These are the best TV shows of 2019. The past twelve months have been huge for the small screen, with all networks and studios ramping up their production of (and spending on) original content, especially as the streaming wars heat up. Netflix continued to be a major player, HBO had one of its strongest years in a long time, and then Disney+ came along to attempt to conquer all in its path.
So there were a lot of TV shows in 2019, but which were the very best? Screen Rant’s editors and writers have voted for their favorites, with the scores tallied up to give the following list of the best TV shows of 2019.
10. The Witcher
Netflix’s The Witcher arrived very late in 2019, dropping with just under two weeks of the year left, but its impact was both immediate and great. Based on the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher follows Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a ‘witcher’, alongside the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) and the princess Ciri (Freya Allan). While comparisons to Game of Thrones were perhaps unavoidable, The Witcher more than does enough to stand on its own. A dark fantasy that’s tinged with horror and magic alike, there’s a lot to love for fans of the genre, alongside some strong performances and great action sequences.
9. Schitt’s Creek
Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek continues to be an under-seen gem. Following the formerly wealthy Rose family who move to the titular location after losing their fortune, Schitt’s Creek has picked up in popularity after beginning to stream on Netflix, but still hasn’t quite found the broad audience its quality deserves. With sharp writing and winning performances, this is a sitcom that’s absolutely bursting with both heart and humor, and packed full of weird and wonderful characters, all of which it continued to excel at in 2019’s fifth and penultimate season.
8. The Umbrella Academy
Netflix’s partnership with Marvel may have ended in 2019, but the streaming service found a more than suitable superhero replacement in The Umbrella Academy. Based on the comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, the series follows the dysfunctional Hargreeves family, a bunch of superpowered kids who all went their separate ways, but have to come back together after their father’s mysterious death. The series isn’t afraid to get dark, as you might expect given the influence of the My Chemical Romance frontman, but it’s also full of invention, moments of real comedy, and some warmth as well. The Umbrella Academy makes each character, who all have their own specific power, feel unique and important, while ensuring that it’s best as a team-up that brilliantly combines superpowers with family drama.
7. BoJack Horseman
Netflix’s BoJack Horseman has long since established itself as one of the service’s best original series, and the first half of its sixth and final season didn’t put a hoof wrong. After season 5 took BoJack to perhaps his darkest place yet, BoJack Horseman season 6 is all about the reckoning of his past, dealing with the consequences of his previous actions, but also examining whether or not he can change and become good. What followed was a run of episodes every bit as hilarious and heartbreaking as viewers have come to expect from the show, not just through BoJack but the continued development of the key figures around him, and a brutal cliffhanger that leaves things poised for a potentially devastating climax to the entire show.
6. The Good Place
Through the back-half of season 3 and the first-half of season 4 (both of which aired in 2019), NBC’s The Good Place continued to prove itself as one of the best sitcoms on TV not just right now, but this entire decade. Leaning heavier than ever before on the relationship between Eleanor and Chidi, The Good Place added even greater layers of romance and heart to its already considerable arsenal, which extends from name-drops to visual gags to blowing up its own premise every couple of episodes. That it’s able to keep on track while changing what it is so often is impressive, but that The Good Place does so while being one of TV’s funniest shows is even more so.
5. Russian Doll
While a few different movies and TV shows have put their own riff on the idea of dying over and over again, reliving the same moments trying to achieve different results, few have done it with the smarts and comic ability of Netflix’s Russian Doll. Starring Natasha Lyonne as Nadia, a New Yorker who just can’t stop getting killed and has to re-live the same party over and over again, Russian Doll puts its protagonist in her own peculiar kind of hell. While the party and where Nadia wakes up may be the same each time, no episode ever repeats itself; Russian Doll is completely unpredictable, blending pathos with madcap humor without the two ever feeling tonally at odds, and all brought together by a superb performance by Lyonne.
4. Chernobyl
HBO’s miniseries, starring Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, and Emily Watson among many others, Chernobyl is one of the most critically acclaimed shows of 2019 (and briefly became IMDb’s highest-rated show ever), and with good reason. Telling the story of the Chernobyl disaster, including the build-up to it, the fallout from it, and the work of the brave people who tried to contain it, the five-part drama is outstanding across the board. With a palpable sense of dread mixed with astonishing levels of craft - the writing, acting, directing etc here are all stellar - Chernobyl handles its difficult source material in a respectful yet gripping manner, highlighting the past while feeling relevant to the present.
3. Fleabag
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag returned for its sophomore (and apparently final) outing in 2019, having first debuted back in 2016, and reminded viewers of just how essential the series is. Following Waller-Bridge’s protagonist, season 2 further (and better) develops the love-hate relationship with her sister Claire, while also introducing a key new figure into the mix in the way of Andrew Scott’s priest (aka “Hot Priest”). What follows are six near-perfect episodes about family, relationships, loving others, and most importantly loving yourself. Fleabag season 2 has the same pitch-perfect dialogue, the dose of realism, and the genius use of fourth-wall breaking as the first. It adds even greater emotional range as all of its characters grow, itself turning into a show that is, bu turns, laugh-out-loud funny and devastatingly sad.
2. Watchmen
When Damon Lindelof announced he was making a Watchmen TV series, one set in the same universe as the comic but many years later, few people knew what to expect (in part by Lindelof’s own secretive design). Not many would have guessed at the end product, however, which is one of the most powerful and resonant TV shows of 2019. Setting his series to the backdrop of the Tulsa race riots, Watchmen has comic book trappings but is above all else a story of race (and racism) in America, both its past and present. Like all good Lindelof shows, though, it’s also a love story, one of personal connections we make, and one filled with mysteries begging to be answered. Watchmen delivered some truly jaw-dropping twists that no one saw coming, and moments to please the most passionate fans of the graphic novel, but what really elevates it is how it uses those things to complement the emotional journey at its core.
1. The Mandalorian
As the first live-action Star Wars TV show, not to mention the big offering at Disney+’s launch, there was a lot riding on The Mandalorian - and that’s before considering the divided, weary state of the Star Wars fandom too. Thanks to the talent of Jon Favreau (and the team around him), and the power of Baby Yoda, The Mandalorian delivered and then some. The sheer accomplishment of uniting the fanbase along deserves recognition, but it did so because of its quality. With Western and Samurai influences worn on its Beskar armor, nods and references to the original trilogy (and beyond) that felt wholly natural, a great array of characters, and a story that took viewers on a number of thrilling adventures in a galaxy far, far away, this was everything a Star Wars series can and should be. And, of course, there was Baby Yoda too.
Next: The Mandalorian Shows What Star Wars Spinoffs Should Have Been
