The best and worst new shows of 2009
CongratulationsThe story of 2009 in television? Quality control. While ABC's "Modern Family" was far and away the best-reviewed new series of the year (indeed, only 2005's "Everybody Hates Chris" out of all new network programs in the past five years received better reviews), a total of 36 out of 78 (46%) of all first-year primetime series on broadcast networks or cable in 2009 received generally positive reviews from critics. (This number excludes shows with fewer than seven reviews.) That's right: almost half of all new shows in 2009 were actually good.
More strikingly, only six new programs -- a miniscule 7.7% -- received mostly negative reviews from critics (i.e., they received a Metascore of 39 or below). Compare that total to previous years: eight crummy shows in 2008, 19 in 2007, and 23 in 2006. Either critics are getting less picky, or programmers are passing on the most terrible shows. (We hope it's the latter.)
Before we get to the critics' picks for best shows of 2009, let's look more closely at the programs that premiered during the past 12 months, starting with the best of the bunch.
| Show (Network) | Genre | Metascore | Users | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Modern Family (ABC) | Comedy | 86 | 8.6 |
| 2 | Men of a Certain Age (TNT) | Comedy/Drama | 79 | 8.1 |
| 3 | White Collar (USA) | Drama | 78 | 8.6 |
| 4 | Glee (Fox) | Musical | 77 | 8.3 |
| 5 | Nurse Jackie (Showtime) | Comedy/Drama | 76 | 7.2 |
| 6 | The Good Wife (CBS) | Drama | 76 | 8.6 |
| 7 | The Electric Company (PBS) | Family | 74 | 8.0 |
| 8 | FlashForward (ABC) | Sci-Fi | 72 | 7.0 |
| 9 | Important Things With Demetri Martin (Comedy Central) | Comedy | 71 | 7.9 |
| 10 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (HBO) | Drama | 71 | 9.5 |
| Show (Network) | Genre | Metascore | Users | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Jeff Dunham Show (Comedy Central) | Comedy | 20 | 2.4 |
| 2 | The Cougar (TV Land) | Reality | 33 | 2.4 |
| 3 | 13: Fear Is Real (CW) | Reality | 33 | 4.2 |
| 4 | Surviving Suburbia (ABC) | Comedy | 35 | 2.8 |
| 5 | Hank (ABC) | Comedy | 37 | 4.4 |
What becomes noticeable again from the chart below (other than the fact that despite a shift to a year-round schedule, a large proportion of shows still premiere in the fall) is just how few "bad" new shows there were in 2009. Of course, those big yellow bars reveal that there were plenty of mediocre programs, receiving mixed reviews form critics. The median score for all new programs fell in this "mixed" range, at 59.
Totals of New Primetime Television Series by Month of Premiere, 2009
A roundup of television critic Top 10 lists for 2009
Dressed for successA winner of virtually every television award for Best Drama over the past year, AMC's "Mad Men" was also a winner with critics, who added the third-year show to their year-end Best of 2009 lists more often than any other program. In fact, "Mad Men" didn't just appear on those lists; it tended to appear in the #1 position.
ABC's single-camera sitcom "Modern Family" led a crop of four freshman programs that landed in the top 10 of top-10-list mentions, with Fox's hit musical "Glee," NBC's struggling Amy Poehler comedy "Parks and Recreation" and Showtime's Edie Falco dramedy "Nurse Jackie" filling out that group. "Modern Family" also earned honors as the most-saluted comedy of the year. For "Parks and Recreation," the turnaround in critical reception is noticeable; the show received a mediocre Metascore of 59 when it debuted in April, but critics (and any remaining viewers) have noticed a marked jump in quality in Season 2.
The remaining shows that appeared with some frequency on the critic lists are tallied in the table below. Remember that our summary list is not weighted or scored in any way; shows are simply ranked by the frequency with which they appear in critic Top 10 lists, in any position on those lists. (The number of times they appear in the #1 position is indicated as a convenience.) A full list of publications used -- with links to many of the individual lists -- appears beneath the table. And keep in mind that this isn't an exact science; some critics had definite rankings, while the order of shows in other lists was a bit fuzzier.
| Show (Network) | Genre | # 1's | Top Ten Lists | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mad Men (AMC) | Drama | 10 | 20 |
| 2 | Lost (ABC) | Drama | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Modern Family (ABC) | Comedy | 2 | 13 |
| 4 | Glee (Fox) | Musical | 2 | 12 |
| 5 | Breaking Bad (AMC) | Drama | 0 | 11 |
| 5 | Friday Night Lights (DirectTV 101/NBC) | Drama | 0 | 11 |
| 5 | Nurse Jackie (Showtime) | Comedy/Drama | 1 | 11 |
| 8 | Big Love (HBO) | Drama | 0 | 10 |
| 8 | Parks and Recreation (NBC) | Comedy | 1 | 10 |
| 8 | True Blood (HBO) | Fantasy | 1 | 10 |
| 11 | Sons of Anarchy (FX) | Drama | 0 | 8 |
| 12 | 30 Rock (NBC) | Comedy | 0 | 7 |
| 12 | Dexter (Showtime) | Drama | 1 | 7 |
| 14 | The Good Wife (CBS) | Drama | 0 | 6 |
| 14 | The Office (NBC) | Comedy | 0 | 6 |
| 16 | Chuck (NBC) | Action/Comedy | 0 | 5 |
| 16 | Party Down (Starz) | Comedy | 0 | 5 |
| 18 | Battlestar Galactica (Syfy) | Sci-Fi | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) | Comedy | 1 | 4 |
| 18 | The Big Bang Theory (CBS) | Comedy | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | The Middle (ABC) | Comedy | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Torchwood: Children of Earth (BBC America) | Sci-Fi | 0 | 4 |
The 25 individual Best of 2009 lists used to compile the above data were from (with their #1 overall pick indicated):
- Baltimore Sun (David Zurawik) - Men of a Certain Age
- Chicago Sun-Times (Paige Wiser) - Dexter
- Chicago Tribune (Maureen Ryan) [unranked list]
- Contra Costa Times (Chuck Barney) - Modern Family
- Entertainment Weekly (Ken Tucker) - True Blood
- HitFix (Daniel Fienberg) - Mad Men
- Houston Chronicle (Therese Odell) - Lost
- Los Angeles Times (Robert Lloyd) - Food Party
- Miami Herald (Glenn Garvin) - Nurse Jackie
- New York Magazine - Mad Men
- New York Observer (Christopher Rosen) - Mad Men
- New York Post / PopWrap - Glee
- The New York Times (Alessandra Stanley) - Parks and Recreation
- The New York Times (Mike Hale) - Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
- Orlando Sentinel (Hal Boedeker) - Mad Men
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Rob Owen) - Modern Family
- Salon (Heather Havrilesky) - Mad Men
- San Francisco Chronicle (Tim Goodman) - Mad Men
- St. Petersburg Times (Eric Deggans) - Mad Men
- The Star-Ledger [Newark] (Alan Sepinwall) - Mad Men
- Time Magazine (James Poniewozik) - Mad Men
- TV Guide - Lost
- TV Squad (Allison Waldman) - Glee
- TV Squad (Bob Sassone) - Mad Men
- TV Worth Watching (David Bianculli) - Curb Your Enthusiasm
The following lists are not included in the results above because they either are divided into multiple categories or offer an alternative take on the year (e.g., worst shows, best episodes, etc.).
- Film.com - best episodes
- Los Angeles Times (Mary McNamara) - best shows and people
- The Onion A.V. Club - top moments
- Time Magazine (James Poniewozik) - top episodes also worst shows and interesting failures
- USA Today (Robert Bianco) - various categories
- Washington Post - best and worst
What are your favorites?
What are your picks for the best shows of 2009 and the decade? What did the critics miss? (South Park? Family Guy? How I Met Your Mother? House? It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?) Let us know in the comments section below.
