TV of the year: 19 shows and moments we couldn’t stop thinking about

End-of-year TV lists don’t always capture the moments that kept us thinking or made us laugh, groan or cry. With that in mind, we asked our keen TV watchers to name their favourite (and some of the worst) bits of the year.

1. Best spelling test

Kiwi comedian Guy Montgomery dreamed Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee (ABC iview) up as a pandemic lockdown diversion. He’s now developed it into a winning quiz show displaying an irresistible blend of silliness and smarts. The contestants, frequently quick-witted comedians, compete in spelling challenges with varying degrees of difficulty, from dictionary fodder to the names of audience members. It’s wonderfully nutty, reliably entertaining and worth watching just to see the delighted look on the host’s face when trusty sidekick Aaron Chen, in his deliberately daggy lime-green suit and ruffled shirt, mildly inquires: “Do you want to hear a riddle, Guy?” Debi Enker

Nicole Kidman with Sam Nivola in The Perfect Couple.

2. Best dance

Do you remember The Perfect Couple (Netflix)? Probably not! If you’re anything like me, you smashed the frothy Nicole Kidman-led series in a single weekend and – despite having a great time – never thought about it again. But I’m not letting you forget the opening credits sequence: a flash mob-style beach dance that looks like it was pulled straight from Mamma Mia. It’s a deeply bizarre choice for a show about a murder investigation, and it was all the more entertaining after learning that most of the cast (including Kidman) had a “mutiny” against the idea that manifested in a sad WhatsApp chat. Liev Schreiber was one of the few who never complained, and it very much shows. My guy looks like he’s eight gin and tonics deep and having the time of his life. Meg Watson

3. Best heel turn

Television has had few more entertaining goofballs than Manny Jacinto, who was a delight as The Good Place’s Jason Mendoza. But that ended in June when Jacinto was revealed to be the Master in the Star Wars series The Acolyte (Disney+). Physically ripped and emotionally menacing, Jacinto was a revelation as a seductive antagonist whose journey of self-discovery saw him offing Jedi and declaring himself a willing mentor. His every scene hummed. Craig Mathieson

Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts in The Regime.

4. Most confusing comedy

So, the premise of The Regime (Binge) runs a little like this: Kate Winslet stars as the fictional leader of a fictional European country caught in a political dance with the West. We were supposed to be smirking our way through it: this was, after all, a satire from Succession writer Will Tracy and director Stephen Frears. So how come it just felt like a brutally unfunny political drama? It wasn’t bad – it was actually brilliant in parts – but it was hard to find the laughs in a series that felt like it was ripped from the world news pages. Michael Idato

5. Best buddies

Yes, I know Shogun (Disney+) is a deeply political and highly awarded story about rival dynasties in Japan, in which actions speak louder than words. But can we take a moment to appreciate the friendship between warlord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and the Lord of Izu Yabushige (the scene-stealing Tadanobu Asano)? Despite never really trusting one another, their deep respect for each other made the final episode all the more devastating. Louise Rugendyke

Cate Blanchett and Sacha Baron Cohen in Disclaimer.

6. Purr-fect scene-stealer

Disclaimer (Apple TV+) – starring Cate Blanchett looking into the distance a lot, and a miscast Sacha Baron Cohen – was a bit of a slog, narratively (and, possibly, had too much soft porn), but the production design and the many cameos from a very handsome cat, kept me watching. The cat was probably a metaphor, but I enjoyed watching it jump onto Blanchett’s incredible island bench. My abiding memory from the series is that kitchen – beautifully lit by a glass roof, massive stove and more bench space than anyone could ever need. Four stars. Kylie Northover

7. The one where Friends turned 30

If you trim out the commercial breaks, the entirety of the time we spent with TV’s Friends (Stan*) – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer – comes out to about 3 ½ days. Surprising then that three decades later, we’re still talking about it.

And stunning, perhaps, that history may look upon the show as the best American sitcom of all time, the magnificent Bewitched and All in the Family notwithstanding. With relatable characters and a genuinely endearing sense of humour, this is a modern-day classic. MI

Joshua Jackson (centre,) with Don Johnson, Phillipa Soo and Sean Teale in Doctor Odyssey.

8. Maddest malady

Doctor Odyssey (Disney+) is nominally a medical drama set on a cruise ship: think The Love Boat meets ER. But that doesn’t do justice to a show where Joshua Jackson’s doctor deals with multiple mishaps and mysteries in each episode. There was the first episode’s fractured penis or the passenger who couldn’t stop eating coins. But the winner was the passenger who had her recently operated-on nose literally fall off! Like the show itself, it was not subtle. CM

9. No, not that one

Engaging English drama The Diplomat (Stan*), which predates the American version of the same name, stars Sophie Rundle as a senior staffer at the British consulate in Barcelona. While Keri Russell’s Kate Wyler, the American ambassador to England, operates at the top tier of international relations in The Other One, here, Laura Simmonds and her small team assist British nationals who run into more street-level problems: robberies, scammers, lost passports, medical episodes. Pacy, loaded with vibrant Catalan colour and beautifully cast, the six-part series has regrettably been overshadowed by its higher-profile namesake. DE

Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black in Rivals.

10. Best frothy delight

I hated the first episode of Rivals (Disney+) or, more accurately, I hated Rupert Campbell-Black’s stupid, smug face. Somehow, though, actor Alex Hassell turned it around, and by the end, I was swooning over Rupert like every other woman in this ridiculous bonkbuster adapted from Dame Jilly Cooper’s novel of the same name. Set in the (fictional) county of Rutshire in the UK and following the exploits of a load of toffs, Rivals is lots of fun – just don’t watch it with your nan at Christmas, as the hump count is dangerously high. LR

11. Best slice and dice

There were close encounters of all kinds in humming science-fiction thriller 3 Body Problem (Netflix), which took the theoretical concepts of an alien civilisation targeting Earth in Chinese author Liu Cixin’s revered 2008 novel and gave it a pithy, human focus. Concise world-building, metaphysical debate, and an unforgettable body-slicing set piece ensured. CM

12. Best reheated scrambled eggs

OK, this reboot of Frasier (Paramount+) hasn’t hit the heights of the original, which, after all, is one of TV’s great comedies. But now through its second season, Frasier is noticeably improving and does have its charms. Kelsey Grammer has slipped back into the pompous shrink’s silk dressing gown with ease: he could play this role in his sleep. The ensemble building around him is finding its rhythm while the influences of the original are everywhere: in the character dynamics, the coffee-shop meetings, and the class gags. Not brilliant, but also not the disastrous vanity project it’s sometimes made out to be. DE

In Presumed Innocent Jake Gyllenhaal (centre) embraces the nastiness of his character.

13. Cliffhangers rule, baby!

Long live the weekly drop! Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+) twisted up the iconic Scott Turow book (and 1990 Harrison Ford film adaptation) and had me absolutely hooked every Wednesday night through its run. That’s in part because of Jake Gyllenhaal’s beautifully unhinged portrayal of a prosecutor accused of his colleague/mistress’ murder. But it’s also down to the plotting of veteran showrunner David E Kelly (Boston Legal, Ally McBeal, Big Little Lies), who made sure the last scene of every single episode had your jaw on the floor. Audiences were ultimately divided by how the series finished up, but there can be no doubting this man’s commitment to a juicy cliffhanger. MW

14. Revenge of the nerds

Australian Survivor (Ten) once again proved why it’s the best version of the reality franchise in the world (ask The New York Times) with this year’s Titans v Rebels match-up. What made it so satisfying was how the wannabe Type-A contestants were quickly eliminated by the quiet game-playing nerds (Kirby, Feras and Mark). It gave hope to desk jockeys everywhere that they too could outwit, outplay and outlast the gym bunnies of this world. LR

15. Most underwhelming final episode

Lucasfilm’s TV division is really great at coming up with new shows, it’s just that they seem to kind of stumble when it comes to writing great season finales. Star Wars: Ahsoka (Disney+) might be the best case in point: a series that painstakingly sets up its denouement – a beautifully complex plot involving the Nightsister witches of Dathomir and the sinister Grand Admiral Thrawn – and just as they all entered the frame for the climactic finish ... faded to black. The only thing missing from the show’s compelling first season was the two-part finale they forgot to make. MI

Frontline’s Mike Moore (Rob Sitch) and the New EP (Steve Bisley) on set.

16. Still ahead of its time

Frontline, Australia’s best current affairs satire (or, if you let it eek past the equally brilliant The Games, best satire overall) turned 30 this year, and yet it still feels deeply connected to contemporary TV’s troubling, exploitative and sometimes chaotic current affairs culture. The characters – self-absorbed anchor Mike Moore (Rob Sitch), put-upon producer Emma Ward (Alison Whyte), cowboy producer Brian Thompson (Bruno Lawrence) and network PR boss Jan Whelan (Genevieve Mooy) – endure in the culture because they are writ large from the messy real world of TV. MI

17. Succession’s successor

Ever since the Roy family packed their bags and headed off into the miserable sunset, we’ve been looking for TV’s new obsession. With its third season, Millennial British finance drama Industry (Binge) put in a bold bid, especially with the addition of Game of Thrones star Kit Harington as aristocratic slimeball Henry Muck. Its season finale set major plot points on fire, setting the wheels in motion for a season four. LR

Anna Torv as Emily Lawson and Philippa Northeast as her daughter, Susie, in Territory: a fractured family battles for control.

18. Dallas with dingoes

Outback drama Territory (Netflix) took the world by storm this year, becoming the second-most-watched TV series globally on Netflix in its second week of release in November. Described by its creators as “Dallas with dingoes”, we love it because of Anna Torv playing matriarch Emily Lawson, who – as usual – has to put up with a bunch of chest-bumping males. Torv, as always, should be cast in everything, everywhere, all at once. LR

19. Best Bluey

Hands up, who cried watching The Sign? Bluey (ABC iview) stepped out of its seven-minute comfort zone with this delightful 28-minute episode that had me sobbing at the end. Set around the wedding of Uncle Rad and Frisky, the cartoon about the Heeler family and their friends proved once again why it has taken the world by storm (more than 35 billion minutes watched in the US alone). LR

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What were your best (and worst) moments on TV this year? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

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