Celebrate! The Top 25 Programs of 2017
The headline above isn’t exactly self-explanatory, because the list below isn’t exclusively comprised of the 25 best shows of the year. If it were it might include FX’s Better Things and Legion, HBO’s The Deuce, AMC’s Better Call Saul, Netflix’s Master of None and GLOW and The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Instead, think of it as a collective acknowledgement of the 25 shows I found the most engaging, or have the most to say about, or both.
Lists honoring the finest programs of the last twelve months can be found everywhere, each of them largely heralding the same properties -- and for reasons that continue to elude me many of them are limited to ten shows only, just like they were 50 years ago when national television consisted of three broadcast networks and PBS. There are over 1000 shows available today on broadcast, cable and streaming outlets … not to mention apps. Most of them are designed to appeal to one demographic or another, and dozens of them are extraordinary for one or more reasons.
Frankly, not even 25 is enough … at least not where I’m concerned. But here they are!
Game of Thrones (HBO) -- No. 2
Big Little Lies (HBO) and The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu) -- No. 3
The Vietnam War (PBS) -- No. 5
The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon (CBS) -- No. 7
American Vandal (Netflix) -- No. 9
The Long Road Home (Netflix) -- No. 10
Dear White People (Netflix) -- No. 12
Crosswalk the Musical (CBS) -- No. 15
South Park (Comedy Central) -- No. 16
Days of Our Lives (NBC) -- No. 17
Dancing with the Stars (ABC) -- No. 18
Carrie Underwood's Performance at the CMA Awards (ABC) -- No. 19
House Hunters and All Things HGTV -- No. 20
Project Runway (Lifetime) -- No. 21
Live with Kelly and Ryan (ABC) -- No. 22
Tosh.0(Comedy Central)--No. 23
The Graham Norton Show(BBC America) -- No. 24
The Mary Tyler Moore Show -- No. 25
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Ed Martin
Ed Martin is the chief television and content critic for MediaVillage. He has written about television and internet programming for several Myers publications since 2000, including The Myers Report, The Myers Programming Report, MediaBizBloggers a…
