Here’s Where You Can Watch the Best TV of 2017
On the whole, 2017 hasn’t exactly been a stellar year, but TV is here to help.
The endless wave of new and old shows seems to show no signs of slowing down before the year is up. More doesn’t always mean better, but luckily this year in TV has had a pretty solid number of series that transcended previously unreached levels of quality or stayed as dependably great as ever.
So, in order to highlight the best that the year has had to offer, we’ve compiled a list of every series we’ve given an “A-” grade or higher in 2017, with excerpts from our reviews. And since you shouldn’t just take our word for it, we’ve included the places where those shows are currently available to stream. Catch up on the year’s biggest hits and tell us which of our picks you agree with.
There’s still time before the flip to ’18, so fire up your devices and happy watching!
“The Leftovers“
“The people are finally ready. They’re ready not for the end, but for the moment we’re living in right now. The world has caught up to ‘The Leftovers.’ And it’s time to fucking explode.”
Grade: A+
Seasons: 3
Available Via: HBOGO [Seasons 1 & 2 also available on Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU]
“American Vandal”
“The true wonder of this series comes from the ideas that these jokes, when carefully stacked on top of each other, build out a fully realized high school environment that serves as a high school chronicle. There’s just as much intrigue and interpersonal tension here as in any other school-set TV dramas that don’t involve archival footage or talking head interviews.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 1
Available Via: Netflix
“The Americans”
“We’ve always seen ourselves — our families, our ideals — within the Jennings. Now, we’re seeing what feels like foreshadowing, straight from the past. Intended or not, this extra component can come across as invited comparisons.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 5
Available Via: FXNOW, Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play
“Better Things”
“Sam Fox is an absolute badass, talking the talk and walking the walk. We’ve never seen a character like her before, and her worldview has never been realized this clearly. We need more like her, and these ‘Things’ are just the kind of stories that will deliver a better future.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 2
Available Via: FXNOW, Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play
“BoJack Horseman”
“No one’s ever really OK on ‘BoJack Horseman.’ The people who say they are are lying, and the people who know they’re not are constantly grappling with that knowledge. But Season 4 features less lying, more people trying to push through to a better state of being, and discovering that maybe sometimes, when you least expect it, there’s real hope of finding that happier place — maybe even finding it in other people.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 4
Available Via: Netflix
“Dear White People”
“Simien shows great situational awareness within his new serialized format. By thoroughly defining his characters, the show’s messages come across without alienating anyone he hopes to address. As quick to back up its arguments as it is to acknowledge differing opinions, ‘Dear White People’ always feels like a personal story first and intelligent satire second. “
Grade: A
Seasons: 1
Available Via: Netflix
“The Deuce”
“‘The Deuce’ is studiously made without ever feeling educational. It’s a marriage of narrative and production that ‘Vinyl’ strived for and never achieved, but the eight-episode first season has far more on its mind than sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. Viewers will benefit from closely scrutinizing each scene, even though it’s surprisingly easy to sit back and let the series wash over you.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 1
Available Via: HBOGO
“Difficult People”
“For, after years of striving to achieve creative success, Season 3 sees Julie and Billy really engaging with the questions so many people with aspirations find themselves facing: When is it time to give up on your dreams? Does it really count as giving up, or is it a sign of maturity to accept the path that your life is taking, and make choices accordingly? It’s big, existential stuff, pushing Klausner and Eichner towards their most nuanced performances yet.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 3
Available Via: Hulu [Seasons 1 & 2 also available on Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU]
“The Good Place”
“Despite the intricate clockwork construction of the double-episode season opener, there’s a specificity to how everything plays out that somehow keeps it from feeling overly controlled. It’s an organic puzzle, with each character’s individual journey flowing naturally from the setup, rather than existing only as a simple means to an end.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 2
Available Via: NBC.com, Hulu [Season 1 also available on Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU]
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“This is a horror story, except the horror isn’t rooted in fantasy or gore. The human spirit is the victim here — and the word human is used deliberately there, because when we delineate genders, the resulting opportunity to “other” that which is not in power is what creates the monster.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 1
Available Via: Hulu, Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play
“Legion”
“Hawley, who directed and wrote the dazzling premiere, has constructed a non-linear story filled with flashbacks, ethereal teleportation, disconnected voices, and otherwise inexplicable events meant to challenge assimilation and convey meaning simultaneously, all without losing the thread tying together an emotional journey for our leading lad.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 1
Available Via: Hulu, FXNOW, Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play
“Master of None”
“Whether it’s a bluntly funny song choice, the casually incorporated use of black-and-white footage, a telling change in perspective, several telling changes in perspective, or an unexpected arc in the story itself, the Netflix original series feels informally formal. It’s gorgeous, deep, and with style to spare, but the narrative flows without force, moving from topic to topic with the ease of young lovers lost in a date they never want to end.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 2
Available Via: Netflix
“One Mississippi”
“‘One Mississippi’ is more than the sum of its parts. For viewers who don’t need a nudge to talk about troubling past experiences, it’s a lovely and enlivening world to live in for three hours. And it remains as such for everyone else, with the added bonus of making a difference. Compassion is universal, and Notaro’s three refined love stories bring out the best in everyone.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 2
Available Via: Amazon Prime [Season 1 also available on Amazon Video, VUDU, Google Play]
“Planet Earth II”
“Television sports its fair share of important, engaging entertainment. But ‘Planet Earth II’ might be the only show that checks both boxes for everyone: It’s the revival we want and the revival we need.”
Grade: 1
Seasons: A
Available Via: Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play
“Top of the Lake”
“A monumental latticework of emotional threads, seamlessly weaving together dozens of different character into an intimate epic that — over the course of six hour-long episodes that fly by in a flash — touches upon everything from sex work and surrogacy to patriarchy in the digital age and the instinctive push towards parenthood. But most of all, this extraordinary work of character-driven crime fiction is a story about bodies, and the stories that bodies tell us.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 2
Available Via: Hulu, Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play
“The Young Pope”
“An aggressive drama and a respectful satire, HBO’s new series pits mentalities of the Old Testament against those in the New Testament. By doing so, Sorrentino seeks to define the line between God and man, if such a line even exists, and uses every element in his filmmakers’ toolkit to do so — including hilarity.”
Grade: A
Seasons: 1
Available Via: HBOGO, Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play
“Review”
“So, what to do when your show seemingly has nowhere else to escalate after a murder, a cult-inspired bloodbath and a months-long missing persons case? Luckily for us, Andy Daly and the entire cast and crew of ‘Review’ are back in rare form, putting Forrest back through the ringer with the same trademark brand of blissfully cringe-inducing adventures.”
Grade: ★★★★½
Seasons: 3
Available Via: Comedy Central, Amazon Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play [Seasons 1-2 also available on Amazon Prime]
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