We present our 2019 list of top TV series .

Top 10: Special

Geek Score: 2.97/5.0

The series attempts to present the real world without taking it too seriously and this series hits me. It’s like I’m watching myself on Ryan, with the evil bosses and evil people around him. He’s an awkward guy navigating the real world. He realized that he got no friends but is learning along the way. As the show progresses, he’s rewarded with meeting some real friends and having first time experiences that are likely to happen in real life.

Top 9: Designated Survivor

Geek Score: 3.45/5.0

Season 3 tried very hard to be a balancing voice, with varying degrees of success. For one, try as it may, Kirkman and his staff look more like Dems than an independent. But certainly not the Reps, thank goodness. Over all, the independent president theme holds for the next season, exemplified by the speech of Mars against the congressional leaders shortly after Kirkman was called the winner.

Top 8: How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)

Geek Score: 3.55/5.0

It is cool when beautiful people do stuff like this, but it’s crazier and more fun when it is the geeks’ turn. The plot is not new but the generation is different. The crime story wrapped in this world of Generation Z is an all new experience to watch. The show is very-well written and funny. It centers on a high school story with romantic angles but front and center is the friendship of Moritz and Lenny. The show’s themes are universal. All in all, it works.

Top 7: Mea Culpa

Geek Score: 3.56/5.0

Top 6: Medici The Magnificent

Geek Score: 3.57/5.0

The first season was awesome and for the most part, stayed true to Cosimo’s recorded life. Imagine my glee when it was announced that James will play as the second grandson! The wait was just awful but really worth it. The second season was full of intrigue, conspiracy, and genius resolution of the problems at hand courtesy of Lorenzo. The show benefited from Lorenzo’s colorful and exciting life and it did not have the necessary build-up needed for a new series because the first season has already done that.

It was, in short, entertaining from start to finish. The final episodes were especially great for its execution of facts and how the actors carried the scenes until the end. Seeing Botticelli, one of my favorite characters in the show, was fun but I just wished that Richard had somehow appeared in one of the episodes. That would be fun too.

Top 5: Simon Bolivar

Geek Score: 3.61/5.0

With 60 episodes (more than 60 hours of total running time), this is a very long series to watch but to history buffs, this is one of the most satisfying shows in Netflix, amid the proliferation of Korean drama thingy. Of course, there are inconsistencies in the story, as the writers took some creative liberty to add or imagine some of the obscure facts about Bolívar’s life. The set could do some budget hike too. But over all, I’m glad “Bolívar” has been made available for people to watch. I just hope more shows like these will be shown in the future.

Top 4: The Politician

Geek Score: 3.81/5.0

It’s like this show is made for me: history of U.S. presidential politics, political strategies, and campaign plus some high school stuff to balance all of it. There’s humor in the lines of the characters albeit somehow darker (with outrageous murder plots), but the overall setup is just light. It’s a mashed-up between a high school YA story and “Scandal.” Despite the criticisms, it is an interesting show to watch.

Bronze Award: Please Like Me

Geek Score: 4.06/5.0

This is not a series which you could just casually watch because every episode of the show is riveting and fun, and just plain simple but real. I like Josh because I understand him, like watching myself on the screen: his awkwardness and being a self-centered guy who is oblivious on the fact that he is sometimes just that. There is also some cool element of friendship here and his love life is something to watch for, it’s funny and sad at the same time. His family also makes the show fun to watch: his depressed mother and his father who is now living with a Thai girl (the most adorable character in the show). The dynamics of the actors with each other is great bringing out the humor in the show while not losing its raw story and humanity of the characters.

Silver Award: This is Us

Geek Score: 4.2/5.0

T he third season did not disappoint us. The season shows Randall winning a local election and its consequences on his family. Kevin goes back to his alcoholic problems triggered by the discovery of Jack’s younger brother, whom they thought was already dead. Kate, on the other hand, just got her baby through a difficult pregnancy. What I love about this show, its simplicity, is still there, not to mention the awesome performance of the cast every episode. I love that the story and its background is growing, and we got to know more the stories not only of the major characters but of the supporting cast as well. The episodes featuring the story of Jack’s missing brother were good but this season is about Randall and his family, and boy, the acting during those episodes was simply superb. 

Best TV Series of 2019: The Good Place

Geek Score: 4.57/5.0

There’s more in the show than simple comedy. First, the actors in this series are all great, their characters are well defined and they all have good chemistry. How the writers turned this simple story into a debate on morality while having a laugh every other minute is simply, for a lack of better word, cool. The comedy in itself is not grade school level but not so deep like the humor in “You’re the Worst” where there were times you can’t relate to it. The pop culture references are amazing, as well as the literary references that most can relate, as long as you know Gandhi and Kant. The series ask questions about what really defines a good person and bad one, and what actions do we take as good and what are the bad ones. Most importantly, why there is no Medium Place for mediocre people? We deserve an answer. Janet!