It’s the last week of 2018, which means it’s time for our annual mega-countdown of the best and most memorable TV of the year. Noel and Kate talk through their picks for the year’s best TV performances, characters, music, writing, sequences, seasons, moments, and much more. Listen to what our picks are, then reach out with your favorites from this year, as we bid a fond farewell to the year that was, and head into 2019.
Performance Awards (2:10)
Best Performance, Lead; Best Performance, Supporting; Best Voice Acting; Best Reality Personality; Most Novel Casting; Most Underrated Ensemble; Best Cameo; Best Guest Appearance; 6th Performer Award
Music: “Wilkommen” from Younger; “Somewhere Out There” from Fresh Off the Boat; iZombie’s RENT parody (feat. Rachel Bloom)
Character Awards (18:16)
Best New Character; Best Villain; Best Parents; Best Kids; Best On-Screen Death; Character We Want More Of; Actor We Want More Of
Music: “Kiss From a Rose” from Wrecked; “Bird in a Gilded Cage” from Trial & Error: Lady Killer; “I Want it That Way” from Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Production Awards (34:06)
Notable Direction, Comedy; Notable Direction, Drama; Most Memorable Long-Take; Best Cinematography; Best Costuming; Best Set Design; Best Hair; Best Makeup; Best Editing; Most Inventive Animation
Music: “Jesus Christ Superstar” from Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert; “This One’s For You” from the Tony Awards; “Home” from Pose
Music Awards (50:01)
Best/Catchiest New Theme Song; Best Score; Best Soundtrack; Best Original Song; Best Deployment of a Pre-Existing Song; Best Musical Moment
Music: “Come Away With Me” from Adventure Time; “The Fearful Pirate Dewey Duck” from DuckTales; “Shame” from Big Mouth
Writing Awards (58:09)
Writing for a Comedy Series; Writing for a Drama Series; Most Quotable Series; Most Memorable Line; Best Episode Title; Best Crafting of a Season
Music: “I Want Your Cray Cray” from Jessica Jones; “In” from Riverdale’s Carrie: The Musical episode; Jennifer and Rich’s song from Claws’ “Scream”
Sequence Awards (1:04:57)
Best Stunts; Best Action Setpiece; Best Standalone Fight Sequence; Best Dream Sequence; Best Dance Sequence; Best (New) Credit Sequence; Best Montage
Music: “Mama Mia” from The Bold Type; “Omar Sharif” as performed at the Tony Awards; “Nobody’s Above the Law” from The Good Fight
Season and Series Awards (1:15:27)
Most Spectacular Burn-out; Most Spectacular Slow Build; Best Finale Payoff; Most Underappreciated Finale; Best New Comedy (non-Top 20); Best New Drama (non-Top 20); Most Improved Series; Biggest Season-to-Season Drop; Most Underrated Series; Most Overrated Series (The Anne Veal Award); The Ringer Award; Srsly Guys, Why Aren’t You Watching…; Srsly, Why Aren’t We Watching…; Gone but Not Forgotten
Music: “The Miracle of Birth”, “My Sperm is Healthy”, and “Face Your Fears (Reprise)” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Moment Awards (1:35:38)
Trippiest Scene; Best WTF Moment; Biggest Gut-punch; Dusty, Dusty, Him Sad Award; Biggest F*ck Yeah Moment; Best Twist/Realization (non-finale); Most Traumatizing Moment; Schadenfreude Award; Most Striking Visual; Best OTT Sex/Nudity; Best Shipping; Most Chemistry; Oxygen Award, Comedy; Oxygen Award, Drama; Most Ridiculous Moment; Best Fan Interaction; The La-la-la Award (No Spoilers!); The Head Canon Award
Music: “G-G-G-Ghost”, “That Distant Shore”, and “Let’s Only Think About Love” from Steven Universe
Miscellaneous Awards (1:59:20)
Best Surprise; Worst Disappointment; Best Discovery; Spotlight of Shame; Breakthrough Performance; Breakthrough Series; It Shoulda Worked…; It Shouldn’t’ve Worked.; The It’s Not Me, It’s You Award; Anchor Award; Life Vest Award; Show We Want To See Make the Leap
2018 is winding down, which means the List-ening is once again upon us. This week on the podcast, Noel and Kate talk through their top 20 TV series of 2018, looking at the very best TV of the year. From reality and anime to documentary comedy and chilling drama, there was plenty on offer, and the highlights of the year ran the gamut. Tune in for our thoughts on our favorites, then reach out with your picks.
Noel’s 20–16 (7:11)
Cells at Work
Dietland
A Place Further than the Universe
DuckTales
Killing Eve
Kate’s 20–16 (7:54)
Trial & Error: Lady Killer
Ugly Delicious/Queer Eye
Elementary
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Noel’s 15–11 (9:52)
Barry
Jane the Virgin
Steven Universe
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
The Good Fight
Kate’s 15–11 (12:10)
The Terror
Insecure
Sense8
Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas
Nanette
Noel and Kate’s 10–6 (15:12)
We Bare Bears
Steven Universe
Terrace House: Opening New Doors
Barry
Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas
Killing Eve
Pose
Noel and Kate’s 5–1 (33:03)
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The Good Place
One Day at a Time
Atlanta
Queen Sugar
The Americans
The Terror
Next episode will be our yearly Smorgasborgy, counting down our TV favorites in every category imaginable. Play along and reach out with your picks in the following categories:
Performance Awards: Best Performance, Lead; Best Performance, Supporting; Best Voice Acting; Best Reality Personality; Most Novel Casting; Most Underrated Ensemble; Best Cameo; Best Guest Appearance; 6th Performer Award
Character Awards: Best New Character; Best Villain; Best Parents; Best Kids; Best On-Screen Death; Character We Want More Of; Actor We Want More Of
Production Awards: Notable Direction, Comedy; Notable Direction, Drama; Most Memorable Long-Take; Best Cinematography; Best Costuming; Best Set Design; Best Hair; Best Makeup; Best Editing; Most Inventive Animation
Music Awards: Best/Catchiest New Theme Song; Best Score; Best Soundtrack; Best Original Song; Best Deployment of a Pre-Existing Song; Best Musical Moment
Writing Awards: Writing for a Comedy Series; Writing for a Drama Series; Most Quotable Series; Most Memorable Line; Best Episode Title; Best Crafting of a Season
Sequence Awards: Best Stunts; Best Action Setpiece; Best Standalone Fight Sequence; Best Dream Sequence; Best Dance Sequence; Best (New) Credit Sequence; Best Montage
Season and Series Awards: Most Spectacular Burn-out; Most Spectacular Slow Build; Best Finale Payoff; Most Underappreciated Finale; Best New Comedy (non-Top 20); Best New Drama (non-Top 20); Most Improved Series; Biggest Season-to-Season Drop; Most Underrated Series; Most Overrated Series (The Anne Veal Award); The Ringer Award; Srsly Guys, Why Aren’t You Watching…; Srsly, Why Aren’t We Watching…; Gone but Not Forgotten
Moment Awards: Trippiest Scene; Best WTF Moment; Biggest Gut-punch; Dusty, Dusty, Him Sad Award; Biggest F*ck Yeah Moment; Best Twist/Realization (non-finale); Most Traumatizing Moment; Schadenfreude Award; Most Striking Visual; Best OTT Sex/Nudity; Best Shipping; Most Chemistry; Oxygen Award, Comedy; Oxygen Award, Drama; Most Ridiculous Moment; Best Fan Interaction; The La-la-la Award (No Spoilers!); The Head Canon Award
Miscellaneous Awards: Best Surprise; Worst Disappointment; Best Discovery; Spotlight of Shame; Breakthrough Performance; Breakthrough Series; It Shoulda Worked…; It Shouldn’t’ve Worked.; The It’s Not Me, It’s You Award; Anchor Award; Life Vest Award; Show We Want To See Make the Leap
It’s the last regular episode of 2018, and the many midseason finales give Noel and Kate plenty of TV to discuss. First up, we talk through the week’s TV, including season two of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the midseason finale of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the return of Top Chef, the finale of Doctor Who, and the midseason finales of Black Lightning and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Then we move over to the spotlight section and dive in with the latest installment of the CW’s yearly Arrowverse crossovers. This time, The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl are in the mix, as Barry, Oliver, and Kara grapple with a Barry/Oliver body swap in Elseworlds. How did this crossover, and its introduction of Lois Lane and Kate Kane to the Arrowverse, fare? Tune in for our thoughts, then reach out with your own.
Spotlight: Elseworlds (46:48)
Our Week in TV
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2 (7:48)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend midseason finale (14:37)
Top Chef (21:25)
Doctor Who finale (26:49)
Black Lightning midseason finale (35:35)
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow midseason finale (39:02)
Music Featured: “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” by Paula Cole
It’s beginning to feel a lot like terrible, treacly holiday movie time, and there’s no way Netflix is not getting into that game. And there’s no way Noel and Kate aren’t at least checking out some of their recent entries. This episode, we dive in with two offerings, The Christmas Chronicles, starring Kurt Russell as Hot Santa, and Vanessa Hudgens vehicle The Princess Switch. Before that, however, there’s lots of TV to discuss, starting with reality and comedy, including The Great Christmas Bake Off and The Great Festive Bake Off, DuckTales, Superstore, and The Good Place, and wrapping up with genre, including Nightflyers’ premiere, The Flash’s 100th episode, Arrow, Supergirl, Outlander, and a frogtastic Doctor Who. Tune in for our thoughts, then reach out with yours!
Spotlight: The Christmas Chronicles and The Princess Switch (1:23:48)
Our Week in Reality and Comedy
The Great Christmas Bake Off and The Great Festive Bake Off (12:38)
DuckTales (18:56)
Superstore (24:39)
The Good Place (31:30)
Our Week in Genre
Nightflyers premiere (44:33)
The Flash (48:05)
Arrow (58:27)
Supergirl (1:03:56)
Outlander (1:08:46)
Doctor Who (1:10:18)
Music Featured: “How To Clean Up” and “Forget It” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
TV has started slowing down as we head into the end of the year, giving us our lightest TV week in a while! First up, Noel and Kate talk through the highlights of their week’s viewing, including the premiere of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, Good Eats: Reloaded, Murphy Brown, Black Lightning, and Doctor Who. Then we move over to the spotlight section and dive in with the first four episodes of HBO’s first foreign language (mini)series, My Brilliant Friend.
Spotlight: My Brilliant Friend (54:51)
Our Week in TV
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath premiere (15:56)
Good Eats: Reloaded (26:29)
Murphy Brown (31:36)
Black Lightning (37:42)
Doctor Who (43:30)
Music Featured: “Sweet Baby James,” performed by Tom Wilson on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow