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The Best and Worst Reviewed Television Series of 2018 by Network and Streaming Service

NBC's The Good Place had a 100% score with the highest number of reviews. Netflix scored a big hit with Dear White People, but also a big miss with Insatiable, while BBC America's best and worst are both Certified Fresh.

by Sophie-Marie Prime | December 28, 2018 | Comments

TAGGED AS: Drama

We had a look back at the year that was to see which network or streaming service had the best year and which had the worst, looking at their highest- and lowest-scoring series that received Tomatometer scores. From well-loved and award-nominated to yawn-inducing and cringe-worthy, the titles on our list have either entertained or dismayed TV fans all year. To compile the list, we compared the Tomatometer scores of the most recent seasons and the number of reviews for each title.

Some networks are so on-point that both their best and worst series are Fresh — some even Certified Fresh, like BBC America’s Killing Eve and Doctor Who. While Netflix’s top series was Certified Fresh at 100%, the streaming giant also had the series with the lowest score. CBS had the worst year overall by Tomatometer, with its top title, season 1 of Young Sheldon (which ended in May 2018), scoring a modest 76% and its lowest scoring title this year, Living Biblically, in second-to-last place and receiving only 18%. (Season 2 of Young Sheldon kicked off in September and continues into 2019, but has not yet received a score.)

In order to qualify, a show’s 2018 season had to have at least 10 reviews; a few exceptions, however, are Claws, Portlandia, and Mr. Mercedes, which were included for comparison with their “best” or “worst” counterparts on each respective network that did qualify (that is, The Alienist, Brockmire, and Condor).

The lowest-rated series on the list is Netflix’s Insatiable, which is Rotten at 12% with 50 reviews. The highest-rated are NBC’s The Good Place, which is Certified Fresh at 100% with 38 reviews, followed closely by YouTube’s Cobra Kai, which is also Certified Fresh at 100%, but with 36 reviews.

Check out the full list of the best and worst by network below.

Also read: “Every Certified Fresh TV Season of 2018”

Scores as of December 20, 2018.