NBC
In the age of peak television, broadcast network shows often get ignored by critics.
But they shouldn’t be. In fact, they include some of the best shows on TV right now.
Without having to worry about appealing to a mass audience and advertisers, entertainment companies like HBO, Netflix, and Hulu have turned out ambitious projects over the past few years and raked in awards.
And some broadcast networks have taken note of what audiences love so much about shows like “Game of Thrones,” “Stranger Things,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and have tried to make it work for them. And some have definitely succeeded.
So it’s time to give them some recognition.
For this list, we considered broadcast network shows on NBC, Fox, ABC, The CW, and CBS, and excluded cable networks like FX, AMC, and USA.
From the innovative comedy “The Good Place” on NBC, to the completely reinvented teen drama “Riverdale” on The CW, these are the best network shows that should be on your radar.
Here are the 12 best network shows on TV right now, ranked:
12. “Great News” — NBC
Eric Liebowitz/NBC
From executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, “Great News” has a tone and sensibility very similar to “30 Rock” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” The show, which centers on a news producer whose mother gets hired as an intern, fires jokes as quickly as “30 Rock” and has very memorable characters and performances, particularly from Nicole Richie as glamorous news anchor Portia Scott-Griffith and Andrea Martin as Carol Wendelson, the intern/mom.
11. “Designated Survivor” — ABC
ABC
“Designated Survivor” isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s trying to be, and that’s what makes it worth watching. Kiefer Sutherland plays a man who becomes the president of the United States after a terrorist attack during the State of the Union address. The country is divided and in turmoil after the attack, and not a lot of people are fan of the president they didn’t vote for. “Designated Survivor” follows a typical formula for a network political drama, but isn’t afraid to kill off characters or take risks with twists that will surprise you.
10. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” — Fox
FOX
Now in season five, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has maintained the quirky, positive spirit that it established in season one. The show is about an NYPD precinct in Brooklyn, and has a very similar tone to workplace comedy “Parks and Recreation.” Further into its run, the writers started taking more risks with its characters’ positions as detectives, with major undercover jobs. In season four, two of its main characters got framed and spent the beginning of season five in prison, trying to prove their innocence.
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