Thanks for the reflections! Honestly, the only reason I followed the library rule is because I developed this list specifically for my local library (where I work part-time). I had already written ~3500 words (and spent a bunch more time adapting what I had written there for TVMaze), and I didn't have much more spare time. By the time I started pulling this piece together here, we were already 2 weeks out from NYE - and the concept of 'decade in review' might not have held up in February. The only show I didn't include that I'm particularly regretful about is Community - I probably should have just taken the time to swap it out anyway; a few shows sit pretty tenuously on this list (like Handmaid's Tale and some of the stuff in Part 2), so it wouldn't have been hard. And hey, Part 2 is going up on Sunday, so I still have time to add it in if I can! 

Of course, with Peak TV leading to such an explosion in content, I was hardly starved for good shows even just at the library. I still made some tough decisions with what we had - I loved S1 of Westworld, for example, but S2 did not make the cut here. I also love what Marvelous Mrs Maisel did for telling stories about secular Jews, casually, but didn't find space for that. Happy Endings is one of my favourite sitcoms of the decade, and The Hour is one of the best BBC productions I've ever seen.

In terms of underrated - I have never heard of Outcast (which shocks me because I pay too much attention to TV and TV news, and usually know critical impressions even if I haven't watched the show), so I'll add it to my list! I'm sure it was because it was on Cinemax - the same thing, roughly, happened to The Knick, which sucked. Cliffhangers and all as well. I'm a bit torn about what to mention here. There are lots of ways to be underrated - so I'm thinking about shows like Rubicon (2010, no one watched, too slow and cerebral, the critics who watched it loved it, then it disappeared forever), Awake (a hidden gem that perfectly mixed wonky sci-fi premise with cop procedural), The Tick (the recent one on Amazon - though that might just be recency bias - which did a great job of mixing darkness with absurdity), or Don't Trust the B in Apt 23 (a niche sitcom that still got 2 short seasons - might be right up there for me after Community).

But if I had to choose one, it would be Galavant. Not popular, not super well received by critics, and the nichiest of niche concepts - it's a medieval fantasy musical sitcom with relatively modern dialogue. And the first few episodes were not good! But oh wow, was it ever fantastic once it got going, especially in S2.

@Zlogorek - "The Country of the Blind" is exactly the kind of more interesting story I was talking about! It takes seriously the idea that groups of people can flourish when they build a society around their strengths and that disability is a highly contested and contextual concept. Of course, it also points to some darker ideas (how groups in power do not always understand the perspective of such radically different people, how they will wield that power terrifyingly, etc). Fantastic short story.

Man, I have been out of the loop on ratings for maybe 2 or 3 years and I genuinely don't understand what I'm seeing. This Is Us started in the mid 2s, in an era where that was the best shows could do. Now it's down to 1.6! Is that... good at this point? Some of these increasingly tiny and fractured numbers shock me in terms of what is considered a success (Prodigal Son down to 0.9 getting a full-season pickup, what!?)

This was a fascinating deep-dive into something I genuinely didn't know I wanted to read about. I find the interactions between fandom and corporate entities to be so difficult to manage and untangle, and I appreciate hearing about your personal experience with exactly that over the years. Looking forward to Part II!