The 15 Greatest TV Episodes of 2020

When you concentrate on the historical past of tv, you see that it has developed as a medium during the last twenty years, and with the rise in streaming and a powerful push for what’s change into referred to as “status programming,” there was extra crossover between TV and movie than ever earlier than. However a restricted sequence (or miniseries, as most would have been known as just a few a long time in the past) will not be a “10-hour film,” regardless of what number of occasions film of us attempt to spin it that manner. 

Tv is particular due to its episodic nature and its potential to inform a compelling, ongoing story over a protracted time period. Episodes could be serialized or can stand alone throughout the bigger story, however they’re all equally vital to the overarching narrative and construction of the medium. Nonetheless, some occur to be higher than others. 

Regardless of the chaos of 2020, tv supplied up a plethora of excellent episodes to maintain us all entertained whereas we quarantined at dwelling. Whether or not they made us snicker out loud on the sheer absurdity of their tales or made us ponder humanity and the passing of time, these are the perfect episodes of 2020.

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“Dangerous Selection Highway,” Higher Name Saul

The place to look at: Out there for buy on Amazon Prime (Netflix as soon as Season 5 is on the market)

Three phrases: Inform me once more. The excessive level of Better Call Saul‘s unbelievable fifth season — and among the best scenes of the entire magnificent present — was the brutally tense, 10-minute-long standoff on the finish of the season’s penultimate episode, “Dangerous Selection Highway.” As Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) grilled Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) on what actually occurred to him out within the desert, writer-director Thomas Schnauz dialed up the suspense, making it laborious to consider everybody would survive the evening. However Kim (Rhea Seehorn) stepped up — actually placing herself within the crosshairs of a watchful Mike (Jonathan Banks) — to verbally smack down the cartel enforcer in her lounge till he retreated. Seehorn’s contained rage was an exciting launch on the finish of a confrontation that had everybody holding their breath. However because the kicker to an episode about inescapable penalties, the scene felt violent in its personal manner: Kim Wexler is within the recreation now, and there isn’t any turning again. –Kelly Connolly

Better Call Saul Is the Best Show on TV Right Now

“Pimemento,” Brooklyn 9-9

The place to look at: Hulu

Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s recurring character Adrian Pimento (Jason Mantzoukas) all the time delivers the type of chaotic vitality we will not look away from. In “Pimemento,” he was on the run after somebody tried to kill him, and complicating issues was his short-term reminiscence loss. (Cue the road: “Pimento has Memento!”) Jake (Andy Samberg) and Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) soar in to assist, which solely results in extra pandemonium and film references galore (insert the Discovering Dory jokes right here). Mix all this with Jake and Amy’s (Melissa Fumero) need to develop a household with an in-the-dark Charles, this episode serves up the type of craziness and laughs which have change into the present’s hallmarks. –Aliza Sessler

“Jail,” Dave

The place to look at: Hulu

For a present a few rapper, Dave did not have practically sufficient scenes of Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd rapping. That made the FX sequence largely a raunch-com a few man moaning in regards to the mangled cocktail weenie in his sweatpants — with occasional moments of perception when the present interrupted its bro-down for shockingly perceptive episodes centered on facet characters. However the finale let Dave spit fireplace, lastly permitting us to see the expertise he arrogantly noticed in himself. The primary act is an opus: an eight-and-a-half minute rap video through which Dave tells a narrative about getting thrown in jail for indecent publicity after exhibiting a testicle to the gang at his live performance, and the way he survived jail by biting off the dong of a gang chief. Sure. After all, it was all a demo performed for aghast executives at his new file label, thus beginning a dialog about artwork versus commercialism, for which Dave is a pure poster little one. The ultimate moments noticed him win over his greatest critic, Charlamagne tha God, in addition to his second greatest critic, me. Season 2 must do extra of this. –Tim Surette

“Fugitive of the Judoon,” Physician Who

The place to look at: HBO Max

Nobody anticipated Doctor Who to vary the sport in a Judoon episode, however “Fugitive of the Judoon” pulled off two of the season’s best twists, utilizing the villains of the week as a Computer virus — or possibly Trojan rhino — to introduce a personality who would utterly upend the mythology of the 57-year-old sequence. Together with her debut as a beforehand unseen incarnation of the Physician, Jo Martin grew to become the primary Black Physician in Who historical past. It was a blast to look at her super-cool tackle the character face off towards Jodie Whittaker‘s Physician on the helm of an old-school TARDIS, pushing the present into the long run with out overlooking its previous. Within the episode’s different electrifying shock, Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) mouth-kissed his manner again into the Physician’s orbit a decade after his final look on Physician Who. Not unhealthy for a rhino cop episode. –Kelly Connolly

“Room 320,” Evil

The place to look at: Netflix, CBS All Access

The majority of Evil‘s unbelievable first season aired in 2019, however Robert and Michelle King‘s twisted supernatural drama kicked off this 12 months as solely it may with “Room 320,” a claustrophobic psychological thriller that went deep on the horrors of medical racism. The episode trapped Mike Colter‘s David Acosta, recovering from a stabbing, within the hospital with a menacing nurse (Tara Summers) who appreciated killing Black sufferers. As an overmedicated David fought to remain alive, his nightmares bled into an much more terrifying actuality. The gorgeous hour walked the road between trippy and useless critical, following David by each pressing, bloody try to search out somebody who would pay attention. The demons roaming the halls have been virtually comedian reduction by comparability. –Kelly Connolly

“You’ve got Modified, Man,” The Good Place

The place to look at: Netflix

If I had my manner, Justified would nonetheless be on TV. It might run for 40 seasons. Raylan Givens would limp round Harlan and yell at children to get off his garden. I might eat it up. And so, it appears, would the Choose (Maya Rudolph) on The Good Place. In “You’ve got Modified, Man,” a model of Justified star Timothy Olyphant is conjured to distract the Choose whereas Crew Cockroach pitches their plan to save lots of humanity through a brand new model of the afterlife — a plan that sounds an terrible lot just like the premise of The Good Place. Their plan in the end works, saving humanity from being rebooted (as soon as Shawn [Marc Evan Jackson] agrees to this setup, after all). And whereas the episode is the fruits of 4 seasons of character growth and story evolution primarily based on philosophical teachings and self-betterment, it’s maybe finest remembered for Olyphant’s willingness to goof round and don a Raylan-esque cowboy hat to fulfill the Choose, The Good Place creator Mike Schur, and everybody else who ever beloved his portrayal of Elmore Leonard‘s laconic lawman. After Fox canceled The Grinder, which featured Olyphant as a fictional model of himself, this meta train is the following neatest thing, and the truth that the cameo got here after the writers left a sequence of breadcrumbs referencing the Choose’s love for the FX Western made the visitor look even higher. After all, it is also cool that humanity wasn’t rebooted and Emperor Child Rock by no means rose to energy, however largely the Olyphant factor. –Kaitlin Thomas

“The Altar of the Lifeless,” The Haunting of Bly Manor

The place to look at: Netflix

As an entire, The Haunting of Bly Manor struggled to achieve the heights of Hill House, however the fifth episode embodied the second season at its easiest. “The Altar of the Lifeless” focuses on the tragic story of the housekeeper, Hannah Grose (T’Nia Miller), as she weaves out and in of recollections all through her time at Bly whereas refusing to simply accept the truth that she’s useless. It is a heartbreaking portrait of a girl fueled by love, restrained by worry, and stubbornly held collectively by responsibility and denial. And although Bly Manor delivered its justifiable share of devastating twists, none have been as haunting as Hannah lastly discovering the braveness to pursue a future with the lovable cook dinner, Owen (Rahul Kohli), solely to appreciate it was too late for her to make totally different selections. It is an emotional powerhouse of an episode through which the horror does not lie within the ghosts or the dream-hopping that drove the season, however within the on a regular basis terror of how simple it’s to let your life move you by. –Sadie Gennis

“Episode 3101,” Kidding

The place to look at: Showtime

Earlier than Showtime determined to cancel the distinctive and heartwarming Kidding, the sequence delivered an emotional masterpiece within the type of “Episode 3101,” a Season 2 episode that is really an installment of Mr. Pickles’ Puppet Time, the Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood-inspired present throughout the present. The episode serves to kick out half of the puppets who dwell in Pickle Barrel Falls — conveniently each puppet that Deidre’s (Catherine Keener) husband seized the rights to of their divorce within the earlier episode — and to assist Jeff (Jim Carrey) himself make sense of his impending divorce. Each missions are completed after Pickle Barrel Falls experiences an “ungluing” and every thing within the city falls aside, forcing the puppets to search out new properties and leaving Jeff to clarify that typically loving somebody very a lot is not sufficient to maintain every thing collectively. The fictional kids’s present breaks down grownup issues with tender care, and it has the added bonus of that includes Ariana Grande as a pickle fairy who introduced us to tears together with her music in regards to the energy of affection and believing in issues. Kidding was a artistic and underappreciated gem all through its too-short run, and the depth of “Episode 3101” is an instance of what all TV ought to attempt to be. –Megan Vick

“The Cowboy,” Little America

The place to look at: Apple TV+

Apple is used to producing mass hysteria with its product releases, however Apple TV+ hit the market with all the thrill of a brand new iPod Shuffle. Apple’s first nice sequence arrived months after launch with the anthology comedy sequence Little America, and no episode does a greater job of capturing the sequence’ immigrant expertise than “The Cowboy.” In it, a Nigerian man named Iwegbuna (performed by the effortlessly charming Nigerian multi-hyphenate Conphidance) strikes to the U.S. to attend school, and in his free time he learns to decorate and behave like a cowboy from some open-hearted locals who assist him fulfill a dream he is had since admiring cowboys on movie again in his dwelling nation. It is about becoming in to a brand new dwelling and preserving your personal traditions alive, and it is full of touching moments that actively tear down obstacles. Watching a pair of previous white guys give Iwegbuna tips about buying a brand new cowboy hat and boots is nice not simply because it is humorous, however as a result of it is a mannequin for the way we must always all deal with somebody seeking to increase their information of different cultures. –Tim Surette

“Sunset,” Lovecraft Nation

The place to look at: HBO, HBO Max, Hulu with HBO add-on, Amazon with HBO add-on

Lovecraft Country‘s go-big-or-go-home first season took the occasional swing and a miss, however the sequence premiere was a triumph — a harrowing journey by 1950s Jim Crow America that did not skimp on pulp scares however was at its scariest when it was at its most actual. The spotlight of the episode was Tic (Jonathan Majors), Leti (Jurnee Smollett), and George’s (Courtney B. Vance) gripping street journey to New England, the place racist sheriffs lay in wait to chase them by sunset counties. However the hour additionally left room for vivid, tender celebrations of Black love and pleasure, and for each tentacled monster, it paid homage to Black artists like James Baldwin and Gordon Parks. “Sunset” was the neatest blockbuster of the summer season. –Kelly Connolly

“Mythic Quest: Quarantine,” Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet

The place to look at: Apple TV+

Because the pandemic raged, this Mythic Quest episode managed to do just a few seemingly unimaginable issues suddenly: It was honest with out being cloying, speaking in regards to the nervousness and melancholy so many people try to cope with throughout these demanding occasions. It was additionally goofy, with a Rube Goldberg-inspired sequence that was completely coordinated with all of the distant forged members. The episode is a time capsule of 2020, full with the frustration, unhappiness, and sense of battle everybody can relate to. Better of all, the forged and crew produced the episode observing protocols that saved everybody correctly distanced and protected. All in all, a pandemic TV miracle. –Diane Gordon

“Play,” Pen15

The place to look at: Hulu

For theater children like myself, “Play” is a humiliating and hilarious journey down reminiscence lane. Within the episode, finest associates Maya (Maya Erskine) and Anna (Anna Konkle) discover themselves spending a while aside when Maya lands the lead within the faculty play, leaving a jealous Anna to seek for her personal place within the manufacturing as a techie. Now on separate sides of the nice theatrical divide, we watch as Maya and Anna achieve confidence in their very own talents and in themselves as people, just for the duo to fall again on their worst tendencies after they lastly come collectively once more for “hell week.” These rifts are part of any adolescent friendship, the place not each relationship is ready to evolve past codependency, and PEN15 explores these rising pains with nice tenderness. The identical could be stated for the present’s strategy to Gabe’s (Dylan Gage Moore) struggles to simply accept his queerness, as his valiant makes an attempt to keep away from kissing his co-star and new girlfriend, Maya, result in a heart-wrenching kiss by masks whereas gradual dancing. Whereas the episode nonetheless registers excessive on the cringe issue, “Play” demonstrates such overwhelming compassion for these clueless children coming to phrases with themselves that it is laborious to not change into extra compassionate towards your personal center faculty self within the course of. –Sadie Gennis

“They,” Ramy

The place to look at: Hulu

Lots of Ramy‘s finest episodes are ones that creator and star Ramy Youssef is not in. That is the case for Season 2’s most interesting half-hour, “They,” which focuses on Ramy Hassan’s mom, Maysa, performed by the nice Hiam Abbass. Within the episode, Maysa is about to take her citizenship examination, which her naturalization officer assures her will probably be “a softball.” However she is thrown a curveball when a passenger she drove in her Lyft stories her to the corporate, which she worries will have an effect on her citizenship software. Together with her daughter Dina’s (May Calamawy) assist, she figures out that the passenger who reported her was most likely a gender nonconforming particular person named Sophia (Possibly Burke) whom she offensively misgendered. After which she goes and finds them to apologize, which solely makes issues worse. 

The specter of Donald Trump hangs over the episode in a singular manner that solely a present with Ramy‘sviewpoint may pull off. Maysa desires to change into an American citizen in an effort to vote towards the anti-Muslim president, however her hatred of Trump does not imply she’s not like him within the careless, offensive, stream-of-consciousness manner she talks. It is a nuanced, empathetic portrait of a personality who seems like an actual particular person, and a kind of particular person (an emotionally advanced middle-aged, middle-class, Center Japanese lady) who not often will get proven on TV. –Liam Mathews

“The Incident,” Schitt’s Creek

The place to look at: Netflix, CW Seed

It is troublesome to choose a single episode to rejoice Schitt’s Creek‘s glorious ultimate season, however “The Incident” finest encapsulates why this present will go down as one of the crucial beloved comedies of all time. The second episode introduced childhood trauma to the forefront when David (Dan Levy) awoke with Patrick (Noah Reid) to find he had moist the mattress through the evening. Depart it to Levy’s compassionate genius to make an issue that reportedly only affects 1 to 2 percent of adults really feel common as Patrick’s light understanding of the difficulty solely exacerbates David’s nervousness in regards to the state of affairs. Moira’s (Catherina O’Hara) first huge foray into social media additionally ups the stakes when she by accident reveals the accident to everybody on the World Large Net, however the episode showcases one in all Schitt’s Creek’s best strengths: discovering methods to make us snicker with out ever punching down. –Megan Vick

“On the Run,” What We Do within the Shadows

The place to look at: Hulu

No episode of TV made me snicker more durable this 12 months than What We Do in the Shadows‘ “On the Run.” Laszlo (Matt Berry) is being hunted by Jim the Vampire (Mark Hamill), to whom Laszlo has owed cash for over a century. When confronted with the selection to both pay his debt or struggle Jim to the dying, Laszlo as a substitute decides to go on the run, leaving his spouse and roommates behind on Staten Island to start out a brand new life in Pennsylvania. To be able to successfully disguise himself, Laszlo operates underneath the alias Jackie Daytona, a Springsteen-esque, jeans-wearing bar proprietor who isn’t seen and not using a toothpick in his mouth and is an avid supporter of the native ladies’ volleyball workforce. Nobody on the town understands who he’s or the place he got here from (a hilarious element is Laszlo’s declare that Jackie hails from Tuscon, Arizona, whereas doing nothing to cowl up his English accent), however everybody loves him anyway. It is a gloriously foolish half-hour of TV and the perfect instance of what the FX comedy can do. The standalone episode greater than earned its Excellent Writing Emmy nomination. –Allison Picurro

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Edited by Kaitlin Thomas and Noelene Clark
Illustration by Jessie Cowan