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.)

18 of 21 photo by Jon Pack

79 The Other Two (Comedy Central)

(#18) An under-the-radar gem, Comedy Central's warm and funny scripted series comes from former SNL writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. The titular "other two" are an aspiring actor (Drew Tarver of Bajillion Dollar Propertie$), who struggles to land anything other than a bit role, and his adult sister (Heléne York, Masters of Sex), who struggles to find any meaningful career path. Their troubles are magnified by the instant, massive success of their 13-year-old brother ChaseDreams (Case Walker), an internet star. Molly Shannon plays the trio's mother, while Ken Marino serves as the manager to young Chase.

“It’s raucously sex-positive and delightfully weird, but underlying is a love of the very culture it’s mocking. It’s exactly the comedy that’s needed now: funny, feel-good, and forgiving of humanity.” —Hanh Nguyen, IndieWire

Where To Buy