# The Guardian's top 50 TV shows of 2016 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684 "2016-12-14T15:26:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/1 "2016-12-14T15:26:59Z")
Somewhat from a UK perspective and with the top five still to come, [this is where we are](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/best-tv-shows-of-2016). UK shows not yet mentioned include Happy Valley which has to be top 3 at least, and - perhaps randomly - Peaky Blinders which The Guardian has either totally over looked or totally overrated. Also no mention of Preacher … Five slots to fill. Cannot believe The Missing 2 at position 28 - top five for me. Any thoughts or guesses - they countdown one a day? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/2 "2016-12-14T16:19:50Z")
Pretty decent list, though some seem a bit too low (Halt and Catch Fire, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and I don’t know half of the British shows. I’d think that one of the top 5 has to be Aziz Ansari’s “Master of None”. “The Americans” also hasn’t shown up on that list yet either. And I doubt it will be on The Guardian’s, but one of my favorite shows of 2016 is “BoJack Horseman”. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/3 "2016-12-14T16:27:56Z")
Oops, I realized Master of None was a 2015 show… forget that then. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/4 "2016-12-14T16:55:04Z")
I’m guessing Stranger Things is in the top 5. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/5 "2016-12-14T18:25:15Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Pretty decent list, though some seem a bit too low (Halt and Catch Fire, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and I don’t know half of the British shows. I’d think that one of the top 5 has to be Aziz Ansari’s “Master of None”. “The Americans” also hasn’t shown up on that list yet either. And I doubt it will be on The Guardian’s, but one of my favorite shows of 2016 is “BoJack Horseman”. The Americans might be a good shout. Certainly deserves it! ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/6 "2016-12-15T17:19:22Z")
5th place: [The Night Of](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/15/the-50-best-tv-shows-of-2016-no-5-the-night-of) - HBO’s captivating big budget remake of a BBC drama. Solid. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/7 "2016-12-15T21:11:04Z")
**War and Peace** pretty much sucked. I’ve read it, too. It was not a good adaptation for the most part. And some of the additions were horrible. Cheap and lazy writing to get ratings. At best, it was a 6/10. Just adequate, but barely. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/8 "2016-12-15T21:15:02Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > **War and Peace** pretty much sucked. I’ve read it, too. It was not a good adaptation for the most part. And some of the additions were horrible. Cheap and lazy writing to get ratings. > > At best, it was a 6/10. Just adequate, but barely. Fwiw, I couldn’t invest in that either. The people I know who did were all women - some absolutely loved it, so perhaps the demographics passed us by … ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/9 "2016-12-15T22:36:48Z")
I think the most criminally underwatched show of the past few years is **Rectify** on SundanceTV. It just aired its series finale yesterday. I didn’t care for _The Night Of_. Surprised to see it ranked quite so high. **Better Call Saul** would be among my top picks. I was going to add _The Leftovers_, but the amazing 2nd season ended in December of 2015 and season 3 won’t air for another few months. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/10 "2016-12-15T23:24:11Z")
My answer would be Dirk Gently, Game of Thrones, Vikings, and Outlander. Sent from my SM-S765C using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/11 "2016-12-15T23:38:40Z")
Given the UK perspective, I suspect the only question is whether Happy Valley is top of the list or just close. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/12 "2016-12-15T23:40:31Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > **War and Peace** pretty much sucked. I’ve read it, too. It was not a good adaptation for the most part. And some of the additions were horrible. Cheap and lazy writing to get ratings. What additions? If it’s the incest thing with the Kuragins, that’s hinted at in the book. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/13 "2016-12-16T16:48:43Z")
Happy Valley is number four, [according to The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/16/the-50-best-tv-shows-of-2016-no-4-happy-valley). Three shows better than that - bring 'em on 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guardians-top-50-tv-shows-of-2016/774684/14 "2016-12-17T15:39:09Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I’m guessing Stranger Things is in the top 5. Boom! Good shout - [in at number three …](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/17/the-50-best-tv-shows-of-2016-no-3-stranger-things)