Like most things here, this is late. Most lists of this kind come out at the end of the year, mine, on the other hand, is coming out after the new year has began. 2011 is over, but I'm taking a quick look back at what my favorite programs of that year were. This is by no means a comprehensive list, I can't watch everything and if I didn't watch it I can't include it. So no Breaking Bad, even though it tops many critics' lists (I just started though, so I'll catch up eventually), and unfortunately no Mad Men either, which did not air an episode in 2011. Thankfully, that will be back in the spring. For now, let's start with number 10...
10.) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
For a show in it's seventh season, it is unusual to have one of its better years, but Always Sunny pulled it out this year. Almost every episode this year was a stand out or an interesting misfire, with no outright bad episodes. From a crazy demented, made up game to a trip to the Jersey shore to a crosstown scramble to see an action movie to a home invasion to recover an "artifact" to ruining their high school reunion, this group of horrible people did horrible things and made us laugh in the process. The most inspired thing may have been Mac getting fat. I feel for Rob McElhenney, who now has to lose that wait, but it certain led to a lot of laughs whether it was being commented on directly or he was just standing in the background eating.
9.) Cougar Town
While the characters of Always Sunny are horrible people, the Cul de Sac Crew of Cougar Town are a group of people I want to hang out with. Getting to spend a half hour with these people every week almost always brings a smile to my face, even when they are not being overtly funny. I wonder what new rules for Penny Can they will make up, what new song Grayson will come up with, how much wine they could possibly consume, and any other wacky hi-jinks and heartfelt moments they will get themselves into. After quickly dropping the cougar premise, Bill Lawrence has wonderfully translated his quirky Scrubs sensibilities to a Friends-like sitcom (starring Courtney Cox no less!).
8.) Archer
The pendulum swings back around to hilariously horrible people. This world is even more heightened than Always Sunny because we're dealing with spies. Sterling Archer womanizing and drinking his way around the world on ISIS "missions" never fails to amuse and is usually laugh out loud. The rest of the ISIS crew provide wonderful foils to the awfulness of Archer in their own demented ways. The things that made this year stand out more so than the first season was the added focus on the supporting characters and the fact that they actually introduced some continuity. This show made Archer getting cancer funny, while still making it a little heartbreaking, too.
7.) Game of Thrones
I came into this series knowing next to nothing about the George R. R. Martin book series, but after the first episode I was hooked. It became increasingly hard each week to not go online to find out where this engrossing story was going. This series had the daunting task of setting up a large and complicated world while still keeping us entertained, and it performed admirably. From the top down, writing, directing, acting, everything was well thought out and fully realized. The twists and turns of trying to get the Iron Throne led to some great drama and surprises, and I've never seen political intrigue with so much sex and violence before.
6.) Justified
Two words: Margo Martindale. That woman gave a hell of a performance as Mags Bennent, and was entirely deserving of the Emmy she won for it. Season 2 of this show did more than just add a wonderful actor and character, it deepened our understanding of the characters we already knew. Raylan spent much of the first season gunning people down, that was fun, but by taking a step back from that this season we got to see more of how he ticked. We also got to see more of the inner workings of his hometown of Harlan and the show did a great job of giving it a sense of history. Boyd trying to make an honest life for himself and failing at every turn was a compelling, yet mostly separate, through story of the season. I'm really looking forward to this show coming back in a couple weeks.
5.) Homeland
The best new show of the fall season, hands down. The tension this show built up to in the finale was phenomenal, for a stretch of that last episode I couldn't breath. Damian Lewis and Claire Danes both did exceptional work as the POW who may or may not have been turned and the CIA agent who is convinced he has and she has to prove it, respectfully. Claire Danes should have a lock for an Emmy. This show is like the more intelligent and methodical cousin to 24. As in the real intelligence world, things move slowly, but the plotting is well done and the performances, including Mandy Patinkin, Morena Baccarin, and David Harewood, keep it grounded.
4.) Community
Poor Community. This show is never going to be for the masses, it's too strange, too different, and too risk-taking. These are the things I love about this show, but unfortunately, being on a network, mass appeal is needed. This unlikely group of people, in the tradition of many great shows, have formed a makeshift family, but the similarities end there. From that point, we enter the realm of parody, spoofs, meta-commentary, and running gags about a monkey in the vents. This is a weird show that somehow makes me care deeply about its characters, one of whom is a racist, mean, old guy. To top it all off, it's usually pretty funny, too.
3.) Friday Night Lights
The final run of this gem of a show left me with a few tears in my eyes by the end. They were able to finish up stories with the newer characters while juggling in a few wrap-ups for the characters we love from the first few seasons. Nothing was more important than the relationship between Coach Eric and Tami Taylor. For five years they were, by far, the best portrayal of a married couple on television, and this final season really let them shine in different ways. After a few false finales due to an unknown future, they manged to top themselves with this final one. This was definitely a finale that did not leave people disappointed.
2.) Louie
Louie is a show that is impossible to define. You would expect it to be a comedy, being a half hour long and starring a stand up comic. The show will make you laugh, but it is so much more than that. This show is the embodiment of Louis C.K.'s creativity. He writes, directs, stars, edits, and produces every episode, and you can't help but be sucked in and intrigue by his worldview. Louis may portray a crapsack world, but there's an undercurrent of hope running through everything. No other show can one week tackle a friend contemplating suicide, the next week deal with unrequited love, the next week have a road trip to a old, racist aunt, and then the next week be a trip to see the troops in Afghanistan. This show is whatever Louis C.K. wants it to be, and we are all better for it.
1.) Parks and Recreation
Due to being held for midseason, the entirety of the third season was broadcast in 2011, and it became a perfect run of 16 episodes. That is a feat that is exceptionally hard to pull off, and what makes this show my favorite on TV. The fall shows of the fourth season have done nothing to diminish the accomplishment of this show last year. This show makes me laugh, but most of all it makes me feels for these characters and the makeshift workplace family they have become. The Office used to be this way, but Parks and Rec has long usurped them and may very well be better than that show ever was. Now that Friday Nights Lights is off the air, there is no show I can point to that comes near having the same amount of heart that this show does, and that's where it's true greatness lies.
Second 10 (in alphabetical order): 30 Rock, Bob's Burgers, Chuck, Fringe, Futurama, Parenthood, Treme, The United States of Tara, The Walking Dead, Wilfred
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