20. “Veep”
It’s always worrying when a creator leaves a show —look at the disappointing final “Gilmore Girls” season or the dip in ‘The West Wing” after Aaron Sorkin departed. But any concern that “Veep” would slip after Armando Iannucci moved on (to make his awesome-sounding Stalin movie) proved to be unnecessary: the show’s fifth season might not be its very best, but it’s as consistently brilliant as it’s ever been. Surprisingly, it hasn’t rushed to resolve the cliffhanger from last season, with a tie in the presidential election —two-thirds of the way through the season, and we’re no closer to a winner being decided. But it’s had the result of putting Selina Myers (Julia-Louis Dreyfus)’ back against the wall more than ever, and with her mother dying and her daughter revealing she’s sleeping with her bodyguard (a brilliantly deadpan Clea DuVall), Dreyfus might be better than she’s ever been this year. As are the rest of the cast: against stiff competition, this show probably lays claim to having the best comedic ensemble on TV right now. And the best insults, you Paddington Bear-looking fuck.
19. “Broad City”
Once the spiky, silly freshman of the comedy class, “Broad City” has settled into its third season this year, and while the shock of the new might have dissipated,Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson and co. have shown this year that they’re not simply going to rest on their laurels. The third season was arguably a bit spottier in consistency, sometimes feeling like it was repeating itself and ending on a mildly disappointing episode. But its highs —the first couple of episodes, Hilary and Alan Alda, the “Mrs. Doubtfire” riff— were as high as they’ve ever gone. The show also feels like it has matured a little, with a lightly serialized element and a surprising emotional punch as Hannibal Burress’ Lincoln breaks up with longtime casual fling Ilana, and as Abbi begins an unlikely affair with boss Trey and then blows it. It sneaks up on you, but it’s a pleasing confirmation that the ambitions of Glazer and Jaobson and their team go a little further than weed jokes and YASSSSSSS QUEENS, not that there’s anything wrong with either of those.
18. “The Carmichael Show”
Norman Lear, the now 93-year-old TV legend whose socially conscious TV sitcoms include classics like “All In The Family” and “The Jeffersons,” is having a bit of a moment, with a documentary about him premiering at Sundance this year. It’s neatly timed, because while Lear-style shows fell out of fashion for a time, they’re undergoing a revival, thanks in particular to the very good “Black-ish” and the even better “The Carmichael Show.” The latter, a showcase for the brilliant young comic Jerrod Carmichael (“Neighbors”) and the first TV venture by A24, is at least formally pretty traditional — it’s a multi-camera laugh-track sitcom about an African-American family. But Carmichael’s newfangled comic energy gives the old form new legs, and more importantly it presents a fearless commitment to tackling issues often shied away from by network sitcoms, including death, abusive parents, gentrification, depression and, maybe most memorably, the recent revelations regarding Bill Cosby‘s predatory behavior. Yet it’s not weighty: the deft writing and terrific performances from a cast including David Alan Grier, Loretta Devine and Amber Stevens West, plus Carmichael’s contrarian nature, prevent it form feeling polemical.
17. “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Having established that a show about a woman kept in a bunker by a cult leader for 15 years could be a joyously hilarious hit, the second season of Netflix’s ‘Kimmy Schmidt’ was likely to be where creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock were going to reveal their real agenda. While hardly letting up on the gag quotient, particularly in the first half, the humor of the show moved away from the ridiculousness of Kimmy’s predicament (though Ellie Kemper remains completely radiant in the role) and started to spring more from characters who are well-established comedic powerhouses, from Jane Krakowski‘s Jacqueline to Titus Burgess‘ Titus Andromedon. But the show also introduced some instantaneously essential new support, particularly in Amy Sedaris‘ daffy physical turn as Jacqueline’s mini-me minion and Anna Camp‘s Emmy-worthy multi-episode arc as Jacqueline’s brilliant socialite nemesis. If there’s one caveat, it’s that the final episodes are distinctly less funny as the show’s tragic aspects are further explored, particularly in Fey’s own therapist character and Lisa Kudrow‘s nuanced turn as Kimmy’s mother. But at this stage, the show has earned every iota of seriousness, and we’ll follow where it leads like glassy-eyed molewomen.
16. “Billions”
After disappointments like “Vinyl” and “Feed The Beast,” it’s starting to feel like the white male anti-hero drama, which has dominated the second golden age of TV thanks to shows like “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men,” might be played out. Is there anything interesting left to do with the archetype? Well, there’s “Billions,” which doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but does at least make the wheel really fucking watchable. Hailing from Brian Koppelman and David Levien (“Rounders”) and New York Times financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, the show pits charismatic, corrupt hedge fund manager Axe (Damian Lewis, formerly of “Homeland“) against ambitious, ruthless U.S. Attorney Chuck (Paul Giamatti), and the show’s essentially an extended dick-measuring contest between the two. But while some shows would celebrate this kind of toxic masculinity, “Billions” puts it under the microscope. Unlike so many cable dramas, it’s paced and plotted well enough to stretch across the entire run rather than feeling stuffed with filler. And the cast positively relishes the material, with Malin Akerman, Maggie Siff, Toby Leonard Moore and especially David Costabile clearly all having a blast. It’s the populist yet smart show that you wanted “House Of Cards” to be, and while it’s not the most ambitious show here, it’s one of the best executed.