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.
#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.
#2
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.
#3
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.
#4
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.
#5
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.
#6
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.
#7
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.
#8
Critics Consensus: Igualmente hilarante y horripilante, Los Espookys is an espooky good time.
#9
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.
#10
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.
96%
57%
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