The Best of 2020: TV
2020 was generally a shitty year; Covid-19, race riots, Wonder Woman 1984, an election. There were some high points though. Here are 10 TV shows from 2020 that made up for some of the bad stuff.
Honorable Mentions:
The Good Place S4 (NBC/Netflix) – While this past season didn’t live up to the first (really, none of them did), we did get pretty good closure for a pretty good show.
Fargo S4 (FX/Hulu) – Another show that didn’t live up to past seasons, but the cast was amazing this season. Granted, it wasn’t as bad as last season.
Locke & Key S1 (Netflix) – I wanted more for this show (probably because I enjoyed the comic so much), but it was still a good first season.
10. Cobra Kai S3 (Netflix) – I was late to the party on the show, but have really enjoyed the show. S3 has probably been the weakest so far, but there were some great fan service moments and the characters have developed nicely. I kind of hope that S4 will be the last, as they are getting close to a good resolution for the show.
9. Upload S1 (Hulu) – Nathan (Robbie Amell) gets into an accident and is near death; his girlfriend decides to upload him into a virtual afterlife. While coming to grips with his death, Nathan is guided by Nora (Andy Allo), a handler for the virtual company. As they get closer, Nathan discovers that his accident wasn’t quite and accident and Nora helps him to discover what happened. The show is pretty funny and easy to fly through. They are currently working on the second season.
8. Tiger King S1 (Netflix) – This documentary series was required viewing right before the pandemic hit the states. Joe Exotic runs a tiger “sanctuary” in Oklahoma and things just aren’t right. You get the background on Joe, his zoo keepers, and his rival Carole Baskins. Each episodes just gets crazier and crazier; the scary part is this was a true story. It’s something to watch to make you feel better about your life.
7. Dark Side of the Ring S2 (Vice/YouTube) – Another documentary series about wrestling. Many of the stories are utterly heartbreaking, especially for those who grew up watching these wrestlers. The series starts with the dark 2-part story of Chris Benoit and the murder of his family. You also get some dark stories about Jimmy Snuka, Owen Hart, and Dino Bravo. The New Jack episode was a favorite from the season because the guy is genuinely scary. I also really enjoyed seeing the Brawl for All, the WWE’s attempt at a boxing tournament that killed the career of Bart Gunn.
6. Umbrella Academy S2 (Netflix) – The second season of the Umbrella Academy was just as crazy as the first. The family goes back in time to Dallas, where each member shows up at a different year. They gradually get back together to try to stop the assassination of JFK. Like the first season, this deviated heavily from the source material, but it worked. I don’t think I could see anyone else playing these roles at this point, as the cast is amazing. I’m looking forward to see season 3.
5. The Last Dance S1 (ESPN/Netflix) – ESPN was sitting on hours of 1990s Chicago Bulls footage and put together an amazing look at Michael Jordan’s career. The basis of the documentary is the last run of the Bulls in 1998, before the team was pretty much dismantled. You get a pretty honest look at the locker room and Jordan, although many involved didn’t like how they were portrayed. If you like the ESPN 30 for 30 series, you’ll love this.
4. Star Wars: The Clone Wars S7 (Disney+) – One of the biggest crimes of Disney purchasing Lucas Films was the cancellation of the Clone Wars; granted, the series was expensive to make and George Lucas was footing the bills of making the cartoon. This abbreviated last season finally showed how the series was supposed to wrap up. They didn’t use the full final season (some of it was used for the Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir comic and the Dark Disciple novel, along with a few unfinished episodes on YouTube), but the stories they did use were very good. The final Mandalore arc was some of the best Star Wars Disney has released.
3. The Boys S2 (Hulu) – Just like the first season, this one was over the top, raunchy, and very entertaining. The Butcher and his boys continue to find ways to bring down Vaught and the Seven, with the help from the inside. You also get more about what is going on between Homelander and Butcher, along with the relationship between Hughie and Starlight. It deviates from the comic a bit, but the story is still very good.
2. Letterkenny S7 (Hulu) – There are 5000 people in Letterkenny; we got 7 more of their problems. The season picks up shortly after Katie discovers Dierks cheated on her, and it starts with a bang. You get the word play, crazy situations, and appearances from the regular cast. You also get they typical, comedic cliffhanger in probably one of the best episodes of the season.
1. Star Wars: The Mandalorian S2 (Disney+) – This season gave fans everything they wanted. For the kids that grew up with the original trilogy, we got the redemption of Boba Fett and the Luke Skywalker we remembered. For the kids that grew up with the Clone Wars, they got live action Ahsoka and Bo-Katan. For kids now, they got the best Star Wars of their lives. This season had fewer standalone stories, but everything felt like it more of a purpose than last season (granted, some of those episodes that didn’t have a purpose last season paid off this season). The success of the show is leading to more Star Wars, so that’s another plus.
Tomorrow I’ll be back with the best books I read last year.
