10 Favorite Television Shows of 2017

by Julian Spivey

1. “This Is Us” (NBC)
NBC’s “This Is Us” continues to be a stunning drama halfway through its second season with the most realistic portrayal of family life currently on television. The fact that it’s told through multiple timelines in the life of the Pearson family adds to the brilliance of the drama. “This Is Us” also features many of network television’s best acting performances from Milo Ventimiglia, Emmy-winner Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz and Mandy Moore.

2. “Blackish” (ABC)
ABC’s “Blackish” is not only one of the funniest sitcoms on television, but likely also its most important. It’s incredibly funny and well-acted, especially by leads Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, but also does a fantastic job at showing part of America the struggles faced by African-Americans, including affluent African-Americans in this country. One of the best episodes on all of television this year was the show’s fourth season premiere “Juneteenth,” a terrific musical episode featuring a “Schoolhouse Rock” type explanation of the date via The Roots.

3. “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)
When storylines of Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black,” now the longest running success on the streaming platform, got darker a couple of seasons ago it turned a lot of fans of the show off, but I believe made the show even better. This change in a more serious tone led to a terrific fifth season this summer that saw the hour-to-hour (in a “24”-esque timeline) moments of a prison riot/protest. The season also made a star out of Danielle Brooks, who plays Taystee Jefferson, giving the show’s best performance to date.

4. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (Fox)
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has been one of the best comedies on television for the entirety of its now five seasons with the current season standing out as one of its best. It’s not common for a show over 100 episodes into its run to pull out episodes as entertaining and funny as ‘B99’ is this season. Unfortunately, despite the excellent episodes the ratings of the show are at an all-time low and it might be in danger of cancellation.

5. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is the longest running late night show on television right now when you consider hosts who’ve stayed with the same show the longest, but Kimmel has never been more relevant in the pop culture zeitgeist than he was in 2017 thanks to incredibly touching moments that brought his opinions on controversial political topics like healthcare and gun violence to the forefront. These moments have gained Kimmel a ton of respect and fans, who agree with his opinions, but has also made him a punching bag among many on the right who disagree with his takes.

6. “Will & Grace” (NBC)
I’m not really a fan of reboots of older television shows in general, but NBC’s “Will & Grace” came back this year more than a decade after it ended and instantly became one of the funniest sitcoms on television in 2017. “Will & Grace,” which debuted in 1998 as the first ever television sitcom to include multiple main characters who were gay, was ahead of its time when it began. It’s now no longer shocking, but still as funny as ever.

7. “Doctor Who” (BBC America)
“Doctor Who” really revived itself for showrunner/lead writer Steven Moffat and The Doctor actor Peter Capaldi’s final seasons respectfully on the show after the previous season, which aired two years ago, was the biggest dud since the show’s reboot more than a decade ago. The stories seemed to have more life in them, the addition of Pearl Mackie as the new companion was terrific and Moffat and Capaldi just seemed to give more in their final showings. Next year should be really interesting with Jodie Whittaker taking over as the first ever female Doctor and Chris Chibnall taking the reigns of the show.

8. “Feud: Bette & Joan” (FX)
Ryan Murphy’s relationship with FX has proven to be quite fruitful with now three successful anthology series on the network: “American Horror Story,” “American Crime Story” and now “Feud,” which debuted this year with the terrific retelling of the old Hollywood feud between Joan Crawford (played by Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (played by Susan Sarandon). It was a delight seeing two old dames go neck-and-neck over Hollywood supremacy for eight weeks.

9. “Bates Motel” (A&E)
“Bates Motel” finished its fantastic five-year run on A&E this year with Norman Bates (the terrific Freddie Highmore, who should’ve been nominated for an Emmy at some point) finally going full-throttle crazy. It was an emotional season and particularly finale for this show as Norman gets an ending that isn’t quite “Psycho,” but certainly fitting for his character and bittersweet for us fans.

10. “Longmire” (Netflix)
“Longmire” was one of the most underrated dramas on television and I can’t tell you how thankful I am that Netflix saved it from cancellation more than three years ago when A&E, which had aired the show’s first three seasons, cancelled it. “Longmire,” about the tough small-town Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire, got better on Netflix and had its swan song season this year wrapping up a series that often felt like a nostalgic throwback in a good way. 

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