As more people turn to streaming from the comfort of their couch-pits, the small screen landscape has ballooned and splintered in a thousand directions. The era of monocultural appointment TV—the kind that made Game of Thrones (at its peak) or Lost before it into national talking points—has faded into the ether, drowned by the ever-expanding ocean of things-to-watch. Now, there’s hyper-specific content for every kind of viewer: whether you’re into MILF-bait reality shows set on tropical islands, dark docuseries interviewing the families of serial killers, or whatever else the algorithm coughed up this week. Meanwhile, the so-called “must-watch” marquee shows have become more niche by comparison. Sure, Stranger Things came back—meh—and it broke the internet for about 72 hours. But suffice it to say, everyone’s mostly just watching their own thing now. So, as you browse my personal favorite shows of the year, know this: I only considered stuff I actually watched. Read More