My Top 20 Favorite Shows of 2015

20) Fargo (FX)
Season 2
Created By: Noah Hawley

Thoughts: I have no doubt that Season 2 of Fargo will end up being #1 on many people's year end list, but for me, the FX show almost didn't crack my Top 20. However, I started comparing it against other shows for this last spot (Catastrophe, You're The Worst, Community) and I realized no other show in competition with Fargo made me tune in every week to see what fascinating and exciting new adventure was awaiting me. I absolutely believe that season 1 of Fargo- as a result of better and more interesting characters (both main ones like the ones played by Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, and Allison Tolman, but also the minor characters like the ones played by Glenn Howerton and Kate Walsh)- is better than this current season, but that shouldn't take away from my enjoyment for what Noah Hawley and company created in 2015. Also, please give Bokeem Woodbine all the awards.

19) Mr. Robot (USA)
Season 1
Created By: Sam Esmail

Thoughts: When Fargo's Noah Hawley spoke with Andy Greenwald to promote his show, he never referred to his product as a "show"- he always referred to it as a movie. Television shows have become more serialized than ever nowadays that they basically are 10-13 hour long movies. This concept couldn't be more true than with Sam Esmail's great, of-the-times masterpiece Mr. Robot. Esmail starting writing a script for his new movie that was so long that he just decided to make it a television series. Season 1 of USA's amazing new show about a schizophrenic hacker trying to take down the fictional E-Corp was just Esmail's first act. If this is just beginning, then I can't wait to see what's in store for Seasons 2 and 3. Also, check out Sam Esmail's interview with Andy Greenwald, but only after you've been on the exhilarating roller coaster that was Season 1 of Mr. Robot.

Click here to read my thoughts on how Goodfellas influenced Mr. Robot's voice over

18) Other Space (Yahoo!)
Season 1
Created By: Paul Feig

Thoughts: I originally came to Other Space thanks to Yahoo! airing the sixth (and hopefully final) season of Community, but I stayed thanks to Paul Feig's (you know, the guy that brought us Freaks and Geeks and Bridesmaids) simple yet hilarious new show. While I don't expect Yahoo! to air a second season of Other Space thanks to the massive amount of money they lost trying to get into the television game, I still enjoyed the 8 episode first and final season. The premise of the show is straight-forward, a small group of 20-something's in a Star Trek -esque Star Fleet Academy get lost in space and attempt to get back home; however, the success was in the execution. The humor works thanks to the relationships the show was able to give us from the get go, and it turns out those actors you see in commercials are actually great when given a larger opportunity.

The Best Television Shows of 2013

10) Boardwalk Empire (HBO)- Season 4
Created by: Terrence Winter

I'm a huge supporter of Boardwalk Empire, and was screaming until I was blue in the face about how excellent Season 3 of the show was. Since its inception, Boardwalk Empire has just gotten better and better. At least for the first 3 seasons. I thought Season 4 was a huge step back for the show. For starters, there was no big bad for the show's "lead" Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). Sure, Dr. Valentin Narcisse (Jeffrey Wright) was a great big bad for the show in general, however he mainly was the villain for Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams). And as much as I love Chalky (aka Omar from The Wire), I realized this season that I really enjoy him as a supporting player to Nucky, and I'm not a huge fan of him as a co-lead.

Boardwalk Empire has always been a show that was carried not by its lead, but by its more entertaining co-stars. And there's nothing wrong with that. Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother made excellent careers out of that dynamic. But now that many of the sub-players are in different states with little to no connection to Nucky Thompson, this show felt like more of a jumbled mess than Game of Thrones. Nucky Thompson is a pretty boring character by himself (as Season 4 has really brought to our attention), but the plot still needs to run through him for the show to work. It's still really good, but it didn't live up to its full potential in 2013.