The Bestest 2020: Television
2 min readJan 15, 2021
- High Fidelity (Hulu) — An unexpectedly amazing take on the most perfect original, with Zoe Kravitz handling the Cusack character with sharp cynical chops in a world where record shops are even more esoteric than they were back then.
- The Third Day (HBO) A beautifully shot, outrageously tripped out story about a cult living on a British Island separated by a causeway making it impossible to escape during high tide.
- Flight Attendant (HBO) — A wacky and whimsical caper about a party girl flight attendant who gets caught up in murder and espionage.
- The Sinner: Season 2 (USA) — Surprisingly even more bingeable than season 1.
- We Hunt Together (Showtime) Another slickly produced British crime show about sociopaths and detectives.
- Marcella: Season 2 (Netflix) — Marcella is incredible as a badass British Detective, undercovered and unhinged.
- Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) — Yeah, it’s that good — even if you don’t like chess.
- I Know This Much Is True (HBO) — Mark Ruffalo plays both twins in this somber story about mental illness and family curses.
- Succession: Season 2 — Game of thrones in the media world continues its ascent.
- The Deuce: Season 3 (HBO) — The gritty last season of this underappreciated look at NYC and the beginning of the porn business as it goes from film to video.
- Normal People (Hulu) At times sweet and sentimental, other times raw and dark, this coming of age tale could have been sappy, but instead it stayed tough.
- Better Things — Pamela Adlon’s brilliant look at being a single mom and aging actress in LA.
- Dave — The raunchiest family series about a nerdy aspiring white rapper and his odd crew.
- Industry (HBO) — A bunch of pretentious college grads compete for coveted Wall Street jobs in London.
- Ted Lasso (Apple TV) — A bumpkin from Kansas moves to England to manage a soccer team.
- The Affair: Season 6 (Showtime) — After a few rocky middle seasons this dysfunctional family finally rights the ship.
- Better Call Saul: Season 5(AMC) — Yeah, Saul is the man.
- Lovecraft Country (HBO) — A 1950’s sci-fi caper set in the land of Jim Crow where nothing is what it seems.
- The Stranger (Netflix) — The third Harlen Cobin crime story adapted and released on Netflix.
- Unorthodox (HBO) — A young woman runs away from an arranged marriage and the intense traditions of Orthodoxy.
