been cool to see the series reckon with it’s own shortcomings and to give these talented women, and the characters they portray, the respect they deserve.
Best Binge Watch: YouTube Netflix’s Cobra Kai
I know, I know, I’m late to the party. My brother has been telling me for years to watch Cobra Kai, seeing as how we both grew up on a steady diet of The Karate Kid and crane kick attempts in the backyard. But like the rest of America, once it made it to Netflix I really had no excuse and quickly consumed the first and second seasons. This show is fun, it strikes just the right balance of nostalgia and camp. Plus, I love how it gives Johnny Lawrence more dimensions. And the stunt work is pretty damn good, that karate brawl at the end of the second season was epic. Bring on season three!
Runner Up: Hulu’s Looking for Alaska
If there’s one thing that Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage know it’s teenagers and the early 2000s, which is probably why this John Green adaptation works so well. If you likewise loved The O.C., this 8-episode miniseries is for you. Also, the Looking for Alaska soundtrack is an impeccable collection of original and cover songs of the time, most of which kept me company through a good chunk of 2020.
Best WTF Did I Watch: Netflix’s Spinning Out
This is one of those “so bad it’s good” shows. Like I can’t actually recommend Spinning Out, but I have to applaud them for taking the throw everything at the wall approach to storytelling. Unsurprisingly it was cancelled after just one season, but if you like ice skating and / or trainwrecks this show might be for you.
Best Episode For a Good Laugh: NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine “The Jimmy Jab Games II”
Maybe I’m just a sucker for recurring hijinks, but I laughed a lot through the newest installment of the Jimmy Jab games on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Not only did we get a Holt and Rosa pair-up, but there was also a solid Bring It On reference, and some great one-liners including this one from Debbie:
I’m just not cut out for this high-stakes world of having fun with friends.”
Best Episode For a Good Cry: NBC’s The Good Place “Whenever You’re Ready”
In a year where therapeutic crying was much needed, it’s perhaps bizarre that one of the most ugly-cry inducing episodes aired before all of this went down. Doesn’t make it any less effective though. The Good Place’s finale was fitting and if you didn’t laugh and cry while watching it then I don’t even know if we were watching the same thing.
Best Reality TV Moment: ABC’s Jeopardy GOAT Tournament
Oh Alex Trebek, we will miss you, Jeopardy just won’t be the same. At least we were treated to a legendary 4-day Greatest of All Time tournament between Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer this year. Overall, the game play was intense and lived up to the hype. Plus the outpouring of love for Alex Trebek throughout was heartwarming.
Best On-Location Cinematography: Netflix’s Outer Banks
Watch even just a few minutes of the Outer Banks and tell me you don’t wish you were actually in the Outer Banks spending a day on the water. The sunsets alone are to die for. Here’s an interesting interview with cinematographer Brad Smith about his experience working on the show.
Best Reboot: Peacock’s Saved by the Bell
I watched the heck out of Saved by the Bell reruns in syndication as a kid, throughout college, and even now when I stumble across them, but that did not mean I was clamoring for more. Even when the trailer dropped I was pretty skeptical of the new series. It did not look good. But lo and behold, it’s actually well done. The new show manages to both skewer the original series and provide fan service, all the while introducing a whole new generation of likable Bayside students. Josie Totah as Lexi is a real standout and kudos to Totah for serving as a producer as well in order to ensure that there was representation in-front of and behind the camera for the trans community.
Best Renewal: Amazon’s The Wilds
This was my last binge watch of 2020 and if it hadn’t been renewed I would have been pretty damn annoyed. Can’t wait to see what the second season of The Wilds has in store, here’s hoping we get a healthy dose of answers in the next installment.
What were your favorite series and TV-related moments of 2020? Sound off in the comments section below.
