Best-Reviewed New TV Shows 2019

If you needed to make the case that we’re nearing or at the very peak of this Peak TV era, look no further than the 10 best-reviewed new TV shows of 2019. Here, you’ll find an abundance of evidence that today’s viewers have as rich and diverse a small-screen offering as they’ve ever had: landmark superhero fare (Watchmen); zeitgeist-smashing docuseries (Leaving Neverland); meticulously crafted period pieces that feel horrifically timely (Chernobyl, When They See Us); and plenty of really, really funny s— (Russian Doll, Los Espookys).

The order of the rank below reflects the Adjusted Score as of December 31, 2019. Scores might change over time.

Watchmen: Season 1 (2019)
96%

#1

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Bold and bristling, Watchmen isn't always easy viewing, but by adding new layers of cultural context and a host of complex characters it expertly builds on its source material to create an impressive identity of its own.

Starring: Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Jean Smart

Directed By: Nicole Kassell, Tom Spezialy, Stephen Williams, Joseph E. Iberti

Leaving Neverland: Miniseries (2019)
98%

#2

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Crucial and careful, Leaving Neverland gives empathetic breadth and depth to the complicated afterlife of child sexual abuse as experienced by adult survivors.

Starring: Jimmy Safechuck, Wade Robson

Directed By: Dan Reed

Russian Doll: Season 1 (2019)
97%

#3

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Russian Doll may be stuck in a time loop, but this endlessly inventive series never repeats itself as it teeters on a seesaw of shifting tones -- from fatally funny to mournfully sad -- that is balanced with exhilarating moxie by an astonishing Natasha Lyonne.

Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, Yul Vazquez, Elizabeth Ashley

Directed By: Jamie Babbit

Undone: Season 1 (2019)
98%

#4

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: A kaleidoscopic existential crisis, Undone bends the rules of space, time, and rotoscoping to weave a beautifully surreal tapestry that is at once fantastical and utterly relatable.

Starring: Rosa Salazar, Angelique Cabral, Bob Odenkirk, Constance Marie

Directed By: Noel Bright, Steven A. Cohen, Tommy Pallotta, Hisko Hulsing

Chernobyl: Miniseries (2019)
96%

#5

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Chernobyl rivets with a creeping dread that never dissipates, dramatizing a national tragedy with sterling craft and an intelligent dissection of institutional rot.

Starring: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter

Directed By: Craig Mazin, Carolyn Strauss, Jane Featherstone, Johan Renck

Unbelievable: Season 1 (2019)
98%

#6

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Heartbreaking and powerful, Unbelievable transcends familiar true-crime beats by shifting its gaze to survivors of abuse, telling their stories with grace and gravity.

Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette, Merritt Wever

Directed By: Susannah Grant, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Lisa Cholodenko

When They See Us: Season 1 (2019)
97%

#7

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Ava DuVernay pulls no punches in When They See Us, laying out the harrowing events endured by the Central Park Five while adding a necessary layer of humanity to their story that challenges viewers to reconsider what it means to find justice in America.

Starring: Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash

Directed By: Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Rosenthal

Los Espookys: Season 1 (2019)
100%

#8

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Igualmente hilarante y horripilante, Los Espookys is an espooky good time.

Starring: Ana Fabrega, Júlio Torres, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Bernardo Velasco

Directed By: Lorne Michaels, Fred Armisen, Andrew Singer, Fernando Frias

Back to Life: Season 1 (2019)
100%

#9

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Driven by the marvelous Daisy Haggard, Back to Life questions what it means to be a person with humor, heart, and a genuine sense of surprise.

Starring: Daisy Haggard, Richard Durden, Geraldine James, Adeel Akhtar

Directed By: Chris Sweeney, Harry Williams, Jack Williams, Jack Williams

David Makes Man: Season 1 (2019)
100%

#10

Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus: Powerful, beautiful, and like nothing else on TV, David Makes Man blends dreamy aesthetics with an empathetically crafted story to create a truly unique viewing experience.

Starring: Akili McDowell, Alana Arenas, Isaiah Johnson, Travis Coles

Directed By: Tarell Alvin McCraney, Dee Harris-Lawrence, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey