TV to be Thankful For: A Pre-End of Year List (of Sorts)

There is a lot of TV to be watched right now (#PeakTV) and like many I am in the process of compiling end of year lists (and as I have done in previous years I will be doing my ‘best of’ in a variety of ways) while trying to remember everything that I have watched this year. So this is a preview of what is to come in the following month and hopefully it will jog my very full TV related memory of anything I might miss.

So in no particular order here is what I am thankful for when it comes to TV in 2015:

• The Hollywood Reporter TV Actress roundtable participants look like this and not this.
• Comedy shows that explore a broad range of topics which not only make me laugh until I cry, but also invoke full on Claire Danes level of cry face. I am mostly looking at you You’re the Worst.
• While I’m on the subject of comedies that make me misty eyed; Parks and Recreation ended this season on a high with an episode that pivoted on the Six Feet Under model and caused just as many tears.
• Cable shows are embracing male nudity beyond just butts (special shout-outs to The Leftovers and The Affair) and all this after the The Comeback had a whole episode dedicated to skewering cable on this issue.
• Everything Valerie Cherish.
• Everything Abbi and Ilana.
• “Looking for a Plot.”
• Teen girls on The Americans avoiding the usual annoying teen trap many other dramas fall foul of.
• And that every episode is a lesson in tension and an exploration on marriage and identity. It was my number one show in March and it still is in November (spoiler alert).
• That Agent Carter got a second season and I now own the same lipstick as Peggy Carter.
• The master class in acting delivered by Carrie Coon and Regina King on The Leftovers and for every insanely wonderful thing this show is doing. Also for Justin Theroux’s ability to look bewildered and devastated at any given opportunity.
• The Villanueva women.
• Getting to see Tatiana Maslany take on even more characters and make me forget she is playing everyone in a scene. And this wave.
• Kroll Show going out on a high and creating this incredible universe where so many characters overlapped and intersected. And because I can’t say “Oh, hello” without wondering if there is too much tuna and I sometimes inadvertently say ‘Ameezing’ like I’m on PubLIZity.
• The 12 Angry Men episode of Inside Amy Schumer.
• Rob and Sharon on Catastrophe (even if the amount of things Sharon says that are like me is reaching a worrying level).
• Shows that take will they/won’t they situations and turn them into yep they will. Oh hey there Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
• All of Lady Gaga’s costuming on American Horror Story: Hotel.
• Fargo indulging my love of all things 1970s clothing.
• Daenerys’ dragon necklace.
• The brief but amazing turn by Birgitte Hjort Sørensen on Game of Thrones.
• Kit Harington Hair Watch.
• Peggy’s cigarette smoking sunglasses strut.
• Peggy roller skating.
• The many times Mad Men made me cry.
• Sally Draper.
• Watching Felicity with Julie Hammerle and the time travel arc being even better than I imagined.
• This Entertainment Weekly cover.
• Master of None using THAT passage from The Bell Jar (which led to more tears – TV has made me cry a lot this year).
• Jon Stewart’s last Daily Show (more tears).
• All the incredible music I’ve ‘discovered’ thanks to shows such as Girls, OITNB, Master of None, Looking, You’re the Worst and Togetherness.
• No longer having “Drip Drop” stuck in my head.
• The lighting on The Knick.
• Oscar Isaac’s mustache/dad jeans and all the Bruce Springsteen used throughout Show Me a Hero. And, how the thought of this show hits me like a gut punch.
• Every beautiful/fucked up thing they got away with on Hannibal this season.
• Queen of ladysuits – Alana Bloom.
• #LadySuitWatch2015
• Superheroes on TV.
• Jessica Jones’ leather jacket and her friendship with Trish.
• Matt Murdock and this balloon.
• Pre-emptive Mulder and Scully feeeeeeelings.
• When Sherlock bought Joan the perfect outfit.
• Every single one of Diane Lockhart’s statement necklaces.
• Giving Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson more screen time on The Affair.
• All the wardrobe inspiration from so many shows this year and the always growing Wish List.
• That I got to talk to three amazing costume designers and write about it.
• The range in costume design and shows covered on here includes everything from period to contemporary to fantasy; I am thankful there is a vast amount to discuss and get inspired by.
• Season 2 of Transparent is almost here!

The list is long and there are probably some very obvious things I have missed. I will get mad at myself later, but for now Happy Thanksgiving!

If you’re looking for Thanksgiving episodes to watch maybe take a rewind and watch these offerings from Felicity and Dawson’s Creek.

Tags: Agent Carter, American Horror Story: Hotel, Broad City, Catastrophe, costume design, Daredevil, Dawson's Creek, Elementary, Empire, End of Year, Fargo, Felicity, Game of Thrones, Girls, Hannibal, Inside Amy Schumer, Jessica Jones, Kroll Show, Looking, Mad Men, Master of None, Orange is the New Black, Orphan Black, Parks and Recreation, Show Me a Hero, The Affair, The Americans, The Comeback, The Daily Show, The Good Wife, The Knick, The Leftovers, The X-Files, Togetherness, Transparent, TV to be Thankful For, You're the Worst