Most years, putting together the annual TV Top 10 list is a ritual that allows critics a chance to revel in the artistic triumphs that brightened screens during the past 12 months. And in 2020, when ordinary life was turned on its head by the pandemic, TV has never seemed more necessary.
Whether delivering alarming news, diverting entertainment or delicious reminders of what life was like before coronavirus lockdowns, TV has been a faithful companion. The production delays caused by pandemic concerns may have kept terrific shows from returning (“Succession”), or forced temporary halts to series that haven’t yet finished their seasons (I miss you, “Billions”). But even with those upheavals, 2020 brought plenty of examples of how creatively vibrant TV continues to be.
In fact, there were still so many shows, offered by broadcast and cable networks and the ever-increasing number of streaming services, that I wasn’t able to watch all of them. There may have been total jewels hiding among the Quibi lineup, for example, but since I didn’t watch most of them, and we don’t have Quibi to kick around anymore, I’m not going to worry about that.
So, here are my 10 favorite TV shows of 2020, a group that reflects bold new visions, storytelling expertise, and veteran series that really upped their game this past year.
Jason Bateman and Laura Linney in Season 3 of "Ozark." (Photo: Netflix)STEVE DIETL/NETFLIX
10. “Ozark” (Netflix): 2020 was, I hardly need to point out, full of surprises, most of them dire. But among the more pleasant shockers was how good Season 3 of “Ozark” was. The first season began with some promise, telling the story of Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), a financial adviser in Chicago who makes the mistake of laundering money for a Mexican drug cartel. But as the show strained \ to be a new “Breaking Bad,” it grew progressively more tiresome, to the point when I didn’t bother watching Season 2.
Reluctantly, after hearing the third season was worth watching, I started streaming, then, to my surprise, going full-on binge mode. The plot still relies too much on bad guys and violence. But the performances of Bateman, Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde, whose canny survival instincts are appallingly fascinating, Emmy-winner Julia Garner as the Ozark native who gets caught up in the Byrde’s shady enterprises, and Tom Pelphrey as Wendy’s loose-cannon brother, made Season 3 suspenseful, heartbreaking and absorbing.
Matthew Rhys in "Perry Mason," the new HBO series. (Photo: HBO)
9. “Perry Mason” (HBO): Some viewers seemed to take it as a personal affront that HBO’s “Perry Mason” went its own way, which took it down a road that didn’t have much in common with the vintage TV series starring Raymond Burr as the ever-victorious trial lawyer. OK, fine. But I found the new “Perry Mason” series an entertaining exercise in old-fashioned storytelling, with good actors digging into roles that gave them plenty to chew on.
It helped that the charismatic Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”) led the cast as Perry, seen here in 1930s Los Angeles, as a World War I veteran trying to cobble together a living as a private investigator. The series had a pleasing film noir-ish atmosphere, while also demonstrating contemporary awareness of issues of race and class. The case Mason investigated was disturbing, involving an infant who had been killed. But the writing, and skilled actors, managed to balance tragedy and low-down intensity. Here’s a tip of the hat to Tatiana Maslany as an evangelist who gets caught up in the case; Juliet Rylance as legal secretary Della Street; Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, who endures discrimination from his bigoted LAPD coworkers until he decides to work with Mason; Shea Wigham as an associate of Mason’s; and John Lithgow, as a veteran attorney who’s a mentor to Mason. I don’t know when Season 2 is coming, but I’m looking forward to it.
Portland chef Gregory Gourdet, center, was one of the highlights in a terrific All Stars "Top Chef" season. (Photo: Nicole Weingart/Bravo)Nicole Weingart/Bravo
8. “Top Chef” (Bravo): After 17 seasons, it might sound strange to add the cooking competition series to a Top 10 list. But the “All Stars” season, set for the most part in Los Angeles, was a tribute to the professionalism and talent of chefs. At a time when restaurants were suffering economic pain and uncertainty as COVID-19 guidelines forced so many to close, “Top Chef” was, as Portland chef and “All Stars” competitor Gregory Gourdet said, an opportunity to “enjoy some really amazing chefs, and remember what restaurant culture used to be like.”
Chris Rock, center, was one of the stars in the fourth installment of "Fargo." (Photo: Elizabeth Morris/FX)
7. “Fargo” (FX): The newest installment of the anthology series crafted by Noah Hawley from inspirations derived from the Coen brothers’ 1996 movie (and other works) wasn’t perfect. But even with its flaws –- a sprawling storyline, too many characters, some of them not sufficiently developed -- the 2020 edition of “Fargo” boasted an ambitious desire to explore racial and ethnic rivalries among competing crime families, both of whom were subject to prejudice from the American establishment.
Related: ‘Fargo’: Even a flawed season is better than almost anything else on TV (review)
Chris Rock and Jason Schwartzman played the heads of rival mobs in Kansas City, Missouri in the 1950s. Even when the plotline wandered, the dialogue, cinematography, unexpected flourishes (a “Wizard of Oz” influenced episode?), and most of all, performances by a talented cast that included Ben Whishaw, Timothy Olyphant, E’myri Crutchfield and the glorious Glynn Turman made a visit to “Fargo” worth the trip. (Stream on Hulu)
Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill and Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler in "Better Call Saul" Season 5. (Photo: Warrick Page/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)
6. “Better Call Saul” (AMC): At times, in earlier seasons, this prequel/spinoff to “Breaking Bad” felt like it was treading water, trying to figure out where to go. But in its fifth, and next-to-last season, the show finally began to come into its own. Bob Odenkirk’s Jimmy-turned-Saul lawyer at last displayed the flair for not-so-legal shenanigans that made the Saul Goodman character so memorable in “Breaking Bad.”
As with that classic, Season 5 of “Better Call Saul” walks a skillful line between dark humor and revealing the rot that’s eating into Jimmy’s soul. Odenkirk has never been better. Rhea Seehorn, as Kim Wexler, an attorney juggling her ethics with her affection for Jimmy, deserves to win all the awards that she has -- for some dunderheaded reason -- not been nominated for.
Anya Taylor-Joy in "The Queen's Gambit." (Photo: Phil Bray/Netflix)Phil Bray/Netflix
5. “The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix): One of the most unexpected, but delightful, twists in the horrendous year of 2020 involved this series, which focused on a flawed-but-exceptional hero, and made a game of chess seem more dramatic than traversing outer space. Anya Taylor-Joy starred as Beth Harmon, an orphan with a natural-born gift for playing chess. The series, adapted from Walter Tevis’ novel, boasts stunning ’60s production design, along with superb performances by, among others, Marielle Heller as Beth’s adoptive mother and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (yes, he was the adorable child actor who played Liam Neeson’s son in “Love Actually”) as another chess prodigy.
Michaela Coel in the HBO series, "I May Destroy You." (Photo: Laura Radford/HBO)
4. “I May Destroy You” (HBO): Michaela Coel created, starred in and was the driving creative force behind this utterly unique series about a writer (Coel) in London who is trying to find the man who drugged and sexually assaulted her. What sounds like a show with the grimmest of starting points takes off to explore the trauma of rape, the concept of consent, revenge and friendship. “I May Destroy You” was harrowing, unexpectedly funny and admittedly sometimes seemed to be wasting time with tangential storylines. But it all added up to a series that felt both intensely personal and revelatory.
Ethan Hawke as John Brown and Joshua Caleb Johnson as Onion in "The Good Lord Bird." (Photo: William Gray/Showtime)
3. “The Good Lord Bird” (Showtime): Ethan Hawke may have seemed an unlikely person to act as co-creator, star and co-writer for this miniseries about the abolitionist John Brown. But Hawke and his team, adapting James McBride’s National Book Award-winning novel, found a perfectly unpredictable tone that blended history, humor and social commentary that mirrored contemporary controversies surrounding “white saviors” whose obsessive dedication threatens to dominate the Black voices they claim to amplify.
Set in the era leading up to the Civil War, “The Good Lord Bird” tells the story of Brown (Hawke), whose anti-slavery crusade merges with his fire-and-brimstone religious beliefs. The talented Joshua Caleb Johnson plays “Onion,” a Black boy who narrates the tale, and whose perspective on race relations is as grounded in reality as Brown’s is high-flown and, according to him, straight from God.
Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in "The Crown" Season 4. (Photo: Des Willie/Netflix) Des Willie/Netflix
2. “The Crown” (Netflix): Creator and writer Peter Morgan’s series found an unlikely storehouse of drama in its first three seasons, considering it’s about Queen Elizabeth II, who would seem to be, for all her fame, about as interesting as a plate of roast beef. But “The Crown” has been reliably well-written and acted, and the show was at its best in Season 4, thanks to the arrival of Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin) and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson). The scenes that sprang from Diana’s ill-fated marriage to Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) and Thatcher’s bristling relationship with the British power structure and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) made Season 4 of “The Crown” both insightful and delightfully entertaining.
Adding to the pleasures of what is the best season yet are assured performances from Corrin, Anderson, Colman, O’Connor, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip and Erin Doherty as Princess Anne. Seasons 5 and 6, which will reportedly by the final installment of “The Crown,” can’t come soon enough.
Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly in "Mrs. America." (Photo: Sabrina Lantos/FX)
1. “Mrs. America” (FX on Hulu): Pity the cable subscribers who get FX but aren’t signed up for the Hulu streaming service. They weren’t able to see the year’s most nuanced drama, which managed to avoid demonizing the conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett) while also coolly exploring how the late Schlafly helped block passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. At a time when all political discussion in the country seems divided between a right wing and left wing who hate each other, “Mrs. America” stood out as an unusually subtle look at the 1970s, portraying Schlafly as exploiting women’s fears of being abandoned and left to fend for themselves in her quest to vilify feminists, and their campaigns for equal rights.
Related: ‘Mrs. America’: Cate Blanchett stars in a disturbingly relevant drama about 1970s culture wars
Blanchett led an extraordinary cast, including Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem, Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisholm, Margo Martindale as Bella Abzug, Tracey Ullman as Betty Friedan, Elizabeth Banks as Jill Ruckelshaus, John Slattery as Fred Schlafly and Sarah Paulson as a fictional colleague of Schlafly’s. In less sophisticated hands, this could have been a lecture. But to creator Dahvi Waller’s credit, “Mrs. America” is as layered as it is, sadly, relevant, in an age of culture wars that never seem to go away.
-- Kristi Turnquist
kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist
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December 18, 2020 at 03:07AM
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Top 10 TV shows for 2020 - OregonLive
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