10. Broad City
The girls are back for one last ride. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer return for the fifth and final season of Broad City, premiering January 24th. After four years of ill-fated hookups, dead-end jobs, and lots of marijuana, we’ll finally get to see how the antics of our favorite New York stoners draw to a close. Over the show’s run, Jacobson and Glazer have made a name for themselves by showcasing the raunchy, messy truth of female friendships via their onscreen counterparts. For every innovative risk they take (animated hallucinogens! alternate universes! pegging!), there’s genuine development, too. Abbi and Ilana grow, individually and together, navigating the wild world of adulthood step by step, even as they extricate themselves from increasingly absurd corners of their New York. It’s been a joy to join them on their journey. We’ll cherish this final round with them, savoring every “yas queen” up until the very end. (Megan Sergison)
9. Killing Eve
One of the most talked about and praised series of 2018 will make its return in April. The cat and mouse game between Sandra Oh and newcomer Jodie Comer is a revelation in a genre that has gone sour over the years. The acting of the two stars is impeccable, but the producers Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, and creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) should also earn a sizable amount of the acclaim due to their exciting material and series. When we last saw Eve (Oh) she had tracked down assassin Villanelle (Comer). There are some underlying feelings of lust between the cop and assassin, but fascination can turn to violence in a hurry. The momentum that the show builds in the first half of the premier season is unmatched compared to many of the other television shows of 2018. Violent, sexy, and riveting, Killing Eve is one of the gems of the current TV landscape. I can’t wait to see what is in store for our leads in the second season. (Max Covill)
8. The Mandalorian
This looks to be a bumper year for fans of a galaxy far, far away, with not only Star Wars: Episode IX hitting at Christmas but also the launch of The Mandalorian, the first of a set of new live-action series set in George Lucas’ sandpit. Set three years after Return of the Jedi, the show will have the titular bounty hunter running around the more remote outskirts of the galaxy no doubt getting into dangerous scrapes. Writer and producer Jon Favreau has assembled an impressive cast, including Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian, along with Gina Carano, Emily Swallow, Carl Weathers, and Werner Herzog. Yes, that Werner Herzog. Equally tantalizing is the behind the scenes crew, with Black Panther composer Ludwig Gorannsson on scoring duties and the likes of Taika Waititi, Rick Famuyiwa, and Bryce Dallas Howard directing episodes. It’s due to take flight on Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ late in 2019. (Charlie Brigden)
7. Barry
One of the biggest surprise hits of 2018 was HBO’s Barry, co-created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader, who also stars as Barry Berkman—a withdrawn hitman who finds his calling in an acting class. This was the role Hader was born to play, drawing from his anxiety during his Saturday Night Live stint and absolutely nailing every intricacy of this complex character. The first season sneakily started out as a half-hour comedy, before pulling the rug out from under the audience to reveal the haunting character study under the surface. And featured one of the finest supporting performances of the year from Henry Winkler, who deservedly won his first Emmy for the role. Barry returns to our screens for a second season later this year, and if you’ve yet to check out this uniquely hilarious and jarringly dark series, there’s still plenty of time to get caught up. All hail Noho Hank. (Hayden Cornmell)
6. Undone
Not much is known yet about Amazon’s upcoming original series, except that it’ll be animated, it’ll star Rosa Salazar (recently from Bird Box but much more importantly from the stellar Man Seeking Woman), and it’s being put together by Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy, two of the driving creative forces behind BoJack Horseman. Purdy, in particular, penned BoJack’s “Time’s Arrow,” possibly one of the finest episodes of all time. Undone is poised to thrust its protagonist Alma (Salazar) into similar themes, as “After getting into a near-fatal car accident, Alma discovers she has a new relationship with time and uses this ability to find out the truth about her father’s death.” Amazon has already given this show carte blanche, ordering it straight-to series last year, and so am I. Whatever Undone has in store for me, I’m ready. (Liz Baessler)
5. Veep
The band is getting back together! Veep is returning for a seventh and final season in 2019. The show took a break after season six aired in 2017 to allow Julia Louis-Dreyfus to seek treatment for a breast cancer diagnosis. News of her treatment being successful was a huge relief and it will be a joy to have her back on TV as former (and perhaps future!) president Selina Meyer. Although the final season will only consist of seven episodes, that’s plenty of opportunities for the Meyer team to fall apart, fight, hurl insults at Jonah Ryan, and showcase one of the best ensemble casts on TV. Louis-Dreyfus, in particular, has consistently delivered a pitch-perfect comedic performance and in all likelihood, she’s bound to pick up some more well-deserved awards for season seven. (Anna Swanson)
4. His Dark Materials
It’s been more than a decade since the fizzled effort to turn Philip Pullman’s beloved trilogy into a film franchise, so it’s about time to try again and get it right. Although casting Sam Elliott as Lee Scoresby the Texan was probably the only pitch-perfect decision the 2007 film made, Lin-Manuel Miranda is bound to be great in the role, and Dafne Keen (of Logan glory) can play Lyra Belacqua forever as far as I’m concerned. The BBC did a remarkably true adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell a few years ago, and the similar miniseries format is likely going to prove better suited to the sprawling novel format than the original film. These books have a distinguished place in my heart, and I’m going to be a tough critic, but I’m guardedly optimistic that the new series will do them justice. (Liz Baessler)
3. Search Party
In a landscape of quality TV that gets overlooked due to oversaturation, Search Party is the most criminally overlooked of all. Starring Alia Shawkat, the show is two parts thriller, one part biting but loving Millennial satire, and glorious anxiety-inducing cringe dramedy all over. By the grace of God it’s back for a third season (I may have said several prayers myself) and, if you’ve been watching, you know that the situation where we last left our heroes was dire. If you haven’t been watching, what’s wrong with you? Please go to TBS.com and binge the first two seasons (they’re short!) before this remarkable gem comes back. (Liz Baessler)
2. Good Omens
The other Neil Gaiman show I’m looking forward to this year, Good Omens is the long-time-coming adaptation of his 1990 novel, co-written with the late and wonderful Terry Pratchett. Starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen as the demon/angel duo they were born to play, as well as a who’s who of very important people including Jon Hamm, Michael McKean, Frances McDormand, and the entire League of Gentlemen, the show is destined to be fun. And the trailer, featuring a score that gradually morphs into a Queen song, as all music eventually must, signals that the production is in very good hands indeed. (Liz Baessler)
1. Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is no longer a television show. On paper, it looks like 6 feature films that will be released in consecutive weeks starting in mid-April. It’s not that, either. What Game of Thrones has become is a pop culture superstorm that blots out the sun, covers everything in icy/fiery darkness for 6 weeks, and steamrolls everything in its wake. At least that’s the way it will feel the closer we get to the show’s long-awaited return. But remember, Game of Thrones is still only intended to be a great TV show. And while the histories will be filled with stories about where you were and how you reacted and what kinds of conversations you had during the final season of Game of Thrones — perhaps a generation-defining pop culture experience — let’s all sit back and enjoy what’s become of a great TV show. (Neil Miller)
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