Choosing which show would get the number one spot on this list, and which richly deserving show would fall to second, was one of the most difficult decisions. Going with the head, it'd be a tie. The heart gives the show that did get #1 the edge, but that shouldn't be taken as any slight on Fargo. If you want to think of this as the best show of the year, you'd be entirely justified in doing so. The first season of Fargo, based on the Coen brothers 1996 cult film, was a surprise hit. Starring Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton, it was dark, weird, mysterious, and extremely violent. The big question, then, was could they repeat the trick? The answer is a definitive yes, not just producing a season as good as the first, but actually surpassing it. With this being an anthology series, there's an all-new cast, led by Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Patrick Wilson, and it goes back in time to 1979, with the link to the first season being Lou Solverson (Wilson, who is played in the first season by Keith Carradine). It's a hugely ambitious season, but one that reaches those lofty heights. Building to the Massacre at Sioux Falls, it features a normal everyday couple getting in way over their head, warring gangsters, tricky politicians, honest-to-goodness police officers, a literary storytelling approach, dazzlingly slick visuals, a hefty dose of over-the-top violence, Bruce Campbell as Ronald Reagan, and a random appearance from a UFO (yes, really), all wrapped-up in Minnesota manners. It's as close to perfect as TV got in 2015.
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.