10 Most Memorable Television Moments of 2015

by Aprille Hanson & Julian Spivey

10. Streaming Services Save the Day 
Nothing is worse than one of your favorite television shows getting canceled, which makes the new phenomenon of shows being resurrected by streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Yahoo one of the greatest things a TV fan can hope for. Multiple fan favorites were saved this year like Yahoo giving “Community” a sixth and final season, Hulu giving “The Mindy Project” second life with two new seasons and Netflix saving “Longmire” from an unsatisfying ending with its best season yet. The only problem with streaming services doing this is that every time a beloved show is cancelled too soon fan bases expect it automatically to be saved (we saw this isn’t always the case with NBC’s “Hannibal”). By the way, Netflix I’m begging you to save “Person of Interest” when CBS makes the worst decision ever come May. -JS

9. James Corden's Carpool of Stars​
James Corden had some big and weird shoes to fill. When “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” on CBS signed off, it left the late show desk empty, but it wasn’t as if there was really a guideline. Ferguson’s show was so uniquely him, from his puppets to Secretariat to Geoff, the dead robot. It was his own weird style of comedy and it wasn’t something another comedian could just carry on with. However, we’re lucky that “The Late Late Show with James Corden” came along. I had no idea what to expect from this chubby, lovable, extremely talented singer/performer/comedian that is Corden. It was a clean slate and he’s brought more to late night than I ever expected. Like his predecessor, the style and set-up of the show is uniquely him. One of the best bits however is his “Carpool Karaoke” where he “carpools” to work with some pretty notable singers -- including Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber and Carrie Underwood -- while singing along to their hits on the radio and chatting like old friends. Everyone watching just wishes they could be in the backseat of that car. - AH

8. Chris Stapleton Says 'Hello America' with Justin Timberlake's Assistance
Every year you’ll usually find one or two musical performances either on an awards show or late night talk show that just absolutely stuns you. There were a few this year: Common & John Legend performing their Oscar winning “Glory” during the Oscars telecast and Nathaniel Rateliffe and the Night Sweats on “Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon,” but the most jaw-dropping was the Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake mash-up that absolutely owned the 2015 CMA Awards. Few, even in mainstream country music, knew who Stapleton was coming into the CMA Awards (despite three nominations that he’d all win). Then he took the stage with pop megastar Timberlake on his cover of George Jones’ “Tennessee Whiskey” and absolutely stunned the nation. The two continued to drop jaws on Timberlake’s soulful “Drink You Away.” It automatically became one of the greatest performances in the history of awards shows. - JS

7. 'Big Bang' Coitus for Shamy
It had been five years. “Shamy” -- the romance between genius Dr. Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and smart in her own right, neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler -- took a nosedive in the ninth season of “The Big Bang Theory” when the two broke up. Quite frankly, they needed to -- Sheldon had no idea how special his relationship was with Amy and didn’t respect her like he should have. However, he realized he loved her and for her birthday present, he was finally ready to have “coitus.” It might not seem plausible that they’d wait five years, but for Sheldon, who cared nothing of social norms and likely could have gone the whole show without ever finding love, it made sense. The scene was sweet and really perfect for the two virgin characters and with the backdrop of Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) seeing the new ‘Star Wars’ movie, it made “The Opening Night Excitation” episode one of the best in the show’s history. - AH

6. Viola Davis Makes Emmy History
It’s hard to believe, but in the almost 70 years of the Primetime Emmy Awards there had never been an African-American woman win the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series until this year when Viola Davis took home the honor for her fantastic performance on ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder.” The history making moment was obviously important, but that in and of itself likely wouldn’t have gotten Davis on this list – what did was her incredible acceptance speech, which automatically became the highlight of the Emmys telecast and one of the greatest speeches in awards history. The speech can be seen (and should be) HERE. - JS

5. One of TV's Best Comedies Gets Heavy
FXX’s “You’re the Worst” was the best new comedy of 2014 with the incredibly horrid personalities of Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) meshes in their horribleness to form a funny relationship. The second season in 2015 added a perfect mixture of drama to the comedy when it was revealed that Gretchen suffers from depression. Cash’s performance instantly became one of the best and bravest on television. It was truly fascinating to see a comedy take on such a dramatic and important topic as depression and succeed so effortlessly in doing so. - JS

4. 'SNL' Turns 40
The greatest sketch comedy series in the history of television “Saturday Night Live” celebrated its milestone 40th season in February of 2015 with a three-and-a-half-hour spectacular that was one of the greatest television specials ever put together. The show featured a mixture of live sketches and all-time great clips with most of the greatest cast members and hosts in the show’s legendary history returning for a spectacular evening of laughs and memories. The show deserved the best for its milestone occasion and it didn’t disappoint. - JS

3. Jon Stewart Signs Off One Last Time 
 Even if you never watched an episode of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” you know who Stewart is. That’s because his presence goes far beyond a television show host. He gave us the news, with humor and blatant honesty that just isn’t possible on news channels because of the nature of journalism. He took on politicians for their BS and spoke his views in a way that was relatable. Shows come and go like the wind, but Stewart was at the helm of his from 1999 to Aug. 6, 2015. Stewart’s show spun-off “The Colbert Report,” with Stephen Colbert, now host of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” who took over after David Letterman’s retirement. Both shows ended this year, leaving a big hole for Comedy Central, despite technically “The Daily Show” continuing, now with Trevor Noah. It’s hard to imagine a comedian, a fake newsman could actually be voted by a 2009 TIME online poll as the most trusted newscaster in America. The poll came out after Walter Cronkite died, with the younger generation looking to “The Daily Show” for news. He changed a format and the way everyone looked at news over his 16-year run. Stewart’s departure this year was a true ending of an era. - AH

2. Television's Greatest Family Says Goodbye
NBC’s family drama “Parenthood” lasted a fantastic six seasons despite the odds. It didn’t pull in the ratings and undoubtedly cost a ton to pay the stellar cast that made up the Braverman family -- including, Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Dax Shepard, Erika Christensen, Bonnie Bedelia and Craig T. Nelson. You cannot get more real than this show, which was entirely fiction. What the Braverman’s went through in each episode is what we go through in our own lives. Some of the most poignant moments of the show centered around the breast cancer diagnosis for Kristina Braverman (Monica Potter) and her ongoing chemotherapy; Kristina and Adam’s (Krause) son Max (Max Burkholder) dealing with severe Asperger’s syndrome; Julia Braverman-Graham (Christensen) and her husband Joel (Sam Jaeger) adopting a son and later trying to avoid divorce; Crosby (Shepard) finding out he has a son and ultimately finding out how to grow up; and Zeek and Camille, the patriarchs fighting time dwindling away and trying to hang on to the past. This doesn’t scratch the surface of the moments in this show, some of the best also including Hank (Ray Romano), Sarah’s love interest, who struggles with a slight form of autism as well. Despite the complete snubs when award season rolled around, it was one of the best shows ever on television. Seeing it sign off was so hard, but it also produced one of the best finales in TV history. - AH

1. David Letterman's Farewell
After almost 22 years of gracing “The Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS, the comedian who influenced them all signed off for the last time on May 20. There’s not a late night “monkey on a rock” whose comedy hasn’t been shaped in some way by Letterman. Even Jimmy Kimmel on ABC refused to air a new episode of his show to pay homage to his comedy hero. His last episode was filled with laughs and tears, but no tears for Letterman. He was ready, so he says and signed off in the best way possible: “The only thing I have left to do, for the last time on a television program, thank you and goodnight.” The episode featured Letterman’s favorite band the Foo Fighters performing his favorite song “Everlong” to the backdrop of a montage of the show, plus a nod to his wife Regina and son Harry -- a reminder of why this very private man wanted to sign off for good. It was the best way to end a career and cannot be matched. - AH