10. “Girls”
Lena Dunham’s life off-camera has a way of overshadowing her HBO show “Girls,” which was especially unfortunate this year, since season five was one of the best and most consistent seasons we’ve seen so far. One of the season’s shining moments came from everyone’s least favorite character, Marnie (Allison Williams), who got an episode entirely to herself. “The Panic in Central Park” is a whimsical and beautiful story that gives Marnie a true character arc within a single episode, and it’s one that Williams has deserved since the show started. This season shows Dunham’s growth as a writer, and the character of Hannah is finally growing with her. The immature and selfish girl we want to like, but usually hate, ends the season by delivering a fruit basket to Adam’s (Adam Driver) door, wishing him all the best in his new relationship with her ex-best friend Jessa (Jemima Kirke). As Hannah tells that story at the Moth Story Slam, the viewer feels how monumental this is in both her life and the story of “Girls.” She’s learned to deal with anger and sadness in a more responsible way, and she’s accepted what viewers have been yelling at her through our TVs for five years: Hannah can’t always get what she wants. Despite its many flaws, I can’t wait to see how the show ends when its final season starts next year. —Stephanie Ashe
9. “The People Vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”
It’s always impressive when a show or film about real-life events can manage to create tension, despite viewers knowing exactly how the events will play out. “The People Vs. O.J. Simpson” managed to make the story as captivating as it was in 1994, thanks in no small part to the brilliant casting. Sarah Paulson’s Golden-Globe-winning portrayal of Marcia Clark is remarkable to watch, as is the professional and personal relationship between her and Chris Darden (Sterling K. Brown). The infamous dream team of Johnnie Cochran and Robert Shapiro, played by Courtney B. Vance and John Travolta, create some of the more comedic scenes as the absurdity of their personas is on full display. Ironically, the only weak points of the FX series come from scenes that have to be carried by Cuba Gooding Jr., who plays the titular character. While the “other” Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy property may have been underwhelming this year, “The People Vs. O.J. Simpson” was full of great writing, stellar performances, beautiful cinematography, and a meticulous attention to detail that made this well-known story feel brand new. —Stephanie Ashe
8. “Fleabag”
At its absolute best, Amazon’s fabulous Channel 4 import “Fleabag” is flawlessly flawed. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s darkly comedic character study, a series determined to outdrink “Trainwreck” and break more fourth walls than “House Of Cards,” is as biting and scathingly funny as it is heartbreakingly tragic and painfully ruthless in its short execution. Yet, the British limited series holds little regard for overplayed emotions or excessive sympathy. Fittingly in well with FXX’s “You’re The Worst,” Hulu’s “Casual” and Amazon’s fellow U.K. import “Catastrophe,” it battles hardened, complex human emotions of grief, depression and muddled self-reflection not only with clever banter and thoughtfully well-realized characters, but with a grounded sense of self-confidence, bubbling personality, well-furnished cultural relevance and developing maturity. As the showrunner and actress behind the titular role, Waller-Bridge deserves no shortage of praise for her remarkably compelling work, adapted from her stage play of the same name. She’s a phenomenal rising multi-hyphenate talent that deserves every chance she can get to fly high, in as many different ways as possible. That said, one would be remiss if Sian Clifford’s marvelously exasperated Claire, Olivia Colman’s masterfully manipulative Godmother or Brett Gelman’s eagerly toothy Martin were ignored here. —Will Ashton
7. “Togetherness”
2016 is a year with no shortage of disappointments, but that doesn’t make the loss of HBO’s beautifully understated “Togetherness” sting any less. A show as grounded and mature as it was gentle and open-hearted, what once started as counterprogramming to HBO’s tweet-friendly “Girls” soon blossomed into an organically melancholy, poetically intuitive yuppie dramedy which reflected on parenthood, middle-age, abandoned dreams and bruised relationships with vulnerability, acceptance and bleeding sincerity. It only grew more confident in its modesty with season two. Anchored by touchingly heartfelt performances from Mark Duplass, Melanie Lynskey, Steve Zissis, Amanda Peet and Peter Gallagher’s majestic eyebrows, the Duplass brothers’ half-hour program became all the more authoritative with its nimble voice, portraying with their signature self-awareness and quiet empathy the type of character dramas which often get ignored at the movies these days — you know, the kind of warts-and-all relationship ensemble pieces that don’t necessarily demand shocking twists or stomach-wrenching cliffhangers, but nevertheless hook you through their tender intimacy, earnest relatability and fully realized characters. “Togetherness” was perhaps just a little too mild-mannered to live during the station’s struggling migration period, but that doesn’t make its early departure date any less painful. Hopefully, we’ll get a “Looking: The Movie”-esque film finale in the near future. We, the viewers, deserve to see how decidedly anti-climactic series calls it quits on its own messy terms. —Will Ashton
6. “BoJack Horseman”
It’s hard to believe that “BoJack Horseman” would be able to follow up its remarkable season two with anything that came close to its brilliance, yet season three of the animated Netflix series continued to soar. BoJack (still voiced perfectly by Will Arnett) is coming to a point where he can no longer get by without doing something terrible, apologizing and feeling bad about it, and then expecting everything to go back to normal. BoJack might have hit his rock bottom in season two, but season three sees him dealing the fallout and repercussions through how it affects his mounting self-loathing and the relationships he shares with his friends. The voice talent continues to be superb, with Aaron Paul, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins and especially the perpetually underrated Amy Sedaris delivering some series best work as their characters. Episodes such as “Fish Out of Water” and “That’s Too Much, Man!” demonstrate the series at the peak of its creative ambition. The first is a riveting, silent, underwater exploration of BoJack facing past regrets and the possibility of hope, while the latter similarly addresses those regrets with an emotional stinger that won’t leave you for days after seeing it. —Ally Johnson
