Kevin Dillon’s Top Ten TV Shows of 2020

My tenth slot goes to Kaley Cuoco. Harley (voice by Kaley Cuoco) breaks free from the Joker, explores her bi-sexuality, and leads her gang of misfits to try and wreak hack on Gotham City. The series mirrors the great 90s Batman cartoon but by making fun of the world and many of the tropes that have become tiresome in stories about these characters. It’s hilarious and a fantastic series.

Throw The Flight Attendant in the mix, and you get a playful comedic/thriller where Kaley Cuoco gets to flex muscles they would never touch on The Big Bang Theory. I listened to an interview with her her where talked about finding this project, and I am glad she did. This is a great vehicle for her, and the show had a great first season. Cuoco is the one of the stars of 2020 we need to talk about more.

HP Lovecraft was a white supremacist and this show flips the paradigm. It centers his science fiction stories on the black folks of Chicago battling the big bad monsters along (which include other white supremacists). The thing that ultimately makes this show stand out is the fantastic way it highlights the power of black women – it’s so beautiful.  I loved watching Ruby navigate her identity throughout the season and Hippolyta find her strength and power in her daughter. The show has many layers and it was easily one of the best this year.

This is one of two shows on this list that center on being a young woman. At first Never feels like a potentially normal story about 15 year old Devi, an Indian American girl, but with narration from John McEnroe the story quickly sets itself up as a funny and heartfelt exploration of grief. Never explores Indian American culture and the intersection of growing up in a really beautiful way. The thing that sets this show apart is the terrific writing, fantastic ensemble, and its ability to craft relationships between friends and family that feel incredibly authentic.

Even in a shortened season because of COVID, this season of The Good Fight was incredible. Whether it’s the series using sitcoms for their episode titles (this season it was It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), the show knows its lane and is possibly stronger than its predecessor.  This year, the gang explores financial troubles and are owned by a corporate entity. The series spectacularly embodies the legal field, unlike any show. The cast is also out of this world. Shout out to that first episode where Diane wakes up to Hillary being President in one of the best “What ifs” I have ever seen.

I had the pleasure of speaking to several folks about season four of Insecure for our site, and their love and passion for this show is off the chart. That was very apparent with the series’s evolution. Insecure became bigger in production with Issa building out this massive event that helped her grow her career trajectory. While some of the production got bigger, the intimate and funny moments were never better. Watching Issa and Molly explore their problems in their friendship was some of the best acting/writing I have seen all year

I do not know where to start. I guess I will go with my favorite episode from the season titled “Favourites” where the Queen goes to all of her children when Phillip alludes she has a favorite child, but she does not realize who. It was hilarious. Season four had a lot of great comedic moments, which helped balance out the drama from the monster that was Maggie Thatcher and the tragic dissolution of Charles/Diana. This show has perfect casting, and it was great to see Olivia Colman lead the charge and be even stronger this season. It was also great to see newbies Emma Corrin perfectly embody Diana and Gillian Anderson terrify me as Maggie. All around a spectacular season!

Wexler v. Goodman was one of the best episodes of television this year. Watching Jimmy morph into Saul over all these years and his relationship with Kim changing has been like a slow click of a roller coaster, and you are waiting for that big fall. The show elevates each of these characters to new levels, and with Odenkirk and Seahorn you get some of the most spectacular television I have ever seen.  After five seasons this show continues to shine, and it was easily one of the best television shows of 2020.

I had to pause watching this show while Trump was President. The connection felt too real, and to this show’s credit, that is a good thing. Plot is the show we will look back on that connects to 2020 more than any other show. I still do not understand what David Simon has to do to get his work honored. The cast (outside one person) is spectacular. Special shout out to Zoe Kazan who was heartbreaking. Watching fascism play out in a “What if” historical time travel, and thinking about the evolution of and continued hatred in this country had a tremendous impact and this show was flawless all the way to end which shifts from the book and is perfect.

I watched episode one of this show when it first came out, and I struggled. I knew I was wrong, and plowed through season one and devoured season two. Watching Anna and Maya play adolescent versions of themselves and explore their identities was so special. I think the thing that stood out about this season is the connection you explore with them and their mothers. These show is spectacular, heart felt, awkward, and everything a young woman can feel in her early teen years.

Michaela Coel wrote, directed, and starred in the most impactful show of 2020. The show explores sexual violence and the road to healing. I May Destroy You explores different stories around surviving sexual assault along with the intersections of the black experience in Britain. Coel makes space for so many conversations and has led to many folks having deeper conversations. This story helped explore healing for so many in a very interesting way.