10 Best TV Shows of 2016 So Far
What an outrageously abundant year it’s been for great TV — and we’re only halfway through. 2016 has been a small-screen gold rush so far, from low-key comedies to mega-glitz miniseries, the Battle of the Bastards to the City of the Broads, hilarious fake news to horrifying true history — with dragons and spies and crooks and drunks. When two of the year’s best shows are totally different takes on the same 1994 murder trial, you know all bets are off.
So here’s a salute to the 10 best TV shows of 2016 so far:
The Americans (FX)
It might be ridiculous to call this a high-tension season, because The Americans is always about as relaxing as a bout of do-it-yourself dental surgery. But this astounding espionage drama just keeps raising the stakes. Philip and Elizabeth (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell) are still a nice normal suburban couple in the Eighties who happen to live a secret double life as Soviet spies, the kind of day-to-day that involves things like a gruesome killing in an airport shuttle bus while an oblivious passenger sits with her Walkman cranking “Tainted Love.” (We’ve been waiting four seasons for the show to find a spectacular way to use that song, and they did not disappoint.) But now that their teen daughter (and her pastor!) is in on the secret, the suspense level just escalates — politically, emotionally and sexually. The Americans is a drama that keeps getting stronger every season, and considering how great it’s been from the beginning, there’s no telling where it could go for the final two seasons.
Broad City (Comedy Central)
Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer go hard the third time around, whether taking on the delicate issue of how to get your period unexpectedly on a plane to the even more delicate issue of how to snuggle with Hilary Clinton. The Phish-themed food co-op episode was a true highlight this season, as well as a learning experience for those of us who have no ability to recognize subtly coded references to the Phish-friendly lifestyle Abbi used to lead. (“Deduct the carrots from your pay, you worthless swampy fool!”) Even the well-played moments of sincere romantic drama — a topic these ladies usually breeze right through — feel right on. Yasss, queens.
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