Television. It was once called a “vast wasteland” in which you could find nothing good outside of things like public or educational programming. I don’t think anyone with half a brain could even try to make that argument today. There’s such an abundance of quality television on that you could take my 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place show and put it at the number one spot and I wouldn’t even care that much. 2011 was a great year for television, but here’s what I think was the best of the best. Enjoy.

1. Breaking Bad

“I am the one who knocks.”

Many TV critics, producers, and viewers say that we are living in a Golden Age of television because of the quality of programs and how many quality programs there are. If we are living in that age (and I think we are) then Breaking Bad is leading the charge in defining it. Each season has been better than the previous, but season four really, really turned it up a notch. Not so much in the advancement of the plot like season three, but in the cinematic element of the show’s production. People like Michelle MacLaren and Michael Slovis helped bring the same kind of awareness in shooting style that we see in arthouse films. While those two introduced us to things like shovel cam, guest directors like David Slade gave us heartbreakingly simple moments like Jesse riding around in a go-cart. And as if all of this wasn’t enough, we continued to get the best performances on television from Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and (newest “best villain ever”) Giancarlo Esposito. Esposito in particular had a season for the ages as he was able to take his character, Gus Fring, to new depths and even make it possible for the viewer to root for him over the increasingly despicable Walter White. The series ends next season and looking back at what they’ve given us over the past four seasons we won’t be let down at the finish line. 

2. Louie

“I’ll wait for you!” 

Season one of FX’s Louie was a bit jarring for most viewers, even those who enjoyed it. One week you’d be laughing at Louis trying to act in a remake of The Godfather, the next you’d be cringing at the uncomfortable scene in which Louis is bullied by a teenager while on a date. Season two was a little of the same, but it really exhibited how Louis CK had refined the independent filmmaker style he was bringing to the show and how he was going to redefine what can be seen as comedy with that style. Instead of presenting us with laugh out loud moments week after week, CK would either take us to dark places and let the viewer find where we might pull humor out of it or present us with a half hour drama that has some comedic elements. Episodes like “Duckling”, in which Louis goes on USO tour through Afghanistan, showed what an amazing storyteller CK can be and how versatile this show is. One episode you’re weeping at the end because of the small, but significant beauty of what just happened, the next your heart is breaking because of Louis and his unrequited love. Then, of course, there’s one where you’re as frightened as you are in a horror film. Basically, you rarely know what to expect out of Louie, but at this point we know whatever it is, it’s probably going to be really fantastic. 

3. Friday Night Lights

“Texas forever.”

Isn’t amazing that we got five seasons of this show? Thanks to a deal struck between DirecTV and NBC Friday Night Lights got three more seasons than its ratings justified and the end of that run came to a tear-jerking, heartwarming conclusion this year as we said goodbye to the coaches, players, and citizens of Dillon, Texas. As usual, Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton were amazing as Eric and Tami Taylor, displaying one of the most real and honest marriages on TV week after week. We got swan song farewells from characters like Matt Saracen, Tyra Collete, and Tim Riggins as well as proper conclusions to the stories of the new characters who we grew to love just as much as the old ones. There are few ensembles on TV as large as Friday Night Lights and even fewer who worked as well together as this one. Jason Katims and crew had the impossible task of juggling and making us care about all the stories this town could hold, but they somehow made that task very possible. And, yes, I’m going to say it one more time: Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. 

4. Parks and Recreation 

“I guess I kind of hate most things. But I never really seem to hate you. So I want to spend the rest of my life with you, is that cool?” 

The quote above from the episode “Fancy Party” kind of sums up what makes Parks and Rec one of the best shows and TV. It’s funny, heartwarming, and somehow capable of making you tear up, all at the same time. Whether it’s Leslie giving Ron the perfect birthday present or a new team of young Ron Swansons, the department giving Leslie the Christmas gift she’s always deserved, or Ben doing what Leslie doesn’t want to do so she can have what she’s always wanted, very few shows make me have to pretend that my allergies have an annoying habit of popping up at 730 on Thursday nights. And if Friday Night Lights has one of the strongest ensembles on television, Parks and Rec absolutely has the strongest. Any combination of characters will provide for a hilarious story and any character can illicit a side-splitting laugh at any moment whether it be from Chris Pratt’s childish Andy, Aubrey Plaza’s bitter and sarcastic April, Nick Offerman’s brilliant Ron F**king Swanson, or Adam Scott’s impeccably deadpan Ben Wyatt. I do have Louie above this show on this list, but Parks and Rec is still the best true comedy/sitcom on television and probably will be for many seasons. 

5. Community

“We’re gonna have more fun and be less weird than the first two years combined!” 

Not that any fans of Community ever expected the sentiment expressed in this season’s opening musical number to be a serious one, but thank God that it wasn’t. If Parks and Rec is the best comedy on television, Community is still the most ambitious. Look at the picture above; what other broadcast comedy would dare go into a 2001 homage in the middle of their season premiere. What other show would do an episode with six alternate storylines? What other show would do a Pulp Fiction episode while really doing an homage to the minor 80s film, My Dinner with Andre? Community, Community, and, oh yeah, Community. Their experiments don’t always work, some are shakier than others, but Community is a power hitter, and when they hit, they hit. The cast is amazingly diverse and home to some of the most well-crafted characters on television and I don’t think anyone who watches the show would disagree that characters like Danny Pudi’s Abed Nadir or Donald Glover’s Troy Barnes will be remembered years after this show is off the air. It’s on hiatus now, but I know it won’t be there for long and I honestly believe that this show is too special for it not to get a fourth and final season. 

6. Homeland

“Are you watching me?” 

Showtime’s freshman series Homeland kind of came out of nowhere, but it also has the feel of the show that we’ve been building to for a while. We’ve had series like 24 show us the efforts made to prevent terrorist attacks, we’ve had character-driven dramas, and we’ve had lots of TV that’s been shaped by what happened on 9/11. Homeland, however, is the first post-9/11 series to both be an intense character study and show us counter terrorism efforts simultaneously. What’s most impressive about the first season of this show is that it could have become only plot-driven filled with the twist and turns that eventually turned viewers off 24, but it stayed the course with strong characters like Carrie Mathison and Nicholas Brody who were given tremendous depth through career performances from Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen in season two, but the first season of this drama instilled me with great confidence moving forward. 

7. Justified

“I had every intention of living a simple life.” 

Season two of the FX modernized western, Justified, is full of characters trying to be something else while having everyone around them pulling them back to what they used and don’t want to be. The season having a theme this strong and consistent is a good indicator of the leap in quality it made between seasons one and two. The first season was somewhat serialized, but full of standalone episodes trying to help the show find its tone. But in season two, the show embraced the serialized format through the combined stories of the Bennetts, Givens, and Crowders. It also featured veteran actress Margo Martindale giving the performance of her career as the sweet yet frightening crime lord, Mags Bennett. In addition to this, Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins continued giving their usual great performances and guest actor, Jeremy Davies kicked in another to make this one of the most exciting series on television. 

8. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

“Things are about to get real dark, real fast.” 

Few shows do consistently well into their seventh season. The Office, for example, once considered one of the best shows on TV went into its seventh season and became one of the most mediocre. It’s Always Sunny has never really had an extended creative slump and I wasn’t expecting anything outside of the usual from the seventh season, but the gang delivered one of the best seasons in this series’ history. The gang went for broke with episodes like “The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore” in which Dee and Dennis unwillingly participate in robberies and murder cover-ups, “Dee Gets Audited” in which the gang throws a funeral for a baby Dee created for tax breaks, and, of course, the new classic, “The Gang Gets Trapped” which plays with everything we’ve come to learn about this horrid group of people over the years. We also got Rob McElhenney gaining 50 pounds to become “Fat Mac” this year which was bold, creative, and made for some great story-and punchlines. I don’t know if season 8 can live up to season 7, but I will undoubtedly enjoy spending time with this group for many more seasons. 

9. Wilfred

“Let’s get stoned and then go home and get stoned.” 

Wilfred was one of the bigger wild cards of this television season. It was either going to be a very awful series or a very promising series. Thankfully, we ended up with the latter. The first season had problems with it’s ability to mix comic and dark tones and consistency of how it presented those week after week, but when it found the right mix, it worked as well as any comedy on television. Elijah Wood and Jason Gann turned out to be one of the most fun and entertaining duos around with Gann putting every bit of insanity into his portrayal of Wilfred and Wood pitching in as the perfect straight man. Season one concluded with an ending fit for LOST so I have the same attitude for season two as I had for season one: It’s going to be very great or very bad. Let’s hope it heads in the right direction twice in a row. 

10. Archer 

“If I stop drinking all at once, I’m afraid the cumulative hangover will kill me.” 

Once upon a time the title of “best animated series on television” went to shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, or King of the Hill, but now it belongs to a tiny FX spy-spoof, the one and only Archer. Imagine James Bond meets Arrested Development tossed in with some It’s Always Sunny and you’ve got yourself Archer. Season one was hilarious and season two continued that while injecting some fun serialization into the mix with things like Sterling battling cancer and trying to find his father. We also got terrific standalone episodes like “The Double Deuce” where we get the tragic (and oddly homoerotic) backstory of Archer’s manservant, Woodhouse and “El Secuestro” in which Pam is kidnapped and the office…doesn’t really care. Season three already kicked off with the three-part epilogue to season two, “Heart of Archness” and if those three episodes are just our first sampling of season three, we have much to be excited for.