Year in Review: Best TV of 2020

 

Hey y’all. Welcome to the penultimate 2020 Year In Review installment. I have already tackled the best movies and best comics of 2020 so you should check those out if they interest you. Like with this list, you are not going to find the consensus picks (although the comics one gets close at times). That is mostly because I did not watch much TV in 2020. It just was not where my focus was. Said focus will be explored in Sunday’s finale about the best video games of 2020.

I want to give a special shout out to Black Lightning, a fantastic series that would likely be on this list if I was able to finish the third season before publishing this post. While it is not my favorite of the Arrowverse shows, it is likely the best and has been for some time. The upcoming fourth season will be it’s last and y’all only watch one of Arrowverse shows, it should be that one.

Anyway, Let’s get to the list!

Honorable Mentions: Arrow, Riverdale, His Dark Materials, Euphoria, BNA, Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist

Aggretsuko

Everyone’s favorite red panda returned in 2020 with perhaps its strangest season yet. In it Retsuko gets addicted to a VR ponyboy, does accounting for an idol group on the side, becomes an idol herself, and gets doxxed. While they are not always handled perfected, this season tackles serious themes in an interesting way. As always, the strength of Aggretsuko is the honesty and sincerity with which it approaches its characters and their lives. Everyone feels real emotions and treats them realistically, with occasional embellishment for dramatic purposes. It is a special series that examines the feelings many people in their mid-to-late 20s experience. So, while this season steps out of that to some degree, it is all born from those feelings and concludes in a satisfying way. I am greatly anticipating the fourth season.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is an absolutely absurd series. One episode it is dealing with returning villains like the Judoon, the next it is about how cool and smart Nikola Tesla was, and then it decides to completely upend 57-year history. That upending has been controversial among fans, but I loved it and it pulled together the entire season in a satisfying way that has me wondering where it goes next.

This show relies on its actors more than the story though and it is lucky to have an excellent cast. Jodie Whitaker returns as her utterly delightful version of the Doctor, one focused on kindness and empathy. Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole continue to make an excellent estranged-but-working-through-it father/son duo. And there is the perpetually underserved Mandip Gill who always shines when given the spotlight but does not receives that focus often enough. Of the latter three, she is the only one returning next season so there is hope she receives greater attention despite the reduced episode count. Oh, and there is Sacha Dhawan’s mesmerizing performance. If this season has a breakout star, it is Dhawan despite his limited screen time.

While I would not recommend beginning with this season, the prior one (despite a rough overarching plot) is a great introductory point, even though it has some weaker stories in it. Y’all should all watch it if you have not already.

Smile Down the Runway

The fact this series made this list and that I placed it here is as shocking to you as it is to me. When I began watching this series, it was because I had been hearing it was enjoyable and I needed something comforting. That sentiment is certainly true. Honestly, I am not sure any individual part of the show is particularly standout. It is a typical coming of age story but set within the fashion industry. Ok, fashion industry-adjacent most the time.

Despite that, Smile Down The Runway means more to me than I ever expected it would. Some of that is surely due to when I came to it. I was in a real down place and the light, breezy, but heartfelt nature of the series grabbed me and has not let go nearly a year later. I highly recommend it even if you are not in that same place I was. It is a good show that is better than the sum of its parts.

Supergirl

If you have been following this blog for long, you are probably aware that I love Supergirl. Since the first season, I have been enraptured with the series. Even when it was bad in the second half of the third as there was turmoil behind the scenes. Even through the mistreatment of Mehcad Brooks and his character. Even through the queerbaiting. That last point could be solved this upcoming season. It will be the final season and, like the Supernatural staff, the cowards could actually make the most popular ship cannon. We will see on that.

But I digress. The fifth season of Supergirl was mostly excellent, especially in the back portion coming out of the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. Luckily, that is the portion that matters for this list and it was good. The opening half of the season was interesting but plagued by several baffling storytelling choices. Following the reboot of the universe in Crisis, the show chose to reset itself. Some of the events had occurred, mostly those in the opening episodes of the season, but most the mistakes had been wiped away. This freed the show to improve characters and tell a better, more cohesive story. If ever there was an argument against 22-episode seasons, it would be Season Five of Supergirl as it literally retreads story beats but made them shine the second time.

Beyond fixing 2019’s mistakes, the show did so much more. It flipped the status quo on its head, finally removing the weird Supergirl-and-her-friends-are-government-employees plotline. That never fit what the show was about, nor what it strives to (and sometimes fails) to be about. There was a deeper exploration of Alex Danvers and her role in the world. There were even some Dreamer-spotlight moments! Please give her a spinoff.

More than anything, the 2020 episodes of Supergirl were fun and hopeful. Like with Smile Down the Runway, that was something I really looked for in 2020, even more than I usually do. Thus, it makes this list, and makes it high up. Y’all should watch it. From the beginning.

Supernatural1

It should come as no surprise that the final episodes of one of my favorite shows made the nor that they are at the unofficial top. While I did not vibe with the early episodes of the season, the 2020 episodes faired much better. They had better pacing (sans an episode or two) and felt more purposeful in the moments being presented. They brought back fan favorite characters, referenced the deepest parts of the lore, and answered many of the remaining unanswered questions.

Most importantly, a 15-year run was brought to its end just about as well as it could be. It had flaws, as I will be getting into later this week. Some of those were caused by a global pandemic and you just have to be understanding. Others were strange, but often interesting creative choices. Most importantly, as the credits rolled on the final episode, I felt satisfied. The characters and stories were treated with the respect they deserved. And I cried! A lot!

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

I do not know what to write about She-Ra. This is as close to a perfect show as I can conjure off the dome. That is not to say the show is without fault. That certainly is not true. It is just that the faults are predominantly so inconsequential that it does not matter. Yes, there are characters and relationships I wish had more exploration, but in the end, those are tertiary characters that are explored to the degree one would expect.

The final season of She-Ra focuses largely on redemption. What is it? Who deserves it? How is it obtained? What is most impressive is that show is not afraid of tough answers. Redemption is not for everyone. One cannot decide they have been redeemed, those they harmed are the only ones with that power and they are under no obligation to ever even consider it. It is not obtained via one act of good, no matter how important or helpful it is. Redemption is a process one must undertake every single day out of a true want to be better and make amends. These are ideas this final season--and the show at large, really-- always has in mind.

In a pop culture landscape where the biggest series like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars are unable or unwilling to stick to their guns and execute on themes and ideas, this is refreshing. Especially when it comes to the idea of redemption. So, to see a show like She-Ra come in and wipe the floor with those, all of which I love, is incredible.

That is all without mentioning the characters, the heartbeat of the show. As one would expect if the watched the preceding four seasons, they remain wonderfully well drawn and human. It is truly an accomplishment in writing, acting, and animation. Every single person that can should watch She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. You will not be disappointed.

Also, there is a scene where Catra wear a suit with a cape and it’s sick.

 

¹At this point, I have finished watching the show and the final batch of episode reviews have all been written except the finale. Those will be out this week so look forward to them.

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