Feature Articles

Our 10 best TV shows of 2020

By Tim Augustin - 14 Jan 2021

Schitt's Creek, The Boys, Better Call Saul and more!

5. Schitt’s Creek: Final Season

Schitt’s Creek ended with a bang last year. And when I say bang, I mean that it set a record for most Emmy wins for a single television season, absolutely slaying the competition in 2020. It’s just a pity that the show had to end right when it was at its peak in popularity - but you know what they say about all good things. The Canadian comedy series follows a wealthy family stripped of all of their belongings, and dumped in a small town where their stature means nothing. 

The premise isn’t exactly new. Shows like Arrested Development have explored this space before, but Schitt’s Creek manages to stand apart thanks to its stellar main cast and the laugh-out-loud brilliance of its writing. It’s warm, funny and so lovely throughout to watch, ending with a bittersweet finale that will make you wish you could experience it all again for the very first time.

 

4. The Boys Season 2

Doom Patrol might have been the weirdest superhero show of 2020, but it had some pretty stiff competition. The Boys’ second season was a massive step up from its first, mixing in timely themes in a plot that had our anti-hero heroes on the run. Billy Butcher is missing, Homelander and the rest of the Seven are aware of The Boys' existence, and they’ve also been branded vigilantes across America. It’s not about hunting superheroes this season - it’s about trying to survive. 

Season 2 gave us fantastic performances from Anthony Starr as Homelander and Aya Cash as Stormfront, and that alone is worth putting it on the list. Everything else is icing on the cake - the insanely violent action, bloody plot twists, character drama and production value? It’s all top-notch. Take it from someone who didn’t even like Season 1: this show is not to be missed. 

 

3. Better Call Saul Season 5

Better Call Saul has begun to eclipse Breaking Bad in quality, and any fan of Walter White’s meth making adventures is missing out if they’re not tuning in here. This series explores the early years of Jimmy McGill, the man who later becomes White’s lawyer in Breaking Bad - Saul Goodman. In a series of flash-forwards, we also see Jimmy growing increasingly paranoid of his new life falling apart post-Breaking Bad. 

This season, Lalo Salamanca and Gus Fring’s disagreements come to a head, trapping Nacho Varga and Mike Ehrmantraut in an escalating conflict. This conflict eventually draws Jimmy and Kim Wexler in, too - with ugly consequences. Every single member of this cast had a chance to shine in complex, often edge-of-your-seat tense stories with the highest stakes this series has ever had. Rhea Seehorn and Tony Dalton steal this show despite their scenery-chewing castmates, as Kim and Lalo - two formidable characters in their own right, who come to a gripping standoff this season. 

There’s nothing like Better Call Saul on TV, and it breaks my heart that it’s ending next year. It’s going out with a bang, though!

 

2. How to With John Wilson

“It’s kind of like that show Planet Earth, but if it was only in New York, and David Attenborough was forced to film everything himself.”

How to With John Wilson debuted on HBO last year, and it stole my heart instantly. A man named John Wilson attempts to give viewers a guide on how to do everyday things, from making small talk to cooking the perfect risotto. He wanders around New York and occasionally beyond in his investigations, talking to random passers-by and more often than not, getting sucked into their lives. Wilson’s endless supply of B-roll is often a point of hilarity too, landing jokes simply by saying stuff like, "Hello, New York," and then showing us a pile of garbage. 

You might be thinking: “Well, this sounds like the most pointless show that’s ever existed.” To a degree, it is, but all TV is pointless - only serving as an escape to other worlds when we tire of our own. How to With John Wilson covers this one, the one we live in, with a shocking amount of emotional intelligence. Its final episode deserves an Emmy, and the series as a whole has something to teach you - though it's definitely not how to cook the perfect risotto. 

 

1. Normal People

2020 gave us a series adaptation of Sally Rooney’s book Normal People, and to me, that makes up for all of its transgressions. The Irish drama follows the lives of Marianne and Connell, starting from their time in secondary school to college graduates. Connell keeps his relationship with Marianne secret in secondary school as he anxiously clings to social status, while she goes along with it thanks to her low self esteem. This relationship only grows in complexity as they spend the next few years together - sometimes romantically, sometimes not. 

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal are a revelation, allowing unspoken thoughts and internal monologues from the book to be easily read in the smallest facial expressions and line deliveries. Normal People isn’t an easy book to translate to TV, but each of these 12 episodes feels like its own complete story, and all of them flow together into the finale so well. Normal People is one of the best TV shows I have ever seen, and it’s certainly the best of 2020. 

 

What were your favourites?

Image: Amazon Prime Video

My Top 10 list might not look anything like yours, but it also doubles as a great list of recommendations for your weekend binge! I had to leave so many more shows out that I really enjoyed in 2020, like Sex Education, The Umbrella Academy, Stargirl, Harley Quinn, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Upload, I Am Not Okay with This and more. It wouldn’t be a proper Top 10 list if it was easy, I suppose. 

2021 looks even more promising too, with the dawn of multiple Marvel shows on Disney+, other new debuts and plenty of returning favourites. The golden age of TV just gets brighter every year. 

Also, check out our Top 10 movies of 2020!

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