The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2020

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 30, 2020

Above are the highest-scoring first-year TV series (including limited series) debuting in the United States between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Shows are ranked by Metascore (an average of grades from top professional critics on a 0-100 scale) prior to rounding based on scores as of December 29, 2020, and any programs with fewer than 7 reviews are excluded.

1 of 21 photo by Apple

81 Central Park (Apple TV+)

(#20) The latest animated series from Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard is a music-filled comedy following a family living in the titular New York landmark, where they oversee its operations. Kristen Bell, Josh Gad (who co-created the series), Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, and Stanley Tucci provide the voices. Apple has already renewed the series for a second season, though without Bell, who was controversially voicing a mixed-race character.

“Its jokes are rat-a-tat yet unpredictable, its characters are quick to understand yet ever-deepening, its performances are delightful, its animation is crisply fluid, and its songs? Wowee, its songs. They get you right in the heart upon first listen, and I promise you the first listen will not be your last listen. Simply put: Central Park is a knockout.” —Gregory Lawrence, Collider

Watch it on Apple TV+ (9 episodes)

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