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.)

8 of 22 photo by Nicole Rivelli

80 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

(#8) No Amy Sherman-Palladino show would be complete without rapid-fire banter, and this 1958-set Amazon dramedy is no different. But in Rachel Brosnahan, the Gilmore Girls/Bunheads creator may have found her most ideal leading lady yet—one who seems a natural at keeping up with the demands of the script while remaining likable throughout. Brosnahan plays a soon-to-be-divorced housewife who stumbles into an unlikely career as a stand-up comedian, and she's joined in the cast by Alex Borstein and Tony Shalhoub.

“Bursting with old-fashioned charm, Maisel is shot in the style of Woody Allen’s nostalgic comedies, with a jazzy soundtrack of old standards and an eye for the beautiful chaos that is life in the Big Apple. There’s sly, quotable humor throughout, of course, but also a strong feminist streak.” —Dave Nemetz, TVLine

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