A British resurgence
For years, our end-of-year lists have been dominated by American imports. But look at this: A Very English Scandal, The Cry, Killing Eve, Patrick Melrose, Stath Lets Flats. We’re back, baby.
Spies
Spies are always a go-to TV trope, but this year has been a doozy. We had The Little Drummer Girl and The Americans – AKA the best-ever spy show – while Bodyguard was inches away from having its characters peek out through holes cut in newspapers.
Child abduction
Television is still as reliant as ever on the shock value of missing kids, with the likes of Kiri, Save Me and Dark. It’s starting to feel a bit cheap. Perhaps we could try something else next year. Sick gerbils?
The darkening
Remember Blue Planet II and its sense of awestruck wonder? Forget that – this is 2018 and all wonder is dead. In its place, we got Dynasties; a deeply impressive, but relentlessly grim, look at animal-on-animal violence. Sums up the year quite nicely, really.
Miserable comedies
In Barry, we had a depressed assassin. In The Good Place, we saw people dealing with the news that they’re dead. In Atlanta, we got a full-blown horror movie. Even This Country went heavier than expected on parental isolation this year.
Slumming A-listers
Some huge stars managed to pop their television cherry this year. Julia Roberts in Homecoming, Hugh Grant in A Very English Scandal and Emma Stone in Maniac.
Conspicuous acting
Patrick Melrose was designed as a vehicle for Benedict Cumberbatch’s capital-A acting. And he didn’t let us down.
Bad dads
Brian Cox in Succession. Gabriel Bryne in Maniac. Donald Sutherland in Trust. All terrible. Worst of all was Patrick Melrose’s truly evil Hugo Weaving.
Worse mums
The mums weren’t much better. Watch Patricia Clarkson poison her daughter on Sharp Objects. Watch Jessica Walter punch her son on Arrested Development. Not a great year for familial relationships, all said.
Jet-setting
Rare was the TV show that stayed in one place this year. Killing Eve ducked about all over Europe. McMafia got around, too. The Little Drummer Girl was the first drama to shoot at the Acropolis at night.
Huge typefaces
The title sequences of Killing Eve and Patrick Melrose featured MASSIVE letters. Yes, we all watch things on our phones, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see.
Cults
Wild Wild Country explored one of the most fascinating cults in history, while Waco dramatised another. The Purge TV show made one up. It’s almost like the world can relate to brainwashed idiots acting out their worst impulses.
True crime
The Staircase, Evil Genius and Making a Murderer continued the trend of making us believe that documentary makers are better at solving crimes than the police.
