Top TV of 2015 Part 1 (40-21)

One of my best skills is watching too much tv, so here’s my attempt to document what this past year was all about. I’ve slowly expanded this over the years, so the natural progression is now into two separate lists of 20. Before we begin, some starting points:

Here’s last year’s top 30 list.

Ground rules:

1. No game shows (Jeopardy!, Family Feud, etc.)
2. No late night shows (Colbert)
3. No cooking competitions (Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen, Masterchef, etc.)
4. No reality shows (90 Day Fiance, Catfish, etc.)
5. No tv movies or one-off specials (30 for 30’s)

A brief list of shows that I didn’t have time for (I arbitrarily made the cutoff that I needed to see at least half the episodes aired in 2015): Transparent, Rectify, Hannibal, Master of None (I’m watching it now!), Orange is the New Black, Show Me a Hero, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Halt and Catch Fire, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Got it? Good. Here we go:

40. The Grinder (FOX)

Once my beloved Timothy Olyphant got involved, I was completely won over. Best new show of the fall season. I mean, loogit this:

39. Humans (AMC)

This British import AMC picked up for the summer featured the creepiest androids I’ve seen in years. The blonde that starts the series in the sex trade, in particular was consistently a terrific story-line.

38. Empire (FOX)

This would be higher if season one was the only part that aired this year, but the strain of needing to put out more episodes for season two has caused the quality to take a bit of a dive.

37. Killjoys (Syfy)

An action-based space bounty hunter show by Michelle Lovretta (who previously created the wonderful Lost Girl) starring a seriously badass chick. Maureen Ryan makes the case for this show better than I can.

36. Ash vs. Evil Dead (Starz)

Hoo boy is it fun to see Bruce Campbell back in the old getup. And if you were worried the show would lose some of it’s tongue-in-cheek humor and take itself a bit too seriously on the small screen, the very first scene should remove all of those fears.

35. South Park (Comedy Central)

The fact that a show that has been around this long can take a chance on running a very serialized season, and hit more than miss, is a wonder that should not be ignored.

34. Z Nation (Syfy)

I’m just going to use this avclub quote, because it is perfect:

This is roughly the moment the average unsuspecting television viewer would probably say, “This is fucking ridiculous. What the hell is this?” To which Syfy would proudly respond, ‘This is Z Nation. And yes, it is fucking ridiculous.”

33. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FXX)

While always a reliable source of laughs, the “Charlie Work” episode in particular was a masterpiece. And who can forget the entire creampie mix-em-up?

32. Archer (FX)

Admittedly a bit of a down year, as I think the show is starting to show its age a bit, but when it is firing on all cylinders (particularly the elevator bottle episode “Vision Quest”) there is little funnier on tv. Plus we got this new perfect insult:

31. Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)

Your thoughts on Amy Schumer and what she does or doesn’t stand for aside, her 12 Angry Men parody was nothing short of perfection. And Paul Giamatti’s delivery of “pinecone pussy”? Sublime.

30. Orphan Black (BBC America)

TATIANA MASLANY FINALLY GOT NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY!!!

Now lets hope she wins next year.

29. Louie (FX)

Getting back to the standalone episodes and away from the more problematic multi-part arcs did wonders. I enjoyed this season so much more than last year’s.

28. How To Get Away With Murder (ABC)

This season has been a big improvement over last’s by simply tying the “future murder” to the ongoing case. And by letting everyone have sex. Waaay more sex. Plus it is very easy to look past a show’s faults when at any point in time Viola Davis can come in and just blow the doors off everyone and everything. What a treat.

27. Bob’s Burgers (FOX)

More than ever, this is the spiritual successor to The Simpsons. Now if only FOX could find some way to regularly air episodes at a consistent time. It’s so hard to build any momentum when I’m not sure whether or not I missed an episode.

26. Game of Thrones (HBO)

While I’m glad it won an Emmy, it’s bittersweet this was the season that won it. I thought it was a very down year, ESPECIALLY if they walk back the awesomeness of the last two episodes. To me that redeemed most of the weak parts that came before.

25. Jane The Virgin (CW)

I’m not sure whether this is a very funny hour long drama, or a very dramatic hour long comedy. Either way, it always manages to find the right balance of humor, heart, bonkers, and truth. Plus Gina Rodriguez is an absolute treasure.

24. Shameless (Showtime)

This is consistently the best thing airing on Showtime nowadays. It is also by far the least talked about “best show that no one’s watching”. And that is a shame. Maybe years from now this will get the recognition it (and Emmy Rossum) deserves.

23. Key & Peele (Comedy Central)

What a final year to go out on. While I am terribly sad it is gone, I can’t wait to see what these guys do next.

22. The Knick (Cinemax)

The work that Steven Soderbergh, Clive Owen, and Cliff Martinez are doing here is something to behold. Just read this on the set piece and be amazed. Some day we’ll look back on this show and think of how ahead of its time it was, and how crazy it is that it aired on Cinemax.

21. Penny Dreadful (Showtime)

All Eva Green all the time. She’s not gonna get any recognition for how amazing she is on this show, but she really should. The scene of her and Victor Frankenstein shopping for dresses was one of the funniest scenes in any serious drama this year.

Part 2 here.