EW critics Kristen Baldwin and Darren Franich watch as much TV as they can just for you!
(ExceptVanderpump Rules; Darren watches that for himself.)
Heres a peek at their online chat about their favorite shows of 2019.
Credit: Illustration by Laura Breiling for EW
DARREN:Im a sucker for a brilliant standalone episode, Kristen.
10,Barry, delivered a sun-scorched surreal masterwork with the fifth episode of its second season.
But I love how co-creators Bill Hader and Alec Berg keep tone-twisting between chipper-freaky action-comedy and dreamy psychological drama.
Hasan Amin/Hulu
And the unexpected MVP of the season was Sarah Goldbergs Sally.
KRISTEN:Agreed on all counts, Darren!
10 is itself a jot down of psychological drama: USA Networks revival ofTemptation Island.
Elizabeth Fisher/CBS
But my Lord, the pathos of those breakups!
(It wasnt.)
This reality was stranger and more compelling than fiction.
DARREN: And my No.
9 is another compelling true-life entertainment!
This past winter,Jeopardy!turned its 30th anniversary All-Star Games turned into a brainiac thunderdome.
Host Alex Trebeks good-humored charisma has been an elemental fact of television for as long as Ive watched television.
In an age of proud steroidal idiocy, we need the quizmaster whimsy ofJeopardy!more than ever.
I look forward to watching this show and Alex Trebek for many years to come.
Lets keep the unscripted trend going: Im putting Lifetimes docuseriesSurviving R. Kellyat No.
For years, most of us have keptR.
With any luck, that box will never close again.
DARREN:Heres the funny thing about my No.
But creator Lisa Hanawalt has also produced a series that thematically echoes everything you were just writing about.
KRISTEN: God, I love crying at TV.
The beauty of my No.
DARREN:I have to extend a critical-team high-five to you for my No.
Every episode ofDesus & Merois a laugh riot of flowing conversation.
Im laughing at jokes about the NBA draft, Kristen!
I can name maybe four current NBA players, and none of them are Knicks.
KRISTEN: Welcome to the Bodega Hive, Darren!
This was a year packed with risky second acts.
Some shows leaped forward and stumbled (oh,Killing Eve, how I once loved you!)
while others found their footing.
Season two ofBarry, my no.
I didnt expect to love my no.
6, Kristen, so count HBOsChernobylas 2019s most pleasant surprise.
Maybe pleasant is the wrong word.
Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgard find unexpected reserves of everyday heroism and trench-warfare humor amidst the cataclysm.
And I will not recover soon from the look on Barry Keoghans face as he liquidates an irradiated canine.
Creator Craig Mazin turns this disaster story into an essential story about truth and power.
They should teachChernobylin schools; they should teachChernobylin the Oval Office.
KRISTEN:More essential viewing in my No.
6 slot:When They See Us.
DARREN:2019s hottest trend is endings, Kristen.
But the TV Im loving most sparks new beginnings.
5, DisneysDuckTales, a joyful adventure toon.
Shes a rambunctious daredevil mom, long-lost in space.
And her first Duck family mission explored a sci-fi Doomsday Vault… suffering from Arctic climate change!
Shouldve stayed in space, Della.
KRISTEN:My No.
Too often, comedies that spoof the absurdity of show business lack a sense of empathy.
At its heart, its the story of a family struggling to reconcile their unrealized dreams with disappointing realities.
DARREN:My No.
4 is a similar-but-different family comedy about American dreams and realities.
HulusRamyis a semi-autobiographical sitcom starring co-creator Ramy Youssef.
Ramys torn between cultures and his own confusion.
His saga is utterly unique which is, of course, what makes it so universal.
KRISTEN:Its definitely been a good year for comedic takes on the intersection of sex and religion.
4 show isFleabag, Phoebe Waller-Bridges filthy-funny-frank character study.
DARREN:Huzzah for Andrew Scott, also heartbreaking and hilarious in a newBlack Mirror.
Were having fun here exploring trendy landscapes of cable and streaming, getting animated, talking British.
3 is an old-fashioned data pipe sitcom though the commercial glow of NBCsSuperstoreis TVs smartest sucker punch.
And the downbeat finale united the ensemble against a full-fledged ICE incursion!
All hail departing showrunner Justin Spitzer, who quietly formed this workplace sitcom into a laugh-out-loud dystopian marvel.
Im putting HBOs vicious political satireVeepat No.
3 on my list.
No hugging, no learning, and no freaking mercy.
DARREN:Im pulling us out of this downward spiral, Kristen!
Return to the relatively low-key horrors of seventh grade in the year 2000.
Every dial-up detail on HulusPEN15is perfect AWild Thingsviewing party!
and the shows lacerating humanity enriches beyond nostalgia.
Co-creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle play gawky-curious versions of their teen selves.
I barely understand Hulus Disney future, but credit the streamer for developing two stellar new comedies this year.
Lets stick with the theme of uplifting television for No.
DARREN:Did someone say an allegory for our toxic times?
And heaven is Audra McDonald and Christine Baranski duetting on Raspberry Beret.
Thats worth an Armageddon.
