Netflix won television in 2020. The amount of good shows that premiered on the # 1 streaming service is more than three times the size of any other network with shows like The Midnight Gospel, The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Queen’s Gambit being artistic triumphs. Hulu comes in second place thanks to plenty of entertaining offerings like Mrs. America, Normal People and Solar Opposites. HBO, Prime Video and HBO Max also had quality programming and The CW and Adult Swim had a reliably large amount of good stuff to choose from too.
Here is my list of what I consider to be the best television series of 2020 separated by network with new shows typed in bold. As always, reality television is excluded as well as certain things like soap operas, educational programming, anime and PBS shows like Masterpiece Theater which are more niche in their appeal.
NBC
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
Connecting…
Superstore
The Good Place
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Good Girls
Blindspot
This Is Us
Saturday Night Live
CBS
B Positive
Young Sheldon
Mom
Evil
Blue Bloods
The Unicorn
ABC
For Life
Black-ish
Emergence
The Goldbergs
Schooled
Fresh Off the Boat
American Housewife
The Conners
Bless This Mess
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Grey’s Anatomy
FOX
Duncanville
Last Man Standing
Bless the Harts
Bob’s Burgers
Family Guy
The Simpsons
The CW
Katy Keene
Batwoman
Supergirl
Legends of Tomorrow
Arrow
Supernatural
Riverdale
Nancy Drew
All-American
Black Lightning
Roswell, New Mexico
The 100
Burden of Truth
TBS
Miracle Workers: Dark Ages
The Last O.G.
American Dad!
Conan
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
truTV
At Home with Amy Sedaris
USA
Briarpatch
The Sinner
Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story
Syfy
Vagrant Queen
Magical Girl Friendship Squad
Wild Life
The Magicians
Wynonna Earp
Comedy Central
Corporate
BET
Twenties
Paramount
68 Whiskey
Yellowstone
Freeform
Party of Five
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay
Love in the Time of Corona
Grown-ish
The Bold Type
Siren
FX
Breeders
Better Things
What We Do in the Shadows
FXX
Cake
Archer
AMC
Quiz
Soulmates
Better Call Saul
Killing Eve (also BBC America)
The Walking Dead
Fear the Walking Dead
BBC America
Doctor Who
Killing Eve (also AMC)
IFC
Year of the Rabbit
Brockmire
Baroness Von Sketch Show
OWN
Greenleaf
Nickelodeon
It’s Pony
SpongeBob SquarePants
Nicktoons
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Disney Channel
The Owl House
Disney XD
DuckTales
Spider-Man: Maximum Venom
Cartoon Network
Infinity Train
Victor and Valentino
Steven Universe Future
Adult Swim
Three Busy Debras
JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales
YOLO: Crystal Fantasy
Ballmastrz: 9009
The Shivering Truth
Rick and Morty
12 oz. Mouse
Tigtone
Primal
The Eric Andre Show
Dream Corp LLC
Gēmusetto Death Beat(s)
Lazor Wulf
HBO
The Outsider
The Plot Against America
Betty
I May Destroy You
Lovecraft Country
We Are Who We Are
The New Pope
Curb Your Enthusiasm
High Maintenance
Westworld
Insecure
Room 104
His Dark Materials
Real Time with Bill Maher
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Cinemax
Strike Back
Warrior
Showtime
The Good Lord Bird
Homeland
Kidding
Billions
Desus & Mero
Pop
Schitt’s Creek
One Day at a Time
Starz
Outlander
Vida
Epix
Britannia
Sundance TV
The Split
The A Word
Spectrum
Temple
Manhunt: Deadly Games
Prime Video
The Goes Wrong Show
Small Axe
The Wilds
Bosch
Hannah
Absentia
The Boys
The Expanse
Netflix
Spinning Out
Dracula
Medical Police
AJ and the Queen
The Stranger
Gentefied
Glitch Techs
Feel Good
The Iliza Schlesinger Sketch Show
The Midnight Gospel
Never Have I Ever
Sweet Magnolias
The Baby-Sitters Club
Cursed
Teenage Bounty Hunters
Julie and the Phantoms
Grand Army
The Queen’s Gambit
Blood of Zeus
Dash & Lily
Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun
Bridgerton
Anne with an E
Grace and Frankie
Sex Education
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
BoJack Horseman
Narcos: Mexico
Castlevania
On My Block
Ozark
The Last Kingdom
Dead to Me
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
F Is for Family
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
The Umbrella Academy
Lucifer
Criminal
The Haunting of Bly Manor
The Crown
Virgin River
Big Mouth
Hilda
Hulu
High Fidelity
Little Fires Everywhere
Baghdad Central
Mrs. America
Normal People
Solar Opposites
The Great
In My Skin
Monsterland
The Mighty Ones
Animaniacs
The Hardy Boys
Shrill
Future Man
Ramy
PEN15
Letterkenny
Peacock
The Capture
Noughts + Crosses
Code 404
Saved by the Bell
Wilmore
The Amber Ruffin Show
A.P. Bio
Save Me Too
CBS All Access
Star Trek: Picard
The Good Fight
Star Trek: Discovery
Disney+
Diary of a Future President
The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse
Earth to Ned
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The Mandalorian
HBO Max
Looney Tunes Cartoons
Frayed
The Fungies!
Pure
The Murders at White House Farm
I Hate Suzie
The Flight Attendant
Adult Material
Adventure Time: Distant Lands
Doom Patrol (also DC Universe)
Search Party
Infinity Train
Ghosts
Summer Camp Island
DC Universe
Star Girl
Harley Quinn
Doom Patrol (also HBO Max)
Sundance Now
Des
The Commons
Shudder
The Dead Lands
AMC+
Gangs of London
The Salisbury Poisonings
Facebook Watch
Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones
IMDB TV
Alex Rider
Apple TV+
Little America
Trying
Central Park
Ted Lasso
Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet
Quibi
#FreeRayshawn
The Stranger
The Andy Cohen Diaries
The Fugitive
Wireless
Reno 911!
Eli’s Favorite Show of 2020
The Midnight Gospel
Comedian Duncan Trussell and Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward’s surreal sci-fi hybrid of a cartoon and a podcast was exploding with artistic creativity but it also managed to make me think, make me laugh and tug at my heartstrings thanks to the engaging topics of the interviews and the surprising amount of depth in its subject matter. When it first came out on Netflix in April I called it a cross between Rick and Morty and Dr. Katz and I stand by that description because it’s the only way I know how to say what it is. I have never seen any other show like it before. All I know is that you should watch it.
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