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.)

19 of 21 photo by Comedy Central

79 South Side (Comedy Central)

(#19) Another winning Comedy Central newcomer, this summer series came from Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle, who also star as a pair of recent community college graduates and would-be entrepreneurs in Chicago's South Side. Guests include Lil Rel Howery, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, and Kel Mitchell. Salahuddin and Riddle had a good 2019; their other new show, the music-series spoof Sherman's Showcase, also received strong reviews.

“A fearless, unapologetic, equal opportunity offender — sometimes going to near absurdist lengths in shining a spotlight on racial and cultural and societal issues, but never in mean-spirited fashion, and always in the interest of keeping us laughing. And thinking.” —Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

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