Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Shorter month, less TV, right? Wrong! Perhaps it was the leap year of it all, the extra day that spurred the various networks and streaming services to pump out a ton of great TV shows. Or perhaps it was just coincidence. Whatever was in the air, we got some incredible new — and returning shows throughout the month.
But far and away the favorite of the Decider staff was Hulu’s High Fidelity. You’ll read more about it below, but the Zoë Kravitz starring remake blasted past the competition, nearly doubling the votes of the number two show on our list.
A note on that methodology… Naturally, we can’t individually watch every show on TV, so instead each member of the Decider staff sends in their top five picks for the month, as long as the show has aired one new episode. Those lists are weighted, culled together, and ultimately result in the list you see below. Does it mean lots of great shows get lost in the shuffle (particularly in the case of a show only one person watches)? Sure. All apologies to Katy Keene and Sanditon, for example, which just missed the list.
But the eventual top 12 you see below contains a wide array of shows, from reality juggernauts (Love is Blind) to critical favorites (Better Call Saul), and everything in between. Heck, it’s a list so good only Rob could disagree with it! And if you’re curious, check out our best of January, as well.
'Superstore'
NBC
Don’t blame me for naming Superstore one of the best shows on TV month after month—blame Superstore for remaining a consistently great show! The Cloud 9 employees may have given up on their union for now, but Superstore continues to explore what it means to be a show about blue collar workers fighting a corporation for their right to be treated like human beings, while still being a funny, entertaining sitcom. If you’ve ever had a bad employer placate you with free food, you’ll love the episode about the new Cloud 9 cereal bar. And Lauren Ash continues to steal every scene with her impeccable comedic timing as Dina. Honestly, when are we going to get our Dina spin-off? — Anna Menta
'Locke & Key'
Netflix
Looks like Netflix has a new hit on its hands. Based on the comic books by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, the long-awaited adaptation of Locke & Key delivered a slightly more family-friendly take on the source material, but one that pleased fans (well, at least this fan) at the same time. When the Locke family moves to the small town of Matheson, they discover a house full of magical keys — and an evil entity who wants to get her hands on them. By turns funny, scary, and heartfelt, Locke & Key is as much a modern take on ’80s/’90s family adventure movies like Goonies as it is a sneaky meditation of the weight of grief. When’s Season 2? — Alex Zalben
'The Outsider'
HBO
The Outsider has more than a little in common with the first season of True Detective. Both center around emotionally damaged policemen, both mix traditional police procedural elements with a tinge of the supernatural, and both feature knockout performances from their respective leads. Where they differ is that The Outsider adds some much needed female energy to the mix; the show kicked into high gear as soon as Cynthia Erivo’s character was introduced in Episode 3. There’s still plenty of room to jump on this bandwagon, as the show is currently building to what promises to be an extremely creepy climax on March 8. — Mark Graham
'Narcos: Mexico'
Netflix
After almost a year and a half we finally learned how Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo’s (Diego Luna) story ended, and Narcos didn’t pull any punches. Whereas the first season of Narcos: Mexico chronicled how Félix Gallardo came to order DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena (Michael Peña) murder, Season 2 dove into the aftermath of that tragedy. Filled with betrayals, shootouts, and tricky DEA operations as it detailed the fall of an empire, Narcos: Mexico closed on one haunting lesson. No one drug lord was to blame for the rise of the coke trade. The fault lies in a negligent system. — Kayla Cobb
'I Am Not Okay With This'
Netflix
Netflix’s I Am Not Okay With This is a quirky delight that wins you over with its charm, wit, and fantastic performances. Sophia Lillis stars as Sydney Novak, a Rust Belt teen who has enough on her plate without also having to deal with dangerous telekinetic superpowers. Wyatt Oleff is her best friend and brief love interest, Stanley Barber. Together they make an enchanting dream team worthy of any classic teen comedy. — Meghan O’Keefe
'Better Call Saul'
AMC
Gone are the days of Jimmy McGill. In Season 5, Better Call Saul brings viewers closer to Breaking Bad than ever before as it reunites us with old characters (Robert Forster’s Ed makes an appearance), teases plotlines (hello, super lab), and deepens the mythology around post-BB era Gene Takovic. As always, the cinematography and directing is stellar, and Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn continue to turn out some of the best performances on television. Sure, we know how Saul Goodman’s story will end, but even in Season 5, watching his slow descent into amorality remains endlessly captivating. — Claire Spellberg
'LEGO Masters'
FOX
Lego Masters was by far the best way to escape the crushing existential dread of life in February 2020. Right when we all needed a feel-good, family-friendly reality competition show, Fox constructed one out of LEGO bricks and Will Arnett’s endless charm. The show made us think about LEGO in an entirely new way as the teams of two built marvelous works of art that transported us to kooky theme parks, the far reaches of space, and so much in between. There’s a lot of competition on TV right now, but none made us smile as much as this delightful show. It’s essentially The Great American Brick Off. — Brett White
'Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet'
Apple TV+
Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day have knocked it out of the park again with their newest show. Mythic Quest follows the woes of a video game development company responsible for one of the biggest MMORPGs around. But what transforms this show from merely funny to being a must watch is how versatile it is. The Apple TV+ comedy deftly jumps from laugh-out-loud slapstick humor to scathing takedowns of the video game industry’s sexism and social media’s Nazi problem. Tune in to be entertained by Rob McElhenney’s narcissistic Ian, but keep watching for Charlotte Nicdao’s nerdy ball of stress, Poppy Li. — Kayla Cobb
'Below Deck Sailing Yacht'
Bravo
A new Below Deck franchise set sail this month – literally! Below Deck Sailing Yacht premiered on Bravo and brought with it a new boat and completely new adventures but all of the same old drama we love from this show. Chef Adam Glick returns to create his culinary masterpieces that look just as gorgeous as the Greek island this yacht sails around. This series is a bit more unexpected, introducing new technical drama to viewers, but still delivering in spades when it comes to misguided hookups, crew member tiffs, and of course, crying in the tiny laundry room. — Lea Palmieri
'Love Is Blind'
Netflix
If you didn’t eagerly binge every single batch of Love Is Blind episodes the day they dropped, can you truly say you lived in the month of February? Netflix’s boldest foray into the reality romance genre was like watching a half dozen cars crash in slow motion, fully aware the entire time that only a couple of the airbags would deploy. The show dropped a couple dozen Atlanta-area singles into a grand experiment: date someone without ever seeing them, fully prepared to propose and get engaged to someone sight unseen. The ones that went through with it embarked on a Lord of the Rings-style epic journey, complete with bloody battles and seldom-seen bit players with rich inner lives. We need Season 2 ASAP. — Brett White
'McMillions'
HBO
Do you remember playing McDonald’s Monopoly in the ‘90s? Of course you do! If you’re wondering why the only thing you ever won was free fries, we now know the answer: it was all a scam! Ex-cop Jerry Jacobson and gangster Jerry Colombo, using their friends, family and acquaintances as patsies, rigged all the major cash prizewinners. This fascinating and often hilarious (thanks mostly to the easy charm of officer Doug Matthews) docuseries offers a comprehensive look at the con, moving from the FBI agents who uncovered the plot and instigated a undercover sting operation, to the causally complicit relatives of the guilty men, and to the ironically unlucky prizewinners whose lives were ruined by their “good” fortune. — Karen Kemmerle
'High Fidelity'
Hulu
It’s rare for Team Decider to unanimously fall head over heels for a TV show, but that’s exactly what happened with Hulu’s High Fidelity. Premiering on Valentine’s Day, the Zoë Kravitz-led remake is both a beautiful love letter to the original film and a fresh, blisteringly entertaining series with swagger to spare. Kravitz is predictably terrific, the supporting cast is filled with scene-stealing performances, and the show’s exceptional soundtrack elevates the raw emotion of the energetic series. High Fidelity seemed to get lost in the morass of “too much TV,” which is a shame. Few shows are worthy of the vaunted “must-see” moniker, but High Fidelity is the rare series that exceeds the hype. — Josh Sorokach
