Quick honourable mentions before we begin to I Am Not Okay With This, Run and Inside No. 9, which have all been awesome but just about missed the cut. Anyway, shall we?
10. Never Have I Ever
In a world where teen comedies are a dime a dozen, Never Have I Ever feels like a real breath of fresh air. This is something that goes beyond the incredibly handled representation, although that undoubtedly makes the show one of the year's most significant right out of the gate. Never Have I Ever feels like a celebration of specificity, from its John McEnroe narration to its heroine's tragically particular backstory, but it excels at imbuing its quirks with so much heart, making every little story beat feel so true, so that nothing ever feels overly twee or out of place. It's also got an incredible lead performance from Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who perfectly nails the balance between angst and heart. Even the show's message of appreciating yourself and the people around you feels fresh, re-energized by a voice that's so strong and so distinct and so wonderfully realised. This show is awesome, and that second season can't come soon enough
9. Sex Education
I really, really liked Sex Education's first season; it was fun, it was fresh, and it had an honesty and frankness in terms of its subject matter that made it immediately stand out. So it's safe to say I was pretty excited for its sophomore run, and oh man did it deliver. I mean talk about a glow-up. Sex Education bounds into its second season with so much more confidence. Everything just feels so much slicker this time around, like the show knows exactly what it needs to be and wastes no time going about becoming it. There's a much stronger sense of who these characters are now, and I especially love how everyone has something going on. A lot is happening in this season but no one feels short-changed, every character gets a moment to shine, and the show excels at balancing all of their plots. The way it handles its themes as well feels so important and so sensitive and so timely; it's hard thing think of a show on this list that feels more now. Sex Education went from good to great coming into its second season, and the result is one of the finest coming of agers in recent memory
8. Devs
Alex Garland is one of the most exciting storytellers right now, and his first foray into television is as blindingly brilliant as you'd expect. Devs is a labyrinthine exploration of humanity's relationship with the universe, as well as how we come to terms with our future and the responsibility we take in understanding the past. In true Garland fashion, he's not actually that interested in answering these massive questions, instead pondering on the nature of the questions themselves. It's a show that takes a lot of patience to unravel, and yet if you surrender yourself to it's utterly insane genius, the destination it arrives at is hugely rewarding. I'll admit I had some trouble with it at first, but the closer it gets to its conclusion, the more its musings start to resonate. So yeah, Devs isn't the most accessible show on this list, but trust me, if you like your sci-fi with a side of existentialism, and don't mind a lack of action in the lead up to a larger payoff, then I can't recommend it enough
7. Three Busy Debras
Three Busy Debras is the best show of the year about three women named Debra, and it had some stiff competition. Okay, this is by far the hardest show on the list to recommend, because it's so aggressively surreal and specific in its sense of humour, but if you're in the mood for something a little different, you'll definitely find it here. It's very much an Adult Swim show, with its easy to binge 11 minute episodes, immediately memeable humour, and delighfully experimental style, but I can't think of any other show in their catalogue that's hit the sweet spot for me as much as this one has, with the exception of the last season of Samurai Jack. It's a delight, singular and absurd and a ton of fun to watch (the ATM episode is one of the funniest installments of TV I've seen this year). I love it, a lot, and I think that Alyssa Stonoha, Sandy Honig and Mitra Jouhari are three of TV's strongest comic voices in ages. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to join the Cartwheel Club
6. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist arrived like a mixtape of the best parts of other shows; a little Kimmy Schmidt here, some Crazy Ex-Girlfriend there, but it didn't take long for it to establish itself as something that is sorely needed in 2020: pure, unabashed optimism. This is a show with a huge beating heart and an undeniable sense of charm, made all the better for the surprisingly elegant weight and gravity it deploys in it's heavier moments. The truth is that no show this year has hit with the same level of positivity, and if that soundtrack isn't enough to bring a smile to your face, the incredible lead turn from Jane Levy might just do the trick. I love a show that knows how to use its high concept, and what makes ZEP such an exciting show is how it refuses to ever play its premise as a gimmick; it's always finding new ways to use its central conceit. Most thrilling of all has to be that stunning eighth episode that reverses the premise entirely and is all the better for it. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist is just such a burst of colour, with every emotional beat played to its absolute maximum. It's one of the most enjoyable pieces of TV this year, and that's worth celebrating
5. What We Do in the Shadows
The funniest show of the year, on the other hand, has got to be What We Do in the Shadows. The first season was one of the biggest surprises of last year, and the second one is such a massive step forward, solidifying it as must-watch comedy. If the first season was mostly spent figuring out how to transport the unique charms of the original film to a new setting and format, then the sophomore run takes it from there, streamlining every element of the show until it's smoother than Jackie Daytona. That ace disguise gag is just one in a season of many, and picking a highlight from this buffet of semen-stealing witches and regular human music and resurrections gone wrong is just too difficult, although I am incredibly fond of Colin Robinson's single episode rise to power. Every character just feels perfect this season. They're all interesting, they're all funny, and especially in the case of Harvey Guillén's Guillermo, they feel like they're actually growing and developing through the antics. It's just such intelligent silliness, and it's ability to deliver hit after hit after hit across its ten-episode run is just a testament to how flawlessly Jemaine Clement has mastered the show's wonderfully unique formula
4. The Good Place
I was a little nervous about The Good Place ending, because after almost four seasons of pure existentialist perfection, it had set itself up for an insanely tricky landing to nail. But I suppose if the show up to this point had taught us anything, it's that Team Cockroach are at their strongest when the odds seem impossible. This four episode run essentially sees our unlikely heroes answer the meaning of life, save the Earth from a total reset, find the good in their greatest foe, and finally, finally get into the Good Place. For real this time. It's just impossible to imagine a better way for this show to have ended, really. That last episode in particular is the kind of poignant positivity that the show is built upon, tackling the inevitability of the end of existence with a reassuring smile. And that's a funny thing, because after four years of chasing the afterlife, of contemplating what paradise might look like, the show reaches the conclusion that maybe it's the end of the journey that made it special in the first place
3. Bojack Horseman
The Good Place wasn't the only show to nail it's ending this year, though. The first half of Bojack's swansong was hopeful, following Bojack on his steady yet uncertain recovery. Sure enough, the second half saw the pendulum swing downward once again. Hard. Bojack's ending is an interesting beast. This is television at its most uncomfortable and essential, unflinching in its analysis of hard truths and unsure in how Bojack might reach some kind of redemption, and ultimately if he's even deserving of it at all. This is best displayed in the penultimate episode, a beautiful, soul-shattering gaze into the abyss through an image that's been right in front of us the whole time. As for the final episode, it's exactly what you'd want from Bojack, delivering the perfect mix of gravitas and uncertain hope (which is still hope, after all). And that's a real feat; after all, a purely tragic ending would feel just as cheap as a totally happy one. Bojack Horseman goes out in the only way it could have. It's painful and it's beautiful, and honestly I wouldn't have had it any other way
2. Normal People
Where do I even begin with Normal People? I suppose I could dust off the ol' reliable for when a show gets this level of heat and say "Normal People isn't a show. It's an event", but I honestly don't think that would do it justice, because it's such a perfect demonstration of what makes TV such a unique medium, to the point where it really wouldn't have worked if adapted into a feature film. It's thoughts and feelings perfectly distilled into a series of exquisitely captured moments. Kind of like a relationship, actually. This show is kind of the perfect love story, not just delicate or passionate but intimate too, getting as close to these characters as they get to each other, and through that, we feel everything right there alongside them. On top of that is everything it tackles along the way, with special mention going to the tenth episode's incredible discussion of male mental health. It's such a pure piece of storytelling, so potent in the level of feeling that permeates every glorious moment. And while much has been made of the wonderful universality of the show's themes (and rightfully so), I'd like to celebrate how specifically Irish it is, how it nails every little detail of its setting and crafts a piece of media that reflects the richness of modern Irish storytelling
1. Better Call Saul
The further Vince Gilligan ventured into the past of everyone's favourite morally flexible lawyer, the more people began to ask the same question: When? When will this absolute behemoth of a spin-off finally surpass its mighty predecessor? Unless you're like me and actually think that Better Call Saul overtook Breaking Bad in its fourth season, but then the question was how Gilligan could top that and.... well, you get the idea. Better Call Saul is, simply put, the best thing on TV right now, and as Jimmy slipped to ever deeper depths, it was honestly just a privilege to tag along for the ride. Season 5 swapped the intense slow-burn of the four outings that came before it for a masterclass in plot density and economic storytelling. So much happened this season, which in turn gives us a much better look at Jimmy's degeneration in real time. It was such a thrill to watch the world repeatedly take chunks out of Jimmy McGill, only for the empty space to be filled by Saul
What makes the fifth season especially great, however, is the same thing that puts it above Breaking Bad, and that's Kim Wexler. Rhea Seehorn is consistently giving the best performance on TV here, and watching the role she has in the story gradually shift has been a crucial element in defining Saul as a masterpiece. As always, she shows us the parts of Jimmy that he keeps hidden, but this time around their dynamic is complicated by the way they tackle the concept of having a future together. I especially love the way it tees up its ending by teasing Kim's dark side. Hell, if the show keeps delivering in the way it has been, it's even possible that she could rival Jimmy at his most devious. But enough of the theories, because this season is honestly as close to perfection as Gilligan has gotten, and that's not even talking about Tony Dalton's terrifying Lalo Salamanca, or Jimmy and Mike's odyssey through the desert, or Hank's return, or Fring's Spice Curls. It's a perfect season of television, and I can't wait to see how the sixth season brings this incredible tale to a close
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