This year, there was more TV than any person could conceivably watch. That’s both a blessing and a curse. Instead of a few shows per year dominating the general conversation, there is an endless parade of binge-worthy viewing readily available at the click of a button.    The inherent problem, of course, is that with so many new and worthwhile shows at the ready, it can be an overwhelming task to choose which show to devote your time to. And to go along with this ceaseless deluge of screen time, we as viewers have been forced to change the very way in which we watch the shows we love.

Sure, there are still cable and network shows that air once per week on a specified day. HBO is still the king of this realm, and they have a Sunday Stronghold that still serves as the center of the TV landscape. But even in spite of this, the viewership as a whole has already begun to shift to a new means of consumption. The Binge Watch. With cable subscriptions declining and cord-cutting options increasing, many are choosing to binge shows instead of taking their time and watching them on a slower pace. I know people who will wait until a weekly show ends before watching it, just so that they can binge it.

I am torn. There’s something incredibly enjoyable about hunkering down over a weekend and plowing through 10 episodes of a 0-to-100 thriller like Ozark, or getting nostalgically creeped out watching Stranger Things in the days leading up to Halloween. But shows like Game of Thrones, which work best on a week to week basis – yes, even with the ever-increasing gaps between seasons – are starting to fade from existence. I personally enjoy watching a show from week to week. It gives the show time to breathe. It prolongs and enhances the experience. And most importantly, it allows for viewer participation. Shows like Lost and Breaking Bad did this in their time, and Game of Thrones still does. In the 6 days between episodes, fans can speculate together about what will happen next. It seems to expand the world of the show itself – make it come to life even more. I can’t imagine binging the last season of The Leftovers. With each episode providing so much for dissection and introspection, binging it would kill the magic that made it such a spectacular story. It would cause us to gloss over deep, emotional revelations that take time to process.

But this is a new world. This is the new age of television. I think it’s safe to say we’re at the tail end, or already past, the so-called “Second Golden Age of Television.” That doesn’t mean this new age isn’t any good. In fact, there are so many great, wonderful, thought-provoking, hilarious, devastating shows out right now, that it can be almost impossible to decide which to invest in.

Well, let me help you out. Here is a list of what I believe to be the best shows of 2017.

 

Honorable Mention – Stranger Things

This is a last minute addition to this list. But as I was thinking about the year in television, I couldn’t not give some love to this show. It’s gotten a fair share more criticism than it’s first season. I thought this year’s story was great, really. It was everything we loved about the first season, but with an even bigger grasp of the characters and the story’s world. But man, that bottle episode with Eleven was bad. If you haven’t seen this season yet, unfortunately I have some bad news. There is one episode that brings down the entire season a notch or two. It’s not good. But the rest of the show was thoroughly enjoyable.

 

15. GLOW

A show about 80’s female wrestling. I’ll admit that I was skeptical at first. But with solid performances by Alison Brie, Marc Maron, and Betty Gilpin, and an at-times hilarious script, this is a diamond in the rough. It’s episodes are just a half hour, so it’s easy to digest. Perfect if you’re wanting a bit of silliness (though it has its deeper moments too, don’t worry).

 

14. Godless

This limited series western was a surprise at the end of the year. I enjoy some western films, but never really got into western TV series in the past. But I enjoyed every minute of this one. Even the 15 minute horse-training montage. And Jeff Daniels as the morally convoluted antagonist was a surprise. Daniels has often strayed into phoned-in performances in movies. But I’d forgotten how much I enjoy his long term character performances, when allowed time to breathe (see The Newsroom). He’s fantastic as a ruthless gang leader hell bent on tracking down and destroying the adopted son who abandons him. Oh, and Denise from Walking Dead gets a chance at some gunslinging redemption.

 

13. Mindhunter

Mindhunter is different than you probably think. It’s not science fiction. It’s actually rather historically grounded. A slow burner about the birth of America’s obsession with serial killers. In fact, it gives us the story of the very phrase “serial killer” itself. Wide-eyed wunderkind Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and skeptical veteran Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) are FBI agents traveling the country in the 1970’s, interviewing men who have committed unspeakable murders, to try and understand WHY they do what they do. It can be quite disturbing, but it also shines a light on a time when we vastly underestimated what the human mind is capable of. It’s produced and often directed by David Fincher. So if you like his style, you’ll certain enjoy this.

 

12. The Young Pope

There’s just something about this show. Maybe it’s because it was made by an Italian director and crew (I have a soft spot for older Italian cinema, and it’s derivatives). Maybe it’s the soundtrack. Or Jude Law’s performance as one of the youngest, most controversial and potentially brutal pope’s in Vatican history. Or maybe it’s just the type of show that is the sum of its parts. Even with the maddening cat-and-mouse game its writers plays with its audience, I couldn’t help but get excited every week for this show. In fact…it’s kind of surprising that it’s not ranked higher. I suppose that shows how strong a year in television this was. This was truly one of the best shows I watched this year. And there are 11 more ahead of it on this list. And I didn’t even watch Twin Peaks.

 

11. The Good Place

Another show that I can’t believe didn’t crack the Top Ten. In fact…What am I doing?! Why didn’t I put this in the Top Ten! I suppose I can justify it like this: I didn’t like it the first time I tried watching it. I watched the first few episodes and quit, partially because of (SEMI-SPOILER ALERT) some flying shrimp. But for some reason I picked it back up. And I’m glad I did. It turned out to be one of the most delightful comedies I’ve seen in some time. And not only that, it was full of intrigue and mystery, and one hell of a season 1 finale (parts of two seasons both aired this year). Kristen Bell is a joy to watch, and Ted Danson…well, it’s Ted Danson. Episodes are 22 minutes, and they’ll fly by. Watch this show.

 

10. Fargo

I haven’t watched the first two seasons of Fargo. But with this being an anthology (each season has its own plot, characters, everything), you don’t have to see the other seasons to watch this one. From what I’ve gathered, the first two were better than this one. And that, for some reason, has robbed this season the respect I think it deserves. This was great television. Impeccably produced, with many fine performances from Carrie Coon (the all star of this TV year), Ewan McGregor (who plays two brothers so effectively that you forget it’s just one actor), and David Thewlis, this show captured the Coen Brothers’ original film’s dark aesthetic, while bringing something new and completely compelling. I was particularly impressed with the Peter and the Wolf episode, where each character was given their own theme music from Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale. If the other seasons are better than this, I’m actually pretty disappointed with myself for not watching Fargo earlier.

 

9. Big Little Lies

I’m not sure where I heard this (likely The Ringer, or one of its’ offshoots), but this show is an albatross for TV of the future. By that, I mean that major actors are flocking towards the small screen, and production companies are eager to take advantage of their star power. Blockbuster contributions from Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, and Shailene Woodley are the reason this show got the exposure that it did. But make no mistake, this was expertly crafted and presented. Full of gorgeous scenery and photography, and a great soundtrack, this thriller is wound as tightly as it can get. I was on the edge of my seat every episode – totally invested in the machinations of the lives of these ultra high class West Coasters who have finally allowed the dark underbelly of hoity toity life to bubble over the edges.

 

8. The Deuce

David Simon and George Pelecanos, the creators of this show, come from about as heralded a TV background as you can get. They come from The Wire – which is widely considered one of the best shows ever created. And The Deuce, in a way, is a continuation of that show’s ethos. It feels like The Wire when watching it. Simon’s shows always come with an easy selling point. With The Wire, it was a cop drama that focused on street level drug trade in Baltimore – but it progressed into a sprawling portrayal of the American City and the various institutions to which its population finds itself subjugated. For The Deuce, it’s about the rise of the porn industry. But the first season barely gets into that territory, instead focusing on the red light district of 1970’s New York. The prostitutes and pimps that roam the night, and the people who are impacted by that industry. It can be dry, and it can be slow-moving. But it’s so dense, and so well written, and I can only imagine the depths to which it will venture in seasons to come.

 

7. Game of Thrones

I was as critical of this season of Game of Thrones as anyone I know. There were huge stinking plot holes, and complete lapses of logic and reason. Half the season’s drama could have been avoided if someone – anyone – had simply acted in their own character’s already well-established interests. But the fact remains. This show is special. It’s unlike any show in history, on a scale unlike any in the history of television. And it’s still SO compelling that the worst season of its entire run is still one of the best shows you can hope to watch. This is one of the very few shows that I HAVE to watch the moment it airs at 8pm on Sunday night. Season Seven had some high highs and low (very low) lows. One more season left. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do when this show is gone. It’s been one of the best TV experiences of my entire life – maybe only surpassed by shows like Lost and Breaking Bad. Dragons are powerful, man.

 

6. American Vandal

27 cars in a high school faculty parking lot are spray-painted with giant red penises. Who did it? That’s the question everyone is asking in this mockumentary, stylized in the fashion of true crime thrillers like Making a Murderer and Serial. It’s a silly concept. One that could have easily been sloppily handled, or made into a mockery. And of course, that’s what this is. But it takes itself so serious that you sometimes forget that you’re watching a work of fiction. They completely sell this idea, and the resulting show is something that you can’t help but fall in love with. I watched this show, I loved it, and then I watched the whole thing again.

 

5. Halt And Catch Fire

There’s an old Italian saying: Friends, like fine wine, get better with age. Though it only had four seasons to work with, this is a show that not only got better with age, but came to feel like an old friend. It follows the rise of the personal computer in the 1980’s, and carries on into the 90’s with the tech and internet boom that has come to dominate our daily life. This show benefits greatly from dramatic irony. We know what the world turns into, and the characters that we watch are always one step away from being the reason WHY the world changes so drastically (maybe, actually, it would have been better if they did). It’s heartbreaking to watch them narrowly miss out on major innovations. They’re right there, with the brilliance and foresight of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. But bad lack, or sabotage, or broken relationships always end up getting in the way. These characters grow so much throughout the series, and yet they always retain all the things that make them who they are. Which makes them feel so real, and so tragic. The last season was masterful, and the finale was one of the more memorable and well executed I’ve seen in the last few years. I will greatly miss these characters, and I hope to one day revisit them.

 

4. Master of None

This is just a great show. The most recent season of Master of None did have its flaws. Aziz was a bit too in his head in some of the early episodes, from an acting standpoint. But this is the type of show that endears itself to its viewers. Every episode seemed to have its own unique storytelling device. One episode follows around 3 complete strangers throughout New York, all loosely connected, but entirely oblivious of that fact. Aziz is in the episode for maybe 2 minutes. The season opener is an homage to one of my favorite classic films, Bicycle Thieves. And the crowning achievement (well, one of a few pretty big achievements), is an episode that chronicles Thanksgivings through the years as Aziz’s character spends the holiday with his friend Denise (Lena Waithe). It’s the type of show that you just cozy up to and fall in love with. We don’t know when, or if, we’ll ever get another season of this marvelous show. Mr. Ansari is famously reserved about revealing whether or not he even wants to keep making it. But one thing’s for sure. If there’s new Master of None to watch…I’ll certainly be watching.

 

3. The Handmaid’s Tale

Based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name, this dystopian psychological thriller follows the tale of Offred (Elizabeth Moss) – one of the few remaining women who are capable of getting pregnant – as she is subjected to constant physical, sexual, and psychological torture at the hands of a General of the newly established totalitarian theocratic government of America (Joseph Fiennes) and his highly positioned, yet ultimately imprisoned wife (Yvonne Strahovski). “Men in power” as an antagonistic concept is nothing new to this genre, or entertainment media at large. But given the current cultural and political atmosphere in this country right now, this drama devastatingly reminds us of what can happen if the extremes of our competing ideologies get the better of us. This show is difficult to watch. It’s a good thing they spaced these out every week, regardless of it being on Hulu. Watching more than one episode of this show per week would be downright dangerous. Simply put, this is must-see TV. But proceed with caution.

 

2. Better Call Saul

By the time Breaking Bad had aired it’s last episode, it was already being called the best show of all time. And it’s likely true. I personally believe it to be the best show ever created. But make no mistake, Better Call Saul is its own show, and it’s more than just a prequel to a legend. Sure, AMC was likely hoping to steal some of Bad’s shine for the ratings. There was a certain portion of Breaking Bad’s rabid fan base that was guaranteed to make the jump to Saul. But this show stands on its own as one of the very best TV has to offer. Creator Vince Gilligan and his writing team are still at the top of their game. By nature, Better Call Saul’s stakes are bound to be much lower than that of the meth kingpin of the southwestern United States. But the deteriorating relationship of two hard-headed brothers, Jimmy and Chuck (Bob Odenkirk and Michael McKean), is as explosive as a bag of fulminated mercury in Walter White’s hand.

 

1. The Leftovers

What if 140 million people vanished into thin air? That’s the question at the heart of this incredible drama from creator Damen Lindelof (of Lost fame) and author Tom Perrotta (who wrote the novel). The answer to that question is anything but simple. In fact, the show turned into one of the most emotionally and existentially complex television shows in recent memory. It’s been almost 7 months since I watched The Leftovers. And I think I was still processing it in the weeks that followed. I’ve only now begun to appreciate this show for what it is – a potentially all-time great television show. This is the type of show that transcends the medium. It expands in the minds and the hearts of those who watch it. Sure, it’s just a TV show. A show that lasted merely three seasons at that. But in that time, it provided some of the most emotional moments of art that I have ever encountered, in any form. By asking that original question, about the sudden departure of millions of people, you end up asking so many more questions – about fate, loss, life, death, purpose, love, happiness. “What if you suddenly lost a loved one, and there was no way to reconcile it?” That’s something that all of us have to experience, in one way or another. To lose is to live. To live is to eventually die. What happens when you don’t know what you’re living for? In dark times, where do we find hope? The Leftovers doesn’t have the answers to these existential questions. But it sure tries like hell to make us find our own answers. Even if the answer is a lion cult sex boat off the coast of Australia.