10 Best Comedy Series Of 2018
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3. ATLANTA
Already the most boldly inventive show anywhere on TV, Donald Glover's FX gem somehow managed to top itself in Season 2, taking bigger swings and smashing our expectations to bits. Each week was like a mini-movie that brilliantly played with genre and form; what other show could deliver back-to-back episodes like the riotous road-trip comedy "Barbershop" and the Gothic horror tale "Teddy Perkins"? But it had a rock-solid emotional spine as well, with Glover's Earn learning the hard way that it's long past time to grow up.
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7. BARRY
HBO's darkly comic freshman may have starred Bill Hader as a hitman who dreams of becoming a famous actor, but it didn't play anything like a jokey SNL sketch. Instead, it expertly blended bloody murder-for-hire drama with dead-on Hollywood satire... and proved that both worlds can be equally cutthroat. It boasted a wealth of great performances, too, including a pair of Emmy winners: Henry Winkler as a hopelessly pretentious acting coach, and Hader as a cold-blooded hitman who just wants to kill his audition.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season 5
8. BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
Much like Jake Peralta's butt, the NBC-bound sitcom remained "da bomb" in 2018. The stronger-than-ever Season 5 blessed us with an unforgettable Homicide homage guest-starring Sterling K. Brown, a Hall of Fame-worthy cold open featuring a Backstreet Boys singalong and a wedding episode for the ages boasting some truly "toit nups." Best of all continued to be Andre Braugher as Capt. Holt, whose deadpan delivery when declaring himself a "human male," or spelling out his full name for husband Kevin, put the ever-so-serious character in a league of his own.
I'm So Happy For You
5. CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
The CW's buoyant rom-com hit its stride this fall as it entered its fourth and final season, with our singing heroine Rebecca Bunch poignantly coming to grips with her psychological issues — while also fending off her own crazy ex, the hilariously persistent Trent. Throw in a few addictively catchy original tunes like "Don't Be a Lawyer" and "Trapped in a Car," and the impending arrival of Skylar Astin as a much different Greg, and Crazy Ex is clearly poised to go out on a high note.
The End of the F***ing World
2. THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD
True Romance taken down several notches, this UK import (which Netflix brought Stateside a few days into 2018) is one of the most bingeable delights that #PeakTV has had to offer. Told in eight installments that run as short as 18 minutes, it's the story of James, a self-described psycho on the verge of realizing his potential, and Alyssa, a fellow teen who lures him into a bit of GTA that rapidly segues into a series of audacious capers... and sobering realizations. Selling what could have been, but isn't, an offensive enterprise are fine performances by Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden, who manage to make these precipitous youths, yes, pitiable.
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6. GLOW
Season 2 of Netflix's dramedy about the titular '80s sensations was so kickass that it's extra galling to know the series (reportedly) almost met the same fate as the show within the show. Not only did GLOW pull no punches with its heavier material, from Ruth's #MeToo moment to Bash's reaction to Florian's passing, but there was no extreme of silly to which it wouldn't go to leave us ROFL. Just thinking about insta-classic "The Good Twin" leaves us humming the Ladies' off-key "hit," "Don't Kidnap."
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9. PATRIOT
Well-described as "the Coen Brothers meets Tom Clancy," this hour-long sophomore comedy continues to be unlike anything else out there, spinning a tragicomic yarn about John Tavner, a U.S. intelligence officer (played with a perma-puss by Michael Dorman) whose ongoing mission to undermine Iran's presidential election hits road block after road block. Things get dark. Things get dicey. Things get narrated by folk tune lyrics. An assassination may be afoot in Season 2, but consider us already slayed by Amazon's odd, under-the-radar gem, which counts Terry O'Quinn and Kurtwood Smith among its operatives.
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4. SCHITT'S CREEK
It's not in the slightest an exaggeration to say that ever since we finally discovered Eugene and Daniel Levy's Pop gem, it's become a favorite comedy. It's also not an exaggeration to say that its finest, funniest and most romantic season has been its fourth. Miraculously, it allowed the nouveau-poor Roses to grow without pruning their prickly quirks. If you, too, are late to the party, binge the whole show ahead of its Dec. 19 holiday special (Seasons 1 through 4 are now available on Netflix) and consider that advice our early present to you.
The Good Place - Season 3
1. THE GOOD PLACE
Eleanor and her fellow humans may have come back down to Earth, but NBC's endlessly delightful afterlife comedy continued to soar this year, constantly reinventing itself on the fly and finding new ways to surprise us in Season 3. Kristen Bell leads TV's strongest comedy ensemble, top to bottom — please, someone give D'Arcy Carden an award for playing Janet — and the writing crackles with quotable one-liners and stinging pop-culture jabs. Plus, it even wades into deep philosophical waters, questioning what it means to live a truly ethical life. Pairing Kierkegaard references with fart jokes? That's enough to earn our vote for the year's top TV comedy.
"Younger" Ep. 509 (Airs 8/07/18)
10. YOUNGER
Not only did the TV Land comedy's fifth season deliver some of its most memorable bits of all time — Liza and Kelsey's on-the-fly speech about being "age queer" immediately springs to mind — but it also found Sutton Foster's character wrestling with exciting new aspects of her identity. (The fact that she also spent the season wrestling with that prime cut of man meat, Charles Brooks, didn't hurt. Yowza.)