Shows I didn't watch: The Americans, Review, Mad Men, Homeland, Transparent, The Leftovers
15 TIE.) Game of Thrones (HBO)
It's odd that this is the year that Game of Thrones finally won Best Drama at The Emmy's. It beat out the last season of Mad Men, among other past winners. I'm not surprised, as The Emmy's has a habit of awarding long-running shows for what is objectively not their best season. Game of Thrones Season 5 was really, really good for a half-season, then really average, and worse, controversially average, for a few episodes, before a really strong close. We got the first glimpse of what the show will be when they outpace the book material, but what it is leaves me a little uneasy. Benioff and Weiss are talented, but can they create without firm source material, and are too many of the interesting characters already dead? So much of the energy of Season 4, to me a far superior season, was the happenings at King's Landing, which is essentially now just a wasteland. No matter how amazing that hour of Hardhome was, it can't make up for some dips in quality, and serious questions in judgement, that the show displayed in Season 5. Definitely still entertaining and worthwhile to watch, but there were a few cracks that were, sadly, expected given the show catching up to the books, and running through what is pretty well known as the worst two of the books.
15 TIE.) Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
I am tying these two together, because they both fell off quite a bit in their 2015 Season. Orange is the New Black (Orange) was so good in Season 1, the breakout star in Netflix's original-programming infancy. Completely overshadowed by Arrested Development Season 4 and House of Cards. That definitely changed in Season 2, when the show got far more mainstream, and while the public success grew even larger in Season 3, it was hard to avoid some sluggishness setting in. The show has come close to running out of interesting characters to give backstory flashbacks too, ending up in some really hit-or-miss ones. The show also lost a lot of the stakes that were so everpresent in Season 2 with Vee - as the Prison turning private just didn't have the same emotional pull, despite being an interesting premise. The acting and storytelling was great, but I do fear if Kenji Johan, the creator, is slowly running out of ideas for a show he probably figured wouldn't be on much past a second or third season.
13.) Last Week Tonight (HBO)
I still enjoy Last Week Tonight, but can't escape the feeling that I'm watching the same show just with different 'Mad-Libs' style inputs. Now, John Oliver and his team are creative enough to come up with some great words to fill in the blanks, but those long 15-minute exposes that used to seem so fresh now seem a little much. Like, we get it John, the World sucks and you can make us laugh! Thankfully, he can still really make us laugh, and I love the small running gags, like making geography jokes, and his whole running tag on Janice in Accounting who 'does not give a fuck.' The show is still appointment viewing, and I like that the off-beat news he reports on makes it easy to marathon watch after skipping a few weeks. John Oliver is a singular talent, and he found his niche, his lane, and while I think he may be over-driving at times, he's so skilled it doesn't matter.
12.) Narcos (Netflix)
The show had a few flaws, mainly with a story that didn't quite know what it was supposed to be. It many ways it bit off more than it could chew. The show tried to come at the era of Pablo Escobar and Colombia in the 80's with every conceivable angle. They could have used an editor to streamline the story. That said, man was it entertaining. Wagner Moura's portrayal of Pablo Escobar was note perfect, playing a monster with a complex, dark hint that made you want to see what really drove him. The scenery that so well contrasted the darkness and desolation of what the crack epidemic did to Colombia with the grandeur and splendor of life as a kingpin. The story was a little dense but also well constructed with just enough of the 'chase' aspect with the DEA agents and building tension really well. Hopefully in Season 2 it refines the story, maybe loses some of the narration, it could really jump a level.
11.) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
In less than a month, the Gang will start Season 10. While that in itself is amazing, so is the fact that Season 10 was really good. So few shows can make it to Season 10, even fewer can still be good in Season 10, and even fewer can have a slight dip in the middle of its run (S4-6 for Always Sunny) and come back even stronger. Season 10 was really just as strong as the seasons that came before it, bringing Dennis even closer to coming out as a certain sociopath, to returning a cavalcade of guest stars like the Ponderosa's or Mac's Dad. Of course, hidden underneath the madness was the usual, underrated sharp social commentary (on modern dating in 'The Gang Group Dates' and mental health in 'Psycho Pete Returns') to brilliant meta-commentary of the Gang itself 'The Gang Misses the Boat.' Hopefully Season 11 is more of the same, and with their track record that is close to a guarantee.
10.) iZombie (The CW)
Rob Thomas's turn on a zombie story actually had two seasons in 2015 as Season 1 premiered in late Winter and Season 2 got going in the fall. Luckily, the quality didn't drop as I had planned about this spot mentally after Season 1. Admittedly, the plot is ludicrous. The main character is a woman turned into a Zombie in a world where eating brains can keep you acting and functioning like a human... so she becomes a Medical Examiner, and uses the fact that she gains memories of the people who's brain she eats to help solve cases. Yet, much like Veronica Mars, the show is so much deeper. Set like a procedural, the show has a great cast of characters that take this into explorations of modern romance, corporate greed, and an examination of how evil is put on people. The show is not as sharp, or in reality as good, as Veronica Mars, but the cast and performances are great. Rose McIver is great in the main role in what has to be a fun role as her character will also embody the characteristics of the person who's brain she eats. Again, ridiculous premise, but in effect it works really well. Season 2 will actually end in 2016, but the show is building to a great premise with a lot of different storylines that are connected in the fact that this world has Zombies, but Zombiism might just have a cure.
9.) The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Yes, this is a somewhat sentimental pick, but for a 2-3 month stretch before his finale in May, there was probably nothing on that was a greater joy than The Late Show. That whole period from about February through the end was a grand send-off for Dave, that included him bringing all of the guests he actually liked back for one last go. The last few weeks were emotional and dramatic, as you saw so many 40-50 year old men and women, all famous and successful in their own right, break down on his show. Guys like Norm Macdonald, or Ray Romano, were noticeably crying at times during their appearances, reminiscing about their starts 20-30 years earlier and how important Dave had been in their life. It was beautiful to watch - probably horrifying for Dave as he was never one for real emotions like that - but just amazing for the viewer. His final show was understated, but that whole three month period was pure gold. For once, he stopped having the ditzy actress promoting Transformers 8 on the show, and just had people he loved and cared about and had known for 20+ years. My favorite running tribute was at the end of any long-time guest's segment, they would show a picture of his/her first time on the show. For some, it was the mid-90's, For other's like Tom Hanks and Jerry Seinfeld, it was 1982. It was a great trip down memory lane, and it stayed funny enough that you could laugh in-between all the always real tears.
8.) Silicon Valley (HBO)
Silicon Valley remained extremely funny in its Third Season, with more development to characters not named Richard or Erlich, and expanding the scope to include more outside investors - something that was needed given the loss of Peter Gregory after the actor's death. The drop from my #4 show from last year is more a reflection of some amazing new entrants and a couple more maddening elements of a show that was a brilliant 30-minutes every week. First, there is only so many times you can make an episode where the team is against some sort of deadline or crisis that would make or break (more often than not break) Pied Piper only for them to hold off at the last minute before you reach diminishing returns. Things like Russ Hanneman pressing down the delete key turning Pied Piper into a frenzy was stretching reality a little too thin. Still, the show remained just incredibly funny. The new elements, like a deeper like into Erlich's relationship with the group and particularly Jian-Yang, or adding a second woman to the cast in the new programming allowed the show to expand to something larger than a group of coder-bros living in a Silicon Valley frat house. I think show creator Mike Judge is being smart in not letting Pied Piper get too successful as if they face real problems that truly large start-ups face, like having to rapidly expand or get B and C rounds of funding, it will lose its sense of earnestness that comes from making it a garage-band type operation. I don't know how much longer it can go on in the status quo, but until then I am fully happy just watching Martin Starr and Kumail Nanjiani trade barbs, and TJ Miller get mad at everyone.
