The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2017

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 27, 2017

Above are the highest-scoring first-year TV series debuting in the United States between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. 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.)

11 of 22 photo by Caitlin Cronenberg/Netflix

79 Anne with an E (Netflix)

(#11) This Canadian production (which airs on CBC in its native country and on Netflix everywhere else) is an adaptation of the classic children's novel Anne of Green Gables, which centers on an orphan girl in a small Canadian town in 1890. The series comes from Breaking Bad writer Moira Walley-Beckett, while Niki Caro (Whale Rider) is among the directors. A longer second season will stream in 2018.

“Its mix of escapism and confrontation of life’s hardships make it a pleasure that comes with no guilt. Like the strong-as-hell female at its center, even when it exaggerates, it never stops aiming for honesty.” —Jen Chaney, Vulture

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