The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2018

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 28, 2018

Above are the highest-scoring first-year TV series debuting in the United States between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. Shows are ranked by Metascore (an average of grades from top professional critics on a 0-100 scale) prior to rounding, and any programs with fewer than 7 reviews are excluded. (Note that limited series, as well as TV movies and specials, will be ranked in a separate list arriving this weekend.)

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74 #20: YOU

Greg Berlanti will have more television shows on the air in the 2018-19 season than any producer in history. And not every one is a DC Comics series. Case in point: this surprisingly good Lifetime adaptation of Caroline Kepnes' novel. The darkly comedic YOU stars Penn Badgley as a full-time bookstore owner and part-time internet stalker. The series has been renewed for a second season, but will move from Lifetime to Netflix (where the first season is now available to stream).

“You is a vicious thrill; smart and mean in all the right ways, with a devilish sensibility and a clever, inviting pessimism, like the friend who wants you to sit in the back with her and make jokes.” —Margaret Lyons, The New York Times

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