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10 best TV shows so far this year

By Neal Justin, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Published: July 17, 2020, 6:05am

We’re only halfway through the year, but chances are good that the best TV of 2020 has already premiered. With production at a standstill, it’s unlikely we’ll see more new high-quality programs anytime soon.

Fortunately, there are plenty of dynamite choices to keep you occupied and make this a year to remember — in a good way.

‘Brockmire’

Turning baseball’s bad boy into a sober, doting father could have been a botched play. But this final inning, in which the bombastic title character inexplicably becomes the MLB commissioner, is an out-of-the-park home run. IFC, Hulu

‘The Eddy’

“La La Land” director Damien Chazelle’s first TV series is jam-packed with music. But it has about as much in common with his Oscar-winning movie as Chet Baker has with Fred Astaire. Netflix

‘The Good Place’

This brilliant sitcom got a bit of a tribute when it wrapped up its four-season run in January, but I suspect the series will best be appreciated in its afterlife, when networks have given up on smart, complex sitcoms and Kristen Bell is serving her second term as U.S. president. Hulu, nbc.com

‘The Last Dance’

This 10-hour retrospective on the Chicago Bulls’ 1990s championship runs isn’t in the same league as “OJ: Made in America,” ESPN’s last epic sports documentary. But for sports enthusiasts trying to survive the pandemic without live games, it’s a godsend. Netflix

‘Little America’

Key players behind “The Big Sick” and “Master of None” have found a way to champion immigrant stories without making viewers feel like they’re attending a naturalization ceremony. You’ll end up cheering for each and every one of them. Apple TV

‘McMillion$’

The subject of this addictive docuseries is how the mob manipulated the McDonald’s Monopoly game in the 1990s. But the filmmakers focus so much on the fun the good guys have investigating the case, it might as well be a recruitment tool for the FBI. HBO

‘Never Have I Ever’

Mindy Kaling’s latest brainchild is reminiscent of the adorable coming-of-age comedies John Hughes used to make, but with an awareness that high schools aren’t just populated with pasty white students. Netflix

‘Parks and Recreation’

If we ever needed Leslie Knope, it’s right now. TV’s most lovable optimist returned in this reunion that provided viewers with a warm virtual hug. The writers succeeded by embracing social distancing instead of ignoring it. Not currently available for streaming.

‘Perry Mason’

The soon-to-be courtroom wiz is a luckless private investigator who’d be a barfly if he could stand socializing with other drunks. Director Tim Van Patten creates a moody atmosphere of beauty and corruption that will remind you of “Chinatown.” HBO

‘World on Fire’

There have been a number of gripping war movies in recent years, but this is the best TV series on combat in some time. This “Masterpiece” edition gives plenty of screen time to the women, all of whom prove to be just as steely as the soldiers on the front lines of World War II. TPT Passport

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