20 Best TV Shows Of 2016
It was another ridiculously good year for TV, and these were the best of the best.
On many levels, 2016 was utter sh*t.
In politics, here in the UK, we had Brexit. In the U.S., Trump. And across the globe, a rising tide of hate and fear.
On a cultural level, we had to say goodbye to a huge number of beloved and talented artists, the likes of which we may never see again - David Bowie, Prince, Harper Lee, Gene Wilder, and Alan Rickman, to name but five(!).
Thank God, then, for television. That may be slightly flippant, but the small screen sat in the corner of the world's collective room, a shining beacon in the darkness. As things got worse, TV only got better.
2016 continued the era of Peak TV, with more shows than ever before, and more great shows too. It's impossible to keep up, as the conversation zipped from Making A Murder (actually released in December) to Stranger Things to Westworld and everything in between.
Some shows had a year off (miss you, Fargo), others suffered a sophomore slump (Mr Robot was good, but not great). Some I've not seen (I promise I'll watch The Americans one day soon), and others, like Netflix's The OA, I can't decide if I love or hate (or both). Others still I've probably just forgotten about. Even with all that, narrowing it down to 20 was tough.
These, then, are the best TV shows of 2016.
20. Preacher
Preacher, the acclaimed comic run from Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, is one of those properties long thought to be 'unfilmable'. From its commentary on religion to a character called Arseface for very literal reasons, and a whole host of violence, gore, and weirdness within, it often seemed unlikely it'd ever make it to screen.
Enter Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who, along with Sam Catlin, did exactly that. Everything outlined above transferred from page to screen, although with a few differences.
They took their time with the story of Jesse (Dominic Cooper), keeping him in small town America for the entirety of Season 1. It may not have totally meshed with the comics, but it did mean we got to know these characters better (with Ruth Negga's Tulip and Joe Gilgun's Cassidy both standouts).
The pacing was off at times, but mostly the show was fun, strange, and often outrageous. Praise the Lord, then, that it has a second season to come, which should be even better than the first now they can get on the road.
Best Episode: Sundowner