Best TV Shows of 2017... So Far

Summer: the perfect time for staying inside, huddling under a blanket in the dark and catching up on all the TV you missed these past few months. But how, with so many excellent TV shows, can you choose the best of the best? Fear not, we chose for you, and determined the absolute cream of the crop that broadcast between January 1, 2017 and June 30 (including partial seasons)

That doesn't mean this list will stay static by the end of the year (it won't, and you can compare last year's mid-game list to the final to see what we mean). But even if the best TV show of all time hits the airwaves (or digitally) on December 31, these ten shows are still very much worth your precious time.

And don't forget to check out our picks for the best performances, as well!

10. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

The second half of Season 2 of The CW's musical hit found Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) finally getting what she thought she always wanted -- and then finding out, of course, that may not be what she wanted after all. Creating a musical is an accomplishment. Creating a season of a musical series that relies entirely on original songs is an achievement. Sticking the landing again with a second season that manages to grapple with intensely personal and emotional mental health issues, while also being laugh out loud funny? That's a masterpiece. -- Alexander Zalben

Where to Watch: Netflix

9. Catastrophe

The darker and dirtier third season of Amazon's series veers into uncharted territory, as Rob falls off the wagon and tries to keep his drinking a secret from his partner. You can probably guess how that turns out, but Catastrophe's genius is that it leaves viewers unsure whether their tears are the result of crying or laughter. Stars (and co-writers) Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan continue to amaze with their portrayal of two strangers who were suddenly thrust into what's become the most realistic relationship on TV. -- Liz Raftery

Where to Watch: Amazon

8. The Good Place

NBC's afterlife comedy would have already secured its (good) place on a Best Of list without the final four Season 1 episodes, which broadcast in 2017. But those final four episodes proved that even if pobody's nerfect, The Good Place got damnably close. The breakneck twists -- including that final doozy, which completely changed the direction of the show and nobody saw coming -- and so funny its hard to breathe laughs made this not just a stand-out comedy, but one of the most creatively human shows on TV. -- AZ

Where to Watch: Hulu

7. Dear White People

Netflix's Dear White People is a sublime, wickedly funny look at prejudice and racial tension on an Ivy League campus -- a setup that scared some away from the outset. That's a shame, since Justin Simien's addictive series looks at the same set of racially charged events from several different characters' (including white ones!) vastly different perspectives. As tensions rise to a boiling point, the smart series makes us laugh and learn while lampooning our culture's ever-intensifying identity politics in a way no other has. -- Malcolm Venable

Where to Watch: Netflix

6. The Leftovers

The eight-episode final season of The Leftovers concluded the show's beautiful and gripping three-season journey about grief, belief and human connection earlier this year by offering viewers a possible explanation for what happened to the 2 percent of the population that departed prior to the start of the series. Populated with stunning showcases for actors Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn, Amy Brenneman and Christopher Eccleston, the third season was a masterpiece that will be remembered for its haunting beauty, Mimi Leder's excellent direction, and for blessing the world with more jokes about Theroux's penis than we probably ever deserved. -- Kaitlin Thomas

Where to Watch: HBO Go

5. Master of None

Should Master of None get that not-yet-confirmed Season 3, Aziz Ansari really should drop the "None" from this groundbreaking show's title for something more fitting like "storytelling." Netflix's thoroughly modern rumination on everything from dating apps to religion, from coming out to heartbreak upped the ante this season, taking big creative risks that pay off. Full of surprising turns in structure, format and style, Master of None is more than one of the year's best: it's a true disruptor that hints at what the future of TV might look like. -- MV

Where to Watch: Netflix

4. Feud: Bette and Joan

A show about a legendary rivalry between two iconic Hollywood queens automatically made Feud a must-watch. In Ryan Murphy's always unpredictable hands, we got an intoxicating, high-wire mix of camp and melancholy. Led by sterling turns from Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange, Feud was proudly about the entrenched ageism and sexism in showbiz. It was also a treatise on ambition, heartache, potential, desolation, relevance, beauty, the way we build people up -- particularly women -- just to take glee in watching them fall, Pepsi, Coke and fiery zingers. But perhaps most poignantly and relatable, it was a rumination on mortality -- the sun setting and life's regrets. We all have a few. -- Joyce Eng

Where to Watch:Amazon

3. Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul was already one of the best shows on television when the third season cranked the tension to 11 and delivered the show's best season to date. Long gestating storylines came together, personal and professional relationships fell apart, and characters came unraveled as the introduction of future drug kingpin Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) propelled the series into the dangerous territory of Breaking Bad and the further deterioration of Jimmy's (Bob Odenkirk) relationship with Chuck (Michael McKean) pushed the show's complex leading man into taking his first steps toward becoming the shallow and slippery Saul Goodman. Of course, seeing how the sausage is made makes it a little tougher to swallow and by the end of the season, fans were left anxiously awaiting but also dreading the impending arrival of the Breaking Bad fan favorite. So... when is Season 4? -- KT

Where to Watch: Amazon

2. The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood's seminal novel was first published in 1985, and for the most part, Hulu's series faithfully adapts the book. Yet despite only minimal changes, the Elisabeth Moss anchored ensemble delivered the most relevant, important show of the year. A dystopian future mere steps removed from our present, the handmaids -- women forced into sexual servitude by the ruling patriarchy -- became a real life symbol of resistance. The show, despite being beautifully shot, isn't easy to watch; but it is possibly the most important TV show of the year. -- AZ

Where to Watch: Hulu

1. Big Little Lies

When Big Little Lies first arrived, it was crudely, wrongly dismissed as merely a lavish, trashy nighttime soap about rich, desperate housewives, with some big-name talent behind (David E. Kelley, Jean-Marc Vallee) and in front of (Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern) the camera. But the adaptation of Liane Moriarty's best-seller not only leaned into its pulpiness and excess privilege -- free-flowing wine! Real-estate porn! A last-minute Frozen on Ice trip to ruin your nemesis' child's birthday party! -- it transcended the form with deeply rooted stories focused on the interiors of these women's lives, anchored by phenomenal performances from its stars. Witherspoon is at her Type-A, Tracy Flick best, and you're inhumane if Kidman's turn as an abused wife didn't destroy you. By its sweeping, haunting end, the whodunit murder mystery was the least interesting part of the show, and it redefined what we've been conditioned to consider prestigious TV: stories of white male antiheroes. -- JE

Where to Watch: HBO Go

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