It’s been a while since we’ve spoken, hasn’t it, friends? Sorry about that, but rest assured: my DVR has not enjoyed the respite. It’s as overstuffed as ever, but now that 2015 lies in our collective rearview mirror, it seems as good a time as any to take stock of the best in TV, wouldn’t you say?
Around this time of year, top 10 lists are like dead Starks: throw a rock in any given direction, and you’ll hit one. Many television critics lament the inevitable subjectivity that creeps into such lists, as well as the gaps that invariably appear since there is no conceivable way to watch every show available. However, neither of those issues bother me, but I’ll tell you what does: ten isn’t a large enough a number to list the best in television.
In planning for this post, I said to myself, Why not expand my list into a top twenty? But even with so many slots available, I found myself still leaving off excellent television series. Penny Dreadful improved exponentially in its rollicking second season, turning in a carnival funhouse of Victorian horror. It’s not in my top twenty. Few shows delighted me as pure entertainment like The Flash, and Veep produces one belly laugh after another, but you won’t find either here. For crying out loud, American Horror Story: Hotel might be my favorite season of the anthology series, but nope, not gonna do it. Netflix’s W/Bob and David brought me back to the glory days of Mr. Show, and yet I couldn’t find a place for it. How To Get a Way With Murder is pure pulpy perfection, but…You get the point, right?
Here’s the deal. You’re going to roll your eyes at some of these, but that’s okay; you’ll get the next number on the list the following day. That’s right, for the next 20 days, I will unveil one show at a time, culminating in what is — in my estimation — the best show of 2015. Care to take any guesses?
Without further delay, let’s get to it, the inaugural post of my #top20in20 series! Enjoy!
#20: Man Seeking Woman
Jay Baruchel stars as hopeful romantic Josh Greenberg, attempting to recover from a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, in Simon Rich’s wonderfully subversive comedy. The brilliance of Man Seeking Woman lies in its ability to plumb the depths of male insecurity and extrapolate them to the point of surrealistic farce, as in the show’s must-watch second episode “Traib,” in which Josh’s agonizing over the phrasing of a text message devolves into a full-blown war-room strategy session.
But keeping the surrealism grounded is Josh’s very relatable journey back from heartbreak, even if that means putting up with his crush’s “friend” — a tentacled sex alien named Tanaka — and his ex’s rebound beau, a very frisky Adolf Hitler. Few shows embrace this level of zaniness with such zeal, and even fewer prove as successful at striking that tone as Man Seeking Woman.
Thanks for reading! Same time, same place for #19 tomorrow. Any guesses?
