The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2019

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 29, 2019

Above are the highest-scoring first-year TV series debuting in the United States between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019. 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, are ranked in a separate list.)

16 of 21 photo by Netflix

80 Tuca & Bertie (Netflix)

(#16) A weirder, warmer, and female-driven counterpart to BoJack Horseman—with Broad City another touchstone for many critics—this animated Netflix series comes from that show's designer and producer, Lisa Hanawalt. Its another winning combination of original and often surreal humor and surprisingly weighty issues, centering on the friendship between its titular characters: a toucan voiced by Tiffany Haddish and a songbird voiced by Ali Wong. Steven Yeun also stars, while guests include Tig Notaro, Tessa Thompson, Reggie Watts, and Nicole Byer. Netflix canceled the series after its first season, to the dismay of its vocal fans.

"It's not Bojack Horseman. It's a lighter, looser, more fanciful series, one in touch with a far wider emotional palette, one in which joy and emotional release are actually possible. ... But in short order, Tuca & Bertie has become another Netflix animated gem for adults, one that can be placed in a conversation with Bojack, Big Mouth and F Is for Family.” —Dan Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter

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