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.)

20 of 21 photo by Adrian S. Burrows/SHOWTIME

78 Work in Progress (Showtime)

(#20) Debuting just a few weeks ago, this eight-episode Showtime comedy series comes from Chicago comedians Abby McEnany and Tim Mason and director Lilly Wachowski (here serving as co-writer and producer) and centers on a middle-aged lesbian (McEnany) who gives herself 180 days to fix her life, and may have found a way to do just that with a new relationship. Julia Sweeney also stars, while guests include "Weird Al" Yankovic.

"Smartly edited, full of odd little montages and visual juxtapositions. It has its own distinctive, salty vibe, driven by McEnany’s simultaneously self-loathing and self-aggrandizing swagger.” —Emily Nussbaum, The New Yorker

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