Recently here on KSiteTV, my friend and colleague Shilo Adams offered up his choices for the Best TV of 2016. His choices were absolutely different than mine, but they offered a diversity of options that you might not have even heard of. Shilo’s good at appreciating some of those lesser-known shows, and it’s always been a pleasure to have him here at KSiteTV; his list also inspired me to make my own “Best TV Shows of 2016” list.
“Best” is probably not the greatest word to use here, as this list is purely among my tastes. There are many very well-done shows that didn’t make my list, simply because I don’t watch them. That doesn’t mean series like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Transparent, The Man in the High Castle or what have you are not worthy of making my own list; it just could mean that I personally have not been exposed to their current seasons. There are also some shows, like Designated Survivor, The Fosters, or Star Wars Rebels that almost made the list, but being stuck at 25, it just didn’t happen.
Anyway, choices #25-11 are listed here with the rest coming in the next day or two. You can navigate at the end of each 5 entries. Enjoy, and know that all opinions are merely my own, and if you had other recommendations, please leave them in the comments!
25. Gotham (FOX)
Instead of worrying about the canon of the comic books, Gotham has decided to just throw things at the wall and see what sticks — and what’s resulted is a cracked out yet very fun alternate take on the Batman story where the Penguin is the best character of the bunch. Gotham isn’t afraid to go weird or contradict canon, and while it isn’t the straightforward Bat-show some might like, it’s still pretty darn great.
24. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (The CW)
Honestly, the first season of Legends was a little rough, but it did have its high spots, including a fantastic episode with Jonah Hex, a trip to Star City’s future in “Star City 2046,” and a 1950s horror tribute directed by Joe Dante. After Season 1, former baristas and Doctor Who companions playing Doctor have been jettisoned in favor of a tighter cast and better team dynamics. The additions of Nick Zano and Maisie Richardson-Sellers has made the series even better, as has the upgrade of Caity Lotz’s Sara Lance to Captain. It will be fun to see what their pseudo-“Legion of Doom” does in 2017; hopefully that will also involve the return of Wentworth Miller to the series in some way.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow also includes international treasure Victor Garber in its cast, and one episode even allowed him to sing. Points for that!
23. Supernatural (The CW)
Season 12. Remember back in the day, when we didn’t even know if they’d get a Season 2? Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have stuck with this show for a dozen years, and who knows how much more gas is still in the tank of the Impala; it seems like the answer to that question is “quite a lot,” as there seems to be no end to the road [so far]. 2016 explored family dynamics all over the place; most interestingly, it brought Mary Winchester back, altering the dynamic. And of course, Cas (Misha Collins) and Crowley (Mark Shepard) are still along for the ride.
22. Person of Interest (CBS)
When Nina Tassler departed from CBS, it seemed that most anything “edgy” was put on the back burner, so the final season of Person of Interest was relegated to a summer run where it often would burn through two episodes in a week. Not the nicest ending for a show that was a heavy hitter for the network in its early days. Person of Interest was the best Batman show not to actually feature Batman (sorry, Gotham); fortunately, creator Jonah Nolan has employment to follow with HBO’s Westworld (another probably great show not on the list because I haven’t seen it yet). But, I’m sorry, POI. You deserved better. Maybe someday we shaw have the spin-off that we can Root for?
21. Empire (FOX)
While not as addictive as it was in its stellar first season, Empire always seems to be a pleasureful experience, with a lot of the best parts still coming from Taraji P. Henson’s Cookie. Empire showed that original concepts can and will work on television — even if said original concepts are reminiscent of series like Dynasty — and it had also proven, once again, that there should be more programming on broadcast TV featuring lead characters who aren’t white. FOX seems to have grasped that; others (hi, CBS) are still not really with it at this point.
20. Degrassi: Next Class (Netflix)
I had kind of fallen off from Degrassi in recent years; part of that probably stems from the fact that I felt creepy watching teenagers who are young enough to be my own kids. However, Netflix lured me in with the promise of some returning characters (Spinner! Sav! Marco! Liberty! PAIGE!) and the next thing I know, I was watching the entire most recent season of the show that still goes there. And then, of course, I didn’t realize I was done with the season, there was a big cliffhanger, and… I don’t know what happens next. Cruel, Netflix, cruel.
Oh, and while I loved that reunion, where was the original generation? Sure, we have Mr. Simpson, and supposedly there are reasons why we won’t see Joey Jeremiah again, but where’s Spike? Caitlin? Arthur Kobolowsky? Or those annoying twins? Maybe next year?
