The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2016
Below are the highest-scoring first-year TV series debuting in the United States between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016. 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.)
Metacritic's Best New TV Show of 2016. Few shows have the confidence to be laugh-out-loud funny, moodily dark, wacky and surreal, and unflinchingly honest—all within the course of a single episode. Make it a first-year show from a first-time series creator, and it becomes rarer still. It's also 2016's best new show.
Created by Community star, rapper, and former 30 Rock writer Donald Glover, the series finds an unmarried father (Glover) struggling to stay afloat in Atlanta by attempting to manage his cousin's burgeoning hip hop career. What happens each week is unpredictable—aside from the fact that it will be filled with strong performances and insightful writing.