The 10 Best Shows You Forgot Premiered In 2017

Mystery Science Theater 3000 has to hit a weird balance. If the show is too zany, it can seem corny and stupid. If it’s too serious, that defeats the entire purpose of the series. That’s why it’s so surprising and refreshing that the Kickstarter-funded and Netflix broadcast revival of MST3K: The Return was truly great. Hosted by Jonah Ray and starring Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt, Netflix’s return to the world of terrible movies was a celebrity-packed delight. The series received a bit of critical attention when it was first released and currently has a 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. However, with a show as finicky as MST3K and a revival as well executed as this one, it deserves a little more attention.

Stream Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return on Netflix

From it’s first episode, Danny McBride‘s insult-laden revenge epic was decisive, but damn if it wasn’t funny. On its surface, Vice Principals was a love story about the bittersweet bromance between Gamby (McBride) and Russell (Walton Goggins), two man children who excelled at delivering some of the most vulgar burns imaginable. But there’s always been more to Vice Principals than meets the eye. Russell’s hectic rise to power and Gamby’s obsession with the identity of his shooter bloomed into a toxic tale about the dangers of white male privilege told by two of the most aggravating fictional white men ever conceived. Add in Kimberly Hebert Gregory‘s always excellent performance as Dr. Belinda Brown and Susan Park‘s surprising yet welcome comeuppance arc, and this HBO show ended on a high note.

Stream Vice Principals on HBO Go or HBO NOW

NBC’s workplace comedy about the absurdities of cable news isn’t a perfect show, but it is a ton of fun that deserves more attention than it’s been getting. Created by Tracey Wigfield and executive produced by Tina Fey, the series follows Katie (Briga Heelan), a scrappy and up-and-coming news producer who sees her industry as a world full of opportunities instead of the garbage fire almost everyone else sees it as. But of course because nothing can be easy in the land of sitcoms, Katie also has to deal with working alongside her mother (Andrea Martin) and her budding romance with Greg (Adam Campbell). There’s something deeply sweet about even the most jaded moments of Great News that makes the series a show worth falling in love with.

Where to stream Great News

Zach Galifianakis and Jonathan Krisel‘s show is a weird sell for anyone. It’s a series about an aspiring French clown who can’t speak French but with real dramatic stakes. Louie Anderson plays a mom, but he does it with a level of grace, dignity, and love that very few actors ever achieve. One of the most hilarious characters on the show is a monotone woman named Martha (Martha Kelly) whose arm is perpetually in a cast. And yet despite all of Baskets‘ contradictions and oddities — or perhaps because of them — the show stands as one of the most endearing and insightful looks into failed aspirations and the toils of small town America.

Where to stream Baskets

If you can overlook the odd name of David Shore and Bryan Cranston‘s crime drama, you’re in for a suspense-filled treat. Starring Giovanni Ribisi, the series follows a convicted con man named Marius who takes on the identity of his cellmate Pete to hide from his debtors. The rest of the series follows “Pete” dealing with the real Pete’s crazy family while trying to sidestep all of the people he’s wronged over the years and scam some people out of money. The series also stars esteemed character actress Margo Martindale as a plotting and manipulative grandmother, so yeah. It’s no wonder why this sneakily great series currently has a 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Stream Sneaky Pete on Prime Video

Critics and mainstream audiences may have fallen off of Sam Esmail‘s warped cyber drama, but that didn’t stop Mr. Robot from delivering another truly incredible season. Gorgeously framed and scored as always, Season 3 finally revealed the aftermath of last season’s chilling gunshot wound. However, the merits of this past season can be summed up in one chilling scene: In Episode 5, Elliot (Rami Malek) is forced to endure the ramblings of his sex-crazed co-worker. In a moment of confusion he doesn’t tell his “friend” the audience his true thoughts, but the man in front of him. It’s a shocking moment and one that beautifully portrays Elliot’s slow and ongoing descent.

Where to stream Mr. Robot

Silicon Valley has always been one of the most stressful and dramatic comedies on television, but this past year that sentiment was pushed to its limits. Richard (Thomas Middleditch) started this tech comedy by swearing he would never become the evil CEO he hated. By Season 4’s end he had planted malware onto hundreds of devices, destroyed one of the only things Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) loved, taken advantage of his best friend, and pushed Jared’s (Zach Woods) unending loyalty to its edge. If it wasn’t for this season’s Hail Mary, Silicon Valley would have ended this season with Richard becoming the thing he hates most.

Stream Silicon Valley on HBO Go and HBO NOW

I get it. There’s a tremendous amount of exceptional TV out there worthy of your attention. But TBS’ Hitchcockian mystery comedy Search Party is unlike any show on television. Created by Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, and Michael Showalter, the sitcom is a deft, genre-blending mix of humor, drama, and mystery. Season 1 centered on our millennial Scooby squad of super sleuths attempting to solve the puzzling disappearance of Chantal Witherbottom, while the show’s sophomore season revolved around a (somewhat) accidental murder.

Featuring an all-star cast — Alia Shawkat, John Early, John Reynolds, and Meredith Hagner — and dynamic storytelling, Search Party is a fresh, addicting noir with the ability to confidently extract humor from even the most ghastly of circumstances. — Josh Sorokach

Where to stream Search Party

If you only paid attention to critical conversations, you would probably assume that AMC cancelled its Breaking Bad spinoff this year. That’s how badly Better Call Saul‘s truly stellar third season was snubbed. This past season of Better Call Saul gave us a lot of wonderful things including a great confrontational scene from Kim (Rhea Seehorn) and the return of the notorious Chicken Man, Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). However, this past season needs to be remembered for the moment when Michael McKean gave the performance of a lifetime. Thanks to a single desperate speech, we were finally able to see the vulnerable, mentally unstable victim sitting beside one of the most despicable villains on television, and it was heart-breaking.

Where to stream Better Call Saul

It’s weird that David Fincher released a serial killer drama this year, and it didn’t dominate pop culture conversations. Minhunter‘s first season was a twisting, psychological, and surprisingly bloodless delight. Set in the ’70s during a time before people even knew what serial killers were, Mindhunter follows Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), an impulsive FBI agent who’s more than willing to bend a few rules to pursue his killer study. Holden’s gruff partner Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and Dr. Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) round out Holden’s scrappy little team. Cameron Britton‘s chilling performance as Ed Kemper will draw you it, but it’s Holden’s slow descent into darkness that will keep you pressing play.

Stream Mindhunter on Netflix