My Favourite TV Show of 2020 - Normal People

In a year defined by staying inside and binge watching Netflix, I feel like I didn't watch as much as everyone else. I wish I could have, a lot of it sounds great, but I spent most of the year so full of overwhelming anxiety that I couldn't focus on something non-interactive for more than a few hours and then the rest of the year I spent studying. Despite that, I made time for Normal People, a show that is so great it felt almost cruel to release it in the middle (or as we now call it, the start) of a pandemic.

For those who are unaware, the show is the story of two young adults, Connell and Marianne. They meet at sixth form, where Connell's mum is a cleaner for Marianne's family. Coming from two different social worlds, they never expect to connect and yet, they do. They connect quite hard, actually. The show follows their relationship, falling in and out of love across their time at sixth form and then university, with plenty of heartbreak, touching and touching induced heartbreak. It's a fairly classic setup, familiar to any fans of the Before trilogy (or indeed, fans of Sally Rooney's source novel), but it is wrung for all its terrific power.

There is a level of chemistry here that rivals some of the greatest tales of romance ever filmed.

Much of that power comes from the lead performances, both from relative newcomers and both of whom are sensational. As Marianne, we have Daisy Edgar-Jones, who is depressingly talented for someone a year older than me. Then as Connell we have Paul Mescal, who has absolutely taken off since the show began. Alone, both work brilliantly, breathing life into characters in a way that never makes you think of them as characters, but instead real people. Together though, they are something else. There is a level of chemistry here that rivals some of the greatest tales of romance ever filmed. Whether they're in scenes of intense intimacy or just having a conversation about something mundane, their chemistry comes off the screen and directly into your heart. With weaker actors, this entire show would have collapsed and yet because of their strength, it soars.

Speaking of the intimacy and returning to something I briefly mentioned earlier, Normal People came out at simultaneously the best and worst time possible. In the UK, we had been in lockdown for a few weeks and were already feeling starved of touch and connection. As it turns out, evoking touch and connection is something Normal People is incredibly good at. Part of me wonders if the show would have felt so raw and appealed so strongly to our emotions in a time less extraordinary, but then the other part of me doesn't care. Art is a product and reflection of its time and the time when Normal People came out was very strange. That something could come out and pierce through the insanity of every day life to make us feel something very real is an achievement that shouldn't be understated. It is the kind of show that reaches out and tells you that those things you feel are valid, as if it is speaking to no one other than you.

Even if I had watched more TV this year, Normal People would still probably be my show of the year.

If you need any other reason to check the show out, it is a brilliantly easy binge. There are 12 episodes, all about 30 minutes long, which feels like pretty much the perfect form the show could take. I find it very hard to talk about because it does everything pretty much perfectly while exploring themes and emotions I love. Even if I had watched more TV this year, Normal People would still probably be my show of the year.

Honourable Mentions:

Bojack Horseman Series Finale - I couldn't justifiably put half a season of a show as the best of the year, but even so, I couldn't go without mentioning the final episodes of Bojack Horseman. They bring to a miraculous close, deftly free of too much closure, one of the greatest shows on television, one which you may have somehow overlooked. Stop overlooking it, go and watch it, it's simply incredible.

The Good Place Series Finale - On the exact same note as Bojack, there were about three episodes of The Good Place that aired this year but in fairness, they were three of the best episodes of any show this year. The final episode in particular is incredible, raising the emotional stakes for everything we have already seen and continuing to make philosophy beautiful, sad and funny.

Tiger King - Remember Tiger King? The hit of the first few weeks of lockdown, there aren't many documentaries that better embody how generic in form Netflix documentaries can be. Then again, there aren't many documentary subjects as compelling as Joe Exotic and Carol Baskins, whose legacies are still felt with the odd news article.

The Boys Season 2 - In a year when there weren't many superhero films on the big screen, The Boys turned up on our TVs and did whatever it wanted, in super entertaining ways. I liked this season more than the last, for the way it dared to push its narrative to new places. Fingers crossed a third season doesn't disappoint!

Inside Number 9 Season 5 - With no Black Mirror this year, Inside Number 9 should have been the best anthology show of the year. There was a new competitor that slightly beat it but still, you can't beat this show for quick hits of comedy, tension and terror. Weirdly, its confined settings make it feel right at place for lockdown viewing.

Small Axe - Is it a TV show? Is it a collection of films? I have decided I don't care and will define it as whatever allows me to talk about it more, so come back next week for me discussing some of the episodes from Steve McQueen's superb anthology series, with episodes so good every critic just decided they all count as films.

Naked Attraction - Very specifically, the episode of Naked Attraction with Brian, the virgin. Only his section of the episode, in fact. There is not a more compelling scene broadcast on British TV this year than a twenty three year old man almost fainting because after a lifetime without seeing a vagina, he is faced with six at once. Believe me, you will be screaming at your TV a lot through it, but it is the must see event of the year.