20 Best TV Episodes Of 2017
12. Master Of None - Thanksgiving
After a very good first season, Master of None moved things up a gear in Season 2, delivering a lush, heartfelt comedy that served as a commentary on everything from race to dating to food. It had a few great episodes, but just about standing out as the best was its Thanksgiving instalment.
Moving from the 90s to the present day through a number of different Thanksgivings, this instalment highlights and deepens Dev's friendship with Denise, and shows her trying to come out to her family. We see her realisation as a 12-year-old that she is a lesbian, then coming out (as "Lebanese") to Dev a few years later, right through to telling her mother and bringing dates to Thanksgiving (though she has to pretend otherwise).
It's a wonderful story, as the narrative function allows Denise's journey and struggles with her identity and family to really grow and change over the years, something not often afforded to most coming out stories on TV. It still manages to find a lot of laughs in the episode, largely through the extended family, while the central duo of Lena Waithe (Denise) and the powerhouse that is Angela Bassett (her mother Catherine) deliver a much more complex range of emotions around the subject.
It's aided by some dreamy direction and a brilliantly sharp script, giving us one of the year's most heartfelt and downright lovely TV episodes that has authenticity, humanity, humour, and drama.