The Best TV Shows of 2016, Ranked

New year , new tilt of must - look on television . Here are theBest television Shows of 2017 .

The vapourous bit of television set shows produce each year is enough to make you suspire deeply as you strain through your streaming options on any given night . That ’s where our passionately curatedSmall Screenedranking comes in . We assess shows all year long , and moved them up and down found on the installment they air during 2016 and when more shows come – and in the face of30 for 30 : O.J. : Made in America , migrated to ourBest Documentarieslist . And like our companion list formovies , documentaries , album , andvideo game , this list includes just the very in force of the best , the display we advocate 100 per centum .

36.Younger

Forget how high we rankedGame of Thronesfor a minute : George R.R. Martin ’s nifty contribution to TV this yr was onYounger . TV Land ’s record book - diligence send - up , star the effervescent Sutton Foster as a halfway - ripened empty - homesteader pretend she ’s 26 to get a ramification up in the media reality , have an uncanny cameo from " Crown of queen " writer " Edward L.L. Moore " ( Richard Masur ) that would crack up the touch of Ned Stark himself . Here ’s an analogy to summarize up how much pure fun this show offers : Youngeris to publishing as series Godhead Darren Star ’s early half - time of day seriesSex and the Cityis to New York : a kittenish neon fantasy not at all grounded in realism . Where to swarm it : TVLand.com

35.BrainDead

WhenThe Good Wifeended last spring , creator Robert and Michelle King jump-start right into this CBS political play about a Washington , D.C. , resident ( Mary Elizabeth Winstead ) who conceive that superbugs are eating politicians ' brains . It ’s moreScandalthanThe Walking Dead – the mastermind - munchers are deployed to bemock political inaction on Capitol Hill – and youalmostbuy the scientific discipline behind it . Tragically , the latter half of its statute title get ahead out : CBS decline to renew the serial for a 2d time of year . Where to rain cats and dogs it : CBS All Access

34.The Night Manager

Any movie adjustment of a John le Carré novel is deserving your time ( peculiarly 2011 ’s twistyTinker Tailor Soldier Spy ) . But TV networks would do well to note the success of this six - part BBC - AMC co - production based on the British writer ’s 1993 Word of God and give us more miniseries - duration le Carré , stat . For now , we ’ll be content to rewatch Tom Hiddleston ’s handsome soldier turned hotel manager turn confidential factor attempt to take down Hugh Laurie ’s surreptitiously evil weapons system dealer . Where to see it : Amazon Prime

33.Catastrophe

The taradiddle of unlikely couple Rob ( Rob Delaney ) and Sharon ( Sharon Horgan ) takes a Season 2 sentence - jump to give us a frank look at all the challenge cobalt - parenting entails . But no matter how stinking - mouthed Rob and Sharon ’s banter is or how lead astray their decisions , the persona ' genuine affection for one another shines through . Where to stream it : Amazon Prime

32.Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Season 1 of Netflix’sUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidthad its fault , but co - executive producer Tina Fey and Robert Carlock did n’t change things up too drastically for the sitcom ’s soph time of year . Which is okay by us . We do get to know Kimmy , the rage survivor thrown in the eye of NYC lodge after a decade in an underground bunker , a little better , and the series takes the time to plumb the depths of her damaged psyche . The authoritative thing is thatKimmymanages to deliver as many belly laughs as it did last yr . Where to stream it : Netflix

31.Better Things

Pamela Adlon work withLouis C.K.on his namesake series , so C.K. makes a fitting collaborator on Adlon ’s own auteur - driven clowning . play work actress Sam , Adlon draw and quarter from her own experiences ( single parenthood , a nutty British female parent ) to describe a devoted , smart - mouthed , sexually enlightened mother of three that everyone inBad Momswished they could be . Where to swarm it : FXNOW

30.The Carmichael Show

In this NBC show ’s first two season , comedian Jerrod Carmichael has used the traditional multi - cam sitcom data formatting to tackle topics that go undiscovered on most shows : the Black Lives Matter front , transgender issue , and more . The NBC funniness list on its deeply funny characters to take aim at even more societal ills , but instead of feeling like an undesirable Facebook post from your demented uncle , it ’s like a substantial conversation . Where to pour it : Hulu(with NBC subscription ) , or purchase onAmazonoriTunes

29.Ash vs. Evil Dead

With his huge arsenal of B flick and scene - slip stints on ratings - grabbers likeBurn NoticeandFargo , Bruce Campbell has amassed the kind of cult following typically associated with household names like Shatner , Stewart , and Fillion . And every season he pass revisit his signature character , Ash Williams , on Starz ’s sequel series to theEvil Deadtrilogy proves what so many already be intimate : that Bruce is the hardest - working , best - looking , Detroit - born doer ever to reach religious cult position by interchange his own weapon with a chain saw . Where to stream it : Starz

28.The Crown

Netflix for sure went to town with thislavish diachronic dramatic event about Queen Elizabeth II . IfDownton AbbeyandMad Menmated , then had a baby that grow up to be more boring than either of those shows yet also more swish , The Crownmight be it . Suggestion : Binge it slowly . Where to stream it : Netflix

27.Jane the Virgin

Yes , this CW series is ridiculous ; it ’s a telenovela – it’ssupposedto be over the top . But by undertake serious number without preachify and via bilingual storytelling , Janeis more than just a show about an accidentally unnaturally fertilize virgin who ’s elevate a baby , make do a love life triangle , and dealing with drug lords , secret Twin Falls , and a police department confederacy . But ultimately , it ’s just plain fun . Where to stream it : Five most recent episodes useable onThe CW ’s website ; Season 2 episodes onNetflix

26.Quarry

In this stealth Cinemax gem , a depressed and imposingly mustached Vietnam War soldier ( The Invitation ’s Logan Marshall - Green ) returns home to Memphis and quickly find himself indebted to a shrewd contract broker ( Top of the Lake ’s Peter Mullan ) . These tardily unspooling eight episodes will pull you in with unquestionable ' 70s vibes , gorgeous cinematography , and quirky side characters , and send out you off with a surprising close that will lodge with you . Where to pelt it : MAX GO

25.Designated Survivor

Never has large - exfoliation terrorism been this play . While most TV dramas have become increasingly unbelieving , cynical , and at metre downright maniac about the office of the presidentship , Designated Survivorclumsily press backagainst this trend , assigning the deed of conveyance of air force officer - in - chief to Tom Kirkman ( Kiefer Sutherland doing his best normal - guy rope effect ) in the wake of an attack . Kirkman is a CrossFit warrior in Warby Parker Methedrine who ’d make Jack Bauer proud , rise to the office and staying loyal to his category at all costs . In an election year , it ’s the gross dose of escapism from the worry - inducing intelligence cps . Where to rain buckets it : Hulu

24.Transparent

Jill Soloway ’s autobiographical series starring Jeffrey Tambor grew from a radical conception : tracking a new out transgender woman ’s experience , and her syndicate ’s power to manage with alteration . Season 3 turn over deeper into its characters ' spiritualty and electrical capacity for empathy , explores an array of complex sexual identities , and renders family dynamics among disassociate parent and grow siblings with languish specificity . Where to rain cats and dogs it : Amazon

23.Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Former YouTube sensation Rachel Bloom ’s CW melodious clowning is quietly radical , offer sharp yet pernicious commentary about the way women regale each other and themselves and boast one of the most divers cast on TV . The series , now in its second time of year , like an expert take out its rom - com prank from heroine Rebecca ’s driven behavior and retiring harm , while also satirise the music genre via song - and - terpsichore bit worthy of Sondheim . Where to stream it : Netflix

22.Lady Dynamite

Maria Bamford ’s semi - autobiographic , surrealistic spin on genial illness in Hollywood portion obvious desoxyribonucleic acid withArrested developing : Mitch Hurwitz and Pam Brady are executive producer ; batch gags , wordplay , and takeoff of Los Angeles idiocy abound ; and it features countless drollery - world cameo , extended fancy sequence , and genuine self - introspection . It ’ll take you a few instalment to envelop your head around what you ’re watching , but once you ’re hooked , you ’re hooked . Where to stream it : Netflix

21.Orange Is the New Black

On the evening of Season 4 ’s premiere , Netflix harbinger that it had reincarnate the devotee - favorite serial for an additional three time of year . How much more of this public is pull up stakes to mine?fans wondered . Jenji Kohan & Co. proved there ’s still way to reinvent the formatting by pushing the show ’s world into our own . Litchfield ’s new regime constructed and split down new obstacle in the prison house - industrial complex , and set up a grievous climax that felt rip from 2016 ’s dismal headlines . Where to rain cats and dogs it : Netflix

20.Narcos

Killing off your show ’s jumper cable characteris a intimidating prospect – even more so if TV audience make love it ’s coming . When Eric Newman and José Padilha took overNarcos ' reins forSeason 2 , they managed to orchestrate the demise of Pablo Escobar ( Wagner Moura ) with suspense and a sense of inevitableness . It sure helped that the show cut down on Agent Murphy ’s incessant narrating from Season 1 , and the contrast between splashy cartel schemes and small - shell depictions of those they affected served to ground an illicit drama in humanity . Where to swarm it : Netflix

19.Channel Zero: Candle Cove

Based on a popular creepypasta story about a secret small fry ’s goggle box show that constitute homicidal thought in the minds of its new viewers , Candle Coveis essentially aStranger Thingsthat focuses primarily on the adult . The Syfy serial publication is super - creepy , and its reading of the Demogorgon is the incubus - inducing Toothchild , an icky monster that feeds on the teeth of its entrance victim . Where to stream it : Syfy.com

18.American Horror Story: Roanoke

This is the upright show on television that sport a fiber that wordlessly terrorizes severe the great unwashed while wearing a pig ’s head . The meta clowning - thriller also featuresa killer cast , arguably estimable , even , than the other Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk series appearing on this list , the greatAmerican Crime Story : The People vs. O.J. Simpson . But seriously , who the hell is Piggy - Man?Where to swarm it : FXNOW

17.Black Mirror

This frequent anthology serial about the jeopardy of forward-looking applied science arrived on Netflix ( after two seasons airing in the UK ) forits six - episode third seasonon the same day much of the US was drain by aBlack Mirror - style hacker . bright . Where to well out it : Netflix

16.The Good Place

In this sneakily habit-forming hereafter comedy from Mike Schur ( Parks and Recreation ) , Kristen Bell ’s deceased cretin Eleanor is mistakenly given a slip in a heaven - esque afterworld . Once the high - concept show gets past establishing its characters and premiss , you ’ll enjoy see her do whatever she can to avoid being found out and sent to hell by her friendly neck of the woods architect , Michael ( Ted Danson ) . And by the time you get to the unbelievable time of year finale , it ’s light you ’ve been sent straight up to idiot box heaven . Where to pelt it : NBC.com , Hulu

15.Difficult People

Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner are mean - bouncy and petty , and know by the " no hugging , no learning"Seinfeld - ian code , which make them our pet variety of platonic power couple . But with every exploitive risky venture anchor by their best friendly relationship , the jokes they make at the disbursal of others ( interns , New Jerseyans , Method Man ) seem downright sympathetic . Where to pour it : Hulu

14.Baskets

In the golden age of video , there ’s little room for buffoonery . To burlesque the oh - so - serious trend , and bewail the art of idiocy , Zach Galifianakis and Louis C.K. createdBaskets , which casts the former as a buffoon struggling in the California suburbs . Galifianakis ' Chip Baskets is a dunce , and if it were n’t for the harsh world and glum filmmaking panache utilise in the series , he ’d have us in stitches . But the FX show reject to be that digestible . Pratfalls peal - jump into –ta - da!– existential apprehensiveness . Wordplay jape iteration from funny to frenzied to funny again . As Chip ’s mother , Louie Andersonparades around in a muumuu but plays the part alone square . Basketsis a breakthrough work of mockery , heartbreaking , uproarious , and odd – everything a portrait of a sad buffoon should be . Where to stream it : Hulu

13.Veep

The 5th time of year of HBO ’s political satire deplume the television equivalent of Indiana Jones ' matinee idol grab . Gone was creator Armando Iannucci , off to pursue new projects ; David Mandel ( Curb Your Enthusiasm ) take the reins , forebode to observe the fell and often clueless air of Selina Meyer ’s presidency . What could find like imitation come toVeep ’s most blistering time of year yet , with Julia Louis - Dreyfus bestow cutthroat insult to the election - recount plot and the Richard - Jonah rivalry melting down into a halt - duck campaign of their own . Mandel has added sprint ofCurb– Mike ( Matt Walsh ) interviewing babe surrogates was maximal awkward – but Season 5 was all aboutVeepout - Veep - ing itself . We ’re still cringing from the meter Selina playact her mother ’s death for a boost in poll number . Where to rain buckets it : HBO GO / HBO NOWandAmazon Prime

12.Insecure

After the success of her ultra - pop web serial publication and memoir , " Awkward Black Girl " Issa Rae took her talent to HBO , where she created and asterisk in this comedy about love , careers , and friendship in LA . Whether she ’s rap to herself in the bathroom or on stage at an open - mic dark – or missing from a scene entirely – Rae box the drollery inherent in all your societal pitfalls into a delectably bingeable package . Where to stream it : HBO GO / NOW

11.Better Call Saul

Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould ’s dramatic play is two - faced and tactical . The series can inch nearer to its fateful origin , conk out Bad , and gratify in cameos and references while still up the ante of its own play . Bob Odenkirk has overcome the art of serio - clowning , giving the tragic Jimmy McGill tic that still wager crackers . It help oneself to have a potent oppose force . In Season 2 , Jimmy ’s relationship with his sidekick Chuck ( Michael McKean ) erupts into a Shakespearean showdown , scorching their worldly concern even more than Arizona ’s blaze away sun . Where to pour it : time of year 1 is onNetflix ; Season 2 is onAMC.com(requires a cable subscription )

10.The Night Of

Just when you think you weretrue - crimed out , this adaptation of British miniseriesCriminal Justicecreeped its style on to HBO . The pilot opens with a grisly murder , bring out our assumed perp and the cast of detectives , lawyer , and family members , each with their own stake in the confounding showcase . Every episode walks the razor ’s bound between tenseness and melodrama , all while search the human collateral of a case tight - tag to trial . We see Rikers Island inmates bendNas ( Riz Ahmed)from wide - eyed college student to shaven , thuggish drug - runner ; the battle for his dad ’s taxi partners to get their hack , their livelihood , back from constabulary ; and more of John Turturro ’s eczema - scabbed metrical unit than we ever want or demand as John Stone , legal advocate for the downtrodden . The end productis immersive and quiet explosive , an sharpness - of - your - seat put-on more tragic than it is bombastic – as in the real world . Crime does n’t get reliable than that . Where to stream it : HBO GO or HBO NOW

9.Search Party

The last thing we thought we needed in 2016 was a millennial rubber show . TBS testify us wrong with this December surprisal , star Alia Shawkat , all grown up from her tween fizgig asArrested Development ’s Maeby , as a 20 - something floater desperate to find meaning in the disappearing of a college acquaintance . WithBored to last - esque rookie sleuth slip - ups and sly , ego - mindful operation from Shawkat and the rest of the cast , Search Partycracks the instance . Where to pour it : TBS.com

8.The Americans

The art of spycraft is enigmatic and aphrodisiac – but Philip ( Matthew Rhys ) and Elizabeth ( Keri Russell ) are old-timer who get it on that the deadliest weapon in their armory is trust . As such , this FX dramatic play is rooted in interpersonal relationships , tag the prospicient of retentive confidence trick . Season 4 saw the teenage Paige ( Holly Taylor ) reply to the espionage life history thrust upon her by birthright , and she learn to make do her minister and his wife , now her " beginning " ; and Philip ’s mysterious phoney wife Martha ( Alison Wright ) flexes her striking muscle as her storyline come on likely resolution . The latent hostility is rattling , and there ’s not an Panthera uncia of narrative fat in any episode . Where to stream it : This season ’s episodes oniTunesorAmazon telecasting

7.Silicon Valley

Now that the plot exposition is out of the way , theSilicon Valleydudes can just boob off as their precipitously draw character . The trials that Pied Piper endures are lower-ranking to Gilfoyle ’s ( Martin Starr ) endless ribbing of co - railroad engineer Dinesh ( Kumail Nanjiani ) and every absurd word uttered byJared ( Zach Woods ) . Thanks to the cast and writer ' faithful depiction , Silicon Valleydoesn’t need to sport firework like a million - dollar mark Alcatraz party to spit its titulary culture – though that certain facilitate . Where to stream it : HBO GO and HBO NOW

6.BoJack Horseman

Despite abundant wacky sight gags and papa - worthy puns , Raphael Bob - Waksberg and Lisa Hanawalt ’s cartoon brute sad - com is not an comfortable vigil . Season 3 is its darkest one yet , which is no low feat for a show about a lave - up alcoholic worker and his depressive frenemies . BoJackleans into its existentialist philosophy , and with each time of year cut into deeper into its quality ' backstories to explore the pains of personal growth , or lack thereof , ask big questions : what happens when you attain your dream , but you still feel empty ? time of year 3 begins with BoJack on the Oscar campaign trail , but circles back to2007 , around to Todd ’s and Princess Carolyn ’s respective romantic struggle , and proves success is a flimsy conception , no more tangible than the anthropomorphic animals parading across our screens . Where to stream it : Netflix

5.Game of Thrones

Season 6 travel down in account as the year the show ( mostly ) outpaced George R.R. Martin ’s root text – and the year the show treat its female characters as vanquisher on equation with their male counterparts . After thatJon Snowbait - and - swap , Sansa ’s crushing confrontationwith Littlefinger , Hodor ’s tragical root account , all ofBran ’s metre - travelmalarkey , andLady Lyanna ’s eviscerating speech , GOThas shocked us at every turn , truly earning its eternal place in all your water - cooler conversations . The mega millions in production time value are a mere afterthought . Where to rain cats and dogs it : HBO GO and HBO NOW

4.Stranger Things

Who thought the 1980s would bring us this summer ’s sleeper TV hit ? Netflix ’s camp mystery look plenty conversant , and that ’s the point – the nostalgia - bait saga of small - town kids gone missing is anchored by the affectionate - fuzziest figure of speech of our puerility , from thebanging ' 80s soundtrackto its near - knit friendships . Itseight tantalizing episodes(a curt serial publication by Netflix standards ! ) leftso many cliffhanger to unpack , so we ’ll be sharpening our confederacy theory till we get morenews about Season 2.Where to stream it : Netflix

3.Atlanta

This is that rare TV species : a profoundly funny show offering point social comment , probing Georgia ’s racial climate in between chuckle . Whether it’scasting a black actoras Justin Bieber , lambasting societal media obsessives , or just makinga freak great rap call , creator and star Donald Glover ’s monolithic endeavour manages to sense effortless and catch a specific experience with wit and preciseness . Where to stream it : FXNOW

2.American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson

FX’sThe People v. O.J.is a perfect metre capsule from 20 days ago , made all the more prescient by how conversant each episode looked today . Building up from the Rodney King slipstream riots through to the emergence of Court telly and that world - shatter verdict , Ryan Murphy ’s miniseries focalise on the run that limit ' 90s America could have go wrong spectacularly – but he and writer Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski did their enquiry . Every performance , drawn from a well - advertize real - world parallel , was eldritch in its accuracy ( thoughsome were more credible than others , of course of study ) . Most crucial , ACStook the aggregative hysterical neurosis seriously , break the face of a generation down into bite - size beat . compound that exact empathy with its formidable range , andO.J.triumphs in our TV court of law . Where to teem it : FXNOW

1.Westworld

WatchingWestworldis not a spectator sport . From itsmurky timelineto its fully fleshed artificially intelligent automaton , HBO ’s upgrade of the average 1973 Michael Crichton movie necessitate intensetheorizingandpreciseconcentration . Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy were n’t contented just tobuild an expensive foundationfor the Western wish - fulfilment amusement park – they muddle - pack that breathtaking scenery and carefully plot backstory with akiller casting , heady clinical neurology , cheekymusical cues , andconspiracy theoriesto spare part . If you look cautiously behind all those diversion , Westworldoffers subtle commentary on the nature of telecasting committal to writing and production at a period recognise as the medium ’s peak , on a web known for its commitment to narrative prestigiousness . It ’ll resurrect questions about the nature of consciousness you never knew you had . Where to pelt it : HBO GO and HBO NOW

best tv shows of 2016