Note: This list is based off my own personal opinion of what I thought were the best shows of 2017, and is ordered in descending numerical order. To qualify for this list, a show must have aired some time in 2017; I would like to mention I was not been able to watch every show that aired in 2017, and a series might not qualify if it aired later in the year and did not complete its season before the start of 2018.
Notable Shows I missed: Big Little Lies, The Americans, American Crime, Halt and Catch Fire, Narcos, The Deuce, The Vietnam War, Alias Grace, Fargo.
Since its inception, "Black Mirror" continues to have one of the best premises of any show out there right now. For those living under a rock, "Black Mirror" is a British anthology show. Each episode is its own story tackling a different theme or subject matter usually revolving around modern society, the near future, or technological innovation and its impact on the former. Starting with the third season the series began to air on Netflix, giving the show even more free reign to tackling difficult topics. It's hard to rank each season of "Black Mirror," it's easier to rank individual episodes. This season contained some really good episodes, one or two unimpressive ones, but the true saving grace had to be the first episode "USS Callister." I don't want to give anything away, but it might be the best episode of any show from 2017, and among the three best episodes of "Black Mirror" overall. If you aren't watching this series, that is something you should fix; it's one of the few shows out there right that meets the hype around it.
"Stranger Things" was maybe 2016's biggest surprise. It was a creative new series from Netflix that played the nostalgia card at all the right times. Taking influences from sci-fi and horror films ranging from the 80s all the way back to the 50s, it was a stroke of brilliance that took the world by storm. Now, to be honest, the second season simply isn't as good. Even so, it was still good enough to make it on this list. The second season picks up where the first left off, all the kids hope they are done with the Upside Down and hope to get back to their normal lives. Despite their wishes though, Eleven is still missing, Will is suffering from the effects of being in the upside down, and the government is still messing with powers they don't fully understand. The second season of "Stranger Things" seems to be suffering from sequelitis; it feels like set-up for what is to come. Even so, it's still a fun ride. It has some of the best characters on TV right now, an interesting premise, and the full force of the Netflix juggernaut behind it. So I have high hopes that the third season will continue the trend of greatness.
Now, if you listened to professional critics (of which I am not), you would probably think this was the best show of the year. It was listed as the best on countless lists, winning several prestigious TV awards, and I'd be surprised if this wasn't the most lauded show of 2017. While I don't hold it to that high of a standard, it's still damn good. "The Handmaid's Tale" is based off the novel of the same name, and takes place in a near dystopian future where a large part of the US has been taken over by a fascist Christian fundamentalist group. At the same time, most women have lost the ability to give birth, so women who are known to be able to get pregnant are turned into handmaidens (whose job is to have children) for powerful couples who can't give birth themselves. The symbolism and parallels to our own world right now are obvious, and really help elevate the series; on top of solid production and exceptional acting. A Hulu original, the platform has had trouble matching the quality of original content coming from Netflix. But with "The Handmaid's Tale," they really made something great in 2017.
And
the award for most heartbreaking series, as well as the best documentary series,
goes to "Wormwood." "Wormwood" is a Netflix docudrama series;
it is a documentary that contains reenactments of the actual events. The series
tells the story of Frank Olson, a bio-warfare scientist working for the US
government in the 1950s who, for some reason, decided to jump out of a
high-rise's window in New York. Years later it came out that Olson was dosed with LSD as part of the government program Project MKUltra, a CIA operation
that involved dosing US citizens in the hopes of discovering mind control
tactics. The events of the series are told by Olson's son who just wants the
truth about the death of his father. "Wormwood" was a heartbreaking
series to watch, an unnecessary loss of life that could have been avoided, and
having Olson's son talk about the death of his father is even more
gut-wrenching. "Wormwood" cuts to the chase, it doesn't beat around
the bush. From the opening scene you know that you're in for something
different. If the idea of this series interests you at all, I can't recommend
"Wormwood" enough.
I
can already hear my co-worker Greg being happy that I included this show on
this list, but furious that it's only number 12. Even so, this is only the
second time than an anime series has appeared on my end of the year list so you
know that I liked it. "My Hero Academia" is a Japanese based shounen battle anime about a modern world populated by super heroes. The majority of
the population is born with what are known as quirks, genetic mutations that
range from levitating small objects to super strength and speed. With the rise
of powers, crime also rose; so professional heroes began to save the day. Izuku
Midoriya is a young boy born without a quirk, but once he meets the legendary
hero All Might, he is given All Might's power which can be passed on. He then
enters in a prestigious hero academy to follow in his footsteps. Since its
first season "My Hero Academia" has taken the anime world by storm.
The show's characters, humor, animation, fight choreography, and emotional
impact have all received praise. One of the most popular anime of the past few
years, I fell in love after only the first episode. A third season is planned
for 2018, and considering how far ahead the manga is, it's likely that "My
Hero Academia" will be on for years to come.
If you were going to go back to the beginning of 2017, and tell me one of the year's best shows was going to be based off of a B-league women's only wrestling series from the 1980s I would probably call you crazy."GLOW" is a new Netflix series that tells the mostly fictional beginnings of the real like Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling promotion. Ruth is an aspiring actress who shows up to a casting call one day that turns out to be for a new wrestling organization called GLOW. She decides to go through with it and gets hired on, but only if she can get her friend Debbie (who showed up to the addition yelling at Ruth cause she slept with her husband) to get involved as well. They both get hired on, and hope to get the organization off the ground. I'll go ahead and say it, "GLOW" is a lot better than I thought it would be. The actors are great, it manages to be both funny and emotional, and often wildly entertaining. Netflix has already renewed the show for a second season, and if we're lucky many more will come after it.
First off, shout out to my Facebook friend Michael who recommended this series to me. Second, congrats to Amazon for putting out their best show to date. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is a comedy series about Miriam "Midge" Maisel in the 1950s. Midge is a Jewish woman happily married and living in New York. She is the idea house wife type, who loves and cares for her family and her aspiring comedian husband Joel. All is well until Joel tells her he's been having an affair and leaves her. Midge has a bit of a meltdown, ends up at a comedy club, goes on a tear, and catches the eye of the club's manager. Midge has a talent for comedy, and decides it's worth the risk to become a real comedian. From start to finish, I adored this show; it might be my favorite of the year. It's funny, entertaining, and filled with great characters. Fortunately a second season is in the works, and I can guarantee I'll be watching it all day one.
If you want to talk about the most controversial show of 2017, it might just be this one. Based off the film of the same name, Netflix announced that they picked up the rights to make a show. From the very first trailer (which was poorly put together in all honesty), was met with immediate backlash with many saying it was racist against white people. Those people are idiots thought and very clearly didn't watch the movie or have any interest in watching the show. "Dear White People" takes place at Winchester University, an elite, mostly white college. The show's central character is Samantha White, a radical black feminist who runs a radio show called Dear White People, meant to point out prejudice and racism within the university. The show also stars a large cast of unique characters. "Dear White People" is a brilliant work of satire. Not only is it straight up funny and insightful, it goes down the same route as "South Park" in that it takes shots at and criticizes everyone. No one is off limits, which is what a satire should do. I loved the first season of "Dear White People," controversy and all; and I'm very much looking forward to what it brings to the table in its second season.
And the worst fandom in the world goes to the fans of this series. "Rick and Morty" is an Adult Swim based animated series. The show is about the two title characters; Rick Sanchez, the smartest man in the known universe, and his idiot grandson Morty. The two travel throughout the multiverse going on adventures and doing this and that. After the events of the previous season, Rick has been arrested by the intergalactic federation; but manages to quickly escape. Then he and Morty continue their crazy adventures. "Rick and Morty" has been a consistently great show. The humor, voice acting, and animation are top notch. The problem is that fans of the show suck. They've been freaking out for a while wondering when the third season would arrive, many feel superior for some reason (so much so its become a meme that only people with a high IQ can enjoy the show), and don't get me started on the szechuan sauce. Even so, it doesn't change the fact that "Rick and Morty" is one of the best animated shows on TV.
From
the very first episode, I fell in love with "Mr. Robot." Considering
it came from the USA network, it really did blow me. A modern day take on
"Fight Club" and one of the most entertaining shows on TV. Elliot is
an anti-social outcast who happens to have a split personality named Mr. Robot,
modeled after his deceased father. Without Eliot's knowledge, Mr. Robot started
a hacking group called "fsociety," whose goal was to take down one of the
largest companies in the world (referred to as Evil Corp). Their hack locked
all of Evil Corps financial information, plunging the world into an economic
crisis. Regretting his decision, Eliot has to stop a notorious Chinese hacking
group called the Dark Army from blowing up a building containing all of Evil
Corps paper records. This show's plot feels like a mystery wrapped in an
enigma, as soon as you think you have it figured out it takes a sharp left
turn. With its third season in the books, "Mr. Robot" is still going
strong. It was announced that USA had ordered a fourth season, and while I'm
not sure what it will be about I'm still so excited.
"Bojack Horseman" may be the biggest leap forward in quality I've ever seen from a series. The first season is alright, but ultimately feels like another dumb, somewhat raunchy animated comedy. While they begin to touch on some more complex themes, little comes of it. But starting with the second season, it became one of the most intelligent and complex shows out there. A Netflix original, it tells the story of Bojack Horseman, an actor who was famous from a 90s sitcom but eventually fell of the map after its cancellation. He recently got his big break though when he landed his dream role in a movie about Secretariat, but has a bit of a meltdown and leaves to find himself. And he has to ask himself the question, "why won't he allow himself to be happy?" On top of being hilarious and filled with memorable characters, it does an exceptional job touching on themes of self-destruction, self-loathing, depression, and holding on to the past. It's a brilliant show that just seems to keep getting better.
Since
I've started my blog discussing the best shows of the year, "Game of
Thrones" has always appeared on that list. And since then, this is the
lowest it's ever appeared on this yearly entry. Why? Because the seventh season
of "Game of Thrones" has been the worst. I'm not saying it's a bad season;
it's just been the worst. Over the past few seasons the quality of the show's
writing has dipped, mainly because the show is getting further and further from
its source material. For the first few seasons it was able to go off of some of
the best fantasy books of our time, now the writers have to make up the story
as they go based off of George R.R. martin's guidance. So the writing, dialog,
and storytelling just isn't what it once was. Even so, everything else about
this show is still top notch. The actors seem to get better and more
comfortable in their roles every season, the production value is like nothing
we've ever seen on television before, the action scenes are nothing short of
amazing, the special effects rival that of some movies, and it's still entertaining
as hell. This show isn't as good as it once was, it's that simple; but it does
show something very impressive. "Game of Thrones" on its worst day is
better than most shows on a good one.
I waited so long for this show to come back, and while the ending wasn't perfect, it was still a hell of a ride. "Samurai Jack" was a animated series by Genndy Tartakovsky that played on Cartoon Network in the early to mid 2000s. The series revolved around Jack, a samurai who was hurled thousands of years in the future by an ancient evil bent on ruling the world. The show was praised for its art, direction, story, music, and characters; but was abruptly canceled after its fourth season. Fans were left in the dark, and unsure if we would ever see a proper ending. But a little over a decade later it was announced that Adult Swim would air a fifth and final season directed by the show's creator. It's been fifty years since the events of the fourth season, but Jack no longer ages. He is tired, and has lost his sword. He fights to protect innocents, but has given up on returning to the past or killing the evil overlord Aku; but still, he fights. The fifth season of "Samurai Jack" continues what has always made the series so great, but now on Adult Swim the show is more mature and violent. The only issue with the fifth season is the ending, it felt rushed. The series needed either two more episodes, or at least an hour long finale. It's not a bad ending, but they wrapped up a 16 year long journey in like 10 minutes. Even so, I'm glad that as a fan I finally get to see Jack's journey come to an end; despite how bittersweet it was.
Every year we manage to get a few stand-out new shows, and this year was no exception; but of the new series on TV, this might be the true stand out. "American Gods" is based off the novel of the same name by respected author and comic book writer Neil Gaiman. Gaiman, known for his unique style, storytelling, and general "weirdness," often has "American Gods" called some of his best work. The story starts with an ex-con named Shadow Moon getting out of prison, and immediately heading to his wife's funeral. Along the way he meets a mysterious man named Mr. Wednesday who offers him a job. Shadow refuses at first but ultimately agrees. He's then roped into a war between gods, and the fate of the world. This might have been my favorite show from 2017. The story, the production, and style make it truly unique. It's wildly entertaining while still being a mature and complicated series. While a second season is on the way, I am nervous because the show runner has decided to part ways with production. So while the future of the show is still a bit up in the air, I have hope they can pull through.
Right of the bat I want to say that this show is WAY better than I thought it was going to be. I had hopes because the show runner was involved with the making of "Fargo," but despite my interest I set my expectations kind of low when I first heard of it; but after watching the first few episodes I was blown away. "Legion" takes place in the 1980s, and revolves around a character named David Haller (known by his super hero name Legion). David is a schizophrenic living in a mental institution. He goes about his day, lives his life, and everything is normal until he falls for a young woman recently admitted to the facility. They begin a type of romance that appears normal, until they accidentally switch bodies. What follows is David learning about himself, his past, and the fact he may be the most powerful mutant ever born. "Legion" is the best new show of the year, and is utterly brilliant. A fun but respectful look at the X-Men style universe, this show is just the right amount of crazy. A second season is on its way, and I can't wait to give it a watch.
Back
in 2008, AMC premiered a new show titled "Breaking Bad." While the
first season was met with praise, as time went on the series was called one of
the best shows ever by many fans and critics. Particular praise was
given towards the acting, directing, writing, characters, and complex story
telling. The show is beloved, so many questioned whether or not the spin-off prequel would live up to the legend. Centering on the character Jimmy (a layer
that's later known as Saul in "Breaking Bad"), the third season
primarily involves the interactions between him and his brother (also a layer,
who believes Jimmy to be a farce and hopes to get him disbarred). All while a
few other sub-plots are going on. What made "Breaking Bad" so great
is also what makes "Better Call Saul" great. The acting, directing,
writing, and storytelling are some of the very best on TV. The characters are
memorable and complex, taking part in one of TV's smartest shows. With its
third season coming to an end, it looks like "Better Call Saul" is
still heading down the right track. "Breaking Bad" are some big shoes
to fill, but this show has managed to do that just fine while being the best
series of 2017.
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