In amongst all the interminable dross that permeated throughout other spheres in 2016 (politics, nice people dying, that time I took $20 out of an ATM but left the note in the machine) one of the few shining beacons of light was television’s warm, glowing, warming glow.
The small screen managed to shart out a plethora of new instant classics, and returning favourites continued their fiery rampage through our hearts. New talent rose, and unexpected stories kicked our heads in in the most magnificent way possible.
We here at PEDESTRIAN.TV took a quick straw poll of the office and pulled some of the more choice picks for the Best TV of 2016. Naturally, this is a subjective list, and we’ve probably left out your favourite. For this, we grovel mercilessly at your angry feet, and offer to only eat dirt for the remainder of forever.
We’ve ranked the list arbitrarily, constituting a legal and binding division of quality that absolutely cannot be disputed, for we are all-seeing and all-knowing. The good bit? Netflix features extremely heavily in the rankings, in a result that should surprise precisely none of you. The other good bit? Holy shit there’s a lot of Australian shows on the list this year. We had a bloody good year in the merry old land of Oz.
But before we begin, we’ll address the elephant-riding-a-dragon in the room. No, ‘Game of Thrones‘ did not make the cut. If you want to fight about it, we’ll be behind the bike sheds at 3:10.
Here it is, the 23 BEST TV SHOWS OF 2016. Have at it, folks!
23) RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars – VH1
WORK. IT. Honestly, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race‘ is champagne television at its very best, and picking the cream of the crop for its ‘All Stars‘ variant is a stroke of shady genius. Flipping the script and having the queens lip sync not to avoid elimination, but instead to be gifted the ability to choose who gets the bedazzled boot? That’s inspired. INSPIRED. A full force 10 episode season conquered by the utter omnipotence of Alaska. You could not ask for better rainy day viewing.
22) Lady Dynamite – Netflix
In comedy industry circles, Maria Bamford is spoken of with the same kind of reverence usually reserved for your Mount Rushmore comics like Louis CK, Dave Chappelle, or even someone like a Hannibal Burress. She is the consummate comedian’s comedian, and a tornado of ideas and insane delivery. It’s just that up until now circumstances beyond her own control (a thoroughly discussed lifelong battle with severe mental health and psychiatric conditions) and her trademark manic on-stage style have made finding the right vehicle for her in TV or film reasonably difficult. The creators of ‘Lady Dynamite‘ got around that by realising that Bamford’s life in and of itself is interesting enough for a TV show. They were bloody well right.
21) Wolf Creek – Stan
‘Wolf Creek 2‘ was an unmitigated mess that failed to fully grasp what made the original film so utterly terrifying in the first place. Whereas the OG film was a tense, messed-up psychological thriller at its core, the second decided to do away with all of that in favour of gratuitous, unearned gore with results that ranged from middling to entirely forgettable. What a goddamned relief it was then, that the TV adaptation spearheaded by Stan – it’s biggest original streaming production to date – returned to its suspenseful roots, turning the tables on the gruesome Mick Taylor and turning the whole series into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Lucy Fry as the vengeful teen Eve Thorogood is a particular revelation.
20) Offspring – Channel Ten
Ahhhh, the Proudman family. Where the hell would we be without them? After a year in the abyss that left avid viewers wondering if the fifth season finale would end up being the show’s swansong, Channel Ten finally gifted unto us all a blessed sixth season packed to the gills full of more drama, intrigue, surprise, and unashamed Melbourne iconography than you could shake a proverbial at. And for a show that’s so overtly proud of its setting, finishing the season off in a warmly lit Edinburgh Gardens felt wholly perfect.
19) The Bachelorette Australia – Channel Ten
Bless this mess. This glorious trainwreck. The sweet dork Georgia Love may have found her beau in Lee (in a decision we’re still crinkling eyebrows about, TBH), but it was the everything in between that put this season over the threshold from good to great. The outrageous bravado of Carlos. The teen movie good looks of Jake. And who could ever possibly forget the on-going (and on-going, and on, and on, and on, and on) biffo between Rhys and Sam, a pair of good-looking idiots constantly at odds over who was the bigger better looking idiot. It’s event TV and we could not possibly be happier that it exists.
18) Luke Cage – Netflix
Marvel‘s had issues bringing the insane success of its feature films down to a full TV series level, and results of their many attempts have been, at best, mixed. ‘Luke Cage‘ has just about nailed it. Spinning off from the similarly excellent ‘Jessica Jones,’ the working class sensibilities and penitent motivation of Luke Cage, arguably Marvel’s most human and relatable superhero, underpin a brooding series that revels in embracing the shadows.
17) Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life – Netflix
Look, the much vaunted “last four words” were some ham-fisted, hokey-ass, very-special-episode bullshit. We can all agree on that. But with that said, holy shit was it ever nice to be back in Stars Hollow once again. There wasn’t a Netflix series this year that had the same kind of hype that the long awaited ‘Gilmore Girls‘ reunion carried with it. And for the most part, it delivered. Through four 90-minute episodes we caught up with the whole gang and found out what they’ve been up to: Rory travelling the world being a (terrible) journalist, Lorelai enduring a mid-life crisis following the death of her father, and Luke… I don’t know, maybe that’s a new hat? Very good.
16) Brooklyn Nine-Nine – FOX
A middling most-of-season-three found its feet right at the end, and as a result season four opened white hot. Ordinarily that kind of heat is hard to hold on to in a pure sitcom, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been dishing out the hits in the ten episodes aired thus far. The fourth instalment of the annual ‘Halloween‘ heist episodes in particular put more laughs before the opening titles than I’ve seen in a long, long time. Holt outrageously sneering “I will gut you both mouth-to-anus and wear you like jackets” to Santiago and Peralta is a Hall of Fame line.
15) Full Frontal with Samantha Bee – TBS
Where ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver‘ takes pride in finding the ridiculousness in even the most horrendous turns in politics, Samantha Bee marches in with a flaming torch and burns the whole fucking house down. Overlooked during the great late night reshuffle of 2014/15, the former standout ‘Daily Show‘ correspondent found a home on cable comedy network TBS. Bringing together a rag-tag group of first-time and long-overlooked writers, all of whom shared the common trait of not giving a flying fuck about consequences, Bee has not-even-remotely-quietly turned what could otherwise have been yet another Daily Show/Last Week Tonight carbon copy (looking at you, Charlie Pickering) into a ferocious triumph of political and social fury, funnelled roughly through the stocking of comedy. It’s glorious to behold. The show airs locally on SBS VICELAND.
14) Fancy Boy – ABC
The ABC really had a red-hot dip at producing small-scale series from rising comedic talents this year, and they nailed that brief in just about every key indicator. The weirdest and best of the bunch by a country mile is the sketch series ‘Fancy Boy,’ from the Melbourne-based collaborative comedy group of the same name. As fucked-up and gloriously ribald as comedy gets, the sketch series takes a mass of the most bottom-of-the-drawer ideas and characters and drags them – kicking and screaming – into the horrors of the light. A senate candidate representing the Australian Buggery Party and a moral dilemma involving a pool, a hot day, two kids gagging for a dip, and a floating corpse are particular highlights. It’s all on iView right now. Get it indaya.
13) Cleverman – ABC
In a year where Australian television stood taller than it has in a generation, it was Indigenous creatives and creators who finally got the chance to lead the pack. Along with the excellent second season of ‘Black Comedy,’ we had the premiere of the hugely ambitious high-concept sci-fi series ‘Cleverman.’ The series took traditional Indigenous mythology and transplanted it into a dystopian version of the modern day, drawing on themes of race relations and equality with stunning results. Important doesn’t begin to describe it.
12) Silicon Valley – HBO
Mike Judge‘s note-perfect love letter to the unbelievable world of tech start ups succeeds best when it embraces the concept of things needing to get infinitely worse before they can get any better. It’s the same format employed to perfection in different ways by ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘: Only those in the centre of events survive when the earth around them has been scorched. So it makes perfect sense that season three of Silicon Valley has employed total destruction as its means of rebuilding. Richard Hendricks as a character is not meant for what the tech industry deems success. At least not yet. But what the season did masterfully, as it has done in prior seasons, is wrap up seasonal arcs by fraying the cords of new ones. And now with Bighead and Erlich serving as co-owners of Pied Piper, shit’s fixin’ to get real bad real quick. Season four is gonna be good.
11) Stranger Things – Netflix
It went from being quietly released with next-to-no fanfare to having ads wrapped around entire Melbourne trams in a matter of weeks. The sleeper hit to end all sleeper hits took a weirdo homage to worn-out 80s horror movies on VHS and turned it into the most talked-about and most voraciously devoured show of the year. Huge anticipation for season two, where by-god justice for Barb had better be served.
10) You’re The Worst – FX
Season three didn’t quite pack the emotional punch of season two (which, for my money, is still some of the best comedy TV produced in years, and the best depiction of clinical depression ever to air on any form of TV), but that doesn’t mean it was anything short of phenomenal. Exploring the consequences of characters actions – and in particular the show’s extended cast of supporting characters – in far more detail than ever before resulted in some truly spectacular stuff. Edgar‘s devastating struggle with severe battlefield PTSD and Vernon and Paul‘s bottle episode are prime examples of just how good this show can be when it’s firing on all cylinders.
9) The Crown – Netflix
At a staggering US$13million per episode, ‘The Crown‘ was already the most expensive TV show ever created even before Netflix had let anyone see a single second of it. And with a price-tag that large, failure is simply not an option. Fortunately for all the boffins up in streaming content Valhalla, that was something they didn’t have to worry about. Incredible, lavish sets and costumes shone as bright as the crown jewels, and the acting performances of Claire Foy, Matt Smith, John Lithgow and the entire cast were utterly divine. It’s TV making at its absolute finest; a series saturated with enough opulence to more than do the larger-than-life saga of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family justice.
8) Better Call Saul – AMC
Any discarded gag can be amazing in its own right when the original source material is an all-time classic. And while season one of ‘Better Call Saul‘ sought to carve out its place within the established ‘Breaking Bad‘ universe, season two saw it strike on its own. Bob Odenkirk continues his stunning career as one of the acting game’s true most underrated figures (though if he keeps this up, that won’t last for much longer), and some sensational turns from familiar faces have made this an absolute corker of a season. It is, not to put too fine a point on it, fucking great.
7) Rosehaven – ABC
A series that wore its location on its multi-layered sleeve, the quiet surprise of the TV year came in the form of the utterly charming ABC series ‘Rosehaven.’ Set and shot in the grips of a chilly small-town Tasmanian winter, show stars and creators Celia Pacquola and Luke McGregor continue their remarkable on-screen partnership in grand style with this seriously magnificent little show. For an expat Tasmanian it warmed the cockles of the ole’ heart to see that beautiful rain sodden-turf showcased in all its monochrome glory for the first time in recent memory. God damn it, watch it. It’s so good.
6) Black Mirror – Netflix
Sure, the first two “seasons” (three episodes each, so calling them full seasons is a bit of a stretch) were well received and definitely shook up the viewing public with its unfathomably bleak world view. But with Netflix jumping on board for season three, the show really got its arse firmly into gear. Charlie Brooker‘s pitch-black look at a world set 10 minutes into the future took in some truly disturbing scenarios, including a world with drone bees hacked to attack the participants in a deadly Twitter game. It’s definitely not happy watching at the best of times, but it’s an astonishing achievement in storytelling.
5) Veep – HBO
There’s really no debating it anymore. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the greatest comedic television actor in the history of the medium. JLD picked up her 5th consecutive Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy Award for her role as the constantly overwhelmed and beleaguered Selina Meyer on HBO’s seriously iconic series ‘Veep‘ earlier this year, making it the 6th time overall she’s scored that gong. No one, male or female, has more Emmy wins in that category, and only Kelsey Grammer, Ted Danson, and Alan Alda have received more nominations.
It’s a tour-de-force bravura performance that only gets better as the seasons roll on. Watch it while you can, because we’re all baring witness to the undisputed GOAT in her absolute prime.
4) Westworld – HBO
A show that by all rights should not have been nearly as good as what it was. HBO’s tangled web of timelines kept everyone hooked right up until the finale, which we attempted to make sense of with brain-wrinkling results.
Furthermore:
— da share z0ne (@dasharez0ne) December 6, 2016
Yep, that about sums it up. Brilliant, riveting, intense viewing, and god damn it 2018 is far too long to wait for more. Another win for HBO, who might as well have their own wing in the TV Hall of Fame.
3) O.J. Simpson: Made In America – ESPN
We didn’t get a new series of ‘Making a Murderer‘ this year despite yelling about it for yonks, but this was about as close as anything could have ever gotten. The enthralling and almost unbelievable story of famed ex-American Football star OJ Simpson‘s highly publicised murder trial and subsequent acquittal was broken down in minute detail by the deft hands in charge of ESPN‘s ever-excellent ‘30 for 30‘ sports documentary series. The resulting five-part miniseries was as shocking and eye-opening as it was utterly enthralling. Vital, brilliant stuff. You can catch the whole thing locally right now on SBS On Demand.
2) Please Like Me – ABC
We could (and have) go on for days about how wonderful and pure and sweet and honest Josh Thomas‘ intensely personal series ‘Please Like Me‘ is. Season four was a joyous, heartwarming, and utterly heartbreaking ride all at once, that told us that maybe – just maybe – everything might actually be alright after all, only to punch us squarely in the guts when we were least suspecting it. Whether Thomas has enough stories in him to go around for one more season remains to be seen. But if this is the end, you could hardly ask for a more accomplished way to go out. The best Australian TV series of any genre in a long, long time.
1) Atlanta – FX
Sonofabitch is there anything Donald Glover can’t do? First he wrote for ‘30 Rock.’ Then he was in the flippin’ great sketch troupe Derrick Comedy. Then he crushed his role as the adorably sweet Troy on ‘Community.’ Then he left that to focus on being Childish Gambino for a while. And somehow in between doing all that, he found the time to not only record and release the righteously great ‘Awaken, My Love!‘, but also sit down and conceive, write, and star in easily the best new series of the year in ‘Atlanta.’ That’s a hell of a 2016, right there.
As for the show itself, my stars. Where to begin. It’s so rare for a show to premiere its first season and instantly know both what it is and what it wants to be. It’s even rarer for a show to premiere with such visceral confidence and passion from episode one. A unique blending of drama and comedy, even in this day and age, that isn’t afraid at all to completely tear down the entire fabric of the show for a single episode in order to establish a minor character. It’s far from a flawless piece of work – the best shows are never without fault – but by the measure of any television show it’s a remarkable achievement. For a brand new offering in only its first season, it’s nothing short of phenomenal.
Lead Photo: Stranger Things/Netflix.
