1. “The Americans”
This show continues to be one of the best television shows through its 4th season, with the show raising the stakes and taking chances with its characters and story that few TV shows would dare take. More importantly these new twist, character development and deaths are not done for pure shock value but make absolute sense within the context of the story the show is telling. A very solid argument can be made that with this brilliant 4th season and its previous magnificent 3 seasons “The Americans” has made its way into the pantheon of great TV drama’s with the likes of “Breaking Bad”, “The Wire”, and “The Sopranos”, the amazing thing is its about to enter its 5th season and it shows no signs of slowing down.
2. “Crazy ex Girlfriend”
From the outside looking in this doesnt appear like it should be one of the best shows currently airing on television, but in my opinion it absolutely is. The title, the fact it airs on the CW, the fact its a comedy/musical, and its premise of a woman stalking her one time summer camp boyfriend, this shouldn’t work, but it does work. This show knows it’s a comedy and yet knows when to take itself seriously, the writing is utterly fantastic, the acting, specifically Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch is superb. Most importantly, in my opinion you will not find a show that deals with mental illness the way this show deals with it, it’s real, honest and respectful without making it a horror show, it humanizes mental illness in a way that few pieces of art do.
3. “Jane The Virgin”
Another diamond of a show airing on the CW network, another show that based on its premise should not be one of the best shows on television but it is, due to its brilliant lead, marvelous writing and outstanding cast. A lot of noise was made for the return of “Gilmore Girls” this year, “Jane the Virgin” shares many traits with that show; strong generational female relationships, witty dialogue, and a big emphasis on romantic relationships. There is one big difference though, “Jane the Virgin” is infinitely better than “Gilmore Girls”, a better show in every way imaginable. This show deals with a lot, immigration, co-parenting, generational differences, religion, being a newlywed, being a mother, PTSD, and it does it all with honesty and a realness while taking place in dramatic, unrealistic telenovela setting, it is a beautiful thing to watch.
4. “Lucifer”
The best DC television show period, DCTV on CW looks like a joke compared to the writing and acting that take place in “Lucifer”. The acting is simply brilliant, with Tom Ellis playing Lucifer, he might be the best lead on TV at the moment, all of this is anchored by an outstanding supporting cast. With “Lucifer” diving into more and more characterization its second season has begun to get more serialized, and less procedural, it is reminding me of the upswing that “Fringe” had in its second season, in terms of story and expanding the show’s lore and universe. I cannot wait to see what comes next.
5.“Pitch”
A show about the first female pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball. This show could have had so many things go wrong, it could have easily been a Disney channel original movie quality, with it being too cheesy and way to preachy in a way that would be a detriment to the authenticity it clearly wanted to demonstrate. Luckily for us none of that happened and this show turned out to be a real treat. This show’s biggest setting is baseball, and it takes that setting seriously, there is a love for the sport that shines brightly in every scene, but the setting doesn’t overwhelm the characters, it acts as support for their journey.
Speaking of characters Ginny Baker in just 10 episodes has become one of my favorite characters on television and film. This is a kind of female character we all deserve and I wish there were more Ginny Bakers on TV. “Pitch” is also a show that not only preaches diversity as a strength but acts on it, from the actors, the characters, to the writing staff, this show practices the diversity gospel is preaches, no matter who you are you will find yourself in this show one way or another. Now fox needs to hurry up and renew this show, this world needs more Ginny Baker.
There are plenty of shows that I watch that were very close to making the list including the wonderful “Veep”, the thrilling “Game of Thrones”, the amazing “Rectify”. New shows such as “Westworld” which I’m currently binge watching and “The Expanse” which I recently finished the first season and will be writing a review of. 2016 has been in many ways has been a…… How can I put this lightly? 2016 has been a garbage year, yep a garbage of a year, but 2016 was still firmly in the Golden Era of television shows, and I hope 2017 continues the trend.
tvdispatchdotcom.wordpress.com 