Top 25 Television Shows of 2017

25. Animals — I don’t even know how to describe this show. It is telling some of the grandest stories on television with an amazing revolving door of voice actors and some very human animals.

24. Black Mirror — I liked exactly half of the episodes from the latest season of Black Mirror, but isn’t that to be expected at this point?

23. The Handmaid’s Tale — The show is heavy stuff, so you should know that going in, but from a production standpoint, it is positively consummate.

22. Santa Clarita Diet — This is so much funnier than it has any right to be, buoyed by a pair of winning performances from Timothy Olyphant and, of course, Drew Barrymore.

21. Mindhunter — Don’t watch this show if you’re looking for a laugh or a night without a nightmare. Don’t believe me? It’s like Zodiac meets Seven. So there.

20. Baskets — I’m not sure about the direction Baskets is taking, but let us take a moment to celebrate the bizarre beauty that was season two of the Zach Galifianakis vehicle.

19. The Deuce — This is the first David Simon show I’ve ever seen and I am enchanted. It is so atmospheric and puts you right into the heart of the story and the setting. Maggie Gyllenhaal is fantastic in it.

18. Better Call Saul — Despite the re-introduction of Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring, I still find myself endlessly more engaged in Saul’s side of the story, rather than Mike’s.

17. Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later — I hope they never stop making new installments of Wet Hot. They are my favorite thing and they are so much fun. I love them and how dumb they are.

16. Late Night with Seth Meyers — As Amber Ruffin has basically become a cohost of Late Night, Meyers’ version of the show continues to be the best late night talk show on television.

15. The Leftovers — Few shows have had a final season that is as funny and wry and twisted and creative and sad and life-affirming as The Leftovers did in 2017.

14. Curb Your Enthusiasm — Yup. I’m glad this is back. I could watch Larry, Jeff, Cheryl, Susie, Richard, Marty, and (sure, why not?) Lin-Manuel all day long. What a joy. What a delight. What a privilege.

13. Veep — I am so loyal to The Office and to Parks and Rec, but oh my gosh, what if Veep has the best ensemble in television history?

12. The Mindy Project — I know a show has affected me deeply when I listen to music from the final season and get so sad and so comforted and so lonely and so emotional. I miss this show already. I loved it so dearly. And the final season felt like it was on FOX again. I often found this to be the best show on television in those days.

11. Stranger Things — I thought it was so stupid to have a second season of the show and aside from the seventh episode, I was very wrong! Can we have Joe Keery, Sean Astin, and Winona Ryder on our televisions forever?

10. Big Little Lies — I get why people would hate this show, but petty (and, in some cases, the opposite of petty) beachside squabbles are my jam and I had no idea this was true!

9. Bob’s Burgers — There are few shows that shed cynicism as well as Bob’s Burgers does. I experience such peaceful pleasantries when I watch it. I am so happy that there is room in the current landscape of television for a show has pure as this to exist.

8. Nathan for You — Nathan Fielder is an actual genius. Like, I think he might be this generation’s version of Andy Kaufman. I know this because when I describe the story of what he does, I am guffawing and no one else is laughing around me.

7. BoJack Horseman — I don’t know what the plan is for the future of BoJack’s story, but the way it progressed in season four was awe-inspiring. I looked forward to every episode and even though it went kind of the way I was expecting (character development wise, not plot wise), I was enraptured for every second of it. So many moments of it were so much more haunting than a Netflix cartoon has any right to be. I love this show.

6. Girls — As I mentioned previously, the final season of Girls is actually perfect. I know circumstances surrounding it were unsavory, but as for how that impacted the show itself, it is irrelevant. The final season was a fucking massive achievement.

5. Game of Thrones — Any television critic omitting this show from their list is an absolute fool who is taking one of the best things in the history of television for granted.

4. DuckTales — Yup. This isn’t a joke. Centered around cool animation and some of the best voice actors around (Ben Schwartz, Danny Pudi, Bobby Moynihan), the new DuckTales is actually really good and I will never stop singing its praises.

3. Fargo — Fargo is so good. Obviously. It’s probably the best crime series in the history of television. I’m not afraid to say that because season two was a perfect piece of television art and season three came pretty damn close to its heights.

2. The Good Place — I don’t even know what I can say about this show anymore. It’s just so damn good. SO. DAMN. GOOD. You have to watch it.

1. Master of None — While watching this in May, I knew it would be here when 2017 came to a conclusion. As I was watching it, it was so obviously the best show of the year and it wasn’t even close. A strong storyline to run through the season, padded by some stunning stand alone episodes and some next level performances, Master of None was perfect and enchanting and absolutely, positively lovely. I hope season three will come soon even though Aziz Ansari seems unlikely to do another one for a while, after he said he’s run out of ideas. But season two was a perfect idea. So I can be patient.