We’ve been looking back at our favorite movies and video games of 2016 over the past few days, and we even enumerated our biggest disappointments of the year. Now, in the final days of 2016, the Fandomania staff lists our favorite TV shows that aired during the past 12 months. Check it out!
Stranger Things
“Stranger Things came out of nowhere to be the surprise hit of the year. At once a thrilling genre-bending tale in its own right and a love letter to the ’80s, it became an almost instant phenomenon — a massive success that feels like a cult hit; an homage that also subverts. The artistry and care that went into its creation at every level of production cannot be overpraised. Eleven 4-ever!” – Celeste Monsour
“Stranger Things is my favorite Netflix original series to date. It taps into just the right kinds of nostalgia from the ’80s to create a suspenseful yet endearing story about a group of unforgettable characters. It also introduced us to the best gang of child actors we’ve had in a very long time.” – Jason Dorough
“What wasn’t good about this show? It warmed the hearts of people everywhere. Eleven became the hero for girls everywhere. There hasn’t been a show this good led by kids in years. I await Season 2!” – Mandi Harris
“Is there much I can say about Stranger Things that hasn’t already been said a million times? Probably not, but I do want to mention one of my favorite, less obvious, aspects: the transformation of Steve. You don’t often see his type of character get redeemed, especially in such a plausible way.” – Chad Walker
“That one time you were going to take your boyfriend out for his birthday, started watching Stranger Things and then both decided it was better to just order pizza and finish the series that same day.” – Kendra Beltran
Westworld
“HBO’s latest drama is a deep and dark series about the nature of humanity and reality. Filled with an amazing cast, Westworld dangles mystery after mystery and satisfyingly answers nearly all of them before the end of the first season.” – Jason Dorough
“Like all the best stories-within-stories, watching Westworld feels like being part of its multi-layered narrative. It plays with the perception, memory, and reality of its characters so expertly that you don’t notice it’s doing the same to you, with very satisfying results.” – Celeste Monsour
Galavant
“A weak pilot kept us from watching this when it started, but I’m SO glad we gave it a second chance. It’s not only a hilarious parody of hero’s quest fantasy stories, but a brilliant sendup of musicals as well. With a stellar cast (and guest stars) and a surprising amount of character depth and development, Galavant turned out to be one of the best shows of the year and one of the best musical shows of all time.” – Celeste Monsour
“Musical series are a rarity, especially when they feature the music of Alan Menken. Galavant is a clever subversion of fantasy tropes and is bursting at the seams with outstanding musical numbers and lovably hilarious characters. It concluded its second and final season this year, and it’s likely to be a long time before we get another show that’s anything like it.” – Jason Dorough
The Expanse
“Syfy got back into the game last year with some exceptional new series, and it’s continued the trend this year. I had Dark Matter on my list of favorites for 2015, and while it still is a fantastic show (and maybe even better in some ways than it was last year), I wanted to highlight The Expanse this year. It’s a complicated and tense space story that reminds me of the way I felt about Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica.” – Jason Dorough
Timeless
“I love this show! The history and the characters are excellent. I love how the characters are not just traveling through time to explore. I like their angle, and I’m eager to see the mysteries of the first half of the season resolved.” – Mandi Harris
The Ranch
“Guilty pleasures are chosen because they don’t have to make logical sense as to why we love them. That’s where The Ranch falls for me. Country charm and Sam Elliott, that’s all I need for a good time. I can relate to most of the jokes because I lived them. Small town living for the win!” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
Luke Cage
“Netflix and Marvel really knew what they were doing this season. Both Luke Cage and Daredevil were excellent and well-written seasons. Both shows offered up new perspectives and issues this year that made people take notice.” – Mandi Harris
Supernatural
“Family drama is family drama, whether you’re talking about God’s sister and her sibling issues, Mary and her return from the dead issues, or Lucifer and his daddy issues. This show has gone big and gone small on the effects the outside world has had upon the Winchesters. Though tortured, taunted, and teased with a normalcy they will never have, Dean and Sam prove that they are always stronger together and will remain standing even when everything else is falling down around them.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
Dark Matter
“No sophomore slump here. Dark Matter‘s second season improves upon an already fantastic show with beautifully gray characters, rich world-building, and a willingness to majorly upset the status quo with some truly surprising twists. Fans of Stargate, Firefly, and the like would do well to catch up on the saga of the Raza and its crew.” – Celeste Monsour
The Night Shift
“This show is very cliché in the way it hits all the beats of a committed gay relationship storyline, but I don’t care. Drew and Rick came out, they got married, and now they’ve adopted a child. In the middle of the drama of PTSD, miscarriages, and corporate take-over, sometimes cliché love stories are what I need.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
Insecure
“No matter how hard TV tries, they wind up sugarcoating what love and heartbreak is — not this one.” – Kendra Beltran
The Blacklist
“Fans finally got the payoff they were looking for, and an answer to the eternal question of whether Red is Lizzie’s father. But surprisingly that wasn’t the most dramatic portion of the year, as we got a faked death, a massive betrayal of trust, and an unknown future for Mr. Kaplan. There is no happy ending when Red is involved, even if he tries to make it happen.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
iZombie
“There are lots of dramedies out there, but few manage to find such a perfect balance of heart-pounding suspense, witty (if often dark) humor, and heartwrenching gravity. This past season shook things up like a can of Max Rager, and I can’t wait to see what crazy hijinks Liv and friends get up to next.” – Celeste Monsour
This Is Us
“When a show starts with a twist like this one’s pilot? Holy cow! It hasn’t even been a whole season and I’m completely obsessed with tuning in each week to remind myself that I’m human with a good cry session.” – Kendra Beltran
Daredevil
“Netflix and Marvel really knew what they were doing this season. Both Luke Cage and Daredevil were excellent and well-written seasons. Both shows offered up new perspectives and issues this year that made people take notice.” – Mandi Harris
Better Call Saul
“It’s no surprise that Better Call Saul is on my list again for 2016, given how much I liked the show in 2015. The second season carries forward the intricate manipulations and dark humor from season 1, constantly moving us closer to Breaking Bad.” – Jason Dorough
Orange is the New Black
“This season of the show tapped into both the unrest that’s happening all around us today and our innermost emotions as we worked through Poussey’s death and what led us to this point. Changes have to be made, but after leaving the season on such a tense note there’s the fear that change is going to come at the cost of more lives and more freedoms.” – Kimberly Lynn Workman
Speechless
“ABC has a lot of great family comedies, but this one managed to win my heart with very few scenes. Minnie Driver and John Ross Bowie are the perfect parental unit to their trio of kids that bring their own hilarity to the mix week after week.” – Kendra Beltran
The Crown
“I’m an anglophile, have been since before I even knew that was a thing to be. And like many Americans, I have a fascination with all things royal (although I do tend to side with the anti-royalists). Add in Matt Smith as Prince Philip and John Lithgow as an aging Winston Churchill, and I was sold before I even started watching. And of course Claire Foy as the Queen and Jared Harris as her father, King George VI, helped solidify its place here on my favorites list.” – Chad Walker
Broad City
“At first I was just going to pinpoint the episode that paid homage to Sister Act 2 in the end with a stunning cameo by Whoopi herself, but then I remembered their third season also featured an amazing tribute to Mrs. Doubtfire along with another impressive cameo by Mara Wilson. If you had to Google either of those things, you are either very young, or didn’t really live when it came to the ‘90s.” – Kendra Beltran
