The Best TV Shows of 2020
Metro’s favorite TV shows of the year, from “High Fidelity” to “The Queen’s Gambit”
When the quarantine began back in March, many turned to streaming. What else would we do, after all, with all this newfound time on our hands? We spent hours on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, iWant TFC, iQIYI, Apple TV+, WeTv, and Viu soaking in all the shows we’ve always wanted to catch up on as well as new ones that came out.
This year, TV was a balm for many—now more than ever, we needed comfort television, and the TV gods delivered. This year also saw more and more women in the spotlight, from The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit, The Baby-Sitters Club, and The Haunting of Bly Manor. Below, we round up all the shows that we loved during quarantine, the ones we didn’t but talked a lot about anyway, and the ones that we think you’ll enjoy, too!
The Best TV Shows of 2020
The Best TV Shows of 2020
The Baby-Sitters Club
Netflix’s adaptation of the highly successful Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin is bright, warm, and real—and is truly comfort TV at its finest. It follows the lives of five kids from fictional Stoneybrook: Kristy Thomas, Mary Ann Spier, Claudia Kishi, Stacy McGill, and Dawn Schafer, as they navigate preteenhood in cute outfits and deal with life, crushes, and fighting for social justice.
Season four of The Crown
This season of The Crown touches on storylines that the world has been waiting for it premiered back in 2016, including—and most especially—the life and times of Princess Diana, played spectacularly and stunningly by newcomer Emma Corrin. This season features impeccable performances from the cast, including Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, Josh O’Connor, and Tobias Menzies.
Season two of Dead to Me
Dead to Me returned this year for its second season, and while it’s not as strong as its freshman year, it’s still a very worthy season of television. Following the events from the first season, Dead to Me season two features magnificent performances from its leads, Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, as well as James Marsden, who is truly one of the most underrated actors of our time.
The Great
This satirical take on Catherine the Great’s rise to power is a smart and delightful ten-episode series featuring amazing performances from Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, both of whom truly hit their stride here, making for a really fun, enjoyable hour of television.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
The second series in The Haunting anthology, Bly Manor takes inspiration from Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw and tells the story of an au pair named Dani Clayton and the few weeks she spent at Bly Manor, an old estate in the country where she becomes governess to a pair of orphaned siblings. It’s a slow burn, a love story, and a ghost story, all in one. (But aren't they all just the same, really?)
High Fidelity
Despite being canceled after one glorious season, High Fidelity was truly a television highlight this year. Based on the 1995 Nick Hornby novel of the same name, High Fidelity stars Zoë Kravitz and features some of her best work to date, completely and wonderfully becoming Robyn Brooks, the owner of a record store in gentrified Crown Heights in Brooklyn.
I May Destroy You
I May Destroy You, an HBO Original starring and written by Michaela Coel, follows Arabella Essiedu, a young woman who is sexually assaulted in a nightclub, changing her life forever. It’s a poignant, honest, and emotionally raw look at the effects sexual assault can have on a person, and the twelve-episode series tackled its subject matter with much nuance and a deft, caring hand.
Little Voice
When all else fails, we turn to simple and true storytelling, embodied perfectly by Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson’s Little Voice, a nine-episode Apple TV+ series that follows Bess, an aspiring young musician in New York City. It’s romantic, and earnest, and hopeful, and the songs—all written by Bareilles herself—are like nothing else.
Never Have I Ever
In Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan stars as Devi Vishwakumar, an Indian-American teenager dealing with life, love, friends, and the death of her father. Like its protagonist (and its creator!), Never Have I Ever is whip-smart, funny, and wonderful to watch.
Normal People
This year’s talk-of-the-town show was Normal People, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Sally Rooney. It follows Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron, two individuals who embark on a clandestine relationship. Normal People is a quietly affecting series with exquisite writing, and will be remembered for years to come.
The Queen’s Gambit
On The Queen’s Gambit, hardly anything happens—and yet everything happens. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, this adaptation of Walter Tevis’ novel of the same name became an instant hit, and still continues to enchant and entice audiences months after its release. The Queen’s Gambit follows Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy struggling with addiction as she becomes to greatest chess player in the world.
Ted Lasso
A hidden gem in this year’s streaming options is Ted Lasso, an Apple TV+ series starring Jason Sudeikis in the titular role. He plays a football coach who is hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite his inexperience in coaching the sport. Ted Lasso is the perfect combination of sports and musical theatre references, and is a genuinely joyful television-viewing experience all around.
While we’re here, we’re giving out honorable mentions to the most talked-about shows of 2020, too: Emily in Paris, the show everyone loves to hate; Tiger King, the 2020 show with the most 2020 vibe; Normal People, which got us all a little lusty and emotional during quarantine; The Crown, which sparked a Diana renaissance; The Queen’s Gambit, which created a renewed interest in chess; and The Last Dance, which even non-basketball fans tuned in to.
Lead photos courtesy of Netflix
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