Best-Reviewed New TV Shows 2016

It was another great year for TV, and many of the new shows of 2016 garnered plenty of critical acclaim. Donald Glover’s Atlanta takes the Golden Tomato this year, but all of these shows are worth binge watching as soon as possible.

The order of the list reflects the scores as of December 31, 2016, but the number displayed on the Adjusted Tomatometer may change as more reviews keep getting added after the end of the year.

Atlanta: Season 1 (2016)
98%

#1

Adjusted Score: 101803%

Critics Consensus: Ambitious and refreshing, Atlanta offers a unique vehicle for star and series creator Donald Glover's eccentric brand of humor -- as well as a number of timely, trenchant observations.

Starring: Cassandra Freeman, Harold House Moore, De'Anthony Turner, Montrel Miller

Directed By: Dianne McGunigle, Donald Glover, Paul Simms, Hiro Murai

Insecure: Season 1 (2016)
100%

#2

Adjusted Score: 103353%

Critics Consensus: Insecure uses star Issa Rae's breakout web series Awkward Black Girl as the basis for an insightful, raunchy, and hilarious journey through the life of a twentysomething black woman that cuts through stereotypes with sharp wit and an effusive spirit.

Starring: Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Lisa Joyce

Directed By: Issa Rae, Prentice Penny, Melina Matsoukas, Michael Rotenberg

Search Party: Season 1 (2016)
100%

#3

Adjusted Score: 101433%

Critics Consensus: Search Party is an engaging, weird, dark, funny mystery elevated by exceptional performances throughout.

Starring: Alia Shawkat, John Reynolds, John Early, Meredith Hagner

Directed By: Sarah-Violet Bliss, Tony Hernandez, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter

Fleabag: Season 1 (2016)
100%

#4

Adjusted Score: 101692%

Critics Consensus: Clever and viciously funny, Fleabag is a touching, wildly inventive comedy about a complicated young woman navigating the aftermath of trauma.

Starring: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ben Aldridge, Sian Clifford, Bill Paterson

Directed By: Harry Bradbeer

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee: Season 1 (2016)
100%

#5

Adjusted Score: 100728%

Critics Consensus: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee adds a female perspective to late-night TV - and one that's fresh and funny enough to deserve more than just one show a week.

Starring: Samantha Bee, Masha Gessen, Glenn Beck

Directed By: Samantha Bee, Jason Jones, Jo Miller, Miles Kahn

Speechless: Season 1 (2016)
98%

#6

Adjusted Score: 99949%

Critics Consensus: Speechless speaks to a sensitive topic with a heartfelt lead performance and a fine balance of sensitivity and irreverence.

Starring: Minnie Driver, John Ross Bowie, Mason Cook, Micah Fowler

Directed By: Scott Silveri, Jake Kasdan, Melvin Mar, Christine Gernon

Marvel's Luke Cage: Season 1 (2016)
90%

#7

Adjusted Score: 93609%

Critics Consensus: An immersive, socially conscious narrative and a confident, charismatic lead performance make Marvel's Luke Cage a stellar sampling of the new Marvel/Netflix universe.

Starring: Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali, Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick

Directed By: Cheo Hodari Coker, Jeph Loeb

Stranger Things: Season 1 (2016)
97%

#8

Adjusted Score: 101889%

Critics Consensus: Exciting, heartbreaking, and sometimes scary, Stranger Things acts as an addictive homage to Spielberg films and vintage 1980s television.

Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Matthew Modine, Finn Wolfhard

Directed By: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen

Horace and Pete: Season 1 (2016)
96%

#9

Adjusted Score: 96667%

Critics Consensus: Horace and Pete creator Louis C.K. uses his signature blend of awkward humor -- and brilliant performances from a top-notch cast -- to pull off an engagingly ambitious experiment in TV tragicomedy.

Starring: Louis C.K., Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco, Steven Wright

Directed By: Louis C.K., Blair Breard, Dave Becky, Vernon Chatman

Better Things: Season 1 (2016)
95%

#10

Adjusted Score: 97718%

Critics Consensus: Pamela Adlon's Better Things abstains from traditional sitcom sendups and forges a path all its own - in this bawdy, often hilarious and bittersweet ode to the daily highs and lows of being a single mother.

Starring: Pamela Adlon, Hannah Riley, Olivia Edward, Celia Imrie

Directed By: Nisha Ganatra, Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.