Our critics break down what goes into naming the best of the year.
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Kathryn VanArendonk:This was a good year in TV it was also a bad year in TV.
It was an everything year in TV because TV is too many things now.
Its a giant monolith of cultural production.
There is a place for just fine, dont get me wrong.
I personally enjoyed PeacocksDan Browns The Lost Symbolway more than it had any right to be enjoyed by anyone.
But do we need that much just fine?
Does the ever-increasing bulk of it dilute our ability to feel like it was a good year in TV?
Whereas I felt like I could find something exceptional to watch on TV at any point in the year.
I put a lot of that streamer-created storytelling firmly in the good column.
Im thinking aboutGossip Girl,Cowboy Bebop, andWalker, all of which struggled to find their own identities.
KV:The so-much-ness is something I wrestle with a lot.
One of the most comforting things I watched this year, no question.
Lots of Netflix series have that strange sameness to them, a product of plotting and bulk and indistinctiveness.
If its a new series, does it have a full sense of itself right out of the gate?
I find myself thinking hard about that because of the volume of television.
It is so frustrating when something really special exists and gets lost in the sea of TV.
KV:Thats always part of my calculus too.
Its whyStation Elevenis my top show.
I think its incredible, so its not as though theres an inflation process happening here.
But its also a series Im worried wont attract as much attention as Id like.
Putting it on the list is a way of staking a claim in that series being worth peoples time.
RH:Give me all the miniseries you have!
Thats reflected on my list inThe Underground Railroad,Mare of Easttown, andMidnight Mass.
Im all for that.
Death,Liseys Story,Dopesick,Foundation,
KV:The split timeline!
Just tell the damn thing in order for a minute, I beg you!
JC:On the other hand,Station Elevenhas a split timeline, and its great.
It also does the split timeline more inventively and elegantly than a lot of series do.
RH:What did you two think about the weekly versus binge discourse this year?
Some viewers and critics complained thatSuccessionandTed Lassodragged, but I didnt think so.
I thought both built momentum over each week.
I was fascinated by that conversation.
On the other hand, there are some series I think work better when watched in binge fashion.
But I appreciate that every platform is not defaulting to the binge approach.
KV:And there are always exceptions.
Weekly releases allow interesting shows to build buzz,except forY: The Last Man.
We long for comfort television, except forSuccession, which feels like being raked over hot coals.
The hottest shows are on streaming platforms, except forYellowstone, consistently the most-watched drama on TV.
RH:Unlike, say, ApplesMr.
Corman, which I did not want to discuss with anyone at all, ever.
KV:Sorry, Jen, youre on an island by yourself on this one.
Certainly the order might change.
I felt strongly about makingWe Are Lady Partsmy No.
But could or would I switch some of the places of some of the shows on my list?
I have come to terms with the idea that these lists are a snapshot in time of my opinions.
Or did it leave my brain immediately?
That sort of reaction can be telling in sorting through a list.
Lingering impact is useful.
KV:Fully agree.
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