2019 is here.
I watch television; each quarter I list the ten best shows, culminating in a year end top 20.
Here's the first quarter of the new decade (eligible next quarter, Better Call Saul, Better Things, Last Week Tonight)
1. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
2. Cheer (Netflix)
3. High Maintenance (HBO)
4. Survivor (CBS)
5. Desus &Mero (Showtime)
6. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC)
7. Superstore (NBC)
8. High Fidelity (Hulu)
9. Looking for Alaska (Hulu)
10. The Good Place (NBC)
Curb is not a reboot taking a victory lap; it is as good, right now, today as it has ever been. 2020 Larry David is as funny as 1990 Larry David. I know I am not as funny as I was in 1990 (and I wasn't all that funny then either). Survivor's the best reality competition ever and its all winners season is hitting the right notes. Netflix had a strong quarter for reality with The Circle and Love is Blind; the best of its efforts was Cheer. High Maintenance always gets big marks on my lists; I'm a middle aged straight white male; diversity for the sake of diversity is often lost on me - but there is just something genuinely exciting about the way this show moves it main character out of the center and allows actors who would largely be background in other venues carry the ball. The funniest late night show in 2020 is Desus & Mero which just drips authenticity. The best network sitcoms are next, NBCs Thursday combo of Nine-Nine and Superstore. I couldn't be called a Zoe Kravitz completionist, but High Fidelity sure seems like her most accessible performance; she carries virtually every scene. I've aged out (finally) of most teen drama, but Looking for Alaska was a real page turner (if you haven't watched but are considering it, there's a significant plot twist, so you want to get to it) and I found the Good Place conclusion heavy handed, but well made (particularly Ted Danson's impeccable performance) enough to slide in.
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