2010-2011 Rank: Unranked
The six-episode final season of Todd Margaret closed out the story answering questions from season one. Todd continued to make really bad decisions and ended up accidentally killing the woman he loved and became the head of the North Korean Nuclear Defense program. I know this doesn’t necessarily sound like a comedy, but it definitely was. Watching Todd Margaret screw things up time and time again was quite funny, though sometimes cringe-inducing. The funniest stuff came from Brent (Will Arnett) and Doug (Spike Jonze) trying to uncover the truth about the mysterious billionaire “Mountford” who was controlling everything. In the end it turned out everything happened because Todd Margaret once spilled a drink on the eccentric young Mountford in a bar in Portland, Oregon and Mountford concocted an elaborate plan to get revenge on him. Oh, and Jon Hamm played a personal servant to Mountford and it was eventually revealed that he was playing himself. So Mountford was actually paying “Jon Hamm” to be his servant. Craziness.
2010-2011 Rank: 7 (-12)
It’s safe to say The Office has overextended its stay. The Office is still entertaining, though part of that might be due to loyalty to the characters after eight seasons. Michael Scott left at the end of season seven and things just haven’t been the same. Robert California (James Spader) was introduced as the new head of Sabre (which owns Dunder Mifflin) and Andy was named the manager of the Scranton branch. It has been announced there will be one final season of The Office. Again due to loyalty and attachment to these characters I’ll probably watch.
2010-2011 Rank: NEW SHOW
Since Arrested Development ended in 2006, Will Arnett has had a difficult time at finding success as the leading man of a series. That changed this past season with Up All Night, a comedy starring Arnett, Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph. The show is about a couple who just had their first baby. Chris (Arnett) quit a successful career as a lawyer so Reagan (Applegate) could continue her job as the producer of a daytime talk show. The three stars are full of talent and combine for a fun show with likeable characters.
2010-2011 Rank: NEW SHOW
House of Lies is a comedy about a management consulting team that is hired by big businesses to help with financial issues. The team, who works for a larger firm, is made up of Marty Kaan (Don Cheadle), Jeannie Van Der Hooven (Kristen Bell), Clyde Oberholt (Ben Schwartz) and Doug Guggenheim (Josh Lawson). The team will go to any lengths to seal a deal and con big businesses into paying them. This show excels in fun but it definitely has a few dark moments. They take complete advantage of being on Showtime with lots of sex and heavy adult language.
2010-2011 Rank: NEW SHOW
There was only one show that completely came out of nowhere for me this past season, and that was Suburgatory. I didn’t really hear anything about it prior to the season, so I didn’t even think to try to watch it. I also don’t watch much ABC, so I hadn’t seen any promos for it. It wasn’t until halfway through the season that I finally discovered it. Suburgatory is about a single dad (Jeremy Sisto) who moves himself and his teenage daughter (Jane Levy) from New York City to the suburbs in order to give her a “better life.” The two of them become strangers in a strange land, moving to the Stepford Wives-like town of Chatswin. This is a very pleasing comedy that also feels original. The supporting cast includes some comedy pedigree, including Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Alan Tudyk (Dodgeball), Allie Grant (Weeds), Rex Lee (Entourage) and two former SNL cast members Ana Gasteyer and Chris Parnell. There is even a Clueless reunion when Alicia Silverstone guest stars as a love interest for her former Clueless co-star Jeremy Sisto.
2010-2011 Rank: Honorable Mention
Blue Mountain State has been under the radar for its entire three season run. That’s largely due to the fact that it aired on Spike which isn’t exactly known for original scripted programming. BMS however was a fun show about a fictional college football program. The show was often silly, but always in a good way. There was more emphasis on the social lives and partying of the players than the football itself, but the football scenes were always entertaining too (usually at practice).
2010-2011 Rank: 10 (-4)
Portlandia’s second season went bigger by going from six season one episodes to ten. There were more guest stars and more crazy characters. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein continue to build on the foundation they built in season one and are only improving.
2010-2011 Rank: Unranked
Every few years a major cast member will depart from SNL in order to pursue other things. The departures at the end of this past season will definitely have a big impact. The first announcement came from Kristen Wiig, the strongest female cast member and consistent scene-stealer of the past several years. Next was Andy Samberg, the mastermind (with the help of his Lonely Island friends Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer) of the SNL Digital Short. The Digital Short brought SNL into the YouTube era thanks to numerous viral hits including “Lazy Sunday,” “Dick in a Box,” “I’m On a Boat,” “Jack Sparrow” and many others. Samberg’s mark was made; the question will be whether or not SNL will continue using Digital Shorts after Samberg’s 101 mostly great shorts. Abby Elliot, who was primed to take over as a lead female cast member with Wiig leaving, decided to depart as well. Jason Sudekis, who has seen a lot of film time lately, is still on the fence. As far as the past season goes, it was a relatively strong one with great hosts including Zooey Deschanel, Jason Segal, Mick Jagger and past SNL cast members Jimmy Fallon, Maya Rudolph and Will Ferrell.
2010-2011 Rank: 9 (-3)
Best animated show on TV...period
2010-2011 Rank: 2 (-9)
The final season of Chuck (which ended on its own terms instead of being cancelled) was overall a disappointing one. Every year I was very pleased and thankful to hear that Chuck had been renewed as it was one of my favorite shows on television, but during this final season I was happy it was coming to an end. The show was an action-comedy with a lot of heart and charm from its characters. That heart and charm was missing throughout much of the season. Our hero who for multiple seasons was a reluctant spy who longed for the girl now pretty much has everything he wanted. He became sort of cocky and more difficult to relate to than in the past. It was still an entertaining show and I will forever consider it one of favorites, but I am also happy to see it end. I will however miss Casey’s grunts, Sarah’s outfits, Morgan’s sidekick enthusiasm, Awesome’s awesomeness and Jeffster’s performances.
2010-2011 Rank: Honorable Mention
Please don’t let the name fool you. Cougar Town is a very funny show from Bill Lawrence, the creator of Scrubs, about a group of friends/neighbors who live on a cul-de-sac and drink lots of wine. The cast is very funny and the chemistry between them is great. Courtney Cox stars but she is hardly the only good thing going on this show. Always make sure to check out the title cards for a fun different caption each week. They often like to make fun of the fact that the title of their show is terrible.
2010-2011 Rank: 5 (-4)
It usually seems that most of the best shows on television are praised by critics but struggle to get viewers. The sad truth is the general masses are entertained by crap. There are however exceptions, like the Big Bang Theory. For five seasons it has continued to be one of the most popular and highly watched shows on television. It actually virtually tied with Modern Family for the most watched scripted show on television this past season. Anyway, Big Bang continues to make nerds cool and has continued to get better through five seasons.
2010-2011 Rank: NEW SHOW
Though 2 Broke Girls was the most-watched new show this year, New Girl was a close second. New Girl was completely marketed as the new comedy starring Zooey Deschanel. It is safe to say however that it is because of the supporting cast that New Girl has found sustained success. Zooey plays the quirky Jess exactly how one would expect her to and it works, but the strength lies with Jess’s roommates Schmidt, Nick and Winston as well as her best friend CeCe. The laughs are numerous and the characters are likeable and fun to watch. Like another comedy favorite of mine (How I Met Your Mother), the group of friends in New Girl is the type of group I’d want to be a part of.
2010-2011 Rank: 6 (-1)
It’s really amazing that the gang has not been arrested or seriously punished for their questionable activities over the past seven seasons. I of course mean the characters and not the actors. If the actors should be accused of anything it’s for causing viewers to fall in love with borderline bad people who consistently make the viewers laugh over controversial topics. I know it’s repetitive to say this, but this is a very funny show that is unlike any other on television and definitely worth watching. Just make sure you have an open mind.
2010-2011 Rank: 8 (+2)
A lot of things changed for the main characters at 30 Rock this past season. Liz got into a serious relationship with a hot dog vendor named Criss (James Marsden) and they are now considering raising a child together. Jack removed the Page program at NBC which caused Kenneth to lose his job. Kenneth quickly found an office job in the building but later became a janitor when the Page program was reinstated and his former position was filled. Tracy and Jenna continued being crazy, though Jenna is now engaged to her Jenna-drag-impersonator boy friend. Jack fell for his mother-in-law while his wife was imprisoned in North Korea. Then his wife returned and they decided to get a divorce. Though there were many changes, things are still quite normal (re: crazy) at 30 Rock.
2010-2011 Rank: Previously Didn’t Watch
I started watching Happy Endings for the first time this past season, though I did catch up by watching the first season as well as this past season. As far as comedies about a group of late 20/early 30-something friends in an urban environment go, this is still just the second best on television (see #2). It is however quite different and very funny. Like It’s Always Sunny, the comedy and characters are a bit loud and aggressive, but they aren’t borderline felons like in Sunny. The six friends include a food-truck owner, a clothing boutique owner, an uptight businesswoman and her madly in love husband, a tragically single always trying too hard to be hip woman and a manly gay guy who owns a one-man vintage limo service. The friends are all eccentric in their own rights and they complement each other quite well.
2010-2011 Rank: 4 (-)
This season the focus of Parks and Rec was on Leslie running for city council. This forced her to spend less time at the office giving more responsibility to others there. Tom started an entertainment company with Jean Ralphio that failed quickly. April and Andy got married, Leslie and Ben made their relationship public and Tom and Ann had an uncomfortable relationship that felt forced. The supporting cast remained one of the best and funniest on television. The season ended with Leslie being elected to city council.
2010-2011 Rank: Previously Didn’t Watch
Like Happy Endings, I started watching Raising Hope this year and watched season one as well to be caught up. I always heard good things about the show but never thought I’d like it as much as I do. Hope is about a poor family whose house is made up of family members across five generations. Jimmy knocked up a serial killer who gave birth before being electrocuted in prison. We find out at the end of season two however that the mother never died and was released. There was a trial to see who would get custody of Hope. In the end things worked out for Jimmy and his family. The family is what makes this show as incredibly funny as it is, led by Jimmy’s parents Burt (Garret Dillahunt) and Virginia (Martha Plimpton) and his great grandmother Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman).
2010-2011 Rank: 1 (-1)
2010-2011 Rank: 3 (+2)