National Post (National Edition)
The ten best shows that ended in 2017.
THE 10 BEST TELEVISION SHOWS THAT ENDED IN 2017
Cue up the Boyz II Men: It’s hard to say goodbye. Among the rich bounties of 2017’s TV offerings came some tough finales — some abrupt and unwelcome, some thoughtful and intentional.
To qualify for this list, shows had to air an episode during the 2017 calendar year. This list does not include shows designed as one-season miniseries. Finally, this list considers the show’s entire existence, not just its swan song.
1. The Leftovers (HBO)
On The Leftovers, the weight of grief was so enormous it could bend truth. That’s how things wrapped up — as if things wrap up — for the endlessly evocative, almost too-beautiful series, with a finale that was truer than true. The tragic, captivating Nora (Carrie Coon) went to Australia, convinced a machine there could send her to the other side, the side where the 2 per cent of the population that vanished in “the departure” now live. The side where her husband and children would be.
And maybe it worked, and maybe it didn’t, but what she did find — decades later, from half a world away — was her other husband, Kevin (Justin Theroux), handsome and compassionate. What do you do when nothing in the world makes sense the way it used to? The best you can, same as before.
2. Please Like Me (Hulu)
This Australian coming-ofage comedy blends its sweet disposition with its unsentimental view of the world, creating room for both darling goofballs and catastrophic depression. Many ensemble comedies are aspirational (Friends, say) and the ones that aren’t tend to be cynical (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Please Like Me is neither of those things. Instead, it’s thoughtful and welcoming, often hilarious and just oddball enough.
And I understood that here, in this place, they were the lucky ones. In a world full of orphans, they still had each other. And I was a ghost. I was a ghost who had no place there. And that, Kevin, is when I changed my mind. — NORA, THE LEFTOVERS
3. American Crime (ABC)
ABC was never going to be the right home for this bleak, substantive drama anthology, so the fact that it ran three seasons is some kind of blessing. Regina King won two Emmys for her performances on the show, and she should have won a third for this final season, where she played a devoted but weary social worker.
4. Halt and Catch Fire (AMC)
A so-so first season gave way to a gorgeous second, an aggressive third and this satisfying, confident fourth instalment. The show followed the early days of personal computers, and despite occasional struggles to make forgone conclusions feel like real points of drama — are people really going to want to use “the internet?” — it always found deeper and more human stories beyond the clickety-clackety keyboards.
The series blossomed narratively in Season 2, but it wasn’t until Season 4 that the show became its fully actualized self. What “Halt and Catch Fire” understood better than most other shows is how people get stuck with one another. It’s not always out of adoration or compatibility. Sometimes the most potent kind of love is mutual passion.
5. Girls (HBO)
A lightning-rod show from before it even had its première, Girls died as it lived: surrounded by angry blog posts but also telling some stories in an extraordinarily deft fashion. The finalseason episode American Bitch, a two-hander for guest-star Matthew Rhys and the show’s star and creator, Lena Dunham, was a late-in-the-game stunner, probing the cultural confusion around lecherous, literary men.
6. Downward Dog (ABC)
One might have guessed that a talking-dog show would not be long for this world, but one probably would not have guessed that the talking dog would sound like an anxious podcaster and be a wistful philosopher. Downward Dog only aired eight episodes, but that was enough to solidify its place in the one-and-done Hall of Fame. The show’s specialty was its tender approach to ordinariness, its baked-in knowledge that what makes a dog special — or an owner special, or a friend special — is that they’re yours.
7. Orphan Black (BBC America)
Clones, glorious clones. Orphan Black was the rare sci-fi thriller with an emotional core, thanks in large part to its star, Tatiana Maslany. Her fascinating, specific performances as several different characters breathed life and vitality into what can sometimes be a genre where construction matters more than execution. While the show’s intricate plotting could drift to the arcane, particularly in later seasons, the series never gave up its central humanity — or its occasional, welcome moments of humour.
8. Underground (WGN)
This historical drama about slavery and the Underground Railroad was frequently devastating and disturbing — and sometimes sudsy and juicy. But the standout episode by far was this season’s “Minty,” essentially a full-episode monologue performed by Aisha Hinds as Harriet Tubman. Other shows are not trying formats like this, and the untimely cancellation of “Underground” means we’re unlikely to see anything like it again any time soon.
9. Playing House (USA)
After an almost two-year hiatus, Playing House returned for a third season in 2017 — a season that lasted a mere four weeks. Thanks for nothing, USA. The comedy, created by and starring Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, was gentle and goofy, and the Season 2 episode Officer Of the Year is arguably the best romantic comedy of the last several years.
10.
(tie) Sweet/Vicious and Switched at Birth (MTV and Freeform)
These shows are at opposite sides of the teen-TV spectrum: Sweet/Vicious was slick and snarky and barely eked out 10 episodes, while Switched at Birth could be painfully earnest and enjoyed a 104-episode run. But both were centrally attached to the idea of female companionship, and both told stories about young women being their own most capable advocates — particularly in the wake of assault, abuse or discrimination.