My Top 5 TV Shows of 2016

5. Black Mirror

I was just introduced to this recently, but I’ve already burned through the entire series.  Netflix released season 3 after a hiatus of a couple years, releasing some very interesting sci-fi stories.  We start  off with a biting take on social media, where everyone actually gets to rate everyone else (yes, Community did this already, but whatever).  Then there’s one about VR games which isn’t so great, and another solider one which isn’t so great, but the rest were really intriguing.  The episode where two women meet in an 80s club called San Junipero is excellent; I highly recommend checking it out.

4. Westworld

I don’t think Westworld is going to be the replacement for Game of Thrones that HBO hopes it will be, but it was a very interesting series.  It doesn’t really go any further than interesting, but as far as contemplative sci-fi goes its a pretty great watch.  The production values are great as are many of the performances.  Some of the story decisions make me wonder about this shoe’s longevity mind you.

3. House of Cards

The third season of Netflix’s political drama was a big disappointment, but season 4 brought things right back into favour.  We start by dealing with the fallout between Frank and Claire’s split, but just as that storyline is becoming old and tired, they shift gears again and get into some really interesting geopolitics.  And of course the finale, especially the final monologue, really gets us excited for season 5.

2. Stranger Things

The breakout TV hit of the summer; of the year, most likely.  Its goal was to invoke the Spielberg/King films of the 80s, and it exceeded.  But that alone would never have been enough, so luckily they had characters that you are able to latch onto involved in a mystery that was engaging.  Interested to see where they go from here.

1. Game of Thrones

I almost didn’t watch season 6.  I considered putting the tv show on hold until I had read the novels, but I ultimately decided that was a silly decision.  I was glad I did.  Season six had a slow build but eventually came out swinging.  It game us perhaps the series’s most emotionally devastating moment in The Door, then gave us their ultimate battle-centric episode with Battle of the Bastards, and finally capped things off with a finale that kept giving us shock after shock.  The turned out to be in the running for Game of Throne’s best years to date.