Thanksgiving is a time for reflection. A time to look back on the previous year and be grateful for all the things that brought you joy. A time to sit around in sweatpants and watch television after filling your stomach with turkey and sides. And so, with all of that in mind, the Uproxx staff decided to make a list of the television-related things we were thankful for this year. Feel free to add yours below.
I am thankful for a lot of TV things that happened this year. So many things. There was a lot of great TV this year and a lot of great fun/bad/memorable things that happened. I can’t limit it to one. So I’ll make a short list:
I am thankful for every time Mike Ehrmantraut grunted on Better Call Saul.
I am thankful for the new evil ice dragon on Game of Thrones.
I am thankful for everything that happened on The Good Place, especially Ted Danson, and especially Janet.
I am thankful for the time on American Gods that a lady kicked a man’s spine out of his body via foot to the groin.
I am thankful for the time Bob Benson from Mad Men threw a car into a volcano on Zoo.
I am thankful for the final season of The Leftovers and for all the times it allowed me to say the phrase “lion sex boat.”
I am thankful for the final season of Halt and Catch Fire and all the times it made me cry.
But most of all, I am thankful for the time the Australian government gave the Young Pope a kangaroo. We should never forget that happened. — Brian Grubb
I am thankful Riverdale continues to lose its damn mind. The show was always a little bit unhinged, but the second season is rolling with it hard. There’s a murderous vigilante! Archie starts a band of anonymous crimefighters! Jughead is becoming the Michael Corleone of bucolic hamlets! Between this and the reliably bonkers Gotham, it’s giving broadcast TV the shot of weird it needs. — Dan Seitz
This year, I am thankful for Jerrod Carmichael — as well as everything being thankful for him entails. And I mean everything — his appearance in Jay-Z’s phenomenal “Moonlight” video, his acting chops in Transformers: The Last Knight, and his voiceover work in Amazon’s ridiculous Comrade Detective series. Yet when it comes to being truly thankful for everything Carmichael has contributed to entertainment in 2017, I’m referring mostly to his stellar work behind and in front of the television cameras. In March, he and fellow comic Bo Burnham made what was then — and arguably still is — one of the best stand-up specials of the year. Meanwhile, Carmichael pushed The Carmichael Show as far as NBC would allow him to… until both parties decided to call it quits. But never fear, for the 30-year-old comedy polymath signed a massive deal with 20th Century Fox Television in September — meaning his work will progress uninterrupted for the next two years. Right now, when we need his signature brand of humor most, Carmichael won’t be leaving the spotlight anytime soon. So yeah, I’m pretty damn thankful for him. — Andrew Husband
This year I’m most thankful for whoever did all the dicks. (I mean it was [redacted], obviously, but that’s beside the point.) American Vandal wasn’t the best show of the year, or even the best Netflix show of the year, for that matter — but the Serial/Making a Murderer spoof was the one that caught me the most off guard in how delightfully, whimsically vulgar it was. And what started out as basically an elaborate dick joke nevertheless managed to enthrall over the the course of eight episodes with the real mystery of the doer of the dicks. Vandal is trying to capture lightning in a jar with a sequel in 2018 that may or may not involve more dicks, but, in the meantime I would 100% watch a Baby Farting spinoff web series. — Stacey Ritzen
I’m thankful for Jimmy from The Mick. While the show might not be critically adored, Scott MacArthur’s dirtbag significant other father figure brings a lot to love to the table. Jimmy is extremely confident without any credible reason to feel that way and balances a worldly code of honor with the type of scummery that reminds me of my beloved late uncle. He’d be the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving gathering, especially if there was a chance to do something mildly illegal and possibly cook the turkey using fireworks and gasoline. — Andrew Roberts
I am thankful that Buffy The Vampire Slayer is available to stream. I know this isn’t new or hip, but w h a t e v e r. 2017 has been a constant barrage of garbage it seems, and with the actions of an exceedingly long list of bad men coming to the light, there has honestly never been a better time to bingewatch the Scoobies. You’ve got the quips, angst, and insane ’90s outfits (so much pleather) to take your mind off the present for a little while, and the battle cry of women standing up for themselves to bring with you out in the real world after you’ve turned off the TV. It’s not perfect, but it’s perfect for Now. Plus, you may find yourself yelling “You made a BEAR! Undo it! Undo it!” whenever you watch the news. — Alyssa Fikse
I’m grateful for the ongoing existence of Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, who between the writing and Andre Braugher’s performance is the comic gift that just keeps on giving. Whether he’s taking offense at being called “Ray,” pretending to be heterosexual by waxing rhapsodic about the thigh gap, or taking even greater offense at being told that he and his husband just need to bone, he is an utter joy. —Alan Sepinwall
Toxic masculinity, widespread claims of sexual harassment, mass shootings, natural disasters, a flaccid, jaundiced racist for a president – honestly there were plenty of things in 2017 that made me sincerely wish for the apocalypse to just happen already. Thankfully, TV was not on that list. Instead, despite the fact that we’re nowhere near close to equal representation in front of or behind the camera, we were treated to some pretty badass heroines that, while not fully restoring my faith in man’s ability to understand the opposite sex, went a long way in proving TV can produce female characters that don’t completely suck. Offred on The Handmaid’s Tale, Eleven on Stranger Things, Arya and Sansa on Game of Thrones, when it came to TV, women were dangerous, vengeful, rebellious, and finally getting their damn due. Sure, watching the Stark sisters gut Littlefinger or Eleven get a bitchin’ makeover doesn’t erase the reality of living in a Bible-thumping, patriarchal society that claims 14-year-old girls invite sexual assault with their short skirts and post-pubescent appearance, but it helps. It helps. — Jessica Toomer
Lots to be thankful for, but I keep coming back to this beautifully done montage sequence from Mindhunter, which features all the exhausted mismatched partner bonding and Steve Miller Band music you could want in a 90-second stretch of television. — Keith Phipps
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for Twin Peaks: The Return. It’s been almost two months since the season (series?) finale, and I’m still enraptured by David Lynch’s weird and indulgent story. That’s why, for Thanksgiving and in honor of Twin Peaks, I will attempt to speak to my family and friends using only quotes from this last season. Some quotes, with possible situations to use them in, follow.
“This pie is so damn good.” — Rodney Mitchum (Quote can be used when the pie is damn good)
“I don’t understand this situation at all.” — Gordon Cole (Quote may be used when you run out of gravy/cranberries)
“This is the water, and this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes, and dark within.” — Woodsman (Quote may be used before Grace)
“I hope I will see all of you again, every one of you.” – Agent Cooper (Quote may be used when you say goodbye to your friends and family after another successful Thanksgiving) — Jason Nawara
In the hustle and bustle of #PeakTV, there’s never enough time to get into new content. Now more than ever, we should be thankful for shorter episode seasons. If you wanted to catch up on The Good Place before season 2, there were only 13 episodes instead of the 20-something most network shows insist on. The latest season of Stranger Things can be seen even on a busy weekend, and I’m looking forward to finishing American Vandal before my Thanksgiving leftovers. As one genius put it, “Make it brief, son, half short and twice strong.” — Dejen Isaac
