Year in Review

The 10 Best New TV Shows of 2020

Ted Lasso and Lovecraft Country lead a captivating freshman class

Collage of the shows Central Park, I May Destroy You, Ted Lasso, Never Have I Ever and Normal People — From left: Central Park, I May Destroy You, Ted Lasso, Never Have I Ever and Normal People had standout debut seasons.Sources: Apple TV+, HBO, Netflix, Hulu

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After spotlighting 2020’s 10 best TV shows, it’s time to honor the new series that in their first year managed to break through the glut of broadcast, cable and streaming content.

That task is tough enough on its own, but Covid-19 was especially challenging for new shows: The timing of the pandemic production shutdowns meant that broadcasters were only able to launch a handful of new shows in the second half of the year—none of which were strong enough to make it onto this list.

Instead,