20 Best TV Shows Of 2017

18. GLOW

GLOW Netflix Alison Brie
Netflix

While Orange is the New Black had a bit of an off-year, it's true successor was perhaps found not in a prison drama but a wrestling ring. GLOW just so happens to come from many of the creatives involved with OITNB, and it felt every bit as fresh, funny, daring, and surprising as that show at its peak.

Based on the real-life Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling - a promotion that ran out of Las Vegas in the 1980s - GLOW brings together a number wannabe actors, dancers, and stuntwomen for a new wrestling TV show, spearheaded by Marc Maron's schlocky B-movie director Sam.

It features a number of the over-the-top storylines and colourful characters that popularised the real version, but also fleshes out a number of its characters - in particular its leads, Alison Brie's Ruth and Betty Gilpin's Debbie - with plenty of depth and nuance.

Brie, Gilpin, and Maron do shine brightest, with the strongest arcs and funniest lines, but there's a real ensemble at work here. It's as bizarre as you might expect, but that weirdness only adds to the comedy and characters, and it doesn't skimp on the serious drama either, with a few moments that land with emotional heft.

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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.