20. “Evil”
Since Robert King and Michelle King’s fascinating thriller left the confines of CBS in 2021, it has only become richer and more ambitious in its new home on Paramount+. In the third season, the writers continued to unpack various forms of modern evil through the eyes of an increasingly-believing skeptic (Katja Herbers) and an increasingly-doubtful believer (Mike Colter). More than just handling the biblical forms of good vs. evil–although those are well-represented too–this show creatively challenges contemporary issues like social media campaigns, doomscrolling, and even shady contractors. This season grew richer, too, as it started to address gender issues and how they impact something as simple as fear. Most of all, this is a show that succeeds through its massive confidence to be unlike anything else on television. It’s hard to be this good. – BT
19. “The Old Man” (FX)
Starring Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Alia Shawkat, and Amy Brenneman, “The Old Man” centers on an aging ex-CIA agent and assassin who absconded from the agency decades ago and has been living off the grid. But once he’s eventually found out, he’s on the run again, but realizing confronting his dark past is the only option. Directed by Jon Watts (Marvel’s “Spider-Man” trilogy), arguably his best work ever, “The Old Man” is thrilling and full of wrenching emotional drama and existential dread, a gripping portrait of a man living out the last chapter of his life, reflecting on mortality and regrets while finding out if he’s able to outlive the ghosts and sins that haunt him. – RP [read our review]
18. “Outer Range” (Prime Video)
Some may describe the show reductively as “Yellowstone” meets the “X-Files,” but hey, whatever gets you in the front door is fine by us. That said, “The Outer Range,” created by Brian Watkins and produced by Brad Pitt’s thoughtful Plan B company, is far more complex and layered than that descriptor. A family drama about grief, faith, dark secrets, our children, and the legacies we pass on, “Outer Range” is also an existential, metaphysical sci-fi-ish tale about a mysterious dark hole that lives on the outskirts of a disputed ranch territory in Wyoming between two families. Featuring an outstanding cast—Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Tom Pelphrey, Lewis Pullman, Noah Reid, Tamara Podemski, and more—if we’re slightly vague about the plot, that’s because we just want to experience its engrossing eeriness and captivating, must-watch drama all on your own. The only bad thing we can think about a much-anticipated season two is they changed showrunners, and we’re hoping they’re not messing with their own success. [Read our review] – RP
17. “Hacks”
While HBO Max continues to struggle with its identity, they can hold onto the critical success of the award-winning “Hacks,” which deservedly won its star Jean Smart the Emmy two years in a row. The first season was a tough act to follow, but the writers of “Hacks” didn’t panic, pushing its two fascinating protagonists up against each other in unexpected ways. As Ava (Hannah Einbinder) waited for the other shoe to drop in her relationship with Smart’s Deborah Vance, the writers of this show sent the two characters on the road, taking them even further out of their comfort zones. The chemistry between Einbinder and Smart somehow improved this season, making each of their scenes feel so richly character-driven, never going for easy jokes. A fantastic array of guest stars this year, including Laurie Metcalf and Harriet Sansom Harris, helped make a show that could have easily gotten stale in a sophomore slump avoid that entirely. – BT [read our review]
16. “Ramy”
Cut from that “Atlanta” cloth a little bit, taking an underseen, underrepresented culture and injecting it with a hefty dose of humor, surrealism, and absurdism, Ramy Youseff’s brilliantly funny and observant “Ramy” finally returns for a third season of what is “This American Muslim Life” (Though Muslim-American is more fitting). The brilliance of “Ramy” is its inner conflict, the modern and the traditional. Ramy (Youseff) wants to be a good, devout Muslim and live a life of halal (permissible) virtue. But he’s young, a man, and living in a modern world, so all that haram (forbidden) shit, chicks, fucking out of wedlock, weed, alcohol, is a temptation that tests him every day. Reflecting on Muslim American identity and masculinity, while spiritually and emotionally lost, one might suppose the barrier for some audiences may be not knowing a lick about Muslim Americans. Still, the trick of it is how universal all of it is. “Ramy” deals with family, duty, loyalty, and the constant friction and tension that lives inside anyone that has to wrestle with two different cultures and identities (even who you are at work vs. who you are at home applies). Season three? Arguably more of the same, but brilliant as ever, as the well-intentioned but self-destructive Ramy continues to fuck up as he attempts to hold himself up to an impossible standard that no one else is actually bothering to uphold. Can’t wait for more. – RP [read our review]