20 Best TV Shows Of 2017

5. The Handmaid’s Tale

The recipient of the Best Drama Series award at this year's Emmys, it's hard to argue against The Handmaid's Tale picking up such honours when the show is not only important, but more importantly brilliant.

Like the Margaret Atwood novel it adapts, this is not an easy TV show to watch (and not one recommendable to binge, lest you really want to feel down about things), but it's a stunning one nonetheless. The horrors are clearly evident, sometimes in an almost offhand everyday way, otherwise in truly shocking fashion.

Every episode simmers with this quiet intensity, and when it does eventually boil over you might want to look away, only to find doing so impossible.

Its heavy themes and ferocious nature are balanced with nuance, emotion, and a reasonable amount of levity too, helped by the many great performances within. There's some evocative design and lush direction, and all of it is brought together by its star, Elisabeth Moss. She's the centre of this show, and confirms herself as an actor of incredible gifts. Everything is said and done with the subtle changes of her face, in a performance that absolutely demands your attention and wrenches your gut.