Empire's list of the best TV shows from 2019
There are some excellent watches here!
Last updated 17th Dec 2019
The year 2019 is drawing to a close and it's been an astonishing year on the small screen. TV shows – by which we mean streaming series, as well as traditional terrestrial series – continue to demonstrate a depth of storytelling, an array of fascinating voices, a making and breaking of conventions, with stories and characters we can’t get enough of.
As part of our review of the year, we put together a list of the best TV shows of 2019 – the ones that have defined the past 12 months, delivered the best moments, the killer lines, the shocking twists, and more.
It’s a top 20 packed with mind-bending sci-fi, sharp and smart comedy, devastating historical dramas, subversive superheroics and beyond: there’s something for everyone. Read an extract of Empire's list in the gallery below...
10) The Morning Show
Without the huge back catalogues of some of its rivals, Apple needed to make a splash with its first batch of shows. Yet while The Morning Show could have simply stood as a showcase for the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, the reality is something deeper and more meaningful. Plunging into the #MeToo world, it explores gender politics in the guise of US morning TV (a cutthroat, hugely expensive playing field worlds away from BBC Breakfast and Good Morning Britain) and handed its cast the chance to do some of their best work.
9) I Am...
Dominic Savage's trio of one-off films exploring the lives of three women in difficult situations makes for tough viewing – but it's so expertly conceived, empathetically performed, and arrestingly told that it's hard to look away. The Vicky McClure-starring 'I Am Nicola' features an astonishingly naturalistic exploration of a toxic relationship, followed by Samantha Morton's 'I Am Vicky', about a working class woman driven to desperate measures when she finds herself in debt. Finally, Gemma Chan leads 'I Am Hannah', tackling the societal pressure felt by women to act on their 'biological clock' in their mid-30s. All three actors put in incredible work – and Savage's claustrophobic camera catches their every emotion in constant close-up.
8) Years And Years
As if the world outside of your TV wasn't enough of a raging bin fire, Russell T. Davies' latest show looked into a (dark) crystal ball to chart the ever-worsening future of one family and the world around them. Digital trends, political ramifications, issues and anger are all key to the changing fortunes of the Lyons. Featuring a standout performance from Emma Thompson as a Farage-alike woman of the people, it's wonderfully observed and superbly realised, even if it might want to make you crawl under the sheets and refuse to emerge again until roughly three days before the heat death of the universe.
Buy now on Amazon.
7) When They See Us
Ava DuVernay is rarely better than when she's shining a light on social ills, and particularly when she has a real-life story to anchor the narrative. Here, she follows what happened to five men who were unfairly convicted of rape in New York's Central Park, following the events of the case with her typically clear-eyed sense of drama and justice. In doing so, she crafts not just one of the most watchable dramas on Netflix's servers, but also launches a raft of relative newcomers, including Jharrel Jerome, while showcasing established actors such as Michael Kenneth Williams and Vera Farmiga.
Succession
UK: TBC, Sky Atlantic/US: TBC, HBO
The world's most vile and yet wonderful family will be back for more scheming and double (business) dealing as they vie for control of the Roy media empire. Given Kendall's (Jeremy Strong) bombshell at the end of Season 2, expect the ramifications to spread through the new season.
5) Game Of Thrones: Season 8
The stakes for the final season of Game Of Thrones could not have been higher, or its task more unenviable – to wrap up seven seasons of character development and intricate politicking, and deliver an ending that would feel earned and satisfying but still surprising, in a show that's been anything but predictable. It didn't work for everyone, but the final shortened run still featured some of Thrones' most narratively ambitious work, with an epic scale hitherto unseen on the small screen. The level of craftsmanship remained nothing less than astonishing, and whether the characters ended up where fans imagined or not, the end of TV's biggest ever show was event telly like no other.
Buy now on Amazon.
4) Chernobyl
If the catastrophic nuclear disaster at Chernobyl has been diluted in popular culture through the years, Sky Atlantic and HBO's miniseries proved a stark reminder of the horrifying historic tragedy. Often harrowing, unflinching in its depictions of the initial incident and its appalling aftermath, told with complete humanity and astonishingly accurate period detail, Craig Mazin's show not only does justice to the awful legacy of a completely avoidable man-made calamity, but draws unsettling relevance in its depiction of scientists' dire warnings being ignored, and a government staunchly attempting to save face at the expense of innocent lives.
Buy now on Amazon.
3) Fleabag: Series 2
Phoebe Waller-Bridge once said she didn't think she'd make a Fleabag follow-up, but thank goodness she did. Finding new layers and levels in her complex titular character, she also hit upon the perfect counterpoint in Andrew Scott's religious type (known only in the show as "The Priest", but quickly handed the moniker of "Hot Priest" by the internet and beyond). As if Killing Eve wasn't enough, this series saw Waller-Bridge once again prove that she's as far from a one-hit wonder as you can be without leaving the known universe, and Fleabag continued to enjoy some of the best writing on TV.
Buy now on Amazon.
2) The OA: Season 2
It's easy to list the myriad ways in which The OA is a weird show, from the internet of trees to the psychic talking octopus. But what makes the series so extraordinarily engaging is that it all makes some kind of sense while you're watching it. Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij's uncategorisable saga of an angelic being who moves between dimensions has an endlessly beguiling, expansive tone, where anything seems possible. Of course, Netflix has cancelled the show after only two seasons when there were supposed to be five, so we'll probably never get a definitive sense of where the whole thing was going. But at least we'll always have these beautiful chapters in the story, full of spine-tingling moments, and a climax to season two which will remain one of the most thrilling narrative leaps in TV history.
1) Watchmen
No-one quite knew what to expect from Lost and Leftovers man Damon Lindelof's plan to tackle Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' notoriously prickly graphic novel, which had been brought to the cinema faithfully but problematically back in 2009. A decade later and Lindelof has cracked it by not going directly to the source. That serves as the history and canon for this series, but Watchmen takes detours and spins its own tale. Today's zeitgeisty topics such as police brutality and race relations are in the spotlight and there's a lean efficiency to the storytelling that means even what appear to be wacky diversions (Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veidt, imprisoned with a batch of clone servants) tie into the main story. The anchor is Regina King's masked police officer Angela Abar, played with electrifying, award-scooping energy by Regina King. Episode six will mess with your brain and other revelations are lurking. It's as impressive as it is fun and doesn't require an encyclopedic knowledge of the comics.
Read the full list on Empire here.
Also check out their Best Films Of 2019 here, and read the Best Games Of 2019 (So Far) here.