10 Best TV Shows Of 2017 (So Far)

2017 has already been another ludicrously good year.

Best TV Shows 2017
Showtime/HBO/Netflix

Who knew that just watching TV could be exhausting?

It's only July, and despite the fact that we're only just over halfway through the year, the TV schedules have been absolutely relentless. Even just trying to make sense of and plan to watch everything on offer will make your head hurt, and that's before the business of keeping up with them begins.

2017 has delivered intense dramas, hilarious comedies, saw great shows come to a fitting end and others enjoy stellar new beginnings. We've had book adaptations, long-awaited returns, and firm favourites finding another gear, and narrowing it all down to just 10 is a near-impossible task (and yet here we are).

While there are more shows than ever before as Peak TV refuses to just calm the f**k down, there's still room for series to surprise or shock, to make you cry with laughter or sadness, and to leave an indelible impression on the viewer, which is what all of these have already done this year.

Honourable Mentions: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend/The Good Place

Crazy Ex Girlfriend The Good Place
The CW/NBC

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a weird, hilarious look at relationships, which doubles up as a surprisingly effective study of a character with mental health issues. It has gloriously catchy sing-a-long showtunes, awkward humour, and is a lot smarter and, while the title suggests otherwise, actually a lot more nuanced than that.

The Good Place, meanwhile, is a wonderfully smart, high-concept network sitcom, full of twists and turns, while never forgetting to be funny, and enjoys great performances and chemistry from its lead duo.

Both of these shows have the quality to make the top 10, but have to miss out on a technicality: each aired less than half their season in 2017, so ultimately don't qualify despite their obvious merits. Now onto those that do.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.