Critics’ choice: the best TV shows of the year

Slow Horses (Apple TV)
This much-loved adaptation of Mick Herron’s bestselling Slough House novels remains “unbeatable”, says The Wall Street Journal. The latest series follows the team of MI5 rejects – led by Gary Oldman’s “repulsive inebriate” Jackson Lamb (pictured) – as they investigate the aftermath of a shopping centre bombing in London. “Eventually they may produce a bum season,” says The Independent. “But series four was not that.”
Six episodes, 45 minutes each

Shōgun (Disney+)
Despite winning a record 18 Emmys – becoming the first foreign-language show to claim Best Drama – Shōgun probably hasn’t had the media attention it deserves. The series follows an English naval officer (Cosmo Jarvis) who gets shipwrecked in 17th-century Japan shortly after the death of the taiko, or supreme ruler. The FT calls it a “monumental drama”, combining the “epic scale of Game of Thrones with the politicking of Succession”.
10 episodes, one hour each

One Day (Netflix)
Based on the bestselling 2009 novel by David Nicholls, One Day checks in on the lives of two friends on the same day each year as they romantically circle each other for two decades. Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall (pictured) get it “spot on” in the lead roles, says The Daily Telegraph, and all 14 episodes are an excellent excuse to “wallow in nostalgia”. Just make sure you have tissues for the finale.
14 episodes, 30 minutes each

Colin from Accounts (BBC Two)
The second series of this hit Australian comedy – about a guy and a girl who fall in love after adopting a disabled dog – is somehow even better than the first, says The Guardian. Actors Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer (pictured) remain “the perfect foils for each other” – it helps that they’re married in real life – and in this season the show demonstrates not just its comic chops but also its emotional range. “An utter delight.”
Eight episodes, 30 minutes each

Rivals (Disney+)
This adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s 1988 “bonkbuster” – about adultering toffs in the fictional county of Rutshire – received glowing reviews. With an all-star British cast that includes Aidan Turner, David Tennant and Alex Hassell, it’s “unapologetically un-PC” and a “riotously good time” throughout, says The Daily Telegraph. “It offers romps, rumps and lashings of champagne,” says The Economist. “Glorious.”
Eight episodes, one hour each

The Diplomat (Netflix)
Series two of this addictive geopolitical thriller follows America’s ambassador to Britain (Keri Russell, pictured) as she deals with a growing international crisis. The Guardian likens it to all the best parts of The West Wing, The Americans and Homeland put together, calling it a “masterclass in storytelling”. No moment is wasted, and “before you know it, it’s 2am and you’re still watching”.
Six episodes, 50 minutes each

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC One)
The second series of the BBC’s adaptation of the Hilary Mantel novels – which comes nearly a decade after the first – charts the fall of Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance). It covers the politics of the fractured state, the tumultuous Tudor court and the all-important royal bedroom, but the most riveting conflict comes from within Cromwell’s restless mind. The FT calls it “British TV at its finest”.
Six episodes, one hour each

Mr & Mrs Smith (Prime Video)
This reboot of the 2005 film of the same name stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine (pictured) as assassins who go undercover as a married couple, and inevitably start to develop feelings for each other. The FT praises the duo’s “fizzing chemistry”, while The Independent calls it “smart, sexy and slick; easily the best thing on Prime Video this year”.
Eight episodes, 45 minutes each

Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Having started out as a stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Richard Gadd’s semi-autobiographical drama about his experience of being stalked was this year’s most-watched show on Netflix in both the UK and the US. It’s “oddly compelling”, says The Daily Telegraph, despite the slightly grim subject matter. The Washington Post calls it a “brilliant, shattering, ethically dicey dissection of trauma and abuse”.
Seven episodes, 30 minutes each

The Day of the Jackal (Sky Atlantic)
Based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 classic, The Day of the Jackal stars Eddie Redmayne (pictured) as a lone assassin playing a game of cat and mouse with a British intelligence agent (Lashana Lynch). The Wall Street Journal says the two leads are “icily charismatic”; The Independent describes it as “tense, pulpy and riotously watchable” – “one of the best thrillers of the year”.
Ten episodes, one hour each