1. Pluribus (AppleTV)
It takes a lot to show us something we’ve never seen before. To present ideas that make us truly think. To make us think in ways we’ve never considered before. To leave us with thoughts that linger for days and make us look at the world differently. To make us question our consciousness, our existence, our humanity, our world, ourselves. Pluribus does all of this and does it with such entertaining wonder (and, admittedly, sometimes true horror) that I am constantly overwhelmed with how refreshing it truly is and how lucky we are to exist in a timeline with Vince Gilligan and the team of writers and directors he has assembled and how lucky we are to be the recipients of this kind of magic trick. Oh, and the magnificent Rhea Seehorn, who never won that Emmy for Better Call Saul that she so deserved? You’d better believe she’s coming for it now.
[Note: This is the only show I’m purposely not providing a trailer for, because I believe this show is best experienced knowing as little as possible about.]
2. The Pitt (HBO)
At first, I thought this show was just an updated rip-off of ER. But then I realized I was on the literal edge of my seat and my hands were sweating and I actually cared about what happened next. Tension and stress have never been this entertaining.
3. Murderbot (AppleTV)
The surprise sensation of the year, Murderbot on paper looks almost like a joke. Alexander Skarsgård in a science fiction action comedy where he plays a security robot gone rogue who likes to watch soap operas and kill people? Come on. But once I started, I just couldn’t stop. Beyond charming, beyond adorable, beyond addictive, beyond great. So good. Skarsgård truly can do anything. I guarantee you didn’t see this one coming.
4. Task (HBO)
The spiritual cousin to Mare of Easttown, Task is from the same creators and is set in the same outside-Philadelphia region, so it has much of the same tone and vibe as that Kate Winslet-driven hard-bitten crime drama. But, for me, Task builds much more of an emotional core, centered on two separate, haunted characters on either side of the law, on a collision course with each other. Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey are each excellent, but the entire ensemble, script, setting, mood, pacing and tone of Task are what kept me hooked, week after week.
5. Adolescence (Netflix)
The obvious selling point for this show is the fact that each of the four hour-long episodes is shot in one continuous take. And let me be clear: the action does not take place in one room. It takes place in and around a city and inside and outside buildings, which makes it worth watching just to see how they did it. But so much more than a technical achievement, Adolescence is a psychological drama will break your heart into a million pieces. Not an easy watch, but a must watch, if you love acting, drama, filmmaking and the complexities of human tragedy.
6. The Studio (AppleTV)
I’ve never been the biggest Seth Rogen fan, but he hit a home run with this series that’s a love letter to movies and Los Angeles that features some of the best writing, acting, cameos and technical camera-work seen in ages. An entire episode is filmed in one shot and, in any other season, that would make this show a true pioneer. Instead, it just makes it a refreshingly elite comedy at the top of the game.
7. Andor (Disney+)
Rebellion, adventure, and Star Wars. Oh, and the most subversively political show on television, especially in season two. Disney spares no expense to make one of the most beautiful, action-packed, expansive shows on television, but it’s the message that matters.
8. Death by Lightning (Netflix)
The perfect companion to last year’s Manhunt, the excellent Netflix series about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent pursuit of his killer, John Wilkes Booth, Death by Lightning takes place in the turbulent years following Lincoln’s death, as the country tries to find its way in the wake of unrest and an uncertain national identity. It tells the staggeringly undertold story of President James Garfield, played by Michael Shannon, and his deluded admirer, Charles Guiteau, played by Matthew Macfadyen. Four magnificent episodes not only tell us an important piece of history of our country, but explains a lot about how we got to where we are now.
9. Dept. Q (Netflix)
This quirky, melancholy British detective show starring Matthew Goode doing the best work he’s ever done (and that includes his brilliant turn as Robert Evans in The Offer, holy cow) would be so much higher on my list if it hadn’t felt the need to show us so much torture. But, even so, this character-driven, darkly funny yet surprisingly complex police procedural about a ragtag group of castoff cops will grab hold of you and win you over. And every detective show needs to be set in Scotland. It should be a law.
10. Hacks (HBO)
It wouldn’t be a Top 10 list without Hacks and I still almost left it off, that’s how good TV was this year. The fourth season bounced back after a somewhat shaky third season and reminded me of all the things that makes me look forward to this show every week and root for Jean Smart every time she’s nominated for anything. Oh, and Dance Mom.
Honorable Mentions:
North of North (Netflix)—The most underappreciated and sweetest comedy of the year.
Down Cemetery Road (AppleTV)—For Emma Thompson’s hair alone.
Slow Horses (AppleTV)—Consistently bingeable.
The White Lotus (HBO)—Sloppy, soapy shenanigans delivered by a perfect cast.