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| Scene from GLOW |
Every year there are a handful of new shows that come out and help to define the zeitgeist. In 2019, there were several shows that not only got the internet talking, but quickly assured themselves as the series that will define the next few years. In today's Listmania, there will be a look into the shows which premiered between January and December of this year and produced moments that proved why TV is still a viable medium. From high concept dramas to slapstick comedies, this year featured plenty of excellent programming worthy of giving a shot. These are the 10 that went above and beyond and may only continue to do so in years to come.
1. Pose (FX)
How do you follow up a season of TV that was so joyous in its groundbreaking exploration of ballroom culture? The answer may seem alarming to some to know that the opening scene takes place at a graveyard for unknown men who died of AIDS. While this season became more depressing, featuring multiple significant deaths, the show found its true form as the exploration of how family matters in a harsh society that judges people and believes that they're spreading "the gay disease." Even with all this sadness, the show found time to pose, allowing people to party as Madonna's "Vogue" became a Top 40 smash and characters began to form their own careers. Few shows feel as welcoming as Pose for how it notices the value of family. Even if the world seems dark (such as a great against-type role by Patti Lupone), there will be some light at the end of the tunnel.
2. Watchmen (HBO)
The greatest hat trick of the decade is how Damon Lindelof convinced audiences that they needed another crack at Alan Moore's groundbreaking graphic novel. It isn't until the end that things start to make sense and the connections become clear. Even then, that's only part of the point of what this show achieves by building and remixing what was known about Rorschach and crew. Along with excellent online experience (visit Peteypedia for more) the show became an immersive look at how superheroes impact our modern-day with endless nods to the original mixed with odd little tics. More than that, it's a show that set out to show how the black experience has been wiped out of pop culture from days gone by. It's a dicey line to walk, but it all paints a portrait that serves as a faithful sequel that not only complements the original, it enhances the overall story.
3. Fleabag (Amazon/BBC)
American audiences will never get it right, but sometimes the best shows are those that know when to end. With only two seasons, Phoebe Waller-Bridge created one of the most entertaining comedies of the decade, using asides to help add depth to her story and present her ongoing struggles of faith. There's a reason that "the hot priest" was a breakout character this year, as the show tried to find a balance of impulse and abstinence. Sometimes the best moments came in the quiet in-between, where everything had been exhausted and the truth has no choice but to come out. If any show suggests that Waller-Bridge is setting up to be a major figure in entertainment in the next decade, it is the way she manages to use familiar techniques in new and inventive ways to make her mundane life seem more interesting.
4. GLOW (Netflix)
After two seasons of working for basic cable channels, GLOW decided to head to Las Vegas and ended up creating one of their best seasons yet. Every character dynamic feels more aligned this time around, and every character has some emotional baggage with living a life away from their comfort zone. As a result, bonds are formed in ways that only those who have lived on the road will understand. They're vulnerable, manic, and needing of love and validation. The cast is in top form. Even the wrestling routines, as campy as they're supposed to be, continue to find new dynamics for charming comedy. For a show about making the most with what you have, they have managed to find a lot in the process.
5. Barry (HBO)
Where could one of the darkest shows in HBO's recent history possibly go? The answer is that it will go darker until it finds something desperate in Barry. The actor/assassin continues to have his world intersect in uncomfortable aways, pushing his moral core in different directions. Meanwhile, the supporting cast remains delightful psychopaths who pop up with homicidal jokes that manage to only make them more daunting. There isn't any other show like this on TV, and even the choice to have an occasional weird episode like "ronny/lily" that spirals out of control manages to fit into the deranged core of the show. With one of the oddest cliffhangers of the year, one has to wonder where season three goes, especially now that it's unlikely that his worlds will ever untangle again.
6. You're the Worst (FX)
For a show that started its existence by asking us to hate the main characters, it ends with such a bittersweet finale. The final season was dedicated to the cold feet that come with getting married and taking any responsibility for the actions. After five seasons that explored the dynamics of being unpleasant, there was nowhere to go but to understand how someone could possibly be capable of love. It's the perfect ending to a show that pushed limits and explored emotional distress in ways that few comedies ever did. One of the best things that can be said about this show is that it never disrespected its premise, diving into gross humor every now and then and feeling like a real couple with their own personal insecurities. While they may have been the worst, they were just like us as well.
7. Killing Eve (AMC/BBC)
With the departure of Phoebe Waller-Bridge as a writer, the breakout crime series of 2018 had a tough road to climb. With that said, there is infinite charm in teaming up Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer as they barely miss each other's paths in a quest to find each other. It's the perverse love story that we all enjoyed, and the set pieces are just as thrilling. Comer especially gets moments of fashionista bliss where even her pajamas seem to be a style statement. The show may have lacked the Waller-Bridge touch, but it didn't miss it by much. It still remains one of the best dynamics on TV and ends the show on a cliff-hanger that makes one wonder who truly won the cat-and-mouse race of the past two seasons. The answers may surprise you, and not for the reasons you think.
8. The Crown (Netflix)
In one of the cheekiest switch-offs of recent memory, the series chronicling the life of Queen Elizabeth II opened its new season by pointing out how it was different. It's true that the show replaced prominent cast members, but it was all in the name of aging the queen into the next phase of her life. This time around, things feel a bit more personal and capture a leader faced with one tough choice: does she express herself and appeal to the commoner, or continue a legacy of seeming like a tough upper-lipped royalty? The answer comes with a slow exploration into her lonely life, showing that while everything is great, it's not always true for her wants and needs. With stories focusing on White House dinners, Welsh coal mine collapses, and demented mothers-in-law, the show finds the queen moving further into a world we know both literally and figuratively. She is more than a monarch, she is a lonely person who needs to be able to express herself now and then.
9. Fosse/Verdon (FX)
Everybody who loves theater knows Bob Fosse. Even if you don't, you'll probably know his filmography of films like Cabaret and All That Jazz. He is publicly considered a savant, a genius who has gifted the world with provocative entertainment. What the FX miniseries suggests is that there was just as much value in the contributions of his partner Gwen Verdon. With a great performance from Michelle Williams, the series explored the collaboration of the two and how Fosse's egotism overshadowed her more feminine and logical mindset. The results were just as manic as you'd expect, but it comes with a deeper emotional understanding of an entertainer who left a lot for the world and didn't get the thanks she deserved. She has got it now, and hopefully, it will help reshape history.
10. Pen15 (Hulu)
It's the type of show that shouldn't work. Many have mocked the idea of 30-year-olds playing teenagers, but what about preteens? Part of the reason that this show works with that dynamic is that part of Pen15's charm is how awkward preteen life is. This is the point in life when things start to change in a person, and they look weird anyway. It also helps because it only heightens the need for the characters to stick together, feeling like they're not part of the world around them. Luckily the show is more than a gag, managing to capture the emotional resonance of turn-of-the-century youth with goofy nostalgia references and personal family lives that are changing. It's a look at youth that's not afraid to be embarrassing, but thankfully it's sweet as well.
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