My favourite TV shows of the year:
This year I fell into an anime hole, I blame all the ads for Crunchyroll and a recommendation by a friend that I watch Gintama. That along with the Australian release of Netflix and aggressive competition from Stan (another streaming service) means I spent most of my time watching streaming services. Crunchyroll, Netflix and Stan (with a bit of Animelab thrown in) have essentially become my only TV. I couldn’t tell you what was on regular TV apart from The Late Show with Steven Colbert, and that’s not making the list. Another thing that occurs to me is that I watch a lot of comedies now with very little serious drama, action or procedurals making my must watch list this year.
1. Ash Vs Evil Dead
I am an unabashed Evil Dead fanboy. I would have watched it even if it had been mediocre. Thank god it was much better than that. Bruce Campbell still brings it, the new characters are also pretty great and play their parts well. Evil Dead 2 was one of the few really successful horror comedies. The show makes a great stab at the horror comedy and while I think it’s less successful than Evil Dead 2 and falls into an easy humour groove too often, it’s still able to ramp up the eldritch horror when it needs to.
2. Gintama
If there is one show that has taken a non insignificant part of my year it is Gin Tama, the story of Gintoki Sakata and his ongoing adventures. Gin Tama has been on and off the air in Japan since 2006 and there are about 300 episodes. It’s ostensibly a comedy show but it has serious arcs. It plays with its conventions and the conventions of anime, but is still able to be earnest from time to time. It makes the list because it does all of it so well, without becoming a sloppy mess like 95% of the other shows that attempt the same thing.
I watched all of it for the first time this year so it’s hard to separate this year’s season from the whole but the executioner’s arc and the Joi reunion arc were fantastic, the current arc is also starting to heat up.
3. Daredevil
I’m not a massive fan of superheroes. For the most part I feel like Hollywood has milked them for about all they are worth and I look forward to the day they move on to something else to beat into the ground. But as always there is an exception. I really enjoyed Daredevil, or more to the point I really enjoyed Vincent D'onofrio just fucking kill it as the kingpin. I don’t know if season two will be as good but if the kingpin returns I’m in.
4. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Disturbing premise, fantastic show. Kimmy won’t let her past determine her future and faces the world with a positivity that is almost off putting. The secondary characters are great and the jokes come think and fast and a good majority of them hit. I’m really looking forward to the second season.
5. Key and Peel
Last season of what I think will be considered one of the most consistent sketch shows of all time. I think it was one of the best seasons they did, possibly the best season. Nothing else really needs to be said.
Honourable mentions, Rick and Morty, Himouto! Umaru-chan, Broad City, One Punch Man, With Bob and David
Edited because I had pics and gifs and it kept fucking up the page.
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