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.

11 of 21 photo by Netflix

85 Immigration Nation (Netflix)

(#10) Perhaps the most serious-minded series to air on Netflix this year, Nation is the end product of over two years of filming by a documentary team embedded within a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit—during a time when ICE was repeatedly making headlines for its sweeps of undocumented immigrants around the country. Filmmakers Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau also follow several families caught up in the sweeps through their lengthy deportation proceedings, though the bulk of the series offers an unprecedented (and often unflattering) look at ICE agents at work.

“As damning for the executive branch as it is illuminating for civilians, Immigration Nation is easily the most important TV show of the year.” —Judy Berman, Time

Watch it on Netflix (6 episodes)

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