Decider’s Best TV of 2016 (So Far)

Daredevil Season Two had a lot to live up to. The first season was a bold and brisk grounding of the Marvel superhero story and the second season had to juggle Punisher, Elektra, the Hand, and crossovers with other parts of the universe. But all doubts about the series — and its titular hero’s battle prowess — were blown away in this spellbinding staircase fight scene. It might not be as poetic as the hallway scene from Season One, but it dazzles a tiny bit more and sets the tone for the rest of the gobsmacking season.

[Watch Daredevil on Netflix]

UnREAL was the buzziest new show of the year in 2015, which puts an awful lot of pressure on season 2. Well, the producers produced things, and season 2 came back with a BANG. Well, several of them. In order to lock down the historic first black suitor in Everlasting history with the network, Rachel (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn (Constance Zimmer) head to Vegas to party their faces off, and there’s never been a bigger confirmation in television that viewers would be presented with an even crazier season 2 than season 1. All the dancing, drugs, and dollar bills strewn about a Las Vegas hotel suite (plus sex up against floor-to-ceiling windows) really set the tone for what has already been an insane sophomore season.

[Where to stream UnREAL]

One of the problems of today’s top-notch TV is that some incredible gems go unnoticed. That’s certainly the case with the 11th episode of Maria Bamford’s Netflix sitcom, Lady Dynamite. The entire half comedy, half biopic alludes to a dark period in the past when a fictionalized version of Bamford had to confront her demons. However, I wasn’t prepared for how heartbreaking that moment was. Watching a drugged out and drained Bamford lays zombie-like on a pile of Target dog beds hurts deeply. This moment more than any others beautifully captures the struggle of living with a mental illness.

[Where to watch Lady Dynamite]

Silicon Valley‘s Richard Hendricks continues to find new ways to physically humiliate himself, even (especially!) when his particular brand of computer genius makes him the most powerful person in the room. The unquestioned highlight of the season saw Richard making a power play at work, only to punctuate his deal-making with a self-satisfied lean on a desk. Just watch out that there aren’t loose sheets of paper on that desk or …

[Where to stream Silicon Valley]

We already knew that Sarah Paulson was a goddess of drama, too good and too pure for our television screens, but her turn as Marcia Clark in The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story was utterly transcendent. Paulson played the iconic District Attorney in a way that not only humanized her, but transformed her into a feminist martyr. Oh, and those glorious cigarettes….

[Where To Stream The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story]

The Americans proves with each and every season just how special and spectacular a show it is. This season, Keri Russell brought a performance to the screen that was nothing short of remarkable. It was the most turmoil, specifically emotionally, that the wife/mom/KGB spy has ever had to endure. From making a real friend, to tricking that friend’s husband into thinking he drunkenly had sex with her, to staging a fake death for herself, well, a lot goes into that. Oh, and all while hiding her IRL pregnant belly (courtesy of her co-star, Matthew Rhys). Elizabeth’s default mode is stoic, but the pain on her face this season was impossible to miss, and to feel.

[Where to stream The Americans]

I’ve always been supportive of Aaron Paul, but I, like the rest of the world, was doubtful that he could ever top his performance in Breaking Bad. Paul may not have topped himself, but he came hauntingly close in this Hulu original. Paul plays his role as unwilling doubter with a perfectly believable amount of determination, regret, and inwardly focused frustration to make you simultaneously buy into and hate the Meyerist Movement.

[Where to watch The Path]

That Penny Dreadful‘s third season finale turned out to be the series finale was a surprise, though a thoroughly appropriate one. Better to have a show end a shade too soon than too late. The closed end of season 3 also meant that Evan Green’s performance had a fullness and completeness to it. Green was central to the show from the very beginning, playing a woman who was besieged by evil and yet utterly heroic not for winning but for the struggle. In season 3, Green spent her time in a series of one-on-one encounters, some of which with a psychiatrist (Patti LuPone), some with a friend (Rory Kinnear as Frankenstein’s monster), some with the sinisterly whispering Dracula himself (Christian Camargo). While the stories around her were all murder and werewolf attacks, Green’s Vanessa held the center with the sheer force of her personality.

[Where to stream Penny Dreadful]

From a purely narrative point of view, Game of Thrones‘ latest season raced along with a swagger that it had never had before. Mysteries were unveiled, narratives were resolved, and long-separated loved ones finally embraced in the cold courtyard of Castle Black. More than anything else, this season was a glorious balancing act showcasing both epic majesty and the small, quiet tragedies that blacken the human heart.

[Where to Stream Game of Thrones]

The Mindy Project‘s move to Hulu for season 4 was a total blessing. This show was able to air out some of the raunch that so badly wanted to escape when it was on network TV, and not a moment too soon. In the second half of the season, Mindy finds herself single and friskier than ever. She mingles with a myriad of men, while her kooky co-workers are as ridiculous as ever. This year, the number of jokes-per-scene rivaled the number of beautiful outfits in Mindy’s closet, and both the quips and the clothes were equally bold and colorful.

[Watch The Mindy Project on Hulu]

There have been several amazing documentaries in recent years, but few are more innovative and ambitious than this Showtime series. Produced in compilation with Bloomberg Politics, The Circus gives a behind-the-scenes look to this year’s current election season. It’s not perfect. At times the political coverage feels overwhelming. However, the series works both as a refreshingly comprehensive one stop shop to this election year’s story as well as a thorough political compendium. The Circus is more than merely a show about politics; it’s a series that questions and restructures how we should think of political media coverage.

[Where to watch The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth]

Oscar-winning writer John Ridley stepped into the second, self-contained season of his anthology series American Crime with a concept similar to its first season. One horrific event, with implications and effects on a diverse array of people, each afforded the consideration of having their own stories get told. In season 2, it was a high-school sexual assault storyline that managed to rope in bullying, sexuality, privilege, race, class, and the ugly marriage of money and prestige in education. The acting was brilliant across the board, and the turns the show took as it told its story through the lens of its many characters never shook the show off its central message. That this show took place on network television only served to make it more miraculous.

[Where to stream American Crime]