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The Best TV Shows of 2018 So Far

It’s never a bad time to celebrate great TV, and this year we already have plenty to celebrate.
Best Tv Shows First Quarter
By  · Published on March 30th, 2018

5. One Day at a Time (Netflix)

A few years ago, I retired from watching any new multi-camera sitcoms with a laugh track. I decided that by this point, the format was outdated, unfunny, and a bad idea. Then One Day at a Time came along and shattered all ideas of what a modern family sitcom could be, disproving my assumptions within the pilot’s first few minutes. The series, a loose reimagining of the same-title sitcom from the ‘70s, nails everything that made Americans love sitcoms in the first place, and then some. In it, Penelope (Justina Machado, a supremely talented actress) tries to juggle her identities as a sole breadwinner, single mother, Cuban-American woman, and Army vet while her two teen children, aging mother (Rita Moreno), co-workers, and neighbors all experience crises and triumphs of their own. One Day at a Time has humor and generosity in spades and uses both to tackle issues of intersectional identities and experiences (especially generational differences) with grace. It’s a show full of gentle teaching moments; from gender pronouns to Latinx stereotypes to antidepressants, topics are addressed without ever making us feel as if we’ve been dragged into a very special episode. Never preachy, always sweetly funny, and original as hell, One Day at a Time more than deserves the third season renewal it just (finally!) received. –Valerie Ettenhofer


4. The Good Place (NBC)

Each episode of Mike Schur’s afterlife series The Good Place could serve as its own microcosm of comedy and heart, something to be studied and dissected by fellow TV writers for years to come on the off chance that maybe one of them will crack its clever code. Take this season’s 11th episode, directed by Alan Yang and written by Jen Statsky and Dan Schofield. “Rhonda, Diana, Jake, and Trent” are the aliases our goofy heroes take on, complete with sharp ‘60s-inspired outfits, in order to sneak through the Bad Place. It’s the first time we’ve seen the demons’ homeland, and it does not disappoint: highlights include a museum exhibit titled the Hall of Low-Grade Crappiness, jokes about hot-dog-related torture, Dax Shepard, and a poster for “Pirates of the Caribbean 6: The Haunted Crow’s Nest Or Something, Who Gives a Crap.” The Good Place has the nimblest writing of anything currently on TV, and it effortlessly balances out these rapid-fire jokes with huge plot developments and emotional character moments–as when Michael (Ted Danson) gives up the lie he’s been maintaining with his boss since the season premiere, and pushes Eleanor (Kristen Bell) through a swirling portal, ostensibly sacrificing himself to give the core four a chance at heaven. More than anything else, the back half of Season 2 proved that The Good Place’s fast-paced ingenuity isn’t about to burn out, and that this kooky bunch will continue to entertain us for as long as we let them. –Valerie Ettenhofer


3. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)

CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend began as an excellent musical comedy, and it’s only gone up from there. Over the course of its three seasons it’s broken all kinds of ground, not least of all for its unflinching yet open examination of mental illness. The first half of Season 3 saw Rebecca hit rock bottom, and the show entered a period so dark and honest it was hard to believe it was still a legitimate musical comedy. (For the record, it was. And a stellar one at that.) But the back half of the season (which ended in February of this year) took Rebecca to a place she’s never been before — the road to getting better. Armed with a diagnosis and a new self-awareness, the Rebecca of 2018 is much more empathetic and, while she makes some of her biggest mistakes yet, we truly believe her insistence in the finale that she wants to be held responsible for her actions. And in case that’s not enough, this year’s six new episodes also dismantled myths about childbirth, realistically explored IVF, and casually revealed a third prominent character’s bisexuality. As always, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is killin’ it. –Liz Baessler


2. The End of the F***ing World (Netflix)

I was a boring teenager who watched old BBC shows and did the bonus problems on my calculus homework, so I’ve always had trouble connecting with rebellious adolescents. But I’ll be damned if Netflix’s The End of the F**king World didn’t steal my heart. With a fast and shocking pace (James and Alyssa’s decisions quickly imbue the mood of the title) the show tells a unique but familiar tale of being young, angry, lost, and in love. At eight 20-minute episodes, TEOTFW is the brisk and hugely satisfying telling of a story that, by its very nature, has to end. It seems a second season is likely, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing (toss this one with American Vandal on the pile of wildly successful shows that work partly because of their contained structure). But wherever TEOTFW goes, we should count ourselves lucky that this strange, beautiful, and oh-so-consumable show came out of nowhere. –Liz Baessler


1. Atlanta: Robbin’ Season (FX)

In a recent New Yorker profile, all-time talent Donald Glover put at least a fragment of his show Atlanta’s genius into words better than anyone else can by commenting on other Black-led TV shows, “No black people talk to each other like that, or need to. It’s all for white people.” He’s not wrong; even as television diversity on paper steadily improves, there’s a conspicuous lack of content made by, for, and about anyone living a particular cultural experience that doesn’t at least occasionally over-explain itself, pandering by necessity to majority-white audiences. Atlanta, on the other hand, drops you into its title city, filled with Atlanta folks listening to Atlanta music and living their individual hustles, few of which they feel compelled to explain to us. Robbin’ Season at times plays out like a series of stark, beautiful, and melancholy vignettes. Other times, it’s a sharp satire of fame and the music industry, with Glover cultivating and dwelling on small awkward moments, squeezing them so hard that they practically drip with comic tension. More often than not, it’s surreal and absurd, like a fever dream brought to life by some great auteur of decades past. Every element of the series — from gorgeously arranged shots regularly directed by Hiro Murai, to funny-philosophical lines delivered by Glover and Lakeith Stanfield, to shades of overwhelming disappointment conveyed by a single look from Brian Tyree Henry or Zazie Beetz — works in tandem to create a show that expands far beyond the expected limits of television or even film. The second season’s opening scene follows two unnamed teens as they play video games, rob a fast food joint, and end up participating in a shooting, quickly shifting in tone from mild to funny to horrifying. It’s jarring and unforgettable, and proves what we already suspected: Atlanta, like its creator, will never be satisfying being just one thing. That’s fine by me, because so far, each thing the show chooses to be is more incredible than the last. –Valerie Ettenhofer

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Valerie Ettenhofer is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer, TV-lover, and mac and cheese enthusiast. As a Senior Contributor at Film School Rejects, she covers television through regular reviews and her recurring column, Episodes. She is also a voting member of the Critics Choice Association's television and documentary branches. Twitter: @aandeandval (She/her)