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.)

4 of 21 photo by Luke Varley/SHOWTIME

88 Back to Life (Showtime)

(#4) Daisy Haggard co-writes and stars in this six-episode British series as an ex-con adjusting to life on the outside after completing an 18-year prison sentence. Produced by the team behind the critically acclaimed Fleabag, the darkly comedic series (which originally aired on BBC3 in the UK before airing in the States on Showtime) earned great reviews on both sides of the pond.

“A wonderfully nuanced story that's both extremely funny and tragically sad, but never leans too hard in either direction to get a reaction. It just exists and, after six episodes, it ends — and when it does you get the full appreciation of how exceptional it is. ... Back to Life is a real, unexpected gem of a series and one of the better surprises of 2019.” —Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter

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