Top 10 TV Series of 2020

If you weren’t already convinced, 2020 certainly proved once and for all that we are in the age of binge-watching. With most of us having to stay in our homes for a majority of the year, at times there hasn’t been much else to do but turn on the TV and to see what’s on. Thankfully, we weren’t disappointed with what we saw and 2020 has managed to continue this high standard of the golden age of television. We’re continuing our look back on last year with the Top Ten TV series of 2020.

Do bear in mind that I haven’t seen every TV series shown in the last year, so if you don’t see your favourites here, it’s probably because I haven’t seen it!

<There will be spoilers!>

Honourable Mentions: Bridgerton, Doctor Who, Friday Night Dinner

10. Sunderland ‘til I Die

Netflix and other streaming services are now packed full of sports documentaries and this is the one that kicked off the trend. The behind-the-scenes look at one of the country’s biggest football clubs struggling in the lower leagues returned for a second series with a brand new cast of key players after the club’s takeover by businessman Stewart Donald, most notably Executive Director Charlie Methven who quickly became a fan favourite after creating some of the more dramatic moments of the series. Particular highlights include a meeting where he tells his marketing and PR staff that the club is ‘100% f**ked’, when he attempts to turn the atmosphere of the stadium into that of an Ibiza nightclub and a showdown with a staff member over attendance figures that indirectly leads to her leaving her job. The main focus of the series though is around the club’s impact on the city. The north receives a much more sympathetic portrayal than in many other shows (I’m looking at you ‘Geordie Shore’) and dives into how ingrained football is in the culture and the prospects of a proud city. It feels true and meaningful to those fans, which is why it rises above similar documentaries.

9. Never Have I Ever

A very easy show to binge in a day (as I can testify to), ‘Never Have I ever’ feels like a fresh and exciting take on the coming-of-age genre. Whilst focussing on an Indian family in America that breaks down Asian Hollywood stereotypes, the show tackles serious topics such as sex, religion and death, and although we’ve probably seen this hundreds of times before, somehow they make it feel brand new and innovative. It’s a charming look into the lives of teenage high-school students that feels honest and earned, especially through a highly talented cast lead by newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, who I’m hoping we’ll be seeing in many more things to come. Narration by John McEnroe is one of the stand-out gags throughout the series, although the true highpoint of the series for me comes in the form of one of its most heartbreaking moments, as we see our protagonists arch-rival Ben waiting on his father to come home and see a basketball match he’s been excitedly planning for, only to be cancelled on at the last minute. The build-up to this moment is beautifully done and the directing and performance together are enough to tug on anyone’s heartstrings.

8. The Trump Show

Yes, there have been a huge amount of shows about Donald Trump that have been released since the now-outgoing (thank Christ for that) President of the United States took office in 2017. This however really caught my attention as it takes a deep look into the last 4 years of his presidency through the eyes of those who have been in the closest of contact with him. Seeing people like Sean Spicer and Steve Bannon talk honestly and openly about their experiences with 45 makes for gripping television... or are they? Maybe that’s the genius of this documentary, that the excellent editing of the footage and the interviews spliced together keeps us on our toes and has us constantly questioning what everyone is saying, are they all still playing this game called politics? We may never know, but I don’t think the similarity of this show’s title with that of the 1998 Jim Carrey film ‘The Truman Show’ about a man who is the star of his own show surrounded by actors is any coincidence. Whether these people are all acting or not is unclear, but to Donald Trump, he is certainly the star of the show.

7. Quiz

I remember watching ‘Major Fraud’, the Charles Ingram documentary on Youtube a few years ago and being absolutely captivated by it. It was an unbelievable tale of deception and greed that led to one of the biggest stories in all of game show history, and I knew that this would make a fantastic adaptation. Thankfully, ‘Quiz’ didn’t disappoint and gave us exactly that. Matthew Macfadyen is excellent as Ingram, but it’s Michael Sheen who steals the show with his pinpoint accurate portrayal of Chris Tarrant. The key difference that sets this apart from the documentary is here they attempt to keep the story more open and add an air of mystery to suggest that maybe they didn’t cheat after all. Whilst it didn’t do enough to change most people’s opinion on the matter, the sharp script does well to add an extra layer of intrigue to the scandal and asks more questions that viewers are desperate to get the answers to.

6. Sex Education

I don’t think there are many people who have seen ‘Sex Education’ and not loved the bones of it. There’s just so much to enjoy here! A superbly talented young ensemble cast, with the stellar Gillian Anderson as the cherry on the cake, a bucket load of laughs and more heart than many shows can even dream of is just the tip of the iceberg. Never has the topic of teenage sexuality ever been so expertly and hilariously depicted on screen, but most importantly, never has the subject been treated so healthily. Sex here isn’t seen as being a sin or a taboo, but is a key aspect of people’s lives and their health, and there is a complete lack of up-tightness and angst when the subject is approached. Nowhere is this more prescient than in its treatment of homosexual relationships which have been disgracefully ignored on mainstream television until now. Whilst feeling realistic in its relationships and characters, ‘Sex Education’ also offers a feel of escapism through its unspecified time period and Americanised UK high school. There’s something almost ‘Wonderlandesque’ about it which I love, but crucially it remains true to its subjects throughout and never comes across as cheesy or unearned.

5. Formula 1: Drive to Survive

I have to admit, at the beginning of this year Formula 1 was a sport that I felt I’d fallen out of love with. The intense and close competitiveness of the early 2010s was a thing of the past and recently I’d tended to think of F1 as something that was dry, predictable and dull. ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’ almost makes it into this list purely because it made me fall in love with the sport all over again, and I’m pleased to say that looking at reviews on social media, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes etc. this has happened for a lot of other people as well. ‘Drive to Survive’ reminds you that’s not always about the big stories that are the headline on every newspaper; sometimes the biggest stories aren’t even reported at all. Interviews with the teams and drivers look under the sheets on the world’s biggest motorsport and bring all the big budgets and large spectacles down to a personal level, telling the stories of people who are desperate to win, who want to fulfil their childhood dreams and who are terrified of not performing and losing their jobs. Even if you don’t like Formula 1, you’ll love ‘Drive to Survive’ and that’s the sign of a fantastic documentary.

4. Star Trek: Picard

A few years ago, when Patrick Stewart announced that he was coming back to the Star Trek franchise, I initially had mixed feelings. ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ is a very special show to me, it means a lot. It’s one of those shows that has seen me through dark times, that lifts me up when I’m feeling down and has taught me so many lessons that I never knew I needed to learn. Stewart’s performance as Jean-Luc Picard though particularly touches me, and I genuinely believe it’s one of the greatest TV performances of all time. Would a new series live up this high benchmark? I’m so pleased to say I wasn’t disappointed. ‘Picard’ switches up the old Star Trek formula from stand-alone episodes to an ongoing series story and does so in style with a plot and new characters that create compelling drama and heartfelt emotion. Seeing a few familiar faces was more satisfying than I could have hoped for and seeing Stewart back in the captain’s chair really was something special. Even more impressively though, despite being set more than 300 years in the future, ‘Picard’ feels poignant and necessary for our times; it’s so satisfying to think that Gene Roddenberry’s vision is still alive to this day.

3. Staged

This show came out of nowhere. It was made very quickly and no-one saw it coming, but during lockdown, it was what we needed. Seeing David Tennant and Michael Sheen argue over video calls about stage names and who should go first on the poster is not only every bit as charming as it sounds, but ingeniously encaptures the feeling of a nation (nay a planet) locked inside in boredom and slowly devolving into the immature adolescents that we all used to be. ‘Staged’ is absurd and silly in all the ways you want it to be, but also manages to be strangely emotional at times and can even be quite moving, if anything due to the two masterful performances that the leads give. At the end of the day, despite some hilarious cameos from a-list stars like Judi Dench and Samuel L Jackson, this could have been just as good if it had just been Tennant and Sheen talking to each other for 6 half-hour episodes. The warm chemistry that they share feels so effortless and I’m sure there are many egotistical artists out there that can relate to their childish bickering (myself included).

2. The Queen’s Gambit

I think this took us all by surprise. A Netflix drama about a young drug addict who also happens to be a master chess player has no right to be one of the most compelling and well-made pieces of TV drama of the 21st century. And yet, it is! Let’s start with the obvious. Anya Taylor-Joy is pure brilliance; I defy you to find a more magnetic and eye-catching performance on TV or film in 2020. Although she’s backed up by an excellent cast including particularly enjoyable performances from Harry Melling and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (a career-best), you just can’t take your eyes off her every second she’s on-screen. From a character who is supposed to come across as cold and emotionless, Taylor-Joy can create such deep feelings of anger or love or desperation in simple things like the shaking of a hand or the narrowing of an eyelid. It’s a masterclass of screen-acting that needs to be taught in schools for many years to come. The production as a whole though is worthy of recognition. Every aspect from the costumes and sets to the exciting direction and intelligent script hits the nail on the head and gives Netflix its biggest hit of the year. The fact that the world’s interest in Chess has now reached a new peak due to the show’s success is testament to the high quality of this amazing series. A must watch for everyone.

1. The Mandalorian

It was never going to be anything else. ‘The Mandalorian’ is not only some of the best Star Wars content ever made, but it’s also some of the best science-fiction ever made. No series has ingrained itself more in the public conscience over the past 2 years than this. Whilst some may point at specific details as reasons for this, like the adorable Grogu (for the last time, he’s not called Baby Yoda!), I believe it’s how well Jon Favreau’s show builds on the creative and elaborate universe that George Lucas made that attributes to its success. In ‘The Mandalorian’, we get to see a more nitty-gritty galaxy than we saw in the Skywalker saga, you can feel the dirt on the character’s clothes and you can smell the air on each planet we visit. The production designs are so beautifully well done, you wish that you could be watching it on a huge cinema screen. Add to that, a hugely compelling plot that encompasses the shows second season, ending in an emotional climax which had me weeping like a baby. Favreau and co have done an excellent job to create a show that engages fans and non-fans alike in this thrilling and action-packed saga. However, amongst all the stunning effects, smart scripts and emotionally sucker-punching cameos (I can’t spoil that, it’s too cruel), the thing that really makes the show for me is Pedro Pascal. How can someone give so a driven and touching performance when 99% of the time they’re wearing a helmet and suit of armour. It’s testament to his abilities that his character has immediately become a fan favourite and that he has been the beating heart and soul of a series that has breathed new life into the Star Wars series.