The Biggest TV Shows Of 2020

2020 has been a year to remember in television. But among the chaos, the world enjoyed some landmark shows, from chess queens to tiger kings.

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2020 was packed with great television – here are the biggest shows from the past 12 months. When the world went into lockdown in March 2020, those Netflix and Disney+ subscriptions suddenly came into their own. Working from home, unable to visit friends or watch movies at the theater, TV became a refuge for all the lost souls struggling to adapt to the great indoors. 2020 duly stepped up with television that captured imaginations and provided socially-distant distractions at a time when distraction was sorely needed.

Predictably, streaming continues to gain prominence, and 2020 saw Disney+ establish a firm foothold in the television realm before HBO Max launched in the middle of the year. Netflix and Amazon Prime continue to go from strength to strength, but network TV proved itself capable of offering high-quality programming on-par with its streaming rivals.

In the interests of clarity, the following isn’t a list of our favorite 2020 TV shows (that’ll come later), but rather a rundown of the year’s biggest, most significant TV releases. Entries will be judged on viewership, social media chatter, reviews, cultural impact, and overall buzz. Join us on this retrospective look at 2020 in television.

10. Killing Eve

Starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, Killing Eve’s blend of spy mystery, action thrills and dark comedy found a more willing audience in 2020 than ever before, premiering its third season in April. Killing Eve season 3 resumes the strangely symbiotic chase between Eve and Villanelle after Sandra Oh’s spy managed to forge a quiet civilian life at the end of last season. Villanelle becomes more powerful than ever following a promotion within the Twelve, and Eve is more than happy to meet the challenge, but as Killing Eve season 3 comes to a close, the women agree to go their separate ways. Fortunately, neither is likely to keep that promise and, sure enough, Killing Eve season 4 is on its way.

While season 3 viewership remained consistent with past seasons (and relatively modest compared to other entries on this list), Killing Eve’s true value lies in its cultural impact. The stock of Oh and Comer grew considerably in 2020, and a slew of award nominations soon followed, with the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Primetime Emmys all recognizing the achievement of Killing Eve and its central stars.

9. The Great British Bake Off

Airing its eleventh season in 2020, The Great British Bake Off continues to grow a decade after its humble debut. The concept is deliciously simple – a cooking competition where contestants are eliminated weekly, but everyone is really polite about it. GBBO’s wholesome world of marzipan and meringues proved a sorely-needed antidote to a rough year, and the lovable Peter proved was a worthy winner after consistently wowing with his bakes. Other highlights of this year’s edition include Lottie, a dropped tray of pineapple upside-down cakes, and Laura putting her head into the freezer whenever things went wrong. In a topsy-turvy year, watching a group of nice people bake cakes was both reassuring and comforting, and with cast and crew isolating for the entire filming period, offered a welcome slice of normality.

The Great British Bake Off continues to be immensely popular in its native UK, with the final episode smashing network viewership records, but the quaint competition is gathering momentum across the pond, cracking Nielsen’s streaming top 10 for the first time. Known as The Great British Baking Show to Netflix US viewers, season 11 dominated Twitter, courted headlines and shows very little sign of slowing down.

8. Ozark

Airing its third season in 2020, Netflix’s Ozark capitalized on popularity built over previous seasons. Starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, Ozark follows the Byrde family as they fall deeper into the criminal underworld following a money laundering scam gone awry. Ozark season 3 ramps up the stakes with a cartel war, danger in the casino business, and increasing friction between Bateman’s Marty and Linney’s Wendy. To solve their problems, the Byrdes attempt to resolve a conflict between local gangs, and end season 3 in the good graces of the Navarro cartel. Ozark has been renewed for a fourth, final run to round off the story.

Despite Netflix announcing Ozark’s conclusion, season 3 has been widely touted as the best yet, and currently holds the healthiest Rotten Tomatoes score of all 3 seasons by a comfortable distance. According to Nielsen’s statistics, Ozark season 3 soared past the previous viewership statistics, and was watched by 16.4 million viewers in the first 10 days of release. Ozark might’ve started on rockier ground, but became a genuine TV contender in 2020.

7. The Umbrella Academy

Based on the comic book series by My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way, The Umbrella Academy season 1 was a major hit for Netflix in 2019 and fans were eagerly anticipating the return of the Hargreeves siblings in 2020. The Umbrella Academy season 2 takes Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Ben and Vanya to the 1960s, where they overcome Swedish assassins, a second apocalypse, cult hippies, and rampant prejudice. Season 2 also expands on the past of the Umbrella gang, and neatly sets up next season with the introduction of the Sparrow Academy.

Like the first season, The Umbrella Academy season 2 proved immensely popular with fans and critics, and a third season looked inevitable even before official confirmation arrived. The Umbrella Academy’s season 2 premiere saw the kooky superhero series top Nielsen’s US streaming rankings by a huge margin, suggesting the follow-up was just as popular, if not more so, than the previous year’s debut. The Umbrella Academy has managed to attract jaded superhero fans tired of the standard MCU format, while nudging at the mainstream with its quirky humor and strangely relatable characters.

6. The Crown

Regaling the real regal tales of the British monarchy was never likely to be a humble affair, and The Crown season 4 predictably earns its place among 2020’s biggest TV events. Charting a period from the late 1970s to 1990, The Crown season 4 was boosted by the introduction of Princess Diana, portrayed by Emma Corrin. Significant events include the rise and fall of Charles and Diana, a break-in at Buckingham Palace, and the death of Lord Mountbatten, ending with a family in disarray and Margaret Thatcher’s government teetering on a knife edge.

In its fourth season, The Crown furthers its reputation as one of the biggest productions in modern TV, perfectly capturing the opulence of royal life with the usual who’s who of British acting talent. Critical opinion was among the best The Crown has achieved since its 2016 Netflix debut, and Diana’s season 4 introduction dominated discourse throughout the month of November, with the show even being discussed in the Houses of Parliament. There are few better signs of The Crown’s success than creating a British scandal all of its own.

5. I May Destroy You

From the mind of Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You became an unexpected original TV highlight of 2020. Written, starring and co-directed by Coel, I May Destroy You presents a hazy account of an author struggling with the aftermath of rape. Coel’s Arabella leads the audience through difficult subjects in compelling, striking fashion, and plays out alternate versions of her story for an innovative spin. I May Destroy You isn’t necessarily a comfortable depiction of modern life as a millennial in London, but the commentary on gender, sexuality and #MeToo, combined with deeply flawed and complicated characters leaves a lasting impression.

Airing on BBC One in the UK and HBO in the US, I May Destroy You might not have been a ratings smash but struck a cultural chord that few of this year’s releases can match, generating huge buzz and plenty of online discussion due to realistic depictions of sex and several genuinely harrowing moments. I May Destroy You will likely find itself a new audience once critics publish their “Best of 2020” lists, but can already consider itself one of the most talked-about shows of the year.

4. The Boys

Amazon’s The Boys adapts the raucous comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, and aired its highly-anticipated second season in 2020. Introducing a 100-year-old Nazi with a strong social media game, The Boys pulls even less punches than before, with Homelander and Stormfront teaming up to cleanse the population with an army of supes. Fortunately, Butcher and the Boys are on hand to kick Vought’s super-powered Seven down several notches. The Boys season 2 is far from subtle in its social commentary, tackling everything from superhero movie representation to Donald Trump in typically confrontational style.

Buoyed by the success of season 1, The Boys season 2 enjoyed a far bigger presence, effectively becoming the flagship series of Amazon Prime. Reviews were glowing, and Homelander is rapidly becoming a mainstream figure as more and more viewers get on board. Unsurprisingly, The Boys was renewed for a third season before the second even premiered, and a spin-off is also in the works, proving how valuable the subversive superhero franchise has become to Amazon. Nielsen’s streaming statistics reveal that The Boys was one of few non-Netflix shows among their top 10 releases.

3. The Queen’s Gambit

Based on the book by Walter Tevis, Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit stars Anya Taylor-Joy as chess prodigy Beth Harmon, as she struggles to balance addiction issues with a rapidly rising career in competitive chess. The exploration of Beth’s psyche proves just as fascinating as her ascent to the top of the chess world, and The Queen’s Gambit is underpinned by the meaty themes of feminism, mental health and drug abuse. While a chess-based period drama perhaps doesn’t seem an obvious contender for 2020’s television hall of fame on paper, The Queen’s Gambit has enjoyed praise from virtually all quarters.

The Queen’s Gambit is being touted as the biggest scripted miniseries in Netflix history, dominating Nielsen ratings throughout the month of November. Particular praise has been reserved for Taylor-Joy’s performance, the 50s/60s aesthetic, and the depth of character on display throughout the cast. In the wake of The Queen’s Gambit’s release, retailers have seen a tidal wave of interest in chess sets, and google searches on how to play have followed, highlighting the all-encompassing impact of The Queen’s Gambit in 2020.

2. Tiger King

Here in the dying embers of 2020, Joe Exotic is no longer a name on everyone’s lips, but back in March when lockdown began, the world went crazy for Netflix’s Tiger King. Following the unbelievable exploits of Exotic in the world of big cats, Tiger King spins a tale of murder accusations, poor business decisions, and personalities more colorful than Joe Exotic’s wardrobe. While the Tiger King obsession might’ve been the passing fad of a world struggling to fill their days indoors, each episode pulls the viewer closer by promising (and delivering) one crazy twist after another. Joe Exotic remains behind bars, but for a little while back there, his priceless one-liners were uttered across the world.

For better or worse, Tiger King is perhaps the only entry on this list that can truly claim to have become a global sensation. Through TV, radio and internet, Joe Exotic was impossible to avoid, and the all-encompassing success of the Netflix docuseries only drove more viewers to discover the madness for themselves. A raft of adaptations, spin-offs and copycats are in various stages of production, but with 64 million tuning in during the first month, Tiger King was one of Netflix’s hottest properties of any year.

1. The Mandalorian

Few knew quite what to expect from The Mandalorian, but season 1 blew collective minds after premiering on Disney+ in late 2019. The first live-action Star Wars series stars Pedro Pascal as the titular bounty hunter, and he’s soon joined by the only TV personality who can claim Joe Exotic’s pop culture throne, Baby Yoda. The pair’s adventures were critically acclaimed and gave the Disney+ platform a desperately-needed original success story upon launch. The Mandalorian season 2 premiered in November 2020 and continues to hit new heights, exciting the Star Wars faithful with the likes of Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano, while Baby Yoda remains a mainstream mascot, recognized even among those who think “Din Djarin” is some exotic kitchen utensil.

Each episode of The Mandalorian drops with a weighty event feel, and the Star Wars series continues to be the biggest thing on Disney+ that doesn’t feature the music of Lin-Manuel Miranda (for now…), but Disney recently highlighted The Mandalorian’s importance to their platform by announcing a glut of new projects. Aside from propping up Disney+ and collecting positive reviews for fun, The Mandalorian achieved what many thought was impossible by uniting a fandom divided after the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

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