Best TV Series 2020 Year-End Review

Best of 2020

I watched one hundred twenty-eight TV seasons and mini-series this year. Here are my top 9 for the year. There are no seasons that fell into the 'worst' category because  if a season/show is bad I drop it. This is based simply on what I watched this year, not on what was released this year.
Check out the previous year-end reviews.

The Top 9 of 2020:

11.22.63 (2016)
Mini-series - 8 episodes (2016)

Watch 11.22.63 on Hulu
Created by: Bridget Carpenter
Starring:James Franco, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, Chris Cooper, Daniel Webber
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A high school teacher travels back in time to prevent John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Verdict
Jake is on a mission to save JFK. The series doesn't try to explain time travel, it just exists in this weird way. That's a smart move, so many properties stumble in trying to explain it. Centering this around an actual event provides real stakes as we watch Jake's new life in the '60s unfold. There are a lot of forces trying to stop him, not least of all time itself. The story is very good and the conclusion doesn't disappoint.
Full review

The Handmaid's Tale (2017-)
Season 1 - 10 episodes (2017)

Watch The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu
Created by: Bruce Miller
Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Joseph Fiennes, Ann Dowd, Madelaine Brewer, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship.
Verdict
This show drops you into this strange world that is purportedly a few years into our future. The world is intriguing on its own, and the plot is about enslaved women which is relevant culturally. This setup provides a lot of tension as episodes flashback to when the enslaved handmaids were free. The story is fantastic, and Moss does a spectacular job in a show that tackles serious subjects of power and control while warning of the effects from extreme ideology. A new country was created from the ground up with new rules and ideas yet no one seems any happier. People only desire gain power, control each other, or vent their frustrations on someone else.
Full review 

Giri / Haji [Duty / Shame] (2020-)

Season 1 - 10 episodes (2020)

Watch Giri/Haji on Netflix
Created by: David Simon
Starring: Dominic West, Idris Elba, Lance Reddick, Aidan Gillen, Wendell Pierce, Clarke Peters, Andre Royo, Michael Kenneth Williams, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jamie Hector, Sonja Sohn, John Doman, Deirdre Lovejoy, Jim True-Frost Frankie Faison, Corey Parker Robinson, Delaney Williams, J.D. Williams, Wood Harris, Robert Wisdom
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A detective from Tokyo scours London for his missing brother, who's been involved with the Yakuza and accused of murder. 
Verdict

A slow burn that keeps building. Brothers where one is a cop and one a criminal has been done many times, but this series manages to really capture the strain that puts on them. This has some really great moments and the characters are intriguing. I was engrossed from the beginning. The conclusion is anything but typical, but the more I thought about it the more I found it simply beautiful.

The Wire (2002-2008)

Season 1 - 13 episodes (2002)
Season 2 - 12 episodes (2003)
Season 3 - 12 episodes (2004)
Season 4 - 13 episodes (2006)
Season 5 - 10 episodes (2008)
Rent The Mummy on Amazon Video
Created by: David Simon
Starring: Dominic West, Idris Elba, Lance Reddick, Aidan Gillen, Wendell Pierce, Clarke Peters, Andre Royo, Michael Kenneth Williams, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jamie Hector, Sonja Sohn, John Doman, Deirdre Lovejoy, Jim True-Frost Frankie Faison, Corey Parker Robinson, Delaney Williams, J.D. Williams, Wood Harris, Robert Wisdom
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers, law enforcement, dock workers, politicians, students, teachers, and journalists.
Verdict
This is the third time I've watched this series, and it's just too good. Everything else pales in comparison. This is the closest a television series has come to capturing the feel of a book with the level of detail and depth. Each season focuses on an institution and it's failings. Season one is the police, two  docks, three politics, four the school system, and five journalism. The characters are detailed and nuanced. They aren't all good or bad, but made up of many levels. Most are likable enough that you hope they overcome their shortcomings. The story is cops chasing criminals, but the characters make it so much more than that. The writing is amazing. It's top tier television. On top of everything, this show has always been about more than just what's happening on screen. Every season ponders how you fix a broken system.
Full review 

Halt and Catch Fire (2014-2017)
Season 1 - 10 episodes (2014)
Season 2 - 10 episodes (2015)
Season 3 - 10 episodes (2016)
Season 4 - 10 episodes (2017)
Rent Halt and Catch Fire on Amazon Video
Created by: Christopher Cantwell, Christopher C. Rogers
Starring: Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Kerry Bishé , Toby Huss, Anabeth Gish,
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
Entrepreneurs and engineers at the forefront of the 80s technological revolution become even larger players in the 90s information society.
Verdict
The setting is enticing, and the first season was a solid story, albeit with standard characters in a underdog plot. It was above average, but this show grew into something so much more. By the end of the final season, the show proved how amazing it is. The characters became more complex and intriguing. The show wasn't about underdogs fighting big companies, it was about failure, about being a day late and one step behind. The characters faced adversity and kept proceeding. The setting is a lot of fun. It takes place in between history, with fictional characters that are fighting actual companies that remain faceless in the show. After four seasons, this show is nothing less than incredible.

Lost (2004-2010)
Season 1 - 25 episodes (2004-2005)

Rent Lost Season 1 on Amazon Video
Created by: J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof
Starring: Matthew Fox, Terry O'Quinn, Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly, Naveen Andrews, Jorge Garcia, Dominic Monaghan, Harold Perrineau, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Emilie de Ravin, Maggie Grace, Malcolm Ian somerhalder, David Kelley
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
The survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island.
Verdict
Lost is such a fun show. With a huge cast of characters, there are plenty of stories to tell. Every character has a secret, their backgrounds slowly revealed in flashbacks. There are characters you like, dislike, appreciate, and detest. The island is full of mysteries, and the potential is never greater than in the first season. It's such a great ride. The season is addicting with each episode ending on a cliffhanger, making it nearly designed to binge. You have to see what happens next on the island, and you have to see which character's backstory we'll delve into next.

Doom Patrol (2019-)
Season 1 - 15 episodes (2019)
Season 2 - 9 episodes (2020)

Buy Doom Patrol Season 1 on Amazon Video
Created by: Jeremy Carver
Starring: Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Matt Bomer, Brendan Fraser, Timothy Dalton, Riley Shanahan, Matthew Zuk, Joivan Wade, Alan Tudyk
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
The adventures of an idealistic mad scientist and his field team of super powered outcasts.
Verdict
Definitely an irreverent super hero tale. The plot sounds wacky when reading a summary, but suspension of disbelief somehow prevails when watching the series. The surprising thing is how deep flashbacks go in creating these characters.  They've all faced traumas that shape who they are and how they react. It's more of a character study than a super hero defeats bad guy tale. While it's not as extensively wacky as I expected, episodes have them face off against a goat, imaginary friends, Admiral Whiskers the rat and, a fourth wall breaking villain. This maintains a high level of fun despite the dark histories of the characters. The episodes are creative in the content and how that content is relayed.

Cobra Kai (2018-)
Season 1 - 10 episodes (2018)
Season 2 - 10 episodes (2019)

Buy Cobra Kai on Amazon
Created by: Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Starring: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
The adventures of an idealistic mad scientist and his field team of super powered outcasts.
Verdict
It's steeped in nostalgia but there's a lot of character development. Daniel and Johnny are the main rivalry but their traits are mixed. You root for both of them to do well. They are more alike than they would ever admit. The series often falls into tropes, sometimes needlessly so and the violence has zero repercussions. There should be a hospital ward full of kids. Despite the faults there's a lot to like and the characters get a fair amount of depth.

Mr. Robot (2015-2019)
Season 4 - 13 episodes (2019)

Buy Cobra Kai on Amazon
Created by:  Sam Esmail
Starring:  Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
Elliot Alderson, a young man living in New York City, works at the cyber security company Allsafe as a cybersecurity engineer. Constantly struggling with social anxiety, dissociative identity disorder, and clinical depression, Elliot's thought process seems heavily influenced by paranoia and delusion.
Verdict
The final season doesn't automatically make my best list. It has to earn it, and this season does exactly that. I wasn't sure how to end a show like this, and I was surprised and pleased. Great ending. This season brings the series to a fitting close with a few parallels to season one. I've always loved the artistry of this show, from the direction to the set design.