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.)

16 of 22 photo by Beth Dubber/Netflix

76 13 Reasons Why (Netflix)

(#16) An adaptation of the book by Jay Asher about the suicide of a teenage girl, this time-shifting, 13-episode young adult drama series is directed (in part) by Spotlight's Tom McCarthy, written by Pulitzer-winning playwright Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal), and produced by Selena Gomez. The result is successful enough that Netflix has ordered a second season despite the fact that the original story was exhausted in the first batch of episodes.

“The drama is sensitive, surprising, consistently engaging, and, most important, unblinking.” —Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe

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