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.

5 of 21 photo by Enda Bowe / Hulu

82 Normal People (Hulu)

(#16) A co-production with the BBC, this limited series adaptation of the hugely acclaimed best-selling novel by Sally Rooney comes from Lenny Abrahamson (Room, Frank) and follows the evolving relationship between two Irish teens (a terrific Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal) as they leave their small town to head to college in Dublin. Abrahamson (who just signed on to adapt another Rooney book, Conversations With Friends, for Hulu) directs the first six half-hour episodes, and Hettie Macdonald handles the rest.

“A love story that gets so close to the real deal that a viewer becomes as besotted as the lovers themselves. It’s one of the best works of TV I’ve watched so far this year, and the rare show during this pandemic stay-at-home saga that made me forget everything else.” —Hank Stuever, The Washington Post

Watch it on Hulu (12 episodes)

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