Don't pop that champagne just yet!
Before we can say goodbye to 2017 and start readying our DVRs for 2018, it's time to bid this year adieu the best way we know how: By looking back on the 10 best TV shows of the year.
This era of Peak TV showed no signs of slowing down in 2017, with upwards of 400+ original scripted shows hitting the air, making our task of narrowing a list down to just 10—let alone watching all of it—no easy feat. That's why we've included five additional shows that just missed a spot on our top 10 list, but we feel are still worthy of an EOY shout-out. There's just so much good stuff, you guys!
This year's best of the best runs the gamut from a pair of inspired book adaptations to a pair of intimate, female-created comedies, a madcap musical comedy to reality TV's must-watch Mexico trip. To find out our picks, read on!
We can't remember the last time a season of television premiered that was so perfectly constructed, with BLL delivering on all fronts: directing, cinematography, editing, the soundtrack, and the acting. And oh, what performances Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and the rest of the stellar cast delivered. Focusing on complicated female friendships, Big Little Lies turned out to be one of the most fun and fundamental viewing experiences of the year. Anyone else ready to go back to Monterey? — TIERNEY BRICKER
Expectations were crazy high after This Is Us' breakout season, turning into a full-blown pop culture phenomenon. Fortunately fur us, the power of the Pearsons proved stronger than the dreaded sophomore season slump, with the new season delving deeper into the characters' relationships, backstories and psyches. Equal parts Heartwarming and heartbreaking, This Is Us still manages to make us feel, laugh, cry, connect and just enjoy each episode. — TIERNEY BRICKER
In a second season that refused to let its main characters off the hook for any of the messy decisions they've made, creator Issa Rae's HBO comedy continued to present modern relationships in a way that feels raw and real. The decisions made by Issa, Molly (Yvonne Orji) and Lawrence (Jay Ellis) can be frustrating as hell, but they're authentic. Bonus points for the beautiful way the show highlights a part of Los Angeles that rarely gets celebrated on screen and for wisely bumping up the hilarious Natasha Rothwell to series regular. — BILLY NILLES
There is plenty to say about The Handmaid's Tale, Hulu's Emmy-winning drama. Yes, it came at just the right time and hits close to home for many viewers around the country. Yes it is beautifully shot and acted with smart writing. And yes, Alexis Bledel is giving the performance of her career! Bledel, alongside Elisabeth Moss, Ann Dowd, Samira Wiley, Joseph Fiennes, Max Minghella, O.T. Fagbenle, Madeline Brewer and Yvonne Strahovski, bring a harrowing tale to life in such an expert fashion. — CHRIS HARNICK
There is a reason Game of Thrones is the most tweeted-about show of 2017: It's still must-see f--king television, even after seven seasons. After out-pacing George R.R. Martin's book series, GOT put the pedal to the metal in season seven, delivering countless moments fans have waited years for...and they all lived up to the massive hype. (So many reunions! Huge paternity reveals! And Jon and Dany, anyone?!) We still gladly bend the knee to GOT. — TIERNEY BRICKER
Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna have created a madcap TV show that in one week can deliver a song about innocence in the form of "First Penis I Saw," and in another week tackle suicide attempts and borderline personality disorder. This is no easy feat and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend needs to be recognized for the stellar work it has continued to do in its third season. The CW series is not afraid to turn everything on its head—and have the decisions characters come to make total sense—and that makes it one of the most exciting shows on television. — CHRIS HARNICK
Pamela Adlon is one of the most important voices in TV today. The co-creator, writer, director and star of FX's Better Things has crafted a fascinating world that never fails to pull back the curtain on motherhood. Adlon's Sam Fox is one of the most refreshingly human and developed characters on TV today. The care and love put into this series shows on screen in ways that have never been portrayed before. — CHRIS HARNICK
Season two of Mike Schur's NBC comedy has been a forkin' delight. After season one's big twist (resisting the urge to spoil it, but in order to up my karma points, I'll skip it for now), the series rebooted things. Again. And again. The end result has been wildly entertaining, enlightening and downright hilarious. Kristen Bell and Ted Danson are doing some of the best work of their careers and the supporting cast, especially D'Arcy Carden, continue to deliver the laughs. It's ambitious and a must-watch series. — CHRIS HARNICK
There were a few polarizing moments (Anyone lose a sister?), but overall, season two of 2016's biggest surprise absolutely lived up to the hype. The show grew up as the characters did without straying too far from the nostalgic fun that made it such a delight in the first place. Plus, we can never thank the Duffer brothers enough for Steve, the world's best/worst babysitter, or for our new/old favorite word: Bitchin'. — LAUREN PIESTER
If Bravo had only aired the trip-for-the-ages to Mexico that saw Luann de Lesseps' drunkenly fall not once, but twice, Dorinda Medley drunkenly slice her hand open while delivering one of her patented incoherent rants, and Ramona Singer work out her differences with a butt-naked Bethenny Frankel, RHONY still would've made this list. Try and name a reality series delivering more laughs per episode. We'll wait. — BILLY NILLES
The second season of Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang's cinematic Netflix comedy really upped the ante by kicking things off with Ansari's Dev in Italy for the first two episodes, delivering one of the year's most gorgeous episodes in the black-and-white opener, "The Thief." Between a prescient plotline involving sexual harassment on a TV set, more form-breaking episodes like the Emmy-winning "Thanksgiving," and a continued look at growing up Muslim in America, the show was firing on all cylinders. If only the central love story between Dev and Francesca (Alessandra Mastronardi) lived up to everything surrounding it. — BILLY NILLES
Amy Sherman-Palladino's new Amazon series starring Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein is the perfect antidote to everything 2017 threw at the general public. Timely while being set in 1958, the series makes Brosnahan a true star. Midge Maisel, a housewife who embarks on a stand-up comedy career, is a perfect TV hero. She's not afraid to take life head on and make it happen for herself. Mrs. Maisel is funny, heartwarming and scratches any Gilmore Girls itch you may have—and then some. — CHRIS HARNICK
The dark CW hit admittedly hasn't been the most consistent, but you can't deny that it captured imaginations in a way that few other new shows did in 2017. It gave the world some serious new stars in Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Madelaine Petsch, and even Archie himself, KJ Apa, along with the return of Cole Sprouse. Whether it's good, bad, or just a big weirdo, we're so happy Riverdale exists. — LAUREN PIESTER
More delightful than any comedy about the creation of an '80s novelty (the syndicated women's professional wrestling league Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) had any right to be, GLOW absolutely stole hearts this summer thanks to winning performances from Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin and Marc Maron and a story about female empowerment that more than transcended its goofy source material. If you missed out the Jenji Kohan-produced series, it's waiting for you to remedy the situation on Netflix. — BILLY NILLES
Freeform's dramedy about three 20-somethings working at a women's magazine turned out to be the perfect blend of fantasy and reality, like Sex and the City for a new generation. It's funny, honest, full of great representation, and all about ladies supporting ladies through anything and everything. The Bold Type is exactly the type of show we needed this year, especially with stellar performances from Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, and Meghann Fahy. — LAUREN PIESTER
Do you agree with our picks? Or did your favorite show fail to make our list this year? Sound off in the comments below or tweets us your thoughts at @eonlineTV!
(E!, Bravo and NBC are all a part of the NBCUniversal family.)