1. Pitch
Pitch stars Kylie Bunbury as pitcher Ginny Baker, the first female to play in the Major Leagues. It also stars a nearly-unrecognizable (until you know it's him) Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Mike Lawson, Ginny's catcher. It took me about one episode to be all in on this show.
It's only 10 episodes long, and all 10 have already aired and are available on Hulu. Remember how I said that Pitch isn't nearly as famous or acclaimed as Fogelman's other show? Well, it's apparently a bubble show, meaning it could go either way as far as cancellation or renewal. Here's hoping FOX doesn't pull the trigger and gives us a second season of "Bawson"! (Terrible name, I know. But what other option was there? Gike? Minny? Laker? All awful.)
2. This Is Us
I have actually written about This Is Us before. This Is Us is the other new show from Dan Fogelman.
If you haven't watched and plan to, stop reading now and skip to #3. If you don't, you might feel the same anger for me that I felt for EW's social media handler when I came across a post on Facebook that said, "Now that Rory is _______, what's next?" (I left that blank in case you don't know what happens on the Gilmore Girls reboot.)
This Is Us follows the Pearson siblings, beginning on their 36th birthday. Kevin is a moderately successful yet deeply unhappy actor, Kate is morbidly obese and lets her weight completely define her, and Randall is a successful businessman with a beautiful family who just reconnected with his dying birth father. The present story is interspersed with stories from the past, from when the siblings' parents Jack and Rebecca were raising them. It is simply fascinating—especially the stories surrounding Randall (the 36-year-old Randall is played by the magnificent Sterling K. Brown).
Side note: In my opinion, the biggest snub from this year's Golden Globes nominations was the exclusion of Brown for his portrayal of Randall (he was nominated for his portrayal of Chris Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, a role he won an Emmy for earlier this year). The Screen Actor's Guild got it right, though, nominating Brown for both This Is Us and People v. O.J.
3. The Flash
Apparently I talk about The Flash a lot. While I enjoy all of the DC shows on the CW (well, I have a love/hate relationship with Arrow), The Flash is by far my favorite. It's so much fun! This season, I've enjoyed that a) "Flashpoint" (when Barry went back and changed the timeline to save his mother) didn't last forever and b) there are major repercussions for his actions. I also love that Tom Cavanagh is portraying a third version of Harrison Wells. This season's version, H.R., just might be my favorite yet.
4. Fuller House
Critics hate Fuller House. In fact, I just saw it on a list of worst shows of 2016. But I really enjoy it! Season one pushed all the right nostalgia buttons, and, while I've only seen the first two episodes of season two so far, I assume I'll like it just as much. And I'm still 100% Team Steve.
5. The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
I do have two complaints: I think John Travolta as Robert Shapiro and Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson were a bit miscast. But everything else was absolutely spot on!
There's my list ... but why no Gilmore Girls? Because I haven't watched it yet. (And I also hear that people hated the 2nd and 3rd installments.) I think I'm one of two Gilmore fans in the world who hasn't watched yet...the other being my sister. But we're going to remedy that this weekend!
What are your favorite shows of 2016?
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