We’re now in full swing with The Female First Awards 2020 and, after naming the TV Actor of the Year on day one and the Movie Actor of the Year the day after, we’re now celebrating five of the best television shows to have graced the small screen over the past 12 months.
In a time where television has been the lifeline for a lot of people with plenty of hours to fill, there were plenty of contenders to take home this award! Here are our five nominees and crucially, our winner of Television Show of the Year…
I May Destroy You (BBC/HBO)
Not only starring in the show, Michaela Coel is the bright young mind behind I May Destroy You, which became one of the biggest hits of the year upon its release.
Coel took on the role of lead character Arabella, who looked to rebuild her life with the help of her friends after the memories of a night start coming back to her, and the dawning realisation sets in that she was raped.
Despite the traumatic subject matter, Coel’s 10 episodes aren’t afraid to use comedy alongside drama to ensure the narrative isn’t too draining for those watching. The confidence in Coel’s writing is plain to see; she’s passionate and it shows. One to watch if you haven’t yet had the opportunity.
Tiger King (Netflix)
Releasing at just the right time, Tiger King was the phenomenon that swept the globe, strangely making a hero out of its titular lead despite his apparent criminality that eventually landed him behind bars.
Whilst we may not be fully behind the demonisation of one Carole Baskin in the documentary series, we’d be fools to deny the impact that Tiger King had upon its release. You’d be hard-pressed to find a household nowadays where there isn’t at least one member who has heard of the exploits of the camp and mysterious Joe Exotic.
Though we were all talking over Zoom and FaceTime this year, the topic of conversation from March onwards would often veer towards the craziness that went down at G.W. Zoo, as we batted our own theories about everything we had seen back and forth.
The Stranger (Netflix)
Another big Netflix series dropped at the start of the year, in the form of The Stranger. If you’re a fan of the mystery genre, trying to work out everybody’s secrets and putting plot points together to try and form your own conclusion before the inevitable big reveal, then this is one for you!
Based on the 2015 Harlan Coben novel of the same name, this eight-part thriller brought together some of Britain’s finest talents, including Richard Armitage, Siobhan Finneran and Jennifer Saunders. Though many of the characters we get to know appear to have the perfect life on the outside, scratching beneath the surface reveals all sorts of twists and turns.
Gripping from start to finish, this is yet another major win for Netflix following their adaptation of another Coben novel, Safe, back in 2018.
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Starring the likes of Jurnee Smollett, Wunmi Mosaku and Jonathan Majors, Lovecraft Country follows a young black man who travels across the United States, back when it was segregated in the 1950s. Along the way, he learns of dark secrets that plague a town in which it is said famous horror writer H. P. Lovecraft based the location of many of his stories.
With the terrors of racism in America front-and-centre, as well as the monsters brought to life in a series that is as spooky as it is addictive, Lovecraft Country immediately proves itself as a much-needed show even in today’s age. It shouldn’t be topical in a modern world, but unfortunately, it very much is.
Power Book II: Ghost (Starzplay)
Though we waved goodbye to the original Power series back in 2019, it was such a success that creators Courtney Kemp and 50 Cent decided the universe should expand with a series of spin-offs. The first came in the form of Power Book II: Ghost, continuing Tariq and Tasha St. Patrick’s (Michael Rainey Jr. and Naturi Naughton) story after the latter’s arrest in the original show.
Both have given stunning performances, showcasing not just the evolution of their characters but of their own talents, especially in the case of Rainey Jr. who was very much a child upon his initial introduction in Power!
The spin-off has also brought the likes of Mary J. Blige and Method Man into the cast, who have both proven themselves to be extremely capable in front of the camera, adding yet another couple of layers to the intricate storytelling of the Power universe.
And the winner is…
Lovecraft Country!
Massive congratulations to this stunning adaptation and continuation of the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff. HBO dropped their most ambitious series since the opening season of Game of Thrones, delivering a horror unlike any we had ever seen before, including some terrifying monsters not just of fantasy, but of the real world as well…
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