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(Photo by Jace Downs/2018 Warner Bros Entertainment Inc.)
2019 Winter TV Scorecard
Thanks to cable networks and streaming services, we don’t have to wait until the traditional September-to-May network TV season to watch quality programming. The first three months of 2019 brought a total of 90 new TV series, seasons, and movies that made this list, along with 37 Certified Fresh shows.
The final update included the returns of critically acclaimed series including The O.A., The Good Fight, Jane the Virgin, Veep, and Barry; a batch of new shows including NBC’s The Village and Abby’s, Netflix’s Love, Death & Robots, Hulu’s The Act, FX’s What We Do in the Shadows, and Amazon’s Hanna; and Netflix movie The Dirt and comedy special Amy Schumer Growing. Also on the list: Billions season 4, Santa Clarita Diet season 3, and the miniseries Mrs. Wilson.
Which series came out on top? That would be Netflix’s recently cancelled sitcom One Day at a Time, which is currently searching for a new home.
The list below tracks every new TV season or streaming movie from the last few months of winter (Jan. 1 through March 31) that got at least 10 critic reviews for TV shows and 20 critic reviews for movies. (If you’re wondering why your favorite show isn’t on here, it likely just didn’t have enough season reviews to qualify under our criteria.)
Updated 4/8: The Village season 1, The Good Fight season 3, Love, Death & Robots season 1, Billions season 4, The Act season 1, The Dirt, The O.A. season 2, Jane the Virgin season 5, What We Do in the Shadows season 1, Abby’s season 1, Santa Clarita Diet season 3, Hanna season 1, Mrs. Wilson, Veep season 7, Barry season 2, Amy Schumer Growing.
#91
Adjusted Score: 19775%
Critics Consensus: An action thriller starring Mads Mikkelsen as the world's most dangerous assassin should be terrifically entertaining, but Polar proves it's possible to ruin anything if you try.
Synopsis: The world's top assassin, Duncan Vizla, aka The Black Kaiser, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him... [More]
Directed By: Jonas Akerlund
Adjusted Score: 26796%
Critics Consensus: The jury finds Proven Innocent -- on the charges of saddling fine actors with clunky dialogue, padding out its storylines with stale plot contrivances, and wasting viewers' time with rote procedural formula -- guilty on all counts.
Adjusted Score: 27417%
Critics Consensus: Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club lacks the trashy joie de vivre of similar reality shows in large part because of the titular character's lack of screen time.
#88
Adjusted Score: 27221%
Critics Consensus: Despite the show's earnest intentions, Rent Live's clumsy production and pre-recorded broadcast render it an underwhelming "live" musical event.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Directed By: Alex Rudzinski
Adjusted Score: 23228%
Critics Consensus: The Village commendably attempts to affirm the bonds between neighbors in an urban community, but the series' overeagerness to wring tears from viewers will most likely only prompt them to roll their eyes.
#85
Adjusted Score: 37942%
Critics Consensus: Close puts a welcome female-fronted spin on the prototypical action thriller; unfortunately, the rest of the movie's ingredients are tediously predictable.
Synopsis: After an attempted kidnapping, a counter-terrorism expert is assigned to safeguard a wealthy young heiress.... [More]
Directed By: Vicky Jewson
#84
Adjusted Score: 41107%
Critics Consensus: The Dirt celebrates the rude debauchery that Mötley Crüe's fans enjoy -- but does so with the dispiriting lack of substance that the group's critics have long decried.
Synopsis: The misfits of Mötley Crüe rise from the streets of Hollywood to the heights of international fame in the 1980s.... [More]
Directed By: Jeff Tremaine
Adjusted Score: 37784%
Critics Consensus: Despite an appealing cast, FAM flounders under the weight of its sitcom stylings, drowning much of its potential in a sea of familiar jokes that don't serve its progressive premise.
Adjusted Score: 38511%
Critics Consensus: Despite going too far into virgin territory, the 23rd season of The Bachelor manages to mix it up thanks to a particularly eccentric group of contestants.
Adjusted Score: 43322%
Critics Consensus: Despite a set of stellar performances led by the capable Jennifer Carpenter, The Enemy Within stumbles into an overly formulaic narrative that fails to produce any real spark.
Adjusted Score: 54967%
Critics Consensus: Poor writing and predictable plot twists dampen Turn Up Charlie's fun premise -- but those looking for a breezy sitcom starring the perennially cool Idris Elba may find themselves tapping along to its good natured beats.
Adjusted Score: 53363%
Critics Consensus: Defying all tropes of the reality competition genre, The Masked Singer manages to be both magnetically apocalyptic and inexplicably boring.
Adjusted Score: 53559%
Critics Consensus: White Dragon boasts a visually striking setting and a commanding central presence in John Simm, but this neon noir is hobbled by a mystery that doesn't hook and a reliance on its Hong Kong backdrop that arguably borders on cultural exploitation.
Adjusted Score: 55889%
Critics Consensus: Roswell, New Mexico admirably adds modern political context to its premise, but this reboot hews too closely to its predecessor to transcend the pitfalls of a redundant retread.
Adjusted Score: 59251%
Critics Consensus: Black Monday zips with irrepressible style and a seductively stacked cast of charismatics stars - but this Wall Street odyssey is too preoccupied with flash to ferment its needed substance.
Adjusted Score: 62645%
Critics Consensus: American Gods retains its bombastic style but loses its divine inspiration in a derivative second season that, after a change in show-runners and even some crucial cast members, feels like a false idol.
Adjusted Score: 64495%
Critics Consensus: The Punisher's second season leaves fans torn between the undeniably action-packed fun and the underwhelming portrayal of the charismatic Frank Castle.
Directed By: Steve Lightfoot
Adjusted Score: 58645%
Critics Consensus: Ferociously ambitious, The Widow boasts Kate Beckinsale's killer action chops but goes astray in a jungle of problematic tropes and unsatisfying twists.
Adjusted Score: 63456%
Critics Consensus: Strong performances from leads Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Saniyya Sidney can't course correct The Passage's wayward plot and feeble tone.
Adjusted Score: 67495%
Critics Consensus: Despite well executed action and smart casting, Deadly Class struggles to meet the mark set by other spooky teen shows.
Adjusted Score: 67703%
Critics Consensus: Project Blue Book will likely intrigue fans of the paranormal with its loose adaptation of historically unexplained phenomena, but this buttoned-down series lacks the narrative verve to appeal beyond the true believers.
Adjusted Score: 76645%
Critics Consensus: Audiences looking for an arsenic cookie of a series may cut Flack some slack, but its cynical take on publicity is exacerbated by hyperbolically unpleasant, underdeveloped characters.
Directed By: Peter Cattaneo
Adjusted Score: 69684%
Critics Consensus: A gritty reimagining of the 2011 film, Hanna adds new wrinkles to the mythology and texture to the titular assassin -- though the series' long-winded journey may try the patience of viewers who want their violent fables concise.
Adjusted Score: 71983%
Critics Consensus: Despite some early watered down humor, Abby's brims with potential thanks to its easy going, goofy sensibility and a perfectly cast Natalie Morales.
Adjusted Score: 72700%
Critics Consensus: A visual collage of dot com history, Valley of Boom proves to be just as sprawling and ramshackle as the docuseries' subject.
Adjusted Score: 77345%
Critics Consensus: After Life's first season teeters tonally between dark comedy and affecting drama, but Ricky Gervais' poignant performance illuminates new sides of the actor's talent.
Adjusted Score: 73040%
Critics Consensus: Schooled's freshman outing struggles to differentiate itself from its predecessor -- though its sweetly silly sensibilities and stellar cast may be enough for viewers looking for a good-natured sitcom.
Adjusted Score: 78612%
Critics Consensus: Chris Pine inhabits I Am the Night with the roguish gravitas befitting a noir -- even if this entry into the pulp genre is more straightforward and languidly paced than some viewers would like.
Adjusted Score: 77778%
Critics Consensus: More charming than clever, Miracle Workers functions as a palatable showcase of Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi's quirky star power.
#61
Adjusted Score: 61373%
Critics Consensus: Amy Schumer's standup matures in an hour filled with concise insights into aging and matrimony, marked with only slight Growing pains as the comedian refreshes her comedic voice.
Synopsis: Amy Schumer gives a refreshingly honest and hilarious take on marriage, pregnancy and personal growth in her new Netflix comedy... [More]
Starring: Amy Schumer
Directed By: Amy Schumer
Adjusted Score: 74887%
Critics Consensus: Though its animation leaves something to be desired, Watership Down is a faithful adaptation that will resonate with viewers of any age.
Adjusted Score: 81117%
Critics Consensus: Marrying filmmaker Gregg Araki's frisky style with heady conspiracies and literary allusions, Now Apocalypse's bodacious aesthetics and philosophical pondering may prove too deliberately offbeat and garish for some.
Adjusted Score: 80064%
Critics Consensus: This animated anthology has enough creative Death to satisfy cyberpunk aficionados who Love their Robots to have some Heavy Metal influence, but the series' lofty ambitions are often undercut by a preoccupation with gore and titillation.
#57
Adjusted Score: 80330%
Critics Consensus: Alex Gibey's The Inventor declines to outright condemn the actions by Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, but instead provides a comprehensive overview of the scandal that allows viewers to mull over its implications towards the broader Silicon Valley.
Synopsis: With a new invention that promised to revolutionize blood testing, Elizabeth Holmes became the world's youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as... [More]
Directed By: Alex Gibney
Adjusted Score: 84879%
Critics Consensus: The Umbrella Academy unfurls an imaginative yarn with furtive emotion and an exceptionally compelling ensemble, but the series' dour sensibility often clashes with its splashy genre trappings.
#55
Adjusted Score: 79610%
Critics Consensus: In the battle over Fyre Festival content, Fyre Fraud comes out swinging with a questionable interview of conman Billy McFarland and a thoughtful exploration of nefarious social strategy.
Synopsis: ... [More]
Starring: Billy McFarland
Directed By: Unknown Director
Adjusted Score: 83497%
Critics Consensus: Marie Kondo makes for a delightful instructor on Tidying Up, gently encouraging us all to cut out all the clutter from our lives.
Starring: Marie Kondo
Adjusted Score: 80793%
Critics Consensus: Black Earth Rising is an exceptional political thriller, confronting relevant challenges and deep-seated geopolitical problems with storytelling verve and a wise refusal to provide any easy answers.
#52
Adjusted Score: 82052%
Critics Consensus: With acerbic wit and a mesmerizingly eccentric performance from Benedict Cumberbatch, Brexit energetically renders recent history with unflinching poise.
Synopsis: A strategist begins a campaign to convince British voters to leave the European Union.... [More]
Directed By: Toby Haynes
Adjusted Score: 84117%
Critics Consensus: A worthy Serial supplement that isn't without flaws, The Case Against Adnan Syed fleshes out the life of Hae Min Lee and gives context to in the complicated boon of true crime entertainment.
Adjusted Score: 85251%
Critics Consensus: Fascinating and frustrating, Lorena's ample footage and fresh perspective on a long-mocked moment provide welcome context and vindication to the woman at its center -- even if its reenactments don't quite measure up.
Starring: Jovanna Valladares
Adjusted Score: 80403%
Critics Consensus: Fun, feisty, and fueled by the chemistry between its charismatic leads, Whiskey Cavalier overcomes its familiar structure to deliver an attractive take on a well-worn formula.
Adjusted Score: 83078%
Critics Consensus: Pure sidesteps the seedy pratfalls of its ribald premise to instead compassionately explore the complications of compulsion, shame, and struggling to make sense of oneself.
Adjusted Score: 81053%
Critics Consensus: Informer boasts striking visuals and a promising performance by Nathan Rizwan -- if only it weren't all undermined by uneven writing and an overly cynical world view.
Directed By: Jonny Campbell
#45
Adjusted Score: 86687%
Critics Consensus: Girl uses one aspiring dancer's story as the framework for a poignant drama that approaches its difficult themes with fittingly alluring grace.
Synopsis: Lara, a 15-year-old girl who was born in a boy's body, is committed to becoming a professional ballerina.... [More]
Directed By: Lukas Dhont
Adjusted Score: 85889%
Critics Consensus: Gotham concludes in a glorious free-for-all that takes full advantage of the series' dense roster of colorful villains, making for an extended climax that is equal parts daffy and thrilling.
#43
Adjusted Score: 88663%
Critics Consensus: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind earns its predictably uplifting arc through strong performances and impressive work from debuting director Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Synopsis: A 13-year-old boy is thrown out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees.... [More]
Directed By: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Adjusted Score: 88394%
Critics Consensus: Dynasties delivers all the Attenborough goods - stunning visuals, captivating voiceover, and apt anthropomorphism.
Starring: David Attenborough
Adjusted Score: 92228%
Critics Consensus: Affirming and uplifting as ever, Queer Eye's third season settles into a nearly formulaic groove -- thankfully the concoction continues to work like gangbusters thanks to the Fab Five's comforting Midas touch.
Adjusted Score: 92134%
Critics Consensus: By focusing on the bureaucracy involved in catching a killer, Manhunt dramatizes a notorious chapter in British crime without exploiting its seedier elements.
Adjusted Score: 91595%
Critics Consensus: Driven by Mahershala Ali's mesmerizing performance, True Detective's third season finds fresh perspective by exploring the fallibility of memory.
Adjusted Score: 92793%
Critics Consensus: Mrs. Wilson is a handsomely crafted mystery, filled with startling period details and a sterling performance by Ruth Wilson as a determined widow braving the eye of heartbreak.
Adjusted Score: 97557%
Critics Consensus: Bawdy, heartfelt, and surprisingly wise, Sex Education is a raucous romp through a group of teenagers whose sexual misadventures are so thoughtfully rendered, adults could learn a thing or two from them.
Directed By: Jamie Campbell
#36
Adjusted Score: 97218%
Critics Consensus: Fyre smolders with agonizing tension when a party in paradise goes awry, but this slickly assembled documentary reserves its greatest horror for damning observations about the dangers of wealth.
Synopsis: The history of the Fyre Music Festival, from its creation through its unraveling.... [More]
Starring:
Directed By: Chris Smith
Adjusted Score: 91628%
Critics Consensus: Disturbingly nuanced performances from Patricia Arquette and Joey King make The Act a convincing case for the ongoing dramatization of true crime stories.
Adjusted Score: 94590%
Critics Consensus: The OA's second season provides satisfying answers to its predecessors' most maddening enigmas, all while maintaining the singular ambience that fans have come to crave.
#33
Adjusted Score: 90553%
Critics Consensus: It takes its time coming together, but the quietly effective Paddleton pulls off a tricky tonal balancing act, thanks largely to the strengths of its well-chosen leads.
Synopsis: An unlikely friendship between two misfit neighbors becomes an unexpected emotional journey when the younger man is diagnosed with terminal... [More]
Directed By: Alex Lehmann
Adjusted Score: 97293%
Critics Consensus: Sharp social commentary and a star-making performance from Aidy Bryant help Shrill overcome its familiar comedic sensibilities to create a show that proves self-acceptance isn't one size fits all.
Adjusted Score: 87417%
Critics Consensus: Vivid animation and creative reconstruction of the Carmen Sandiego backstory elevates this property beyond its edutainment roots.
Adjusted Score: 93149%
Critics Consensus: Thoughtful, emotional, and eye-opening, Butterfly effectively addresses the nuances of gender identity with a careful balance of sensitivity and realism.
Directed By: Anthony Byrne
Adjusted Score: 94739%
Critics Consensus: The Magicians conjures a mind-bending fourth season that reinvigorates the ensemble with heady twists and spellbinding turns -- all leavened by the series' signature glib humor.
Adjusted Score: 97172%
Critics Consensus: The next generation of DC heroes and villains return with sharper animation and a bloodier sensibility that nevertheless retains the preceding seasons' hefty dose of heart.
Adjusted Score: 97495%
Critics Consensus: With game leads and a wickedly witty sense of humor, The Other Two skewers and celebrates pop culture with equal aplomb.
Adjusted Score: 99801%
Critics Consensus: Delightfully absurd and ridiculously fun, What We Do in the Shadows expands on the film's vampiric lore and finds fresh perspective in its charming, off-kilter cast to create a mockumentary series worth sinking your teeth into.
Adjusted Score: 95984%
Critics Consensus: By unearthing previously suppressed histories, Surviving R. Kelly exposes the dangers of enabling predatory behavior and gives necessary voice to its survivors.
Directed By: Brie Miranda Bryant
Adjusted Score: 97267%
Critics Consensus: The Good Fight's third season pulls no punches, doubling down on the social commentary while maintaining the show's sensational delights to create one of the best dramas on TV.
Adjusted Score: 90285%
Critics Consensus: Andrew Davies' deft adaptation of the oft-retold Victor Hugo classic affords viewers a newfound intimacy with these outcasts and revolutionaries, who are ably brought to life by a star-studded cast.
Adjusted Score: 97534%
Critics Consensus: Viewers willing to suspend their disbelief will find much to enjoy in Pen15, wherein Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle reprise their adolescent selves -- stirring up plenty of yucks and pathos amidst the farce.
Adjusted Score: 100006%
Critics Consensus: DC Universe finds breakout material in this iteration of Doom Patrol thanks to a fully committed cast and the writing's faith in weirdness.
Adjusted Score: 101573%
Critics Consensus: Brash and bonkers as ever, Veep bows out with an unapologetically absurd final season that solidifies its status as one of TV's greatest comedies.
Adjusted Score: 105352%
Critics Consensus: Russian Doll may be stuck in a time loop, but this endlessly inventive series never repeats itself as it teeters on a seesaw of shifting tones -- from fatally funny to mournfully sad -- that is balanced with exhilarating moxie by an astonishing Natasha Lyonne.
Adjusted Score: 97795%
Critics Consensus: With tables turned and alliances formed, Billions's fourth season goes full throttle with sharp dialogue, better rivalries, and bigger stakes.
Adjusted Score: 97873%
Critics Consensus: Catastrophe hits its crescendo in a cutting final season that finds both the humor and heartbreak of simply trying to get by as a lover and a parent.
Adjusted Score: 105979%
Critics Consensus: Crucial and careful, Leaving Neverland gives empathetic breadth and depth to the complicated afterlife of child sexual abuse as experienced by adult survivors.
Directed By: Dan Reed
Adjusted Score: 100134%
Critics Consensus: Boomerang succeeds as both an affectionate continuation of its cinematic forebear and a modern reimagining with an engaging ensemble who excel at the smart repartee brought by creators Ben Cory Jones and Lena Waithe.
Adjusted Score: 100418%
Critics Consensus: Good Trouble is a spinoff that leaves the nest and takes graceful flight, bringing a deft comedic touch to the trials and tribulations facing Generation Z.
Adjusted Score: 101550%
Critics Consensus: Gina Rodriguez delivers a stellar performance in Jane the Virgin's final season, grounding the series in humanity amidst all its quirky telenovela humor.
Adjusted Score: 100228%
Critics Consensus: Five seasons in, Grace & Frankie remain blissfully at the top of their game, thanks to Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin's undeniable bond.
Adjusted Score: 100228%
Critics Consensus: Endearingly acerbic, You're The Worst refuses to overstay its welcome, delivering its fifth and final season with plenty of on brand care and cringe.
Adjusted Score: 100232%
Critics Consensus: Fun, focused, and surprisingly thoughtful, The Orville's second season makes good use of its talented crew.
Adjusted Score: 100606%
Critics Consensus: The final installment of Lemony Snicket's magnum opus adds new contours to its expansive cast, provides answers to some of the pernicious questions within the series' lore, and delivers a finale that is more graceful than unfortunate.
Adjusted Score: 100700%
Critics Consensus: Santa Clarita Diet's third season is a generous meal of entrails, morbid humor, and a touching affirmation of marital love -- with Barrymore and Olyphant's pitch-perfect chemistry brightening each blood-soaked installment.
Adjusted Score: 101173%
Critics Consensus: Incisively critical of the genre and equally delighted by its subjects, Documentary Now! nails mockumentary under the deft direction of Rhys Thomas and Alex Buono.
Adjusted Score: 101550%
Critics Consensus: Following a period of uncertainty and a shift to NBC, Brooklyn Nine-Nine reemerges with its cast and tone wholly intact.
Adjusted Score: 101739%
Critics Consensus: Glazer and Jacobson give the people exactly what they want in Broad City's final season - relatable content, questionable intimacy, and ingenious escapades through the glorious squalor of IRL NYC.
Adjusted Score: 95793%
Critics Consensus: A Discovery of Witches smartly grounds its flights of fancy with a lived-in authenticity and harnesses the chemistry between its two star-crossed leads to make for a promising foray into the occult.
Adjusted Score: 101739%
Critics Consensus: As timely and tender as ever, One Day at a Time's third season manages to up to comedy ante without losing the intimate family moments that help it hit so close to home.
Adjusted Score: 102497%
Critics Consensus: Pamela Adlon fully asserts her authorial voice over Better Things in a triumphant third season that examines the exhaustion of motherhood with exhilarating artistry.
Adjusted Score: 102967%
Critics Consensus: Barry follows up a pitch-perfect debut with a second season that balances darkness with comedy while steering clear of antihero overindulgence.
